When a lady told her brother’s bride the truth about him, she believed he was acting morally and ended their long-term relationship. Even though it was her brother’s fault, she still had to deal with criticism from her family who thought she was interfering.
It’s not an easy story to tell, especially since it puts me in the middle of what many see as a family tragedy. But really, it’s a story of discovery and difficult decisions, as well as fallout. My brother Ben was in a relationship with his long-term partner Abby for eight years, during which time they were engaged.
Ben convinced us all that despite earlier failed attempts at marriage, he was now ready to commit.
However, the wedding day turned out to be quite a different story. For whatever reason, my sister’s husband, my brother-in-law, decided to confide in me a few days before the couple’s big day.
He called me out of the blue and said, “Look, Melissa, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I think I need to talk to someone besides your sister about this because she’s not taking me seriously.” Confused, I asked:
James, what are you talking about? Just say it; I’ll hear you out.” After pausing for a moment as if reconsidering his decision, he blurted out, “Ben still isn’t ready to marry Abby. He told the boys and me that although he doesn’t want to follow through, he’s been with her so long that he feels comfortable and content.”
“When it’s just the two of them, he’s very cruel to Abby,” James continued. I asked, trying to make sense of what I heard, “What do you mean he’s cruel? I don’t know that brother.” James hesitantly said that my brother had never been one to listen to Abby’s concerns or comply with any of her requests.
She intended to marry within the first four years of their relationship, but accepted her fate as a stay-at-home mother to their two children, with him being the breadwinner. James informed me that my brother displayed narcissistic traits and double-dealing, one minute he would promise his fiancee everything and the next he would deceive her with his words.
All of this surprised me because I had never seen or heard of the other side of my brother. According to my sister’s husband, Ben intended to keep Abby as long as possible because she was a nice woman who “listened to him and stroked his ego.”
The phone almost fell out of my hand as I tried to understand what James was saying. There was nothing from me for a few seconds, then he asked, “Are you there?” I said, “I’m here, James,” sounding despondent and brooding as I considered the reality of my brother’s relationship.
“James, I appreciate you telling me about this. It was wise of you to contact me. I’ll consider it and see if I can help you.” My sister’s husband seemed relieved that he had shared the information and that it was being seriously considered. I kept my newfound knowledge of my brother’s actions to myself.
Ben asked James and the other guys to go drinking with him on his wedding day and James told me he wasn’t planning on showing up. I asked my BIL to follow my brother’s plan without telling him the truth.
Abby, the bridesmaids, and I all waited outside the church on Ben’s wedding day, and as we got ready to enter, I thought my future sister-in-law (SIL) should have known the truth about the groom before she made their union official.
I was completely hidden and pulled her aside and said something like, “You have to hear this.” I called Ben. And I handily hit the speaker while he was collecting. Abby just stood there, not knowing what was about to happen to her. I wanted to show his longtime partner that he didn’t deserve the time she spent getting to know him.
You know, ladies defending each other and all. “Ben, did you take your wedding rings?” my older brother asked me. “Ring the wedding bell? I won’t even try to be on time.”
The boys and I are at the bar. I must have some alcohol. How can I marry HER sober?” he asked drunkenly, his words betraying his tears and fear in their rawness.
I thought I was doing the right thing—you know, standing up for other women, that kind of thing. “Ben, did you take your wedding rings?” my older brother asked me. “Ring the wedding bell? I won’t even try to be on time.”
The boys and I are at the bar. I must have some alcohol. “How can I marry HER sober?” he asked in a drunken reply, his words betraying his horror and reluctance with their rawness.
Letting Ben finish his tirade, I faced the problem head-on and tried to give Abby the clarity she needed. The revelations kept coming, each one more excruciating than the last. “Please, she’s not her. Ben admitted, “I’m just… afraid to be alone,” ruining any last chance to save the day.
With tears streaming down her face, Abby snatched the phone from my hand and spoke in a shaky but determined tone. Ben, you have an hour. We have an hour to arrive or we’re done!” The hours ticked by and the situation worsened by the second.
After a while, my brother’s fiancee went to the hotel we had reserved especially for the event, feeling hopeless and disappointed. Ben was still at the bar, soaking his cold feet in booze, and it didn’t look like he was going to show up any time soon when I contacted James.
But he showed up at the church twenty minutes after the bride had left, probably because he was afraid she might really leave him, or maybe because he was drunk enough to withstand the ceremony.
Abby took off her gorgeous wedding dress, threw it on the floor of her hotel room, and ran out of the building without saying goodbye.
Abby went on her honeymoon alone, leaving Ben at the altar. When my family found out about my part in the couple’s breakup, there was an immediate serious reaction. I was portrayed as an adversary, responsible for revealing a reality too painful for my relatives to bear.
Only two of my sisters stood by me as my goods were dumped outside the hotel, and their support was scant comfort in the face of unwavering contempt. I kept telling them, “I never meant to hurt anyone,” while fighting the guilt and conviction that I had made the right decision. “But how could I let her marry him, knowing what I knew?”
Since then, the conversation that characterized that day and the words spoken have symbolized the entanglement of truth, love, and loyalty. Questions remain as I work my way through the fallout, but so does a deep sense of clarity.
Even if they mean losing everything we value most, there are times when the hardest choices are the ones most required.
If you were disturbed by this story, here is the synopsis of another chilling story:
In a family characterized by nepotism and jealousy, the relationship between two brothers Mark (35) and Todd (29) threatens to fall apart. Todd, the youngest of three siblings – the other two being their sister Abby – has always enjoyed the attention. Their parents took care of his every need since he had a difficult birth and spent the first month in the intensive care unit.
But the brothers’ animosity towards him grew as a result of his special treatment and became even more pronounced when Todd’s fiancee Lucy moved home. Her presence increased the competitiveness between the sisters, especially after she overshadowed the other woman’s moment by announcing her pregnancy during Abby’s baby shower.
Things took a turn for the worse when Mark decided to marry Michelle, his girlfriend. By choosing a low-key ceremony instead of following Michelle’s request for a family reunion, Mark inadvertently sets the stage for conflict.
Todd’s intention to pop the question to Lucy at the wedding was revealed by a lost jewelry receipt, so Mark had to switch him from bachelor to guest to avoid drama. Despite this warning, Todd decided that the father-daughter dance would be his big moment. However, Mark and his best man, Jim, set up an elaborate plot involving a lady pretending to be Todd’s lover dancing.
The plan came to a disastrous conclusion, shattering their relationship and leaving Todd embarrassed and Lucy inconsolable. Afterward, Mark remained silent and ignored Todd’s pleas for forgiveness. Their family ties were further strained when he insisted that Todd pay half of the wedding expenses.
Abby questioned whether Mark’s activities had gone too far while Michelle supported Mark’s actions. This leaves the reader to consider the true cost of retribution and sibling rivalry. The complex dynamics of jealousy, loyalty, and retribution are revealed in this story of family feuds between siblings. It encourages us to think about the long-term effects of our decisions on the people we care about, by acting as a mirror of our own family relationships. To read the full horrifying story, click this link.