Page 119 of River
“Yes, it’s true, and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you.”
Without a word, River got up and walked toward the elevator.
“Shit!” My head dipped forward, and I was just about to get up and follow when Charles placed a hand on my arm.
“Give her a few minutes to digest the shock.” Before he ended his sentence, River had disappeared into a lift.
“I’ve wanted to tell her for months now, but I was afraid this would happen; that she’d feel lied to.”
“Why didn’t you tell her from the beginning?” he asked.
I groaned. “You have to understand that the only thing I wanted from my father was his time and interest in me. At least I did when I was a boy. Then as a teenager, I hated him and wrote him letters to let him know what a disappointment he was. I’m not sure if he ever got my letters, but when he was dying, he still asked to see me. The money was a surprise to me. I always assumed that since he wanted nothing to do with me, I’d never get a dime.”
“But you got everything.”
“Yes, and I didn’t know how to feel about it. My father was a miserable, bitter, and lonely old man. Suddenly all that money felt like a threat. The last thing I wanted was to end up like him, so I didn’t tell anyone. Instead, I went on a six-month journey hoping to find some sort of clarity. I just left all the money untouched and used my own savings to surf and travel. That’s when I met River.
“She was honest about her pattern of being attracted to wealthy men, so it was tempting to tell her I had money, but at the same time, I wanted her to love me for me and not my money.”
Charles listened, and then he patted my shoulder.
“I get that, but it’s not me you need to explain yourself to, it’s River.”
I looked toward the elevator and got up with a heavy feeling in my body. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“Good luck, Noah.” Charles lifted his drink to me. “I’m rooting for you.”
River had left with the only keycard we’d brought, so I knocked on the hotel door with my knuckles. “Butterfly, open up.”
It took a while, but finally, the door opened a sliver. Stepping inside, I saw River walking to the bed.
I locked the door and stepped out of my shoes before getting on the bed with her.
River sat with her arms crossed, and her face turned away.
“How mad are you?” I asked.
“I’m not mad.”
“You look mad.”
She turned her head and stared at me. “Was what you said down there a lie?”
“No.”
“You really have three billion dollars?”
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
I pulled out my phone and found the email from my father’s lawyer with the full amount of my inheritance.
River was quiet at first, but then her questions started raining down on me.
“You had a roommate in Bali, and cheap flip-flops on when I met you. You live in a small room on a farm. What kind of billionaire does that?”
“I hadn’t started using the money when you met me in Bali. It’s taken me time to get used to the idea that all that money is even mine. Besides, traveling around the world is more fun when you make friendships, and roommates is a good way to meet people.”
