Ella’s heart pounded in disbelief. “Why would you do something like this?”
Ethan’s expression softened.
“Because everyone I meet wants me for my money. No one ever sees the man behind the wealth. So I created Don Armando—to find out if anyone could love me without the glamour, without the name, without the shine.”
Tears filled her eyes. “And I… I was the one you chose to test?”
“Yes,” Ethan said, his voice tender. “Because the first time I saw you, you didn’t reject a life that others would have mocked. You embraced sacrifice for love. I wanted to see how far your heart could go—and now I know. You have a beautiful soul, Ella.”
But shame consumed her.
She turned and ran—not out of anger, but out of guilt.
“I only married him for money,” she thought bitterly. “And now, I feel like the poorest person in the world.”
