Free Rivals by Janet Dailey

she started to loosen it, Rick stopped her. “I love the thought, darling, but we’ll have to do it some other time. Tonight we have this charity thing. They’re expecting us.”
    â€œYou make it sound as if they’ll cancel the ball if we don’t show up. I assure you they won’t,” she teased with a cajoling smile. “So why don’t we just skip it?”
    â€œNo.” He set her away from him, a finality in his voice and his gesture that rankled.
    Still Flame persisted. “Why not?”
    â€œBecause we said we’d be there and we’re going.”
    â€œRick, it’s a charity ball, for heaven’s sake. How many hundred functions like it have we attended these last six months? I’m tired of them. Aren’t you?” She frowned.
    â€œWhether I’m tired of them or not is immaterial,” he retorted, yanking at the knot of his tie. “Affairs like this are important to me. I thought you understood that.”
    Stung by his tone, Flame was tempted to ask if they were more important than spending time with her, but she checked the angry impulse and turned away instead, feigning a shrug of indifference. “Then you go. I’ll stay home by myself.”
    â€œDon’t be ridiculous, Flame,” he snapped. “You’re a Morgan. You have to be there.”
    You’re a Morgan . How many times had she heard him say that? She’d lost count, but this time, the phrase sunk in. She swung on him in full temper. “My name is Bennett. Or had you forgotten that little detail?”
    He flushed guiltily. “You know what I meant.”
    â€œNo.” She shook her head in firm denial. “I don’t think I do. Why don’t you explain just how you see me? Am I your wife? Am I the woman you love? Am I your life’s partner? Or—am I your social entrée?” she challenged, suddenly remembering the thousand little conversations that had taken place over the past months—and the way Rick had always drawn her family name into them. She realized that he knew more about the history of her family than she did.
    From that point on, the confrontation had degenerated into a shouting match, insults and accusations hurled on both sides. In the end, Rick had stormed out of the flat, and for days afterward they’d been cold to each other. Eventually they’d gone through the motions of making up, but it had never been the same after that.
    As the weeks wore on, Flame had gradually come to see that she’d unwittingly hit on the truth. If Rick loved her at all, it was because she was his passport into a world that would have otherwise barred him from entering. He didn’t love her, not for herself. He never had. Two months later, she filed for a divorce.
    She’d walked away from the marriage scarred but much wiser. She’d learned a valuable lesson, one that she found many occasions to apply. Over the years, she’d discovered that few people sought her company for its sake alone. Some, like Rick, saw her as a passport to power and prestige. Some were outright social climbers. Others were attracted by her beauty and regarded her as a prize to be paraded on their arm. And to others, like Malcom Powell, she represented a conquest that had eluded him. All of those people she had eliminated very quickly from her life, dropping them the instant she discerned their reason for wanting to be with her—which was much easier than most supposed. As a result, her circle of friends was small indeed. And, of them, she regarded only Ellery as her one true friend. He’d never asked anything of her and never once taken advantage of their friendship. On the contrary, Ellery had always given—of his knowledge, his understanding, his time and his company.
    Slowly Flame closed the photo album and hugged it tightly to her. That old need to love and be loved was still there, but of necessity, buried deep inside.