I kicked my brother out of the wedding hall after he went against my decision and brought his kids to the wedding. But I’m not ashamed of it. I think it was the right decision.
My wife, Laura, and I got married days ago, and we had decided to keep the wedding children-free. To be honest, I thought that was the best decision. So when I was sending out the invites, I made sure the message was clear to everyone.
To some extent, I was sure that everyone would respect my decision and won’t bring their kids to the wedding. But there was one person I wasn’t sure of, and that was my 36-year-old brother David.
David got married at a young age and has four kids. Like every parent, those kids mean the world to him, so he takes them everywhere he and his wife go.
And trust me when I say that the kids are with him everywhere because I hadn’t witnessed even one family event in twenty-eight years of my life when David and his wife attended an event without them.
So, unlike other guests, I gave the wedding invite to him in person and even read it out loud to make sure David didn’t miss the little note at the bottom. “Kids are not allowed. Sorry for the inconvenience,” I finished reading.
“Child-free, huh?” David added in a sarcastic tone.
“Well, yeah. I think that’s the best decision!” I replied instantly.
David glared at me. “Are you out of your mind, Richard? My kids have never been excluded from any event, big or small, let alone their own uncle’s wedding!”
Ramsey seemed upset when I told him kids weren’t allowed | Photo: Pexels
“I’m sorry, David,” I said after a little pause, “but it’s already been decided, and everyone has to follow the rules!”
David didn’t say anything after that. I thought he was pissed at me, so I was about to apologize again, but then he spoke up. “I get it, man, no children means no children, no worries. I won’t bring my kids!”
I was relieved David didn’t get into a fight about it and seemed to accept the rule. However, I had a hard time believing he would agree to my request so quickly. Who’d have guessed my suspicions would turn out to be true?
A week later, the wedding day came. Almost everyone in the family arrived except David and his wife. I began thinking David was furious with me because I had refused to let him bring his children to the wedding.
So I decided to phone him and apologize. But just as I was about to dial the number, my best man informed me that David and his children had arrived.
I was burning with anger, and I went straight to meet him at the entrance. I greeted the kids and asked my sister-in-law to take them back to the car. When they left, I lashed out at David.
I stopped Ramsey at the entrance | Photo: Pexels
“You can’t enter, David,” I said. “Kids are not allowed in here!”
“Calm down, Richard,” David retorted. “It’s not like your wedding will be ruined because of my kids. Why are you acting like that?”
I was furious. “Acting like that?! Didn’t I tell you about it before?”
“You did, Richard, but I didn’t think you were serious. They’re just kids, after all. You’re not going to kick me out of the hall just because I didn’t follow the rules, right?” David responded.
“Well, I can. GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, David! ” I yelled at the top of my voice.
David looked at me angrily. “You’re a lunatic, I swear. I mean, who does that to their brother?”
“I don’t want to explain anything to you now. Please leave!” I almost yelled at him.
I kicked Ramsey out of the wedding hall | Photo: Unsplash
“You know what, Richard? You’re an awful uncle and brother for sure, but you’re a simp too! I’m sure it’s your lovely Laura who has brainwashed you like this! If I were in your place, I wouldn’t have married a pathetic woman!” David said and walked away.
I was even more enraged by David’s snide remarks about Laura, and I wanted to stop him and lash out at him once more. However, our last quarrel was humiliating and loud enough for all guests, including my in-laws, to gaze at us.
My mother had to step in to calm the situation by persuading me to let it go and invite David and his family to the wedding. But I stood firm in my refusal. I was adamant about my decision and paid no attention to what others had to say.
But since that day, everyone hated me and sided with David, claiming I betrayed him and his family by acting coldly towards them when all they wanted to do was celebrate the occasion with my wife and me.
I am sad that everyone in the family hates me | Photo: Pexels
My father was furious with me for potentially and permanently destroying my relationship with David, his wife, and their children by excluding them from my wedding. David will never forget that day, he said. But first, let me explain why I did it.
I used to work for Laura’s dad’s company. He and his wife tragically died in a car accident. I was just one of the employees attending the funeral when I saw Laura for the first time.
A few days after the funeral, as I was on my way to the cabin, I met Laura at the office. She had come to collect some documents.
When I saw her, all I could think of was how sad she was during the funeral. So I asked her if she was doing well. I don’t know why but after talking to her that day, I felt like I wanted to learn more about her.
Luckily, we began meeting each other often, especially after Laura took over her dad’s position and came to the office every day. And before we realized it, we were in love.
I fell in love with Clara at the first sight | Photo: Pexels
Laura had returned to regular life somehow, but her trauma from her parents’ death remained severe, and she was undergoing treatment for that. Laura’s therapist had warned me not to do anything that might cause her mental distress.
We had gone to see a gynecologist just a few weeks before the wedding because Laura wanted to talk about her health issues and see if there would be any complications with her pregnancy. Sadly, it turned out that Laura could never become a mother.
If Laura knew this, she wouldn’t be able to bear it because she wanted to give birth and have a family. So I decided to hide the truth from her until her therapist gave me the green light. But Laura learned about it, and as I had expected, she was devastated.
