I froze. There was Jennifer, in the dress I paid for, marrying a man I didn’t know. But it got worse. My son, whom I hadn’t seen in months, was walking her down the aisle. Since my son moved out, we’ve drifted apart, and seeing him there, betraying me, made my heart sink.
When I confronted them, my son denied knowing me and security tried to remove me. Jennifer had brainwashed him. She had found my inheritance spreadsheet—the one where she had listed “Car, investments, vacation” without my name on a single line—and convinced my son I was cutting him off, when in reality, she was the one stealing it.
Suddenly, my brother—who had flown in with my friends—stepped forward. He had been investigating Jennifer. He looked at my son and yelled, ‘YOU IDIOT!’. He revealed her history of fraud. My ex’s family kept staring at Jenna… not jealous, more like they’d seen a ghost!.
The wedding fell apart. Jennifer fled. My son, realizing the truth, collapsed in my arms.
Later that night, my friend Phil told me why they had insisted on the trip. “We knew something was wrong,” she said. She reminded me of a story about a mother who posted a photo of her baby, and a stranger commented, “That’s not a tan. That is severe jaundice. Get to the ER now.”.
“We are your strangers,” Phil said. “We saw the jaundice in your relationship before you did. Social media isn’t just a highlight reel. Sometimes, it’s a modern-day village looking out for us“.
I walked to the beach alone, feeling a sense of release. I thought of my mother. I knew that every day i walk this earth, i am proof that she was here. Her love protected me, through my friends, through the village.
I whispered into the wind, “Thank you, mom”. In the memory of my heart, our forever continues..
