Two days before my wedding, my fiancé Robert dropped a bombshell—he had to leave for a sudden trip. Something felt off, and when a call from his boss didn’t add up, I followed him. What I uncovered wasn’t what I expected, leaving me questioning trust, love, and the man I was about to marry.
When I turned thirty, I couldn’t help but feel a growing fear that I might never get married. I worried that love had passed me by. But here I was—just two days away from becoming a wife.
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It felt like a dream. I was about to start a new chapter with Robert, the man who had stolen my heart and shown me what love could truly be. Robert was everything I’d ever wanted: smart, sweet, and endlessly kind.
Even when I was upset, he could make me laugh with his silly jokes or warm smile. I felt complete.
But that joy wavered the moment Robert walked into the bedroom. His uneasy expression stopped me cold. Something was wrong.
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“What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as I noticed his troubled expression.
Robert hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Katherine, I’m so sorry, but I have to go on a work trip.”
“What?” I said, my brow furrowing. “But our wedding is in two days.”
“I know,” he said, his voice soft. “I promise I’ll be back in time. Maybe even the night before the wedding.”
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“Are you serious right now? You’re leaving me alone at a time like this?” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I couldn’t help it.
Robert sighed and stepped closer. “I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t important. Everything is already planned, so nothing should go wrong. I’m sorry it’s happening this way, but I really have to go.”
“But why?” I asked, feeling the heat rising in my face. Words failed me as I tried to keep my emotions in check.
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Robert pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly. “I hate doing this to you, but we have our whole lives ahead of us. I’ll always be there for you, Katherine.”
“Who’s going with you?” I asked, my voice quieter now.
“Travis. That’s why it’s so important,” he said. I knew Travis was his boss, and I understood. Still, I wanted to scream like a child. But I swallowed it. I was an adult, after all.
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“Fine,” I said after a long pause. “But think about how you’re going to make this up to me while you’re gone.”
Robert chuckled softly, his lips brushing my forehead. “Alright,” he said. Then, he turned and began packing.
Robert moved quickly, folding clothes and placing them into his bag. I stayed on the bed, watching him silently, hoping he’d change his mind. Each item he packed felt like a step farther from me.
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My eyes wandered to the edge of the bed where his plane tickets sat. The destination caught my attention.
I didn’t think his company worked in that city. Maybe they were expanding, I thought, trying to convince myself it made sense.
When he finished, I walked him to the door. He hugged me tightly, kissed me goodbye, and left. Minutes later, my phone buzzed.
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Seeing Travis’s name made my heart jump. Why was he calling? Had something happened to Robert?
“Hello? Is everything alright?” I asked, my voice trembling as I clutched the phone.
“Everything’s fine,” Travis said calmly. “I just wanted to let you know I won’t be able to make it to your wedding. I’ll be out of town on a business trip. But I’d still like to send you and Robert a gift. How can I get it to you?”
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My stomach tightened. “Wait, Robert will be back by the wedding, right?” I asked, feeling a knot of confusion.
“Katherine, I’m not sure what you mean,” Travis said, sounding puzzled. “I would never send Robert on a trip this close to his wedding. Did he say I did?”
I froze, struggling to think of a response. “Oh, no. I must have misunderstood,” I said quickly. “I’ll let you know about the gift.”
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“Okay,” Travis said, his tone uncertain. “Let me know if you need anything.” Then he hung up.
Without hesitation, I grabbed my bag, my wallet, and my coat, leaving behind everything else. My mind raced as I drove to the airport.
Robert had lied to me. I didn’t know why, but I needed answers. The uncertainty was unbearable.
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My hands trembled as I booked a ticket for his flight. Luckily, there were still seats available.
At security, I fumbled to pull off my shoes and jacket, feeling like everyone was staring at me.
Once through, I tucked my hair into a hood and put on sunglasses. I scanned the waiting area, and then I saw him.
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Robert sat near the gate, his head down, staring at his phone. I positioned myself far enough away to stay unnoticed but close enough to follow.
When the flight was called, I let him board first. My heart pounded as I followed him onto the plane, keeping my distance.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I had to know the truth. The flight felt endless. Every time Robert shifted in his seat, I wondered what he was thinking.
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When we landed, I spotted him again and followed him outside. He hailed a taxi, so I did the same.
