It had been three years since Adam and I split up, yet I still couldn’t get over him. Five years of love doesn’t go overnight.
It was just done.
Then, around a year ago, he began dating her. Miranda was my previous friend. If betrayal had a face, it was hers, splashed all over social media with captions featuring the two of them:
When you know, you know, and The best thing that ever happened to me!
I’ve never stopped loving him. That’s the sad and honest reality. I know it’s pathetic. I haven’t been able to date anyone seriously since him.
So when Adam’s mother, Lena, contacted me unexpectedly last month, I assumed I was hallucinating.
We never really got along. She had always been nice but distant as if she was assessing me and constantly finding something I lacked.
“Hello, sweetheart,” she said. “I know this might be unexpected, but I have a favor to ask, Hayley.”
Lena informed me that she was getting married. Married! And she wanted me to design her wedding gown.
“I’ve always admired your work, Hayley,” she said softly. “And I trust you. I know you’d create something perfect just for me.”
Trust? Admiration?
I almost dropped the phone. I couldn’t figure out which game she was playing. My instincts told me to say no, hang up, and block her number. And be completely done with the entire family.
But she begged. How could I say no? She stated no one else could do it justice, and she’d be eternally thankful.
“Nobody else will do things that will suit my age and my figure! And make me something dream-worthy, Hayley. Please?”
Maybe a part of me wanted to be close to Adam again. Perhaps I couldn’t resist the nagging curiosity.
Regardless, I agreed.
Over the next few weeks, I immersed myself in the dress. The fabric was like spun clouds, soft and ethereal, with delicate beading on the bodice. Lena desired a frilly outfit that made her feel like a princess.
Lena had given me her measurements, which oddly enough matched mine.
The morning of the wedding arrived. I placed the dress in a garment bag, carefully loaded it into my car, and went to the event.
I felt uneasy as soon as I pulled up.
Something’s wrong, I thought. But I shook it off.
Then I saw it.
It showed the names of the couple getting married.
It was not Lena’s name.
That was Adam’s name. And my.
Welcome to the nuptials of Adam & Hayley
“What… what is this?” I whispered aloud.
“Hayley,” a voice said from behind me.
Adam’s voice made me jump. I turned around, and there he was.
Adam.
“Please, just let me explain.”
“Three years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life.”
“I was going to propose to you, Hayley,” he said. “I had the ring. I had everything planned. And then… she showed me something.”
“Your… my ex. Miranda,” he looked away, his voice thick with regret. “She showed me a video of you all on holiday. Thailand, I think it was. And you were drinking and shouting that you didn’t want kids. She told me that it was recent, that you’d been lying to me about wanting a family. Especially with me. It crushed me, Hayley. I thought I didn’t know you at all.”
“I was stupid. I was already vulnerable, and she got into my head. I believed Miranda. I believed everything she said. And I let you go. Then she admitted the truth.”
“Months ago. She slipped up during an argument. She told me the video was old, and she knew I’d overreact. She said that she wanted me for myself and couldn’t stand that you had me.”
“And this?” I gestured around. “What the heck is this?”
Adam reached inside his pocket and took out a small black velvet box. Then he went to one knee.
“Hayley, I love you. I never stopped. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m asking for it anyway. Will you marry me? Right here, right now?”
“Yes, Adam.”
Lena emerged almost instantly, carrying flowers and beaming as if she had just pulled off the century’s biggest heist.
When Adam and I stood there at the altar, his hand in mine, I felt something I hadn’t experienced in years.
Peace.
