The Letter That Ended My Son’s Wedding Before the Cake Was Cut (3 of 4)

“Eliza,” I whispered, stunned. “Where did Caleb go?”

She met my eyes with unnerving composure. “Figuring things out.”

“What was in the letter?”

“The truth,” she said softly, before turning back to her guests.

That night, on a dark curb with my shoes in my hand, I finally opened the envelope.

“Caleb,
I know about Nina. The hotel in Liverpool. The messages you thought were gone. I waited for you to confess. You never did. So I let today happen. You wanted a wedding; I wanted the last word. – Eliza”

I felt the air leave my lungs.

Later, Caleb admitted it. Nina was an old flame, a mistake he thought he could bury. He believed marriage would erase it. It didn’t.

The next morning, Eliza appeared at my door. She looked tired, but not broken. “I filed for annulment the moment the vows were spoken,” she said. “It was already signed. He just didn’t know.”

She left another envelope for me.

“Margaret,
This wasn’t revenge. It was truth. Caleb wanted a wedding. I gave him one. Now he has the memory. I have my freedom. – Eliza”