I decided not to allow children to attend our wedding because I knew Laura would be even more upset if she saw them. She had even planned a court wedding because she didn’t want such a lavish wedding after receiving the sad news. But I knew she always wanted the wedding to be like this since she talked about it from the beginning of our relationship.
Clara was devastated when she learned she couldn’t give birth | Photo: Pexels
Yes, I could have told my brother the real reason, but trust me, he’s not good with secrets, and my family is such that if people knew Laura was taking therapy sessions and now couldn’t become a mother, they wouldn’t accept our relationship. So I think what I did was right.
You can hate me for what I did, but I love Laura, and I will do anything to keep her happy.
What can we learn from this story?
- Sometimes you have to lose something to gain something. Richard ruined his relationship with his brother because he wanted to save Laura from further depression.
- If you love someone, you stay with them through the good and bad. Just as Richard stayed by Laura’s side every time.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an arrogant doctor who kicked a poor woman out of a luxury clinic.
I Returned Home from Work to Find My Adopted Twin Daughters, 16, Had Changed the Locks and Kicked Me Out
Thirteen years ago, I adopted my late husband’s secret twin daughters after his fatal car crash revealed his double life. I gave them everything, but at sixteen, they locked me out of my home. One week later, I discovered the shocking reason for their actions.
The morning Andrew died began like any other. The sun had just started peeking through my window, painting everything in a soft, golden light that made even my shabby countertops look almost magical.
It was the last normal moment I’d have for a long, long time.
A woman in her kitchen | Source: Midjourney
When the phone rang, I almost didn’t answer it. Who calls at 7:30 in the morning? But something, intuition maybe, made me pick up.
“Is this Ruth?” A man’s voice, formal, hesitant.
“Speaking.” I took another sip of coffee, still watching the steam dance.
“Ma’am, I’m Officer Matthews with the Police Department. I’m sorry to inform you, but your husband was in an accident this morning. He didn’t survive.”
A shocked woman on a phone call | Source: Midjourney
The mug slipped from my hand, shattering against the linoleum. Coffee splashed across my bare feet, but I barely felt it. “What? No, that’s… no… not my Andrew!”
“Ma’am…” The officer’s voice softened. “There’s more you need to know. There was another woman in the car who also died… and two surviving daughters. Records in our database confirm they’re Andrew’s children.”
I slid down the kitchen cabinet until I hit the floor, barely registering the coffee soaking into my robe.
A woman collapsed in shock | Source: Midjourney
The room spun around me as ten years of marriage shattered like my coffee mug. “Children?”
“Twin girls, ma’am. They’re three years old.”
Three years old. Three years of lies, of business trips and late meetings. Three years of another family living parallel to mine, just out of sight. The jerk had been living a whole other life while I’d been suffering through infertility treatments and the heartache of two miscarriages.
Close up of a shocked woman’s face | Source: Midjourney
“Ma’am? Are you still there?”
“Yes,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure I was. Not really. “What… what happens to them now?”
“Their mother had no living relatives. They’re currently in emergency foster care until—”
I hung up. I couldn’t bear to hear more.
A cell phone | Source: Pexels
The funeral was a blur of black clothes and pitying looks. I stood there like a statue, accepting condolences from people who didn’t know whether to treat me like a grieving widow or a scorned woman.
But then I saw those two tiny figures in matching black dresses, holding hands so tightly their knuckles were white. My husband’s secret daughters.
One had her thumb in her mouth. The other was picking at the hem of her dress. They looked so lost and alone. Despite the hurt of Andrew’s betrayal, my heart went out to them.
Twin three-year-old girls | Source: Midjourney
“Those poor things,” my mother whispered beside me. “Their foster family couldn’t make it today. Can you imagine? No one here for them except the social worker.”
I watched as one twin stumbled, and her sister caught her automatically like they were two parts of the same person. Something in my chest cracked open.
“I’ll take them,” I heard myself say.
Mom turned to me, shocked.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
“Ruth, honey, you can’t be serious. After what he did?”
“Look at them, Mom. They’re innocent in all this and they’re alone.”
“But—”
“I couldn’t have my own children. Maybe… maybe this is why.”
The adoption process was a nightmare of paperwork and questioning looks.
A woman and a man going through paperwork in an office | Source: Pexels
Why would I want my cheating husband’s secret children? Was I mentally stable enough? Was this some form of revenge?
But I kept fighting, and eventually, Carrie and Dana became mine.
Those first years were a dance of healing and hurting. The girls were sweet but wary as if waiting for me to change my mind. I’d catch them whispering to each other late at night, making plans for “when she sends us away.”
It broke my heart every time.
A woman standing outside a bedroom door | Source: Midjourney
“We’re having mac and cheese again?” seven-year-old Dana asked one night, her nose wrinkled.
“It’s what we can afford this week, sweetie,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “But look — I put extra cheese on yours, just how you like it.”
Carrie, always the more sensitive one, must have heard something in my voice. She elbowed her sister.
“Mac and cheese is my favorite,” she announced, though I knew it wasn’t.
