My Ex's Mom Invited Me to Her Wedding but When I Arrived, I Realized It Was All a Set-up

It had been three years since Adam and I broke up, but I still couldn’t shake him. Five years of love doesn’t disappear overnight. His sudden breakup was like a sucker punch with no explanation, no closure, just silence.

An upset woman | Source: Midjourney

Then, about a year ago, he started dating my former friend, Miranda. If betrayal had a face, it was hers, plastered all over social media.

I told myself to block her and stop looking at their cute couple photos, but I didn’t. Every photo, every grin, every comment about her “forever love” felt like salt in an open wound.

A laptop opened to social media | Source: Midjourney

I never stopped loving him. That’s the sad truth. Pathetic, I know. I wasn’t able to date anyone seriously since him.

So when Adam’s mom, Lena, called me out of the blue last month, I thought I was hallucinating.

We never exactly got along. She had always been polite but distant, like she was sizing me up and always finding me lacking something.

A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney

After the breakup, I assumed I’d never hear from her again. But there she was, on the other end of my phone, her voice strangely warm.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she said. “I know this might be unexpected, but I have a favor to ask, Hayley.”

Lena was getting married and wanted me to design her wedding dress. She gushed about how I’d become one of the most sought-after seamstresses in the city.

A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

“I’ve always admired your work, Hayley,” she said softly. “And I trust you. I know you’d create something perfect just for me.”

Trust? Admiration?

From Lena?

I nearly dropped the phone. My instincts screamed at me to say no, to hang up and block her number. And truly be done with that entire family.

A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney

But she begged.

“Nobody else will do things that suit my age and figure! And make me something dream-worthy, Hayley. Please?”

I don’t know why I said yes. Maybe a part of me wanted to feel close to Adam again. Or maybe I just couldn’t resist the curiosity clawing at me.

Either way, I agreed.

A sketch of a wedding dress | Source: Midjourney

Over the next few weeks, I poured myself into the dress. The fabric was like spun clouds, soft and ethereal, with delicate beading along the bodice. I stayed up late perfecting every stitch. Lena had wanted a lacy dress that made her feel like a princess.

“I know it’s foolish, darling,” she said. “When I married Adam’s father all those years ago, I wore a shapeless white dress that did nothing for my figure. I want to live my dream wedding dress now.”

Lena had given me her measurements, and oddly enough, they matched mine.

A woman sewing | Source: Midjourney

I tried not to think about it. But it wasn’t a surprise. The entire time I had been dating Adam, Lena was always at Pilates or yoga or swimming with her friends.

The morning of the wedding arrived. I packed the dress into a garment bag and drove to the venue. It was a gorgeous country estate tucked away like something out of a fairy tale.

A wedding venue | Source: Midjourney

The moment I pulled up, unease curled in my stomach.

Clutching the garment bag, I walked inside. Soft music drifted through the air, and guests milled about in suits and gowns, their laughter a low hum. But then I saw it.

A massive banner near the altar shimmering under the soft light.

A smiling woman | Source: Midjourney

It displayed the names of the couple getting married. I froze right there.

It wasn’t Lena’s name.

It was Adam’s name. And mine!

A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney

I blinked, my mind short-circuiting. My heart was racing.

“What… what is this?” I whispered aloud.

“Hayley,” a voice said from behind me. His voice. I turned around, and there he was.

Adam.

A man in a suit | Source: Midjourney

He stood there, hands at his sides, looking at me like I was the only person in the room.

“What is this?” I demanded, my voice shaking. “Why is my name on that banner?”

He took a slow step toward me, regret written all over his face.

“Please, let me explain.”

A close up of a man | Source: Midjourney

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. But I just couldn’t move.

“You’ve got two minutes,” I said.

He took a deep breath. “Three years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

Yeah, no kidding, I thought bitterly.

A woman with folded arms | Source: Midjourney

“I was going to propose to you, Hayley,” he said. “I had the ring. Everything was planned. And then… she showed me something.”

“She?” I whispered.

“Miranda,” he looked away, his voice thick with regret. “She showed me a video of you all on holiday. Thailand, I think it was. You were drinking and shouting that you didn’t want kids. She told me it was recent, that you’d been lying about wanting a family with me. It crushed me, Hayley. I thought I didn’t know you at all.”

An angry woman | Source: Midjourney

The air whooshed out of my lungs. I remembered the video. Years ago, we had been on a girls’ trip, and I was venting after a drunken spat with someone who assumed all women had to want kids. The same man who made his wife take care of their kids while he enjoyed his beer on the beach.

It had nothing to do with Adam and everything to do with wanting to be heard.

“You didn’t think to take five minutes to ask me about that video?” I choked out.

A surprised woman | Source: Midjourney

“I was stupid. I was already vulnerable, and she got into my head. I believed everything Miranda said. And I let you go. Then she admitted the truth.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Months ago. She slipped up during an argument. She told me the video was old, and she knew I’d overreact. She said she wanted me for herself and couldn’t stand that you had me.”

A woman holding her head | Source: Midjourney

Tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She’d destroyed everything we had, and he let her.

“I ended things with her that night,” he continued. “And I’ve spent every day since trying to figure out how to win you back.”

I shook my head, still completely overwhelmed.

“And this?” I gestured around. “What the heck is this?”

His lips curved into a small, nervous smile.

A wedding setting | Source: Midjourney

“This is me not waiting any longer…”

Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. Then he dropped to one knee.

“Hayley, I love you. I never stopped. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m asking for it anyway. Will you marry me? Right here, right now?”

I stared at him, my world spinning. Then, out of nowhere, it hit me.

A ruby engagement ring | Source: Midjourney

Lena.

She’d planned this. She’d asked me to make the dress because she knew.

And the truth? I still loved him.

So, I whispered my answer.

“Yes, Adam.”

Lena appeared almost instantly, carrying flowers and beaming like a woman who’d just pulled off the heist of the century.

A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney

“You said yes!” she cried, hugging me tightly. “I’m so sorry for how I treated you before, Hayley. I didn’t see how much you meant to Adam until it was too late. Thank you for giving him another chance.”

Stylists and makeup artists seemed to appear out of nowhere. My parents showed up, looking both stunned and delighted. No one knew if I’d say yes, but they’d all been ready.

I changed into the dress I’d made, realizing it had been meant for me all along.

Hair and makeup artists | Source: Midjourney

When Adam and I stood together at the altar, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years.

Peace.

After the ceremony, the crowd had thinned, and the music played softly in the background. I stood on the balcony, the crisp evening air cooling my flushed cheeks.

My hands rested on the railing as I stared at the horizon, trying to process everything that had happened.