A young bride’s wedding ceremony is turned upside down when she discovers that her husband–to–be’s mother is her birth mom, whom she lost two decades before.
Lisa Kent, an interior designer who used to be a former nurse, was excited that her only daughter would be married before the end of the year.
It was just as well; the older woman wanted to be able to brag about being a grandmother to her circle of friends, especially since her daughter and son-in-law-to-be, Clay, had expressed a desire to start a family immediately after the wedding.
Sadie was the youngest of Lisa’s three kids, but she was also the only adopted one. The older woman’s other kids were boys named King and Leo.
King had put in time in the army, and he was in a committed relationship with Sasha. On the other hand, Leo turned out to be a homosexual, and he came out to his family five years before.
Neither of the men had spoken about walking down the aisle yet or having children. Lisa tried her best to support her children in their decisions, but that did not mean she had to be happy about all of them.
She used to bug them about it before but had decided to put an end to that. That’s why when Sadie revealed that she and her high school heartthrob Bradley Smith were going to get married, Lisa was ecstatic.
As expected, she immediately started collaborating with Sadie to make preparations that would make the day a huge success. If only she knew how difficult the groom’s parents would make it.
Bradley was from a broken home and his parents, who divorced when he was 12, never seemed able to reach an agreement on anything — even when it came to the wedding venue.
The embattled family made it hard for Lisa and her daughter to get an audience with their soon-to-be in-laws. Not that Lisa terribly minded — she loved to plan events, and as long as her husband pitched in, there was little she could not do.
“Whether they help or not, I will do this for my beloved daughter to be happy,” she thought to herself.
Indeed, Sadie was pleased by her mom’s actions; not only did Lisa make sure not to bother her too much, but she was also very particular about the details. It made Sadie feel confident in what was happening.
She made sure not to argue with her mom, instead choosing to talk about building a lovely family and career. One day, while Lisa advised her adopted child, who was always listening with rapt attention, Sadie opened up about what she wanted in her life.
There was a considerable age gap between the two women, but young as she was, Sadie knew precisely what she wanted from life.
“You know, darling, Bradley is a good man, and you are a great catch. But always remember that in marriage, you’ll both need to work as a single unit. Neither of you should find it hard to compromise or settle issues,” Lisa said.
Before she answered, Sadie took a sip of her hot creamy cappuccino then smiled and replied with a nod.
“Yes, mom, I know how much you want this to succeed. It’s true, marriage is 50/50, but it’s important that I also see Brad’s fifty if I’m to remain eternally committed.”
She paused to hear what Lisa would say, but when the woman said nothing, Sadie pressed on.
“I’m not saying there won’t be compromise, but these days, pairs no longer stick together when one party is being toxic. I do believe Bradley and I have dated long enough to be aware of what we both like.”
Bradley was a proficient architect, while Sadie was famous in the world of marketing and branding. They got together in high school, and even though they studied in different universities, the pair had stayed committed.
The wedding was a ceremony to seal their bond, and looking at all her mom had wrought in the event’s planning, Sadie thought nothing could go wrong. How wrong she was.
On the fateful day, Sadie’s adoptive father gave her hand away. The man looked so proud; strangers would never guess that the man was not her biological dad.
There was a lively bond between them that could not be denied, and it was evident as both father and daughter walked majestically down the aisle, melting hearts as they went.
It was all fun and enchanting, so nobody could have even imagined that just 45 minutes earlier, the bride and groom wanted to call off the wedding.
Lisa had been with her daughter in the dressing room when Bradley’s mother strolled in to check out the beautiful bride. However, the thought was put on hold when she locked eyes with Lisa, and they both went pale.
Lisa instantly recognized Melinda, the young woman who gave away her two-day-old daughter at the hospital two decades ago.
“Oh dear, wasn’t this the teenager who abandoned her young child?” a perplexed Lisa thought as she recalled exactly what had happened. The memory was still fresh in her mind.
Melinda had been 18 then when she left her newborn child in the hospital because she was afraid that raising a child as a single mother would ruin her life — especially because her boyfriend had bailed on her.
Lisa had still been working as a nurse then, and she was the one who noticed the helpless child. Unable to turn a blind eye, she had adopted the child and raised her like one of hers.
Lisa was such a good parent; Sadie did not suspect she had been adopted until her 16th birthday.
“I remember you,” Lisa spat.
“I don’t know what you mean. I can’t exactly recall your face, ma’am,” the other woman answered, revealing how unsure and uneasy she felt.
“Right, I’m Lisa and Sadie was the baby you abandoned at the hospital that fateful day,” Lisa added.
She knew she could have revealed the heartbreaking story in a better way, but Lisa could not stamp out the anger she felt over Melinda’s attitude.
Finally, Bradley’s mom came clean and explained why she did what she did.
“I never planned to abandon you,” she told a stunned Sadie. “But honey, I was very young and I had limited options — not that it prevented me from making the worst choice still. But I’m really sorry. Please forgive me. Donny, my then–boyfriend, was scum, he left me feeling helpless.”
“Doesn’t this mean Bradley is my brother? How could I ever marry my brother? You’re saying that my lover of eight years is my brother?” asked the perplexed bride.
There was silence for a bit, then Melinda cleared her throat and said, “That’s not true, my dear. Bradley is not your blood brother. I married his father, Jack, when he was three. But things didn’t work out. Still, we chose to co-parent him because I love him like a son.”
Bradley was also shocked by the news. He had not known his dad had remarried after his mom died; the only thing he knew for sure was that the woman he called mom split up with her dad when he was a teenager. Sadie was just as stunned. “Melinda is my birth mother? How could that be?” she thought.
Her musing was interrupted by Melinda, who begged for forgiveness while extending a note of thanks in Lisa’s direction for raising her daughter well.
It took some time, but eventually, both families buried the hatchet. Sadie forgave Melinda, and she was happy that the wedding could proceed. The couple exchanged wedding vows, and later that day, true to their word, the two started making attempts to start their family.
