On our wedding day, everything seemed perfect—until Michael’s four-year-old daughter, Lily, shocked everyone. During the ceremony, when the officiant asked if anyone objected, Lily stood up and cried, “Daddy, don’t marry her. You already have a wife!”

The room went silent. I turned to Michael, expecting him to laugh it off, but instead, his face went pale. He didn’t speak. Lily pointed to the window and said, “Her.” Outside, a woman in a summer dress waved. I followed her gaze, feeling confused and betrayed.

“Michael?” I whispered.

“That’s Laura, my ex,” he explained, his voice filled with pain. “We never legally married, but to Lily, she’s her mom.”

Laura walked into the church, explaining she’d been out of the country for three years and just wanted to see Lily. She wasn’t dead, as Michael had told me—she’d left when Lily was one.

Anger surged inside me, but I also understood the situation. After a tense conversation with Laura, I realized she didn’t want to disrupt our lives but hoped to be part of Lily’s world.

In the end, I still wanted to marry Michael. We’d work things out, for Lily’s sake, with love, patience, and forgiveness.