As Selene swayed with her groom, Gideon, during their first dance, the hotel manager interrupted to say someone was asking for her outside. It was her uninvited grandmother, Agnes, with a wedding gift Selene didn\u2019t want. But when she threw the tiny box, it broke open, revealing something that made her sneer.<\/p>\n
Selene and Gideon moved to the music, savoring their perfect moment, though Selene\u2019s heart ached for her absent parents. A hesitant cough broke their bliss. Selene opened her eyes to see Mr. Harrow, the hotel manager, looking uneasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry to interrupt,\u201d he began. \u201cSomeone\u2019s outside asking for you, Mrs. Caldwell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d Selene asked, stepping back from Gideon, who frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says she\u2019s your grandmother, Agnes,\u201d Mr. Harrow replied.<\/p>\n
Gideon\u2019s eyes met hers. \u201cI\u2019ll tell her to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene sighed. \u201cNo, she\u2019ll cause a scene. I\u2019ll see what she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside, Agnes\u2019s face lit up upon seeing Selene. \u201cYou\u2019re the most beautiful bride, darling,\u201d she said, reaching for Selene\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
Selene stepped back. \u201cWhy are you here? You weren\u2019t invited for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d Agnes said, tears in her eyes. \u201cI had to see my only granddaughter marry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to go,\u201d Selene said, arms crossed, holding back anger. \u201cMy father would be here if not for what you didn\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Agnes whispered. \u201cI regret it. I just came to give you a wedding gift.\u201d She handed Selene a small jewelry box.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all I could get you,\u201d Agnes said, clutching Selene\u2019s hands. \u201cI hope you like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene stared at the red box with disgust. \u201cWhat, some cheap trinket? Did you steal it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, dear, I\u2014\u201d Agnes started, but Selene cut her off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf not for your greed, my father would be here, walking me down the aisle!\u201d Tears choked Selene. \u201cGet lost! I never want to see you again!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you don\u2019t hate me forever,\u201d Agnes said sadly. \u201cI\u2019ve always adored you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agnes shuffled away, leaning on her cane. Alone, Selene\u2019s thoughts drifted to the day that fueled her hatred for Agnes.<\/p>\n
Years ago, Selene sat in her father\u2019s lawyer\u2019s office. Mr. Kessler, a gruff man, got straight to the point.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo good news, kid,\u201d he said, explaining her father\u2019s case. The plaintiffs demanded compensation\u2014a staggering sum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have that money,\u201d Selene said, breathless. \u201cIs there no other way?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kessler shook his head. \u201cWithout payment, we go to court, and your father, Elias, will likely face a long sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Selene gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to find the money,\u201d Kessler said. \u201cIt\u2019s the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene left, knowing friends couldn\u2019t help and her credit wouldn\u2019t secure a loan. Her only option was Agnes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSelene?\u201d Agnes was shocked to see her exhausted granddaughter at her door. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, honey? You look pale. Is it the lawyer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene explained the meeting, the compensation, and the stakes. \u201cDad will go to jail if we don\u2019t pay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agnes sat beside her, taking her hand. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Selene, but I don\u2019t have that kind of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can,\u201d Selene pleaded. \u201cSell the bakery. It\u2019ll cover it and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agnes\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cMy bakery? It\u2019s my life\u2019s work. I can\u2019t sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGran!\u201d Selene cried. \u201cIt\u2019s about Dad! Do you want him in prison?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but I can\u2019t sell,\u201d Agnes said firmly. \u201cHow would I live? Your father won\u2019t support me. No, Selene, I won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene stood, tears streaming. \u201cIf you don\u2019t help, I\u2019ll never speak to you again. How can you abandon us? I hate you!\u201d she screamed, storming out and slamming the door.<\/p>\n
Unable to raise the money, Selene watched her father go to prison despite Kessler\u2019s efforts. She visited Elias often, vowing never to abandon him. But six months into his sentence, her phone rang while she shopped for groceries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this Mr. Vance\u2019s daughter?\u201d a man asked. \u201cInspector Caldwell here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes? What\u2019s this about?\u201d Selene frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said. \u201cYour father died last night in his cell. Heart attack. It was quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene\u2019s cart crashed into another shopper\u2019s. She collapsed in the aisle, sobbing into her phone. The preparations that followed hardened her heart. As they cremated Elias, she could only think Agnes let him die alone in jail, robbing her of a final goodbye.<\/p>\n
\u201cSelene!\u201d Gideon\u2019s voice snapped her back to the present.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d she blinked, realizing she\u2019d clenched the jewelry box so tightly it hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s your grandmother?\u201d Gideon asked, gripping her shoulders with concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left,\u201d Selene sighed. \u201cFor good. Let\u2019s go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
But her eyes fell to the box. Biting her lip, she hurled it to the ground with force.<\/p>\n
\u201cSelene!\u201d Gideon exclaimed. \u201cCareful! What\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
The box shattered, and a ring rolled out, glinting with large stones. \u201cIs that an emerald ring?\u201d Gideon asked.<\/p>\n
Selene knelt, examining it. \u201cNo way. How could she afford this?\u201d<\/p>\n
A tiny folded paper peeked from the broken box. Selene grabbed it, gasping as Agnes\u2019s words sank in.<\/p>\n
Dear Selene,<\/p>\n
I know you hate me, but your father wasn\u2019t a good man. He did terrible things, careless of the consequences or those he hurt. I warned my daughter not to marry him, but she didn\u2019t listen, and I believe he drove her to give up on life. I could\u2019ve saved him from jail, but he didn\u2019t deserve it. Nor did he deserve a daughter as loving as you. There\u2019s so much you don\u2019t know. I kept the bakery for you, not me. I hope you\u2019ll understand someday. Take this ring as part of my wedding gift. A lawyer will contact you about the rest.<\/p>\n
Love you to the moon and back,<\/p>\n
Gran.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh God,\u201d Selene whispered, her heart softening.<\/p>\n
The next day, Selene drove to Agnes\u2019s house, a place she hadn\u2019t visited in years. Two moving trucks stood outside, and people were moving in. Confused, she demanded answers, but the movers only said the house was recently sold.<\/p>\n
Desperate, Selene knocked on the neighbor\u2019s door. Mrs. Linden, an elderly woman, greeted her warmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here, dear? I miss Agnes,\u201d Mrs. Linden said softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Selene asked, startled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe moved weeks ago, after her diagnosis,\u201d Mrs. Linden said. \u201cSkin cancer, stage four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene froze. \u201cShe didn\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs. Linden nodded, mentioning her own mother\u2019s death from the same disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I need to find her!\u201d Selene interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrank\u2019s, I think,\u201d Mrs. Linden said.<\/p>\n
Selene rushed to Frank\u2019s, a rundown motel that was once a charming vacation spot. At the reception, she begged for Agnes\u2019s room number.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe grandmother?\u201d the receptionist said. \u201cLet me get my manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Selene snapped. \u201cGive me her room now!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe passed last night,\u201d the receptionist said awkwardly. \u201cHousekeeping found her. The coroner\u2019s taken her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selene\u2019s eyes flared. She nodded stiffly, walked out, and let out a gut-wrenching scream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Selene swayed with her groom, Gideon, during their first dance, the hotel manager interrupted to say someone was asking for her outside. It was her uninvited grandmother, Agnes, with a wedding gift Selene didn\u2019t want. But when she threw the tiny box, it broke open, revealing something that made her sneer. Selene and Gideon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33037,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33036\/revisions\/33037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}