“Your mother’s death was never your responsibility, and you are not an obstacle preventing me from having a family.”
“What if you want to marry somebody later?”
“Then that person must understand that loving me includes respecting you, your mother, and the life we experienced before meeting her.”
Emily considered the promise.
“Would you cancel another wedding for me?”
“I hope I become observant enough that neither of us reaches another wedding before discovering the truth.”
Her faint smile carried more relief than amusement.
Vanessa tried contacting me through messages, relatives, and mutual friends.
Her explanations moved from denial to justification.
First, Emily had exaggerated.
Then the request had supposedly been temporary.
Finally, Vanessa insisted that every marriage required a wife to become the husband’s primary family relationship.
I responded once through my attorney.
“No adult partnership requires humiliating a child or erasing her deceased parent.”
After that, direct communication ended.
