Chapter 8 - The Wedding I Never Expected to AttendTwo years later, Lydia called me.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I met someone.”
I smiled.
“Should I be worried?”
She laughed.
“No.”
“What's his name?”
“Ethan.”
“Does he know who you are?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know who I am?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He doesn't care.”
I smiled.
“That sounds promising.”
Ethan was a pediatric surgeon.
He lived modestly.
He drove an old SUV.
He hated expensive restaurants.
And when he met me, he didn't ask about Sterling Global.
He asked about my daughter.
“What makes her happy?”
I liked him immediately.
Three years after Marcus's wedding disaster, Lydia got engaged again.
This time, she didn't ask for money.
She asked me to help choose flowers.
The ceremony was small.
No senators.
No billionaires.
No champagne towers.
No private beach.
Just family.
And when Lydia walked down the aisle, she looked at me.
Not the guests.
Not the cameras.
Me.
She smiled.
I cried.
After the ceremony, she hugged me.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I was stupid.”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“You could at least pretend to deny it.”
“I'm your mother.”
The reception was held in a small garden.
No demands.
No contracts.
No business deals.
Just laughter.
Then Lydia raised her glass.
“To my mother.”
Everyone turned.
She continued.
“I once thought having everything meant having access to money.”
She looked at me.
“Then I learned that the richest thing anyone can have is someone who refuses to abandon them after they make the worst mistake of their life.”
My eyes filled with tears.
I raised my glass.
“To your second chance.”
May you like
She smiled.
“And yours.”
