One week before our wedding, I was completely overwhelmed. Between work, last-minute details, and planning, I could barely breathe. Patrick and I were staying at my parents’ house to save money before the big day.

That afternoon, I left work early, feeling nauseous and a little off. I pulled into the driveway, slipped quietly through the side door… and froze.

Sobbing. From the living room.

I crept closer, heart racing. I peeked around the corner — and my stomach dropped.

Patrick — on his knees. Begging.

My mom stood over him, her face completely unreadable. Then, in a cold, steady voice, she said:

“Okay. I won’t. But only under ONE condition.”

Patrick’s voice broke with tears:
“Please, Diane. Don’t do this to me.”

That was it. My heart sank. My mind screamed.

What was this secret? What was he begging her not to say?

I couldn’t stay hidden any longer.

“Don’t do what?” I said, stepping into the room, needing answers.

They both turned to look at me, startled.

— “He’s begging because I told him I would tell you everything,” my mom said. “He thinks his crying and pleading will stop me from telling you the truth, Amanda.”

— “Tell me what?” I asked flatly. I had no energy for politeness. I needed the truth.

Patrick jumped to his feet and grabbed my hands.

— “Amanda, please, babe, let me explain.”

Explain what?

I pulled my hands away.

— “Your fiancé has been lying to you,” my mom said.

— “Lying? About what?” My voice barely sounded like mine.

— “About who he really is.”

Patrick shook his head frantically.

— “No, no! That’s not true. She’s twisting it! Stop, Diane!”

— “Shut up!” I snapped. My voice had never sounded so sharp.

He looked shocked. Hurt.

— “Mom, tell me what you know.”

She nodded.

— “He was engaged before, Amanda. And he did something truly awful to her. Something he admitted he planned to do to you.”

— “No! Amanda, that’s not how it happened!” Patrick cried.

— “He left her at the altar. Ran off the morning of the wedding with all the money she had saved for their future — including the down payment for the house they were about to move into. Disgusting. Cruel.”

I felt sick.

— “Is that true?” I whispered.

Patrick opened his mouth. Then sighed.

His silence was the answer.

Suddenly, everything from the last three years started making sense.

“Money stuff stresses me out, babe. Let’s just focus on us.”

Or when he convinced me to put all the wedding deposits on my card:

“I’ll pay you back, I promise, babe. You’ve got better credit than me.”

Or when I brought up opening a joint account after the wedding:

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s just make it to the honeymoon first.”

Even the times I caught him watching me like he was… studying me.

I had called it love. I had convinced myself it was adoration. I thought Patrick was just someone who lived in the moment — someone who trusted me with our future.

But now?

Now I saw the truth.

This man had never planned a future with me at all.

— “You scammed her? You planned an entire wedding just to steal from someone you claimed to love?”

Tears streamed down Patrick’s face. He looked like a lost little boy.

— “Amanda, I panicked. I was young. I was stupid and thought life was about chasing money.”

My mother interrupted with a calm wave of her hand.

— “And guess who tracked him down? Noelle.”

She reached into her purse on the coffee table and pulled out a letter.

— “Patrick’s ex-fiancée contacted me three months ago. She thought it would be better for the truth to come from me than from a stranger online. She found me on Facebook. This is a copy of our conversation.”

— “Three months ago?! Mom, you knew this for three months and didn’t tell me? You helped me pick out my dress, finalize the menu… and didn’t say a word?”

She looked momentarily guilty but straightened up again.

— “I needed proof first, Amanda. I wasn’t going to destroy your life on a hunch.”

Patrick looked at me, wild-eyed.

— “Amanda, I love you! I would never hurt you! Noelle lied. She said what your mom wanted to hear. You know your mom has never liked me!”

— “What was the one condition you mentioned, Mom?” I asked.

She smirked.

— “That he leaves. Tonight. No wedding. No excuses. Just another groom who disappears before ‘I do.’”

Patrick turned to me one last time.

— “If you’ve ever believed in me, Amanda, please don’t do this. We can fix it.”

— “Get out. Now.”

And for the first time… he listened.

---

Three days after calling off the wedding, I stood in my room, staring at the ivory lace dress hanging on the closet door.

I stepped closer and ran my fingers over the fabric. Then I noticed it.

The tag was still attached.

I hadn’t seen it before because the bridal shop had told me everything was paid in full. Patrick insisted it was his gift.

“It’s my gift to you, babe.”

But the tag told another story:

Balance due: $3,200.

He never paid for it. Never intended to.

Patrick made me believe this wedding was ours, when really, it was just another one of his scams.

If I hadn’t found out, I would’ve woken up on my wedding day believing in forever — while he was already halfway gone.

---

Two weeks later, I sat across from Noelle — Patrick’s ex-fiancée.

— “Did he tell you he wanted three kids?” I asked.

— “Of course. And that he wanted to name the oldest after his dad.”

— “He told me his dad died when he was six.”

She shook her head.

— “Nope. Fred’s alive and well. I found him after Patrick took all my savings.”

We sat in silence for a few moments.

— “You know… I used to feel so stupid for falling for it,” she said. “But the whole act — it was so believable.”

— “Me too,” I whispered.

Then she smiled sadly.

— “But you know what? We’re not stupid, Amanda. We’re just good people who believed in love. And Patrick took advantage of that.”

— “To us. And to making sure he never gets the chance to do this again.”

I raised my glass. She clinked hers against mine.

— “And to karma,” she smirked.