I had lost my wife five years before. Together, my daughter and I had mastered the art of creating a peaceful life for ourselves. However, during my best friend’s wedding, that life was completely upended in an instant. I saw the face of the woman I had been mourning for years when the groom lifted the bride’s veil. “Dad, why are you crying?” my daughter said as she pulled my sleeve. Everything I believed to be true vanished in that moment.
Neither the wedding nor the party where I first met her were on my itinerary.
I was practically dragged to a party at a downtown apartment back then by my friend Lucas.
He informed me, “You’ve been putting a lot of effort into yourself.” “You can return to your hermit lifestyle in just one hour.”
My muscles hurt like they were made of concrete from working double shifts at the construction site for the entire week. I wanted to sleep, not music or small conversation. Lucas persisted, though, and I finally gave in.
People who appeared to have never worked a day in their lives were everywhere. In my faded T-shirt and old jeans, I felt uncomfortable. I noticed Elena at that point.
She wasn’t meant to be there either, I would find out later. She was just dropping off something for a friend when she stopped by.
When our gazes locked across the room, an inexplicable click occurred. Whatever it was—connection, sparks—I was certain that I wanted to get to know her.
“Who is that?” I nodded at her as I questioned Lucas.
He whistled softly and whispered, “That’s Elena.” Avoid wasting time. Half of the city is owned by her family.
However, I was already moving in her direction.
As I got closer, her smile struck me like a ton of bricks.
I extended my hand and introduced myself as Daniel.
“Elena,” she answered. I held her small but solid hand. “You appear to be as at ease here as I am.”
We spoke for hours. She was open, friendly, and inquisitive rather than the entitled heiress I had anticipated. I accompanied her to her car as the night came to an end.
She partially smiled and said, “My parents would hate you.”
“Is that an issue?”
“Probably,” she responded, looking directly into my eyes. “However, I doubt I give a damn.”
We got married six months later. The wedding was not attended by her parents. They completely cut her off—no family support, no trust fund. However, she said, “I don’t care about any of that,” while squeezing my hand. All I want is you.
That was sufficient for the time being. We took up residence in a modest flat. I studied architecture at night and worked in construction during the day. Elena accepted a position in an art gallery. Despite our modest lifestyle, I believed we were content.
Then something changed with the birth of our daughter, Sophie.
Elena started to lose the warmth in her eyes. She began to draw comparisons between our lives and the one she had abandoned.
While Sophie was napping in her crib nearby, she commented over mac and cheese one evening, “My college roommate just bought a vacation place in the Hamptons.”
“That’s fantastic,” I replied, continuing to concentrate on my design concepts.
I had to let her know that we couldn’t afford her invitation to come visit.
I assured her that we were doing well. “Things will improve.”
“When?” she inquired sternly. “When will Sophie start college? When will we be retired? I’ve had enough of waiting.
Our disagreements were commonplace. She frequently remarked, “This isn’t what I signed up for,” detested budgeting, and loathed our tiny apartment.
In an attempt to make amends, I brought flowers home early one afternoon. There was silence in the apartment. Elena had lost her clothes and suitcase. I discovered a note in Sophie’s crib:
I’d like a divorce. I apologize, but we made a mistake in our marriage. Mrs. Torres is down the hall with Sophie. She is yours to keep.
I repeatedly called her phone. No response. Desperate, I took a car to her parents’ estate. “You’re not welcome here, sir,” the gatekeeper informed me.
I received divorce papers two days later. She relinquished custody without protest.
The crushing impact followed. I made a final phone call to her parents’ house six months after she left.
“She is no longer there,” her mother stated bluntly. “Elena died in an automobile accident.” Never call again. She didn’t care about you.
The phone fell out of my grasp. I collapsed to the kitchen floor and sobbed until I was dragged back by Sophie’s cries. I was unable to see a grave. Elena seemed to have vanished from the world.
I dedicated the ensuing years to both developing my work and parenting Sophie. After earning my degree, I began designing houses and eventually launched my own business. Sophie developed into a cheerful, intelligent young child with her mother’s eyes. The sadness subsided and turned into a silent pain.
Then an envelope came five years later.
My childhood best buddy Lucas was getting married. After he enlisted in the army, we lost contact, but now he wanted me to attend his wedding.
“What are your thoughts, Soph? Do you want to attend Uncle Lucas’ wedding?
With seriousness, she inquired, “Will there be cake?”
“A ton of cake will be served.”
“Then we ought to leave,” she concluded.
With white flowers down the aisle and the smell of salt in the air from the beach, the wedding took place in a resort by the sea. Lucas smiled as he greeted us. “Look at you, dude—you’re successful and have a lovely daughter.”
The ceremony got underway. Sophie was sitting next to me, playing with a flower in her hair and swinging her feet. The bride then emerged, a veil covering her face.
The world slanted as Lucas raised it.
Elena was the one.
My vision was obscured by tears. Sophie raised her head. “Why are you crying, Dad?”
Elena smiled as she turned to face the guests, but her face lost its color when her gaze met mine and Sophie’s. Turning, she ran down the aisle.
Bewildered, Lucas hurried after her. I gave Sophie to his sister right away. I told her, “Stay with Aunt Carla,” and then I followed.
Elena was shaking and holding her gown when I spotted her in a side hallway.
I said in a raspy voice, “You’re dead.” “They informed me you had passed away.”
She muttered, “I didn’t know they told you that.”
“I pleaded to see your tomb. I spent years in mourning for you.
She turned her head away. “I simply wanted to leave.” Everything was planned by my father.
Anger erupted. “You left our daughter behind. You allowed me to inform her that you were permanently gone.
“I believed that you would be better off without me.”
Lucas showed up with a pallid face. “What on earth is happening?”
I looked over at him. She abandoned Sophie and me five years ago. According to her family, she died in an automobile accident.
Lucas’s gaze expanded. “Is that accurate?”
Elena’s silence was sufficient.
With his wedding in ruins, Lucas turned to go. Minutes after, her parents showed up and escorted her out without saying anything to me. I didn’t chase her this time.
I went out for drinks with Lucas two weeks later. “She deceived everyone,” he remarked sourly. Last year, we were introduced by her parents. She didn’t ever say that she was married or had kids.
I muttered, “You couldn’t have known.”
He observed me. “Are you alright?”
I considered it. Indeed. I pondered for years what I had done incorrectly. I realize now that it wasn’t me.
I felt free for the first time in years, and I had Sophie, a life I had created from the ruins she left me