A bowl of macaroni and cheese | Source: Pexels
By the time they turned ten, I knew I had to tell them the truth. The whole truth.
I’d practiced the words a hundred times in front of my bathroom mirror, but sitting there on my bed, watching their innocent faces, I felt like I might throw up.
“Girls,” I started, my hands trembling. “There’s something about your father and how you came to be my daughters that you need to know.”
They sat cross-legged on my faded quilt, mirror images of attention.
Twin ten-year-old girls sitting on a bed | Source: Midjourney
I told them everything about Andrew’s double life, their birth mother, and that terrible morning I got the call. I told them how my heart broke when I saw them at the funeral and how I knew then that we were meant to be together.
The silence that followed felt endless. Dana’s face had gone pale, her freckles standing out like dots of paint. Carrie’s lower lip trembled.
“So… so Dad was a liar?” Dana’s voice cracked. “He was cheating on you?”
A shocked girl | Source: Midjourney
“And our real mom…” Carrie wrapped her arms around herself. “She died because of him?”
“It was an accident, sweetheart. A terrible accident.”
“But you…” Dana’s eyes narrowed, something hard and horrible creeping into her young face. “You just took us? Like… like some kind of consolation prize?”
A frowning girl | Source: Midjourney
“No! I took you because—”
“Because you felt sorry for us?” Carrie interrupted, tears streaming now. “Because you couldn’t have your own kids?”
“I took you because I loved you the moment I saw you,” I reached for them, but they both flinched back. “You weren’t a consolation prize. You were a gift.”
A woman explaining herself | Source: Midjourney
“Liar!” Dana spat, jumping off the bed. “Everyone’s a liar! Come on, Carrie!”
They ran to their room and slammed the door. I heard the lock click, followed by muffled sobs and furious whispers.
The next few years were a minefield. Sometimes we’d have good days when we went on shopping trips or cuddled together on the sofa for movie nights. But whenever they got angry, the knives came out.
A teen girl shouting in her bedroom doorway | Source: Midjourney
“At least our real mom wanted us from the start!”
“Maybe she’d still be alive if it wasn’t for you!”
Each barb found its mark with surgical precision. But they were entering their teens, so I weathered their storms, hoping they’d understand someday.
Then came that awful day shortly after the girls turned sixteen.
A woman glancing over her shoulder | Source: Midjourney
I came home from work and my key wouldn’t turn in the lock. Then I spotted the note taped to the door.
“We’re adults now. We need our own space. Go and live with your mom!” it read.
My suitcase sat by the door like a coffin for all my hopes. Inside, I could hear movement, but no one answered my calls or pounding. I stood there for an hour before climbing back into my car.
A woman in her car | Source: Midjourney
At Mom’s house, I paced like a caged animal.
“They’re acting out,” she said, watching me wear a path in her carpet. “Testing your love.”
“What if it’s more than that?” I stared at my silent phone. “What if they’ve finally decided I’m not worth it? That I’m just the woman who took them in out of pity?”
“Ruth, you stop that right now.” Mom grabbed my shoulders.
A stern woman | Source: Midjourney
“You’ve been their mother in every way that matters for thirteen years. They’re hurting, yes. They’re angry about things neither of you can change. But they love you.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because they’re acting exactly like you did at sixteen.” She smiled sadly. “Remember when you ran away to Aunt Sarah’s?”
I did. I’d been so angry about… what was it? Something trivial. I’d lasted three days before homesickness drove me back.
A worried woman | Source: Midjourney
Five more days crawled by.
I called in sick to work. I barely ate. Every time my phone buzzed, I lunged for it, only to be disappointed by another spam call or a text from a concerned friend.
Then, finally, on the seventh day, I got the call I’d longed for.
“Mom?” Carrie’s voice was small and soft, like when she used to crawl into my bed during thunderstorms. “Can you come home? Please?”
A woman on a phone call | Source: Midjourney
I drove back with my heart in my throat.
The last thing I expected when I rushed through the front door was to find my house transformed. Fresh paint coated the walls, and the floors gleamed.
“Surprise!” The girls appeared from the kitchen, grinning like they used to when they were little.
“We’ve been planning this for months,” Dana explained, bouncing on her toes. “Working at the mall, babysitting, saving everything.”
A grinning teen girl | Source: Midjourney
“Sorry for the mean note,” Carrie added sheepishly. “It was the only way we could think of to keep it a surprise.”
They led me to what used to be their nursery, now transformed into a beautiful home office. The walls were soft lavender, and there, by the window, hung a photo of the three of us on adoption day, all teary-eyed and smiling.
“You gave us a family, Mom,” Carrie whispered, her eyes wet. “Even though you didn’t have to, even though we were a reminder of everything that hurt. You chose us anyway, and you’ve been the best mom ever.”
An emotional girl holding back tears | Source: Midjourney
I pulled my girls close, breathing in the familiar smell of their shampoo, feeling their hearts beat against mine.
“You two are the best things that have ever happened to me. You gave me a reason to keep going. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
“But we do know, Mom,” Dana said, her voice muffled against my shoulder. “We’ve always known.”
A woman hugging her daughter | Source: Midjourney
Leave a Reply