A Vow Unfulfilled

When I got home, I didn't know how to explain everything to my parents. However, the hotel had already informed them about the cancellation.

My dad said, "Marriage isn't child's play! All our relatives have heard that you're getting married. You can't just cancel the wedding just because you two had a little tiff."

My mom chimed in, "Your dad's right. You begged us on your knees to give our blessings and insisted that you'd only ever marry Rhiannon in this lifetime."

My mom couldn't understand either. She pointed out how deeply in love I was with Rhiannon and questioned how I could suddenly decide not to get married.

These past few days, I had bottled everything up. So, it all came bursting forth now.

I rarely cried. I usually kept my emotions to myself and dealt with them slowly. But this time, I couldn't understand. I loved Rhiannon so much. Why did she have to do these things to hurt me?

When we were in high school, Rhiannon wasn't like this. She had a sunny disposition and loved to smile—she was like a ray of light in my life. During the early days of my entrepreneurship, when we faced difficulties and couldn't make ends meet, we lived in a tiny rented room and ate canned food.

Even when things were tough, Rhiannon comforted me and said we'd always have each other. She gave me strength and stood by me through thick and thin. How had things come to this?

Holding back the pain, I said, "She didn't go abroad to further her studies last year. She went there to give birth to Lionel's child instead."

My parents were shocked to hear that.

"Didn't she say she was a DINK? How did she suddenly end up having a child with someone else?"

Both my mom and dad expressed their support for me. Their hearts ached at the thought of Rhiannon practically cuckolding me. They said I was better off not getting married. A relationship where one person gave in too much was bound to fall apart eventually.

My parents called Rhiannon's parents to discuss the matter. After all, we'd already given them the monetary gift in conjunction with Rhiannon and my wedding. We'd even bought them a new car and a new house. Thus, both families needed to sit down and have a proper discussion.

Upon hearing that I was calling off the wedding, Rhiannon's father, Donald Tate, anxiously asked what had happened. My dad explained everything in detail. After learning about the reason, Donald felt so ashamed that he was at a loss for words.

Rhiannon's mother, Irene Hutton, couldn't believe it either. With trembling hands, she said, "My goodness, how foolish of Riri to do this. But as for Lionel... we watched that boy grow up. Riri must have wanted to repay him for saving her life."

"There's no reasoning like that in this world," my mom responded. She was a sensible person, so she believed there was no point in continuing the marriage if Rhiannon and I were not meant to be.

Irene looked at us and asked, "Did you ask us to come over because you want to cancel the marriage and ask us to return everything you'd given us as the wedding gift?"

"There's no such thing as asking for a gift back," Donald said angrily. A moment ago, he had just admitted Rhiannon was in the wrong and promised to scold her. But he suddenly changed his attitude when the matter of returning the monetary gift came up.

Just then, Rhiannon came back. All it took was one look for her to figure out what was going on.

"What do you think you're doing, Clyde? We should handle our own affairs privately," Rhiannon said disapprovingly. She assumed I was threatening her with our breakup and the cancellation of our marriage.

She repeatedly assured me that she would make it up to me, saying she understood how unfair this whole thing was to me.

"Lionel and I are just good friends. We didn't do anything that went beyond the boundaries of being friends. Don't say things that will cause our parents to misunderstand," Rhiannon fumed.