12October2025
Ive never written so much in one entry, but todays events deserve a proper record.
Only after the wedding! she shouted at her fiancé.
I left the gym and saw that my phone showed seven missed calls from Mum. The text that followed read, Give me a ring! It was already almost eleven, yet I dialed anyway. Mum is a bit highstrung and can stay up all night over the smallest thing. She begged me to come over, tears in her eyes, and whispered that something had happened we might have to call off the wedding.
My sister Eleanor, twentythree, is a driven fashion designer. She graduated a year ago, landed a job straight away after an internship, and has been climbing the ladder ever since. Her personal life had always been a model for me until today.
For just over a year Eleanor has been seeing Frank. Hes three years older, lives alone in a flat in Manchester, works hard and is saving for a house. He comes across as wellmannered and respectable. They booked a date at the local registry office, so the wedding is only a few weeks away.
Someone messaged Eleanor on social media! I wrote later. We dont know each other, but I think you should hear this before you walk down the aisle. The sender claimed to be in her forties, so I assumed she couldnt possibly have anything vital to say.
Instead, the stranger kept pinging Eleanor from different accounts. They eventually arranged to meet at a café near Eleanors studio.
Eleanor sat at a small table, waiting. A pregnant woman pushed through the door, and at first Eleanor thought she was just another customer. The woman walked straight to her.
Are you Eleanor? she asked. Im Mabel. Ive been seeing Frank for over a year, and in four months were due to have a baby.
Eleanor stared, disbelief written across her face. It sounded like a joke. She and Frank had been together for more than a year and were about to marry! Mabel didnt argue; she simply handed Eleanor her phone number and said, Call me if you have any questions. She added that she could even speak to Frank directly.
When I asked Frank what he thought of the whole thing, he shrugged. Thats why we decided to keep everything intimate strictly after the wedding, he said. We kiss, we hug, thats it. Ive never been with anyone else.
Frank, however, is a young man whos already had some experience. He told Mabel from the start that there was no serious future between them and that he had no plans to settle down. At first, Mabel was fine with the arrangement; she had recently split from her husband, receives a decent childsupport payment, and works parttime. The age gap made the setup feel acceptable to her.
Frank promised that when the baby arrived he would arrange a paternity test, and if the child turned out to be his, hed help financially. He also blamed Mabel, saying it was her oldfashioned ideas that had created the mess, while he remained a healthy, young bloke.
Now Frank is pleading with Eleanor not to leave him, insisting he loves her, while Mabel was only a physical convenience. He claims that if the child were his, hed step up, yet he refuses any further contact. Mabel has decided to keep the baby and declined his offer of a cash injection for the procedure. She says its now her problem to sort.
So, is Frank to blame for this tangled web, or is he merely acting on his masculine pride? A young man whos never been intimate before might indeed feel desperate. Or should Eleanor walk away from a fiancé who hides intimacy behind a wedding date? Lack of physical intimacy does not excuse betrayal.
Reflecting on all of this, I realise that honesty before vows is not just courteousits essential. Ill remember to demand the truth early, lest I ever stand where Eleanor does now, staring at a future that was built on halftruths.
JamesIve decided to call Eleanor tomorrow, offer her a listening ear, and remind her that her worth isnt defined by anyones promises.
