Not with Ethan… with his family.
Her parents had a small chain of local stores. Nothing extravagant, but enough to make them feel comfortable and rich. Enough to feel superior.
The problems started almost immediately.
When I met her mother, she smiled and asked, “Well, Anna, what do you do?”
“I’m a doctor. I’m still finishing the residency.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s… impressive.”
The way he said it didn’t sound impressed.
Later, I heard his sister talking to Ethan in the kitchen.
When I met her mother, she smiled.
“It comes from nowhere,” he said. “Are you sure of that?”
“I’m sure,” Ethan replied firmly.
“It seems fast.”
“It is not.”
At a family dinner, a few weeks later, Ethan’s uncle said it bluntly.
“Come on, Ethan. The daughter of a health worker? You could do much better.”
The words hit me like a slap.
“It comes from nothing.”
“Enough is enough,” Ethan said.
But his uncle just shrugged. “I’m just saying what everyone thinks. He’s with you for money.”
I wanted to leave. But Ethan grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly.
“He’s not with me for money. He doesn’t need anything from us. She and her dad work more than anyone else at this table.”
His family did not apologize. They just changed the subject.
But the comments did not cease.
“He’s with you for money.”
They whispered when they thought I didn’t listen to them. About my background. About my father making a living collecting garbage. About how his friends would see him.
“It’s not personal,” his mother once said. “It’s just… how things look.”
Ethan always stood up for me. But it exhausted us both.
The wedding was their idea.
Not small and intimate like Ethan and I wanted. Big. Elegant. And “appropriate.”
They whispered when they thought I didn’t listen to them.
“People expect a certain level,” his mother repeated.
So the guest list grew. Business partners. Friends of friends. People I had never met and would probably never see again.
The place of celebration was expensive. The flowers were imported. Everything had to look perfect.
None of that mattered to me.
The only people I cared about were Ethan and my dad.
“People expect a certain level.”
My dad arrived early on the wedding day. He stayed for a moment near the entrance, adjusting his tie, observing the room. He seemed a little overwhelmed.
But when he saw me, his face lit up.
“You’re beautiful, dear,” she muttered, her eyes bright as she smiled.
I hugged him. “I’m glad you’re here, Dad.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything, Princess.”
My dad arrived early on the wedding day.
Ethan approached and lovingly hugged Dad. “I’m so glad you’re here, Joe.”
My dad smiled. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
I don’t know exactly when it started.
The whispers. The looks. The way people on Ethan’s side walked away when my dad was passing by.
I noticed that Ethan’s mother was gently running to the guests at different tables.
“You’ll be more comfortable here,” he said with a smile.
Ethan approached and lovingly hugged Dad.
Each time, the chairs around my dad’s table were emptied.
He realized it. I noticed it because of the way he kept his gaze down, his hands crossed.
Then the comments became stronger.
“They’re business contacts,” someone murmured near me. “It’s not the right audience.”
My heart hurt. Before he could answer, Ethan’s parents approached.
They were calm, calm and smiling.
The chairs around my dad’s table were emptied.
“We have to talk for a moment,” his mother told my dad.
My stomach sank.
