“You took my business, you took my wife’s health, and you took my daughter’s future. I watched you build your ’empire’ on my back while I worked double shifts to keep the lights on. I watched you walk past me in town like I was a ghost.” Bill’s voice didn’t shake, but it was cold as iron.
“You thought I’d forget? You thought I’d just go away? No. I just learned how to be patient. My wife didn’t survive those years, Richard. She didn’t survive the shame of losing our home. You broke us. And then you had the nerve to act like you were doing my daughter a favor by letting her marry into your ‘prestigious’ family.”
Eleanor stood frozen, her hand over her mouth. Linda looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. Andrew just stared at his father, the man he had idolized as a self-made success, seeing him for the first time.
“Dad…” Sarah stepped toward Bill. “I had no idea.” “I didn’t want you to grow up with that weight, Sarah. Hate is a poison. I wanted you to have a normal life. But I couldn’t let you start a marriage based on a lie, or on money that was stolen from your own mother’s table.”
Bill turned to the room. The guests were dead silent. “I apologize for ruining the party, but the truth usually isn’t convenient.” He picked up his cap from the table and walked toward the exit, his posture straighter than it had been in years.
At the door, he turned back one last time. “Sarah, I love you. Whatever you decide to do next, I’m here. But the choice is yours now.”
The wedding collapsed. Guests began to slip away in the awkward silence. Eleanor was heard sobbing in the coatroom, while Richard was outside, frantically shouting into his cell phone at his attorney.
Andrew walked over to Sarah. He looked completely shattered. “Did you know?” he asked, his voice hollow. “No,” she said softly. “I didn’t.”
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