I knew how much my fiancé loved me until he showed up at the altar on our wedding day. A day later, I saw him signing papers at my father’s office without understanding what they were about.
On the night of our sixth wedding anniversary, Brian and I went to our favourite restaurant. He seemed very nervous, and I kept wondering why. ‘What’s wrong, Brian? Are you okay?’ I asked when he shifted in his seat a couple of times, glancing back at me.
He nodded and tried his best to smile. ‘Yes, of course, I’m fine,’ he assured me. ” Today is our anniversary, and I couldn’t be happier.”
I smiled at his answer and continued to study the menu. I had memorised the menu from all the times we had been to this restaurant, but I still looked at it out of old habit. When I looked up from the menu, I was in for the surprise of my life.
Brian was down on one knee, and behind him was a group of musicians playing soft, romantic music on their violins. ‘Jane, my dear. We’ve been together for six years, and I’m more than sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you,’ Brian said. ‘Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’ he asked.
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. ‘Of course, yes!’ I said, jumping up from my seat to hug Brian. I looked at the beautiful solitaire ring Brian had put on my finger and realised how long he must have saved up for something so big and beautiful.
The next day, I visited my parents to tell them that Brian had proposed. My mother was happy for me and gave me a big hug. However, my father’s reaction was completely different.
‘You won’t be happy if you marry this man, Jane,’ he said. ‘What will happen to you and your children? Will he be able to buy you a house? Send your children to private school?’ he began to ask.
“Dad, how can you say that? Brian works hard, and so do I. We’ll figure it out together, like all married couples do!” I replied.
“How long did it take him to save up for that ring? As if that should convince me that he can take care of you. If I were you, I would return the ring and call off the wedding. It’s not too late, Jane. There are plenty of wealthy bachelors I can introduce you to — men I can truly trust with my daughter and the future of my business,” he told me.
I snorted sceptically, knowing that my father had always been concerned only with money. I shook my head and left the house before I could say anything I would later regret.
Brian and I planned our wedding on our own, with a little help from my mother. Three months of preparation passed, and finally the big day arrived.
Before the ceremony, Brian couldn’t find his sister and niece. ‘Where are they?’ he asked his mother. Reluctantly, Brian’s mother told him that his niece Maxine had to be taken to the hospital for emergency heart surgery.
‘Your sister is trying to find people she can borrow money from,’ his mother told him. ‘The hospital won’t start the operation until they make the first payment, but Maxine doesn’t have much time left. They need to start the operation as soon as possible.’
Without hesitation, Brian decided to ask his father for help. ‘Sir, I know this sounds bad, but I was wondering if you could lend me some money for my niece’s surgery. I just spent almost everything I had in my account on my wedding,’ Brian confessed.
I decided to have a cup of coffee at the nearest coffee shop when I suddenly saw Brian looking around before entering my father’s office building.
‘I promise I’ll pay you back in a month. I just need to get through this month until I get my salary,’ he asked.
My father shook his head. ‘I knew you weren’t up to anything,’ he said mockingly. ‘But yes, I’ll help you, on one condition,’ he told Brian.
‘What is it, sir? I’ll do anything,’ Brian replied without hesitation.
‘You don’t have to pay me back, but you have to disappear from Jane’s life. Run away and never come back,’ he declared.
Brian’s heart skipped a beat when he learned of his father’s condition. However, he remembered his mother’s words that Maxine didn’t have much time left, and reluctantly agreed. It was his only chance to save his niece’s life.
A few minutes later, I was standing at the altar, sobbing. Brian hadn’t come to the wedding, and everyone was trying to comfort me. ‘What happened? Everything was fine yesterday,’ I cried. ‘Where did he go?’ I kept asking, after hearing from guests that Brian had been at the church earlier that morning.
The next day, my father asked to meet me in his office. I was supposed to meet him in an hour and a half, but I arrived early.
I decided to have a cup of coffee at a nearby coffee shop when I suddenly saw Brian looking around before entering my father’s office building. ‘What is he doing here?’ I asked myself before deciding to follow him.
By the time I got my bill at the coffee shop, Brian had already entered the lift. I had a feeling he was heading to my father’s office, so I hurried to take the next lift up to see what was going on.
