My Daughter Told Me Not to Attend Her Wedding Because I Would Embarrass Her—But When the Groom Saw Me Holding a Pearl Locket, He Walked Away From the Altar

I stared at the two untouched cups of tea.

“You don’t want your mother at your wedding?”

“Please don’t say it like that.”

“How else should I say it?”

She began crying.

That almost made me comfort her.

Old habit.

But I kept my hands in my lap.

“I’ve already told Margaret we’ll keep the family arrangements simple,” Lauren said.

There it was.

Margaret.

I looked at my daughter.

“Did Ethan ask for this?”

“No.”