I, Brandon Hunter, take you Katherine Taylor, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.