When I entered, I saw Brian, my father, and my father’s solicitor in the same room. Because of the soundproof windows, I couldn’t hear what they were talking about. Instead, I watched as my father’s solicitor handed Brian some papers, which he signed, and then shook hands with the other men in the room.
At that moment, I couldn’t help but burst in. ‘What is this?! What are these papers and why are you here?!’ I shouted.
My father had a smug look on his face, as if he knew this would happen. ‘Your fiancé just agreed to never see you again in exchange for money,’ he told me.
I looked at Brian with the most painful expression of betrayal. ‘Is it true?’ I said, trying not to choke on the lump in my throat that had formed after hearing what my father had said.
“I’m so sorry, Jane. It’s Maxine. She’s dying, and she needs an expensive operation to save her life,‘ Brian cried. ’Yesterday I asked your father for help, and he said he would help me if I didn’t attend the wedding. I’m so sorry, Jane. I can’t bear to lose my niece,” he sobbed.
‘He just signed an agreement that he will never appear in your life again. If you hadn’t shown up, the papers stated that he was also not allowed to tell you the truth. But now that you’re here, I think you should know that he traded your relationship for money,’ my father said, slamming the papers on the table.
‘How could you do this to me?!’ I yelled at my father. ‘My life is not a toy you can just play with! You ruined my relationship and ruined what should have been the best day of my life!’ I cried.
‘What kind of father are you?! I never want to see you again,’ I said before leaving his office.
I felt my knees weakening, and before I could reach the lift, I collapsed on the floor, sobbing. ‘Why?’ I cried, addressing no one in particular. Then I felt Brian’s arms wrap around me.
‘Forgive me, Jane,’ he cried. ‘I love you with all my heart, but I couldn’t let Maxine die either. I couldn’t live with myself.’
‘You’re the kindest, most selfless person I know,’ I said to Brian. “I know you only wanted to do good. But I wish you had told me instead of going to my father. Then we could have gone through with our wedding and helped Maxine together.”
Brian nodded and sighed, realising his mistake. “I didn’t know what to do. You weren’t at the church yet, and your father was the first person I saw when I heard the news. I’m sorry, Jane,” he apologised to me.
‘I understand if you never want to see me again, but I would like you to give me a chance to prove how much I love you. I really love you, Jane,’ he tried to assure me.
‘I know you do, Brian, and I love you just as much,’ I replied.
That day, we decided to talk about our lives and what to do next. We visited Maxine in the hospital and paid for her surgery with the refund we received from our wedding vendors. Maxine’s surgery was a success, and she was once again the lively, loving girl we all knew.
Three months passed, and Brian and I decided to start a new life together. We moved to another city to start with a clean slate, and I decided to cut my father out of my life forever.
‘I hope you understand why I had to do this, Mum,’ I said, telling my mother about my decision to stay away from my father. ‘It’s for my own good. He was too toxic for me, and I just couldn’t take it anymore.’
It hurt my mother to hear this, but she completely understood what I was getting at. ‘I will always be there for you, dear,’ she assured me. ‘Please visit me and always keep in touch. I can’t bear to be apart from you for long.’
With my mother’s blessing, Brian and I got married in a simple ceremony. Only my mother, his parents, a few of our close friends, and his sister and niece were present.
Before leaving town, Brian and I sent the cheque my father had written back to him. I never heard from him again. After quitting his job at the family business, he blocked my credit cards and any chance of receiving my inheritance.
With the money I had saved over the years, and Brian’s money too, we were able to buy a small house in the suburbs. I got a job at another company, and together we worked hard to raise our three children in a loving environment.
What can we learn from this story?
- Never let money get in the way of your relationships. Jane’s father thought that giving her money would be an easy way to drive Brian away from her. However, when Jane found out the truth about her father’s actions, she was more angry with him than with Brian, because she knew that Brian was in a difficult situation and had no choice but to agree to her father’s wishes.
- Always be honest with your spouse and overcome life’s difficulties together. When Jane learned the truth, she wished Brian had told her the truth from the beginning. Then they could have avoided what happened at the wedding and moved on with their lives. In the end, they managed to resolve their issues, save Maxine together, and start a new life without her father.
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