Hundreds of miles away, in a peaceful town near San Diego, Lila sat on the porch of her modest home, watching her six-year-old twins, Noah and Nora, draw with chalk on the driveway. Life was simpler now—she ran a small but thriving interior design business and spent her evenings reading bedtime stories instead of waiting up for a husband who rarely came home.
When she opened the thick cream-colored envelope and saw the elegant print—“Mr. Alexander Graves and Miss Cassandra Belle cordially invite you…”—she froze.
“Mama, what’s that?” little Nora asked, standing beside her.
“A wedding invitation,” Lila said softly, setting the card on the table. “From your… father.”
The words felt foreign, heavy, like a secret slipping out after too many years of silence.
“You mean we have a father?” Noah asked, confusion clouding his big brown eyes.
Lila nodded. “You do.”
Memories That Still Hurt
She hadn’t told them much about Alexander. They didn’t know about the miscarriage that nearly broke her, or how she had found out she was pregnant again just as Alexander signed a life-changing deal and began disappearing for days at a time.
She tried calling him, desperate to tell him they had another chance at a family. Every time, the answer was the same: “I’m in a meeting” or “I’m on a plane.” Then she saw the photo of him on television, smiling at a launch event with another woman on his arm.
That night, she packed her bags and walked away. She never told him she was pregnant. She raised the twins alone, working two jobs before finally finding success on her own terms.
And now, years later, he wanted her to witness the life he built without her.
She almost threw the invitation in the trash. But then her gaze landed on Noah and Nora—two beautiful children with his sharp cheekbones and dark eyes.
Maybe it was time for him to see what he truly missed.
“Alright, kids,” Lila said, her lips curling into a determined smile. “We’re going to a wedding.”
A Wedding Like No Other
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