My broken wedding: I gave birth to a son, and Marek married the woman his mother chose
My wedding never happened: I delivered a baby boy, and Marc wed the partner his mother selected for him.
Sometimes fate collapses abruptly, like a house of cards built on hope, love, and belief in the future. Then everything turns into betrayal, pain, and silent loneliness. Thats precisely what I experienced.
Im Claire, and Im ready to tell the story that still brings tears to my eyes, even after all these years.
Marc and I had been together for almost a year. It was a genuine lovesimple, warm, sincere. He was caring and present, and it felt as if we spoke the same language. After six months, I moved into his place, and soon we submitted a marriage application at the town hall. The wedding date was set, our families were joyfully arranging everything, my mother had even ordered her dress early. His mother seemed equally delighted with our union, greeting me with a smile, bringing homemade pies, and saying I was exactly what he needed.
Marc grew up under difficult circumstanceshis father abandoned the family when he was a child, left for another woman, later divorced again, and disappeared. Perhaps thats why Marc was so attached to his mother; her opinion was paramount to him.
Ten days before the ceremony, I discovered I was pregnant. I wanted to surprise him and announce it on the wedding day. My oldschool father would have been devastated to hear such news before the marriage; I imagined telling him proudly as he led me down the aisle.
Preparations were in full swing: we chose the venue décor, discussed the menu, rehearsed our first dance Then, a week before the wedding, during my mothers birthday, Marc announced that the wedding would not take place because the child wasnt his.
Those words struck like a terrible blow, not only to me but to my entire family. My parents didnt even know I was pregnant. Horrified, I asked him what he meant. He showed me a photome standing at a crosswalk next to an unknown man, taken from afar at an angle that created an illusion of closeness. He claimed it was proof of my infidelity.
I tried to explain that I didnt know the man, that he could have been any passerby. Marc refused to listen, deaf to my pleas, as if he had already decided to believe the lie.
That night, my mother was crushedby shame and humiliation. We had to call the relatives to announce the cancellation, my pregnancy, and the fact that my fiancé had fled, leaving me on the brink of motherhood.
Five months later I gave birth to a son, whom I named André. My parents, despite everything, stood by me, even though I could see how much it cost them. They held firmfor me and my child.
I tried not to think of Marc, but later the truth emerged. His mother had never wanted me in the family. She considered me too plain, not the kind to conform, obey, or be acceptable. She convinced her son to break off the engagement and staged the whole photo stunt. In my place, she forced him to marry Agathea daughter from an influential family with good connections and money.
Marc married Agathe a few months after our tragedy. Yet life quickly set the record straight. Agathe turned out not to be what she pretended; she immediately clashed with her motherinlaw, took over the house, and let no one into their life. Marc couldnt stand it. He went to work in Germany and then asked for a divorce.
Recently he started messaging me on social media, apologizing, saying he understands and wants contact with André, no matter who his father is, as long as hes close to him.
I no longer believe him. My trust has turned to ash. I refuse to let my son grow up near someone capable of such betrayalsomeone who ignored his heart and obeyed his mother, choosing lies, convenience, and cowardice.
Yes, I know forgiveness is important, but I wont let back into my life those who once chose to betray me. Ive learned to be strong, to wait for nothing, to be a mother without a mans help. I have Andrémy purpose, my love, my strength.
As for Marc may he live with his conscience. If any fragment of the love he once swore to me remains, he will understand why I didnt open the door when he knocked after ten years.
That, perhaps, will be his true punishment.
My Canceled Wedding: I Became a Mother to a Son, While Marek Tied the Knot with the Woman Chosen by His Mum
