When Cole and his fianc\u00e9e, Linda, go to her hometown, he realizes he was present when Linda\u2019s father died in a twist of fate. Now, he has to tell Linda and her mother the truth.\n
I was never really the guy to believe in fate. I figured that if something was going to happen, it would happen. And that would be it \u2014 with no other grand plan in place. But then, I found out who Linda\u2019s father was, and I was responsible for his death. Suddenly, it seemed that fate did have a play in it. Here\u2019s what happened: I\u2019m thirty years old, deeply in love with my fianc\u00e9e, Linda, and we\u2019re getting busy planning our wedding. We met two years ago in the enchanting chaos that is New York City and has never been apart since.\n
Linda and I decided to visit her parents\u2019 house in Phoenix. I had met Linda\u2019s Mom before because she came to New York to stay with Linda every so often. I knew that her father, Leonard, had passed away when she was just a child, but that was about it. Our visit was because Linda wanted to show me the home she grew up in,\n
And to show me where she grew up \u2014 where I could have met her if my family hadn\u2019t moved away after my father got a job in New York. If fate had played her hand, then I would have met Linda before we moved. But more than that, Linda wanted to ask her mother, Veronica, if she could use her veil for our wedding. Dinner was a hearty affair \u2014 a lot of laughter and lots of delicious food. Veronica\u2019s chili alone was well worth the trip. But then came the old photographs of Linda. \u201cCole,\u201d Veronica said, handing me an album. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to see Linda\u2019s hair during her rebellious years.\u201d It was all good fun and innocent. Until I stumbled upon a photo of Linda and her father.\n
It made my blood run cold. I held the old photograph briefly, the beer bottle in my hand shaking slightly. In the photograph was a face I had never expected to see, and certainly not in Linda\u2019s family album. Without thinking, I blurted out a confession. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry to say this, but I\u2019m the reason your father is dead. Linda, I killed him.\u201d Linda\u2019s joyous expression morphed into confusion and disbelief. Her face contorted before my eyes. \u201cWhat do you mean, Cole?\u201d she asked. \u201cMy father died about twenty years ago. How could you be the reason for his death?\u201d \u201cDo you remember I told you that my family lived in Phoenix for about a year when I was ten?\u201d Linda and her mother nodded.\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t here long because my father was between jobs. But during that time, I loved to ride bicycles, and I would always ride a few blocks back before dinner. I rode into the wrong lane one day because the sun was distracting. There was another car on the road, and to protect me, the car swerved and crashed into a tree.\u201d I paused but could not look at either Linda or her mother. \u201cThis photo,\u201d I said, pointing to one next to Linda and her father.\n
\u201cThis one was in the newspaper. I remember seeing it the next day, and I knew the man had saved me. I don\u2019t know who called for an ambulance, but I know that I sat on the curb until they left. Then I walked home.\u201d \u201cBut you were only a child,\u201d Linda\u2019s mother said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know he was your Dad until now,\u201d I told Linda. \u201cIt was only when I saw this photograph.\u201d\n
The silence hung in the room. \u201cI understand if you want to cancel the wedding,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019d do anything for you, Linda. Even if it means letting you walk away \u2014 this is unthinkable. And unforgivable. I know.\u201d Linda reached for my beer bottle and took a swig. \u201cI think it\u2019s fate that we met, Cole,\u201d she said, taking my hand. \u201cAnd I think that my Dad saved you for me. You were a child, and I cannot blame a child for being a child and riding a bicycle. And I cannot blame my father for wanting to save you, either. I forgive you.\u201d Linda\u2019s words hit me like a wave. She stood up, and at that moment, she hugged me. Then, I cried. And it was cathartic.\n
Linda\u2019s Mom then stepped forward and joined the embrace. I wasn\u2019t sure if she would have forgiven me, but she seemed to have done so. I\u2019m sitting here, a week before our wedding, writing my vows, and I couldn\u2019t feel more fulfilled. I feel a sense of closure now that I got to know the family of the man who saved me \u2014 even if it was my fate or coincidence. But now, his family will also be mine.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I Told My Fianc\u00e9e That I Am the Reason Her Father Is Dead When Cole and his fianc\u00e9e, Linda, go to her hometown, he realizes he was present when Linda\u2019s father died in a twist of fate. Now, he has to tell Linda and her mother the truth. I was never really the guy to\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":74323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[855],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-story"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/13-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}