I'll be surprised if you get even that thousand back. This gal has problems. Her life has been somewhat of a mess. A well-functioning woman does not accept $1850 as a loan or as a gift from a man she is not already in a very close relationship with. She did because she felt desperate. You threw a great big temptation in front of her. Out of weakness, she took it. You say "Who does that?" Lots of needy people do that, or something like that.

Then she felt under an obligation toward you, and she said some earnest things, and she said some things she felt obligated to say. It doesn't sound like she ever tried to mislead you into thinking that she had a romantic interest in you.

You told yourself that you just hoped to have a friendship with her, with no pressure for romance. But you had kinda fallen in love. That's why you resent the attention she pays to this new boyfriend. You wish you were her boyfrifiend. It's okay to have wanted her in that way. But you brought money into the picture.

As long as some semblance of friendship was going on, you were willing to make the money a gift. As long as she held out a chance that you could be close to her, even just now and then, not getting the money back was something you could overlook.

But now you want your money. Now you feel "stiffed." Now you feel like she made a fool of you. This shows that you will walk away from this experience having learned nothing that was important to learn.

If you offer money to people in financial distress, a lot of them will accept it. Not all. Some will refuse the offer because they don't want to put themselves under an obligation. But lots of them will take it, thinking that it might help them turn their life around. They will have some gratitude that is sincere. But most people hate feeling indebted.

A man offering material help to a distressed woman he likes is an old, old, old story. You are putting yourself in the category of men you don't want to be in the same category with. Their motto is, "I did a lot for this gal, so I have an expectation of some appreciation in return, which I'm not getting." Some of these guys end up in prison. Their path in that direction started with just the kind of bitterness you express.

Don't let your heart be corrupted by disappointment. You'll lose, if you do.