Rhett couldn't tell Scarlett out of fear of being another tool she could dispose off
Ashley has a part to blame for failing to be straight up and telling Scarlett that he didn't love her in the way she thought and that it was Melanie who he actually loved in that sense.
He couldn't control his lust for Scarlett and continued visiting her even after knowing Melanie was to be his wife and even worse, ten years after the marriage at Twelve Oaks he still continued to see Scarlett in a secret-affair type of relationship.
Rhett was nasty to Scarlett because Scarlett was being that cruel to him. Even with her Delusional Love on Ashley, had she treated Rhett with respect, he still would have been enraged at Scarlett but he wouldn't have been so violent towards her.
Ashley has a part to blame for failing to be straight up and telling Scarlett that he didn't love her in the way she thought and that it was Melanie who he actually loved in that sense.
He couldn't control his lust for Scarlett and continued visiting her even after knowing Melanie was to be his wife and even worse, ten years after the marriage at Twelve Oaks he still continued to see Scarlett in a secret-affair type of relationship.
Rhett was nasty to Scarlett because Scarlett was being that cruel to him. Even with her Delusional Love on Ashley, had she treated Rhett with respect, he still would have been enraged at Scarlett but he wouldn't have been so violent towards her.