![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/dc8wJ-nxZFuxMtG7mkCB_37UttWHZb4E7-KixnZBlIU\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vY2VjMjUwNGIxYWRjNmExY2UzMTg2ZTViYjhjYjJjZjg0NzFhOThhNTg3MWJjYTExZWU1YTlmM2E4MTkzM2FhNi5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
\n\nA bride looking down | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n
And through it all, I just couldn’t stop smiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about how in just a few minutes, I’d be walking down the aisle toward J, the man I thought was my happily ever after.\n\n
“Oh, Chelsea!” my maid of honor, Lia, exclaimed when she saw me all done up. “You look stunning! J is not going to know what hit him when he sees you, my goodness.”\n\n
The rest of the group started their compliments as my mother poured champagne for us all.\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/QQ12YqaVQgs_SuEK0rN-4VbbellqmbFXmAhpp0VrVhI\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vODA0ZTNiZjEwOTUzNDI0OGZkMjViMjg5Y2U0NDBkMjVlYmExMjM2NWVlZDVlY2M4NDExMmIwMjA2OTlmYWViNy5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
\n\nA bride with her bridesmaids | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n
“Just a little bit, darlings,” she said. “Something to calm the nerves!”\n\n
But everything fell apart in a way I never saw coming.\n\n
It started with J’s best man, Chad, rushing toward me, pale-faced and frantic.\n\n
“I need to talk to you,” he stammered. “Now, Chels.”\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/RzDn6ohGnopgN7qid_AGcYW8pbpgtwpEyuTPV1vdS1E\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vMDBjMjRmMGRjNzg4ODVkM2U3ODAwYjNjNDQ2ZWMwNjQyMjQ5YmViODVmYzIxZDRhODBjNjVlYzNlOWQ4ODIxMi5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
\n\nA close up of a groomsman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n
My heart hammered. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. I knew it.\n\n
“Where’s J?” I asked, a knot forming in my stomach.\n\n
“He’s gone…” Chad said, a grimace appearing on his face.\n\n
The words didn’t make sense at first. It was as if my brain wasn’t registering it at all.\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/ama4fZbVyleB5R2bj8sSJA7AJNQcDY6-7Vvu7Sbzhnk\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vZjI1ZWM2NDBkNDJkZDAwMWEyYjFjOGE4ZjQzNDlmMjM5MGVjMjZmMzNjZjMwMjY2ZDViYzkxN2IzOTEzNTQ0My5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
\n\nA shocked bride | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n
“What do you mean? Gone where? How long will he be?”\n\n
Chad took a step back and held his head in his hands before answering me slowly, as if I were too stupid or too fragile to understand him.\n\n
“He left. He got into a car and drove off. No one can reach him.”\n\n
I was frozen in my spot.\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/9T6CSDNgwVvd7nBTXZJlscXxJxF_yjqZO9B1_y8cpyQ\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vYTBhNzY0NmJlOWYwN2FjODU4MzQxMzY0NjA4YjY2ZDY5MzRiOTc0ZDNlYzE3MTA2MTBjOGExNWUwODliNTZkMi5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
\n\nA man looking down | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n
There I was, in my white gown, surrounded by flowers, guests, and everything that was supposed to mark the happiest day of our lives together.\n\n
But my groom?\n\n
He was gone. Just like that.\n\n I didn’t cry immediately. Instead, I held it together for as long as I could. I walked back to the bridal suite on autopilot, murmuring apologies to my family and friends.\n\n A shocked bride | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “I’m so sorry,” I said. “J has left… I don’t know what else to tell you all. Please, get some food and drinks.”\n\n I said those words on repeat until I got to the door of the suite. Once the door shut behind me, I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air between sobs.\n\n I stayed there for what felt like hours, still clutching the bouquet.\n\n A bride sitting on the floor and crying | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n How could J do this to me? And without any explanation? If he had cold feet, he could have told me. He could have been open and honest with me.\n\n But he didn’t.\n\n Instead, he just left me. All alone. Trying to figure out what I was going to do next.\n\n “Do I hate him?” I asked myself as I gathered my thoughts. “Maybe…”\n\n An upset bride looking down | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n Later that night, after I spent hours ignoring people knocking on the door to the bridal suite and silencing my phone after the first ten phone calls from my family and friends, I left.\n\n I went back to the apartment we’d shared. It was empty.\n\n J had taken all his things. And I mean\u00a0everything.\n\n His clothes, his books, even the framed pictures on the walls. He left no note. No explanation. Just… gone.\n\n An apartment living room | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “What the hell, J?” I shouted at the empty apartment, throwing a glass vase across the living room.\n\n The betrayal was soul-crushing. I tried to process what had happened, but every attempt led me deeper into confusion.\n\n My phone rang again.\n\n Lia.\n\n “Chelsea! Finally! Where are you? Are you okay? Do you want to talk?” The words tumbled out of her mouth.\n\n An upset bride | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “I’m fine. I’m home. But I need some time out, okay?” I said. “Tell everyone to just give me a minute, please, Lia.”\n\n “Of course,” she said quietly. “Let me know when you need me. I’ll be right here. I’m just a call away.”\n\n “Thanks,” I said, cutting the call quickly.\n\n I couldn’t listen to her voice any longer and not break down.\n\n A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n Had I missed the signs? Were we really that broken? I replayed every conversation, every argument, searching for clues, but nothing prepared me for the pain of being abandoned like that.\n\n I made myself a cup of tea, realizing that J had even taken his favorite mug.