“Follow that car, but keep your distance,” I told my driver, who gave me a curious glance but nodded. My pulse quickened as we drove.
The car stopped in front of a small house in a quiet neighborhood. I asked my driver to pull over a few houses away and paid him quickly.
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Hiding behind a tree, I watched as Robert got out of the taxi. He hesitated at the door, then knocked.
I held my breath, watching closely. After a moment, the door opened, and someone stepped forward.
From my position behind the tree, I couldn’t see who it was, but their silhouette made my chest tighten. Then, to my disbelief, Robert stepped inside.
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I stood there for a moment, frozen. Summoning my courage, I crept closer to the house.
My hands shook as I peeked through a nearby window, my breath fogging the glass. What I saw made my knees buckle.
Robert was inside, sitting with a woman I didn’t recognize. He leaned in and hugged her, the way he always hugged me.
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Tears blurred my vision, streaming down my face as my heart shattered into pieces. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.
I don’t know how long I stayed there, frozen and trembling. The sound of the front door opening snapped me back to reality.
Panicked, I ducked into the bushes, crouching low to stay hidden. From my hiding spot, I watched Robert step outside, his expression unreadable. He climbed into another taxi and left without looking back.
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Gathering every bit of courage I had, I stepped out of my hiding spot and approached the door. My legs felt shaky, and my chest was tight as I raised my hand to knock.
After a few moments, the same woman I had seen earlier opened the door. She looked at me with concern, her gaze softening when she noticed the tears streaming down my face.
“Are you alright? How can I help you?” she asked gently, her voice calm.
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I swallowed hard, my words barely forming. “I’m Robert’s fiancée,” I said, my voice trembling. “In two days, I’m supposed to be his wife.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh,” she said, her hand moving to the doorframe as if to steady herself. “Please, come in.” She stepped aside, motioning for me to enter.
She led me into the kitchen, where she pulled out a chair for me and handed me a glass of water.
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I sipped it slowly, my hands trembling. She sat across from me, her expression still kind but cautious.
“I know how this must look,” she said after a moment of silence. “But I promise, it’s not what you think. My name is Liz. I’m Robert’s first love.”
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. “That doesn’t make it better,” I said, gripping the glass tightly. My thoughts were a whirlwind of anger and confusion.
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Liz sighed and leaned forward, her tone steady. “He didn’t cheat on you, if that’s what you’re worried about. When Robert was younger…he wasn’t the same man you know now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
“Our relationship wasn’t healthy,” Liz said simply. “There were things he needed to fix in himself. He came here to apologize.”
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“Apologize? Why now? Why before our wedding?” I asked, my chest tightening again.
“Because he didn’t want to carry the weight of his mistakes into his future with you,” Liz said. “He told me he loves you deeply. He wanted to make peace with his past so it wouldn’t affect your life together.”
I shook my head, my voice shaking. “Why didn’t he tell me? Why lie?”
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Liz gave me a small, understanding smile. “We all have things we carry. Some we share, and some we don’t. I’m happily married now, with two kids. Robert talked about you like you’re his whole world. You’ll make each other happy. We were never meant to be happy together, but you and Robert will be.”
I nodded slowly, unsure of how to feel. Liz offered to let me stay until my flight.
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Meeting her family, I saw the love in her eyes for her husband. It reminded me of how I felt about Robert. Slowly, I began to calm.
I arrived home just as the first light of dawn was breaking. Robert was waiting by the door, his face full of worry. The moment he saw me, he pulled me into a tight hug.
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“Katherine, where were you?” he asked, his voice tense. “I was so worried. I called you so many times, and you didn’t answer. I thought something had happened.”
I hesitated, unsure of how to begin. “It’s not… I don’t know what to say,” I finally admitted.
Robert stepped back slightly, his hands still on my shoulders. “Then let me start. I lied to you,” he said. “I wasn’t on a work trip—”
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“I know,” I interrupted, looking into his eyes.
He nodded, his face filled with regret. “I’m sorry for lying. I should’ve told you, but I swear I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know,” I said softly. “And I’m sorry too.”
Robert frowned. “Why are you apologizing?”
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“Because I doubted you,” I said, my voice trembling. “I followed you after Travis called and told me you weren’t with him. I went to Liz’s house. I talked to her. She explained everything.”
Robert’s face softened. “Katherine, I love you,” he said. “Only you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
I felt a weight lift from my chest. “I know. Now I’m sure of it,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him.
