For my 25th birthday this year, my boyfriend, Chris, took me to Hawaii.
It was a fairy tale because we’d only been dating for six months and I wasn’t expecting anything. But then Chris asked me to marry him on the beach – I said yes, carried away by the enchantment of the moment, even though I knew that six months wasn’t enough time to get to know someone and marry him.
Little did I know that this fairy tale would turn into a bigger drama than I had bargained for.
Then the big day arrived, and I was completely serene – knowing that Chris’s mother and sister had taken care of everything. 
At the altar, I opened my eyes, expecting the loving gaze of my fiancé, but I got much more than I bargained for.
But before Chris or I could absorb this strange twist in the ceremony, Leanne approached holding hands with a little boy. All faces turned toward them.
As the truth unfolded, I felt like I was drowning under the weight of it all. Leanne, in discovering that Chris wanted to remarry, had orchestrated this dramatic revelation.
Even today, when I think back on the whole episode, I confess I’m not angry. Leanne did what she had to do. And she did it to protect me and this adorable little boy.