The Wrong Bride

31

"Happy Anniversary, Mom," Sebastian says to his mother with a big grin on his face, kissing her cheek tenderly

"It's Ruby-Anniversary, my son" Amy corrects "Forty years of marriage is no easy feat" she winks and I can't help but laugh

Her gaze snaps to me and she places the widest grin on her face and purposefully pushes Sebastian out of her way to pull me into a hug

"Lovely Emerald, how are you doing my dear?" She asks, holding me in her arms

"I'm fine thank you, Amy. Happy Ruby Anniversary" I smile "This is a gift" I hold out the gift bag to her

"Oh my dear, this is wonderful. Even my own son couldn't think of getting me anything" she says

"Oh it's from both of us" I smile

"You don't have to lie to me, dear. I know you made the effort of getting this gift all by yourself"

"That she did mother, it was her idea even," Sebastian says, and I shake my head at him with a smile on my face

"You should be ashamed admitting that out my boy" she hits his arm, and he decides that's his cue to go look for his father

"That one, he is funny"

"That he is"

"Are you happy my dear?" She asks, placing her hand on my cheek, and I lean into her motherly touch

My mom may not have loved me enough to keep me, but all the women I've met in my life aside from her, have made me feel nothing less of a daughter.

"I am more than happy Amy," I say, sighing in contentment

"I came over to your house, rambling like a madwoman, not knowing you had your own plans. You fought for him when he didn't even deserve it. You fought for the love that everyone thought was lost. I am grateful that you gave my son happiness. I am always going to love you for that. You are the right woman for him"

"Thank you so much, Amy, for always supporting me"

"There's nothing more I would do," she says, pulling me into a tender hug

"Come, let me introduce you to a few people," she says, dragging me with her across the room.

The beautiful hall of their home has been designed like an event place. They have such large space that could accommodate a hundred chairs. The theme color for it is red, representing the ruby, forty years of marriage.

"You know, we decided to do this right at home because it is where we started our marriage," she says, when she sees me checking out the place "Before we had come back from our honeymoon, he had already built this place from the ground up. The moment I entered this house, I knew for the hundredth time that I had made the right decision to marry this man. He had listened to me all the time during the time we were dating when I explained to him what I wanted my dream home to be like, because that is exactly what he gave me when I walked through the big doors of the house, and it has been a dream ever since. Of course, we have had our ups and downs, but Carl has always been a wonderful man, a loving husband and a responsible father to our kids, but aside from all that he is human, and us humans are prone to making mistakes"

"You are so understanding of him"

"He has been understanding of me too. You know when he first asked me to marry him, I told him no." She says and I look at her in surprise "Mhm, I told him it hasn't been long since we met and started dating. I told him it was too soon. He got angry. He thought I was being irrational. He thought eight months was too long and he didn't want to waste a second longer to get married to me. But he understood and waited, and after two more years, we got married"