\n\n How long had he been planning this?\n\n For two days, I sat in silence, barely hanging on. But on the third, I woke up and realized that the next day was my honeymoon.\n\n A cup of tea | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n Or the flight to Greece, anyway. I decided to take it.\n\n “Lia,” I said on the phone. “Pack your bags. We’re going on my honeymoon tomorrow. Greece, baby!”\n\n Surprisingly, she didn’t argue. Instead, she said she’d get packed and would call a car to get us the next day.\n\n A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “I’m so glad we’re doing this,” Lia said, gripping my hand as we waited for the flight to take off.\n\n “Me too,” I said. “It’s either this, or I’ll lose my mind in that apartment. And the entire trip has been paid for anyway. So, let’s just make the most of this.”\n\n We spent two weeks drinking cocktails on the beach, dancing under the stars, and laughing harder than I had in a long time. The hurt was always there, just beneath the surface.\n\n “I think you need to go for a few therapy sessions, Chelsea,” Lia said on the final night.\n\n A woman packing a suitcase | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n We were packing all our things, getting ready for the early morning flight back home.\n\n “I agree,” I said. “I think you’re right. I need someone to talk to. I need to make peace with this. I didn’t get any closure from J, and I’ve come to terms with that. But I need to make peace with myself if I’m ever going to move on.”\n\n I never heard from J again. For four long years, I buried the past, forcing myself to move forward.\n\n A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n Then, one ordinary Tuesday afternoon, as I was doing my weekly grocery shopping, my phone buzzed with a message that shattered the peace I had worked so hard to find.\n\n It was from him.\n\n Hey, Chelsea. I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I need to talk to you. I owe you an explanation. Please meet me. I need to apologize. \u2013J\n\n I stared at the text, my heart pounding in my chest. Why now?\n\n A shocked woman in a supermarket | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n What would he possibly have to say after all this time? Part of me wanted to block him on the spot. I had moved on\u2014or at least, I thought I had.\n\n I had a new boyfriend now, Edward. He was steady and kind and had been there for me through everything.\n\n Why should I risk it all? Why should I risk reopening old wounds while I was working to make a new life for myself?\n\n A smiling man | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n But another part of me, a deeper part I couldn’t ignore, needed closure. I needed to know why he had left.\n\n I needed to hear it from him.\n\n After talking it through with Edward, who, to his credit, encouraged me to do whatever felt right, I agreed to meet J at a nearby park.\n\n “It’s okay, Chelsea,” he said. “I’m not threatened by this. I need you to know the truth\u2014for yourself. So, one day, when you’re ready for that next step, you’ll be healed enough…”\n\n A couple walking in a park | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n I didn’t go alone, though. Edward came with me, waiting at a distance in case things got weird.\n\n When I saw J sitting on a bench under a tree, he looked different\u2014thinner, with tired eyes and the weight of guilt etched into every line of his face.\n\n I sat down beside him, unsure of where to begin.\n\n Let him speak first, I thought to myself.\n\n A man sitting on a bench | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n Eventually, he broke the silence.\n\n “I’m so sorry,” he said. “For everything.”\n\n “Why now, J?” I asked. “Why reach out after all this time?”\n\n He took a deep breath.\n\n “I wasn’t in a good place back then. I thought I could do it. I thought I could marry you and live the life everyone expected. But I was lying to myself. I was using drugs. I was cheating on you. And….”\n\n An upset groom | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “And what?”\n\n “And I was struggling with my sexuality.”\n\n “What?” I gasped.\n\n “I loved you, of course,” he said. “But I also loved someone else. And I thought that marrying you would keep everything together. I couldn’t understand what I felt for… him. But I also knew that my family wouldn’t accept it. I barely accepted it.”\n\n A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n “You were living a double life?” I asked.\n\n He nodded.\n\n “The wedding. I just couldn’t go through with it. I chose him that morning. I thought that I’d finally be happy. But I couldn’t stop lying to myself. I couldn’t… I don’t know. I started the substance abuse after that… and eventually, he left me. Just like how I left you.”\n\n A couple sitting on a couch together | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n I swallowed hard, trying to process everything, but my brain wasn’t having it.\n\n The man I had planned to spend my life with had been battling demons I never even knew existed. And yet, knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.\n\n “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you,” J said. “You were the one person who would’ve accepted me for who I am.”\n\n “I forgive you,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean we can be in each other’s lives.”\n\n An upset man sitting on a park bench | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n He gave me a sad smile.\n\n “I figured as much,” he said, his hands twisting his keys.\n\n After a moment of silence, I stood up.\n\n “Take care of yourself, J,” I said. “I hope you find peace.”\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.amomama.com\/tWJpmFYlWK9ol-pzGyYxJ2IfZ8Uk5BXhzo_HQaUrHA8\/rs:fill:375:0:1\/g:no\/aHR0cHM6Ly9jZG4uYW1vbWFtYS5jb20vNWQ2NjFhMWYwMjA4NTVhZjBiMjMyYmQ2N2ZjNmJhMDBlZTc4NmIzMmRkZDdjMTQzZTljMGUyY2ZhOThkNjkyNS5wbmc_d2lkdGg9MTAyNCZoZWlnaHQ9MTAyNA.jpg "\\"\\"")
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