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If you enjoyed this story, read this one: At nine months pregnant, I thought bending over to clean would be the hardest part of my life. But my husband’s distance and a shocking discovery in his closet made me question everything. When I uncovered strange bills and a truth he’d been hiding, I knew I had to face what was tearing us apart.
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I Last Saw My Daughter 13 Years Ago, Yesterday I Got a Letter from My Grandson I Never Knew About
I lost my daughter 13 years ago when my wife left me for another man. Yesterday, I got a letter addressed to ‘Grandpa Steve,’ and my heart nearly stopped when I read what had happened.
Thirteen years. That’s how long it had been since I last saw my daughter, Alexandra. She was only 13 when Carol, my ex-wife, packed up and left. I was 37.
Young teen girl with blue eyes smiling | Source: Midjourney
I still remember the day like it was yesterday. It was a warm, sticky summer evening, and I came home from work to find Carol sitting at the kitchen table, perfectly calm, waiting for me.
Back then, I was just a construction foreman in Chicago. Our company wasn’t huge, but we built all kinds of stuff: roads, office buildings, you name it. I worked my tail off with long days, scorching summers, and freezing winters.
Man working in construction | Source: Midjourney
It wasn’t exactly a glamorous job, but it paid the bills and then some. My boss, Richard, owned the company. He was older than me, always wore fancy suits, and had this fake smile that bugged me.
The guy loved to show off his money. He drove expensive cars and threw parties at his huge mansion outside of town. Carol, my wife, ate that stuff up. She loved getting dressed up and pretending she was part of that crowd. Meanwhile, I always felt like a fish out of water at those things.
Woman laughing at a party | Source: Midjourney
But perhaps, if I’d paid more attention, I would’ve seen my wife’s next move.
“Steve, this just isn’t working anymore,” she said in a clipped voice, like she was reading from a script.
I blinked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”
She let out a small sigh. “I’m leaving. Richard and I are in love. I’m taking Alexandra. She needs a better life than this.”
The phrase “better life” still makes me angry. I worked hard, harder than most to provide Carol and Alexandra with everything they needed. We had a decent house in the Chicago suburbs, food on the table, and clothes to wear. Sure, it wasn’t fancy.
A house in the suburbs | Source: Midjourney
We didn’t go on vacations or have designer anything, but it was more than many people had. I didn’t understand what was so wrong with it. Carol, however, always wanted more: more money, more luxury, more of everything.
Therefore, she left to shack up with my boss, and my life was shattered. I still tried to be a good father to my daughter. But Carol poisoned her against me. I believe she told her I didn’t care about her and that I had been unfaithful.
Mother gossiping to her daughter | Source: Midjourney
I don’t know. What I do know is that eventually, my daughter stopped answering my calls and opening my letters. I no longer existed to her.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of my misfortunes. I spiraled into a depression and ignored my health until I ended up in a hospital bed, facing surgery after surgery. The medical bills were so high that I had to sell my house.
Eventually, my job let me go for taking too many days off, although not working for Richard anymore was a blessing.
During this time, Carol moved out of state with my ex-boss, and my Alexandra was gone for good.
Man in construction clothes sadly sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
The years crept slowly by. I never remarried. I never wanted to. Instead, I worked hard to rebuild my health and focused on founding my own construction business. With that, I managed to claw my way back to a stable, if lonely, life.
At 50, I lived in a decent apartment, and I was financially independent. But there were many moments when I wanted my daughter back.
Wistful man in an apartment | Source: Midjourney
Then, yesterday, something happened that shook me to my core. I found a letter in my mailbox with a child’s handwriting, though they must have gotten help from an adult to address it.
The front said: “For Grandpa Steve.”
For a moment, I just stared at it. My hands started shaking. Grandpa? I wasn’t a grandpa. Or at least, I didn’t think I was. I tore the envelope open, and the first line nearly stopped my heart.
Man holding a letter saying “For Grandpa Steve” | Source: Midjourney
“Hi, Grandpa! My name is Adam. I’m 6! Unfortunately, you’re the only family I have left…”
I walked back to the house without thinking and sat on the couch to continue to read the letter. This Adam had help with some of the sentences, but he had written everything in these big, uneven letters.
It made me smile until Iread that he lived in a group home in St. Louis and that his mom, Alexandra, had mentioned me in passing.
