Dad Invited Us to His Wedding — To the Woman He Cheated With. What We Did Next Was Unforgettable.
When my dad called to invite my 12-year-old brother Owen and me to his wedding, I thought the hardest part would be sitting through the ceremony—watching him marry the woman who shattered our family. But Owen had a plan that none of us would ever forget.
I’m Tessa, 25, still trying to pick up the pieces after my family fell apart. Owen used to be the sweetest kid—always drawing pictures for Mom and crying at cartoons. But after Dad cheated on Mom with Dana, his perfect coworker, everything changed.
Mom caught them one afternoon. She dropped a plant she’d just bought, and in that moment, I swear something inside her broke forever. She begged Dad to fix things—went to therapy alone, wrote him heartfelt letters, even folded his laundry, trying to save 22 years of marriage. But none of it mattered. Just three weeks after filing for divorce, Dad moved in with Dana.
One night, Owen asked me quietly in the dark, “Does Dad love her more than us?” I didn’t have a good answer.
A year later, Dad invited us to his wedding with Dana. We refused. But our grandparents pressured us, telling us to “be the bigger person,” and eventually Owen agreed to go. Two weeks before the wedding, Owen asked me to order itching powder on Amazon. I didn’t question it. Maybe deep down, I wanted someone to feel a fraction of the pain Mom had endured.
On the wedding day, Owen calmly offered to hang Dana’s white jacket. She smiled, thanked him, and handed it over without suspicion. Minutes into the ceremony, Dana started scratching—her arms, her neck—getting more frantic with every vow. She bolted inside, red and miserable. When she returned, her dress was rumpled, and she laughed nervously, but the atmosphere was shattered. Dad was bewildered.
“What happened?” he asked. “Maybe it’s the detergent?” I shrugged. On the drive home, Owen finally said, “She didn’t cry today. But she’ll remember this. Like Mom remembers that day forever.”
Now, Dad refuses to speak to us. Dana’s family calls us cruel. But I haven’t apologized. Because I didn’t plan it. I just didn’t stop it. Maybe that makes me wrong — but I’m not sorry.
