I stumbled back, pulling my hand free.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Trust your instincts,” she said. “And remember, love built on lies will crumble.”
I was ready to turn away, but then my bouquet came. Quickly, I picked it up from the delivery man and then hurried back into the house, slamming the door behind me.
My heart pounded as her words echoed in my mind.
The stuffed rabbit.
David had told me about it once, a toy his mother gave him before she died. He kept it tucked away in his closet so that he could still have a piece of her.
Quickly, I washed my face mask off and sent a text to the group my bridesmaids had created.
Running a quick errand, I’ll let you know when I’m home. Then we can celebrate!
“Okay, Claire,” I told myself.
“Let’s go find a stuffed bunny.”
David was at his dad’s house getting ready. So I was alone; I could do whatever I wanted. And what I wanted was to uncover the truth.
Was the old woman just talking absolute nonsense, or was there more to it?
I opened David’s closet and pulled out the rabbit.
Its gray fur was worn and faded, and I noticed something I hadn’t before. A small zipper on its back.
My heart raced as I unzipped it. Inside was a bundle of folded papers.
Son, why are you ashamed of me?
Please don’t abandon me. I love you.-Mom
I stared at the words, my chest tightening. The next note was even more heartbreaking.
I’ve been calling for weeks.
Why won’t you answer, David?
And then the third:
Please, let me see you just once. I need to know you’re okay.
My legs felt like jelly as I sank onto the floor. David’s mother wasn’t dead.
She was alive. And she had been desperately trying to get to know him. But how had she been sending him these notes?
Through the mailbox?
The realization hit me suddenly.
David had lied to me. About his mother. About something so fundamental, so deeply personal.
My mind raced, trying to piece it all together. Why would he lie? Was it shame?
Manipulation?
Or something darker?
I grabbed my phone and dialed him, my fingers shaking as they touched the screen.
“Hey, Claire,” he said, his voice light. “What’s up? No cold feet, right?”
“You need to come home,” I said.
“Now.”
“Is everything okay?” he asked, concern creeping into his tone.
“Just get here, David, please.” I hung up before he could say anything else.
When he arrived, he looked worried.
“Claire, what’s going on? We’re not supposed to see each other before the ceremony!”
His eyes darted to my face, then to the stuffed rabbit clutched in my hands.
“Explain this,” I said, holding up the notes.
His face went pale. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Slowly, he sank onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.
“It’s complicated, Claire,” he said finally.
“Complicated? How? You told me that your mother was dead, David!
You lied to me about something so huge. How is that complicated?”
He lifted his head, tears brimming in his eyes.
“My dad… he made me choose between them. After the divorce, he told me that she wasn’t good enough.
He said that she was a mess, that she liked her beer and could only hold jobs at diners that wanted to give her a chance. He said that I’d have a better life without her. I was just a kid, Claire.
I didn’t know any better.”
“And now? You’re not a kid anymore! You’ve been ignoring her since when?
She’s been begging to see you. These notes are proof. Do you have any idea how cruel that is?”
“I know,” he said.
“I know I messed up. I’ve been so ashamed. I didn’t know how to fix it.”
I stared at him, my heart breaking but also… defeated.
Who was this man?
“You lied to me. How am I supposed to marry someone I can’t trust?”
His face crumpled.
“Please, Claire,” he said. “Don’t do this!
I’ll make it right. I’ll go to her. I know where she lives.
She’s in a couple’s outbuilding. I’ll apologize. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I took a deep breath.
“Go find her, David.
Make things right with her. Until you do, I can’t marry you.”
His eyes widened in panic.
“Claire…”
“No, actions speak louder than words,” I said, cutting him off. “Go.”
Hours passed, and I couldn’t focus on anything.
I texted my bridesmaids group again and told them that the wedding was off. The yacht was ready, the guests were starting to arrive, and my phone buzzed incessantly with texts from my mom and bridesmaids.
Please, sort it out. The wedding is canceled.
I’m okay. Don’t come home, just tell the guests and make sure everyone eats before they leave the yacht. Lots of love, girls.
All I could think about was David and the woman who had appeared like a ghost to warn me.
It was nearly evening when I heard the knock at my door.
I opened it to find David standing there, his face tear-streaked and his shoulders slumped.
But there was something else, a sense of relief, of peace.
“I found her,” he said softly. “I apologized. She forgave me.”
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
And then he stepped aside.
Standing behind him was the elderly woman from earlier.
Her gray hair glowed in the fading light, and her eyes, those piercing, knowing eyes, were now brimming with tears.
“Claire,” David said, his voice breaking. “This is my mother.”
The weight of her words from earlier hit me. She had risked everything to warn me, to save her son from the lies that had kept them apart.
And to give me the truth before it was too late.
“Thank you,” I whispered, hugging her.
She smiled.
“Thank you for giving him the chance to find his way back.”
David and I didn’t get married that day. But in the months that followed, he worked tirelessly to rebuild his relationship with his mother. And during those months, I made sure that he got his answers from his father.
“I will not have your father in my life unless he can explain why he was so ugly to your mother.
She needs love and car, David. She looks more aged and worn out than anyone her age, and don’t you think that’s because of your father? He did this to her.”
“I know,” he said, handing me a cup of tea.
“But what can I do? Demand to know why he’s such a horrible person?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed.
David, true to his word, did have a proper sit down with his father, and Alec came clean.
“I didn’t want you to choose your mother, David. I didn’t want you to be burdened with her issues, and if anything, I should have taken care of her.
I asked for the divorce because I didn’t want that responsibility. And now what? She’s back and she looks like she needs so much care.
It’s all my fault.”
David accepted what his father had to say, but I could see that their relationship would forever be strained.
And when we did finally get married, it was a small, intimate ceremony with Estelle, David’s mother, by our side.
We had taken her for medicals and gotten her treatment for her liver. We rented out a small apartment for her, because as much as she wanted to be back in David’s life, she wasn’t used to living with people.
Sometimes, love isn’t about perfect beginnings. It’s about finding your way back to the truth… and to the people who matter most.
What would you have done?
