His parents owned a small chain of local shops. Nothing extravagant, but enough to make them comfortable and wealthy. Enough to make them feel superior.
The problems started almost immediately.
The first time I met his mother, she smiled and asked, “So, Anna, what do you do?”
“I’m a doctor. Still finishing my residency.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh. That’s… impressive.”
The way she said it didn’t sound impressed.
Later, I overheard his sister talking to Ethan in the kitchen.
The first time I met his mother, she smiled.
“She comes from nothing,” she stated. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure,” Ethan replied firmly.
“It just seems fast.”
“It’s not.”
At a family dinner a few weeks later, Ethan’s uncle said it outright.
“Come on, Ethan. A sanitation worker’s daughter? You could do so much better.”
The words hit me like a slap.
“She comes from nothing.”
“That’s enough,” Ethan snapped.
But his uncle just shrugged. “I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking. She’s with you for money.”
I wanted to leave. But Ethan grabbed my hand and held it tightly.
“She’s not with me for money. She doesn’t need anything from us. She and her dad work harder than anyone at this table.”
His family didn’t apologize. They just changed the subject.
But the comments didn’t stop.
“She’s with you for money.”
They whispered when they thought I wasn’t listening. About my background. About my father picking up trash for a living. About how it would look to their friends.
“It’s not personal,” his mother said once. “It’s just… how things look.”
Ethan defended me every time. But it wore on both of us.
The wedding was their idea.
Not small and intimate like Ethan and I wanted. Big. Elegant. And “appropriate.”
They whispered when they thought I wasn’t listening.
“People expect a certain standard,” his mother kept saying.
So the guest list grew. Business partners. Friends of friends. People I’d never met and probably never would again.
The venue was expensive. The flowers were imported. Everything had to look perfect.
I didn’t care about any of it.
The only people who mattered to me were Ethan and my dad.
“People expect a certain standard.”
My dad arrived early on the day of the wedding. He stood near the entrance for a moment, adjusting his tie, taking in the room. He looked a little overwhelmed.
But when he saw me, his face lit up.
“You look beautiful, dear,” he murmured, eyes glistening as he smiled.
I hugged him. “I’m glad you’re here, Dad.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for anything, princess.”
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