Bradley looked at me with terror and begged me to tell the police that it was all a big misunderstanding or that I had authorized the sale. I took his face in my hands and told him that I loved him but I could not save him because doing so would condemn him to be a coward forever.
The police handcuffed him in front of all three hundred guests while Tiffany realized the money was gone and began shouting at him. “You told me you were rich and that your mother was out of the way, but I am not marrying a criminal,” she yelled before throwing her bouquet at him.
The wedding ended right there as the guests left and the vendors began to complain about their unpaid bills. I stood alone in the middle of the room with a broken heart but I felt a strange sense of peace for the first time in months.
In the following months, Bradley saw his entire life fall apart as the buyer sued him and the bank investigated his fraudulent transactions. I hired an honest lawyer for him but the evidence was overwhelming and he was eventually sentenced to several years in prison.
The first few times I visited him, he was angry and blamed me for ruining his life but he eventually grew quiet and tired. On the fourth visit, he asked if Tiffany had ever come to see him and I had to tell him that she was already with another man.
“I was a complete idiot, wasn’t I?” he asked with a bitter laugh and I told him that he was right but he could still choose to change. He lowered his head and asked if I would ever forgive him for what he did to me and our family.
I told him that I had already forgiven him and that was exactly why I let him go to jail so he could finally become a man. Time passed and I continued living in my home by the sea while taking painting classes and traveling with my friends.
Three years later, Bradley was released on parole and I went to pick him up myself to bring him home. He looked thinner and much more humble as he sat in the car for several minutes without saying a single word to me.
“Mom, if you will still let me, I would like to start my life over from the beginning,” he finally whispered with a broken voice. I told him that his future depended entirely on his own choices and the effort he was willing to put into his recovery.
