Esteban shrugged.
“Would you be happy if she gave you everything but treated you badly?”
“No.”
“Would you stay if she insulted you, controlled you, or made you feel worthless?”
Raúl considered the question.
“No.”
“Then you aren’t describing a man who only wants her money. You’re describing a man who is trying to understand his own feelings.”
“But how can I be certain?”
Esteban looked at him.
“You can’t make your life free of doubt. You can only make sure your actions are honest.”
Those words stayed with Raúl.
He realized that love was not proven by pretending money didn’t matter. Money mattered enormously when your family was struggling. Gratitude mattered too.
But gratitude was not the same as love.
He had to discover whether he wanted Raquel herself, even if the comfortable life around her disappeared.
The answer would come sooner than he expected.