He ended his message with: “Please come find me.”
Man holding a letter saying “Please come find me” | Source: Midjourney
Of course, I’d booked the earliest flight to St. Louis.
I didn’t sleep that night. How could I? Questions swirled in my mind. How did I have a grandson? Where was Alexandra? Why was he in a home?
Early the next morning, I was at the airport, and a few hours later, I was getting out of a taxi.
The shelter was a plain brick building with chipped paint and a sagging awning that read St. Anne’s Children’s Home. A woman named Mrs. Johnson met me in the lobby. She was around my age, with kind eyes and a soft voice.
Woman smiling at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
“You must be Steve,” she said, shaking my hand. “Adam’s been waiting for you.”
“Where is he? Is he really my grandson?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care.
“I’ll let you meet him soon,” she said gently, guiding me into her office. “But there’s something you need to know first. Please, have a seat.”
It was in that tiny room, filled with folders and surrounded by pictures of kids, that my life changed.
Man smiling in an office at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
First, Mrs. Johnson confirmed that Adam was Alexandra’s son. She said she had greeted them herself the day my daughter surrendered custody of him, just a few months ago.
Mrs. Johnson told me the entire story in detail. Alexandra’s life had fallen apart after Carol kicked her out for getting pregnant at 20 without a husband. The father had left, of course.
Sad pregnant young woman at a bus stop | Source: Midjourney
Afterward, my daughter tried to make things work, juggling low-paying jobs while raising Adam in a tiny apartment. Then, a year ago, she met a rich man named David, who promised her a better life. But, he didn’t want someone else’s kid.
“That’s why she left him here,” Mrs. Johnson said. “She said she hoped he’d find a good home. I don’t think she knew how to love him even after all those years she raised him. It’s tragic, really.”
Woman at a desk in an office at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
My stomach turned. Alexandra had abandoned her own child. My Alexandra? How had it come to this? And then, I realized what had happened. She had spent six years living a harrowing life and traded it for a wealthy man. Just like her mother. It wasn’t a completely equal situation, but it was close.
It was what Carol had taught her.
“And Adam?” I asked hoarsely. “How does he know about me?”
Emotional man in an office at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
Mrs. Johnson smiled faintly. “He’s a smart boy. Apparently, he’d overheard your name during conversations Alexandra had with others. He even found an old diary that mentioned you. When she left him here, he told me he had a grandpa named Steve. I did some digging and found you. Then, we wrote the letter together.”
I nodded, still reeling, but Mrs. Johnson stood and walked to the door. “You know everything,” she smiled. “Adam’s outside in the playground. Are you ready to meet him?”
Woman smirking at the door of an office at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
I nodded and followed her with my heart pounding in my ears.
***
Adam was small for his age, with shaggy brown hair and big blue eyes that looked just like Alexandra’s. He clutched a toy truck in one hand and looked up at me with curiosity and just a tad of shyness.
“Hi,” he said quietly.
“Hi, Adam,” I said, keeping my voice steady. I knelt so we were at eye level. “I’m your grandpa.”
Man smiling at an outdoor playground at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
His eyes widened immediately, and a huge smile broke out on his face. “You’re finally here!” He jumped up and hugged me. “I knew you’d come!”
While I embraced my grandson for the very first time, I thought back to my life. I could hate Carol all I wanted. What’s more, that anger would probably get even stronger, considering that my daughter had turned into a version of her mother somewhere along the way.
But it was time to focus on what mattered. My grandson was in my arms, and he had been abandoned, just like me. That cycle ended here. Adam wasn’t going to grow up feeling unloved or unwanted. I didn’t care what it took. I was going to give him a home.
A boy with blue eyes smiling | Source: Midjourney
Minutes later, I told Mrs. Johnson, I wanted Adam with me, and she smiled. I noticed a sheen of tears in her eyes, but I didn’t mention it.
It was going to take some paperwork and time before I could take Adam back to Chicago. But Mrs. Johnson was confident there would be no issues if I took a DNA test to prove I’m his grandfather.
I promised to do that soon enough.
Man shaking hands with a woman at a children’s center | Source: Midjourney
Honestly, it’s strange how life works. Thirteen years ago, I lost my daughter. I thought I’d lost everything. But now, I had a grandson, and my whole life made sense again.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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