**Diary Entry 14th June**
The wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead, it became the day I learned just how cruel people could be.
“Good grief! I didnt come here just to watch you make a fool of yourselfI wanted to help you pick a proper dress!” My mother-in-laws voice trembled with indignation as she glared at Emily. “Look at you! This this is ridiculous, not a wedding gown! Wheres the elegance? The sophistication?”
Emily stood frozen, her words stuck somewhere deep inside. The guests stares bore into her like spotlights on an actress whod forgotten her lines. She was on trial, and her new mother-in-law was the judge.
Andrew tried to defuse the scene. “Mum, pleasenot now.”
“Not now?” she scoffed. “Do you think whispering will make this any better? Or do you expect everyone to ignore the fact your bride turned up looking like she dressed in the dark?”
Andrew sighed, took his mothers arm, and steered her away, leaving Emily alone under the weight of murmurs and sideways glances.
It had all started with the dress. Emily had chosen simplicitya clean, classic design. No feathers, no gaudy embellishments. To her, that was elegance. But to them? A rebellion.
Worst of all was SarahAndrews ex, who still clung to the hope of marrying him. Her father was some big shot in the City, and she was the “right sort.” Emily? Just an ordinary girl with an ordinary job. No connections, no fortune. A nobody, as his mother often muttered.
With every whisper, Emilys confidence crumbled. And Andrew? He hadnt defended her. That hurt more than any insult.
She couldnt stay. Not another second.
Running from the venuea posh place near Hyde Parkshe didnt stop until she reached the riverbank. There, she collapsed onto the grass, sobbing.
An hour passed before she noticed the old woman standing dangerously close to the edge.
“Are you all right?” Emily called out, her voice shaky.
The woman turned, startled. “Oh, dear I didnt think anyone was here.”
Emily scrambled up. “Please, step back. Whatever it is, its not worth it.”
The woman hesitated, then sighed. “When your own children treat you like a burden whats left?”
Emily reached out. “Come with me. Ill make you tea. My grandmothers recipe.”
The womanMargarethesitated, then took her hand.
Over tea, the story spilled out. Margarets son had remarried, and his new wife wanted her gone. Shed been pushed out of her own home, left with nothing.
Emily listened, then asked, “Whats your grandsons name?”
“Michael,” Margaret whispered.
That night, Emily found him online. By morning, he was at her door.
Margaret wept as he hugged her. “Ive been trying to get you out of there for months,” he said.
Emily watched, her heart doing something strange.
Weeks later, after the divorce papers were filed, Michael called. “Fancy a coffee?”
A year on, we married.
Funny, isnt it? Sometimes the worst day of your life leads you to the best. And the people who matter? They find you when you least expect it.
