The day before my wedding, my little daughter handed me a drawing that shattered everything I thought I knew about the woman I was about to marry. My fiancée was supposed to give my child the love she never had. Instead, she took something away from her that I’ll never forgive.It was going to be the best day of my life. I was supposed to get married the next day, and everything was falling into place. My fiancée Sarah and I were going to start a new chapter, and Emma, my whole world, would finally have a mother. God, I was so thrilled…Emma wouldn’t have to look up at me with those big, sad eyes and ask,

“Daddy, why did Mommy go away? Doesn’t she love me?” That question. It had haunted me for years, and no matter what I said, I could never give her an answer that made the pain go away. I’m Anthony, 35, and I’ve been a single dad for as long as I can remember. Emma’s biological mom? I don’t even like saying her name. She walked out on us when Emma was still in diapers. Said I wasn’t “good enough” for her, and I guess I wasn’t. But I had to be enough for my little daughter, who’s now six.For the longest time, I was terrified of dating again.

What if I brought someone into our lives who didn’t love my daughter the way she deserved? What if they treated her like an afterthought? For years, I kept things simple: work, Emma, and making sure she felt safe and loved. Then Sarah came into our lives, and everything felt… different. Sarah seemed to instinctively understand Emma. After two years of dating, her thoughtful gestures, like buying Emma little toys and planning fun outings, consistently made my daughter happy, reinforcing my belief that Sarah was the one.

I even started to believe she loved my daughter like she was her own child.So, when I proposed, I was all in. I did it big, too! Down on one knee, on the beach at sunset. It was so dramatic. Sarah cried happy tears, and Emma was there, laughing and playing in the sand, collecting sea shells in her little hat. I thought everything was perfect. Until the day before the wedding. It started with small things. Emma wasn’t herself in the days leading up to the wedding. Normally, she was this little ball of energy, always bouncing around and chattering non-stop. But she had been quiet, withdrawn… and it got me worried.I figured maybe it was just nerves about the big changes, but I didn’t press her. She always came to me when she was ready.