My mom has always cared more about looks than feelings. So when I got engaged, I hoped she’d finally be proud. Instead, she handed over the wedding fund my late dad had saved for me… to my cousin Elise because she was “prettier. I’m Casey, 25, a chef with dreams of making films that touch hearts. But growing up under my mom’s harsh judgment wasn’t easy. After Dad passed away when I was in high school, her words only got harsher.
Still, I held on to Dad’s dream of walking me down the aisle and the wedding fund he had set aside for that day. When Marco proposed right in our tiny kitchen I thought my moment had come. But at a family dinner, Mom announced she’d given the money to Elise, saying she had “real potential.” I was devastated until Elise stood up. “I’m not taking it,” she said, then called out every cruel thing Mom had ever said to me.
It was the first time someone defended me. That night, Elise and I cried and made plans. I applied to film school. I postponed the wedding not out of fear, but to become the woman Dad always believed I could be. Marco stood by me every step of the way. A year later, we married in his parents’ backyard, surrounded by love, string lights, and three kinds of cake.
Even Mom showed up and apologized. Elise gave a toast: “To Casey, who refused to let anyone dim her light.” And when she asked, “What’s next?” I smiled and said, “Everything.”