Five years after my wife’s de.ath, I took my daughter to my best friend’s wedding When I saw the bride, my daughter asked me, “Dad, why are you crying?”

Five years after my wife Natalie’s supposed death in a car crash, I attended my friend Stefan’s wedding with my daughter, Emma. When Stefan lifted the bride’s veil, I was stunned to see Natalie, alive. Emma whispered, “Dad, why are you crying?” as Natalie’s eyes met mine, and she fled. I confronted her, learning her parents had faked her death to cut us off after she left me and Emma, surrendering custody without a fight. Her cold departure and their lies shattered me then, but now, seeing her about to marry Stefan, who was unaware of her past, broke her

facade. Stefan, devastated, canceled the wedding. Her parents whisked her away again. Over drinks, Stefan admitted he never knew about us; she’d hidden everything. The betrayal stung, but it freed me. I’d built a thriving career and a loving home for Emma despite Natalie’s abandonment. Realizing her choices weren’t my fault lifted a weight. With Emma by my side, I felt whole, no longer defined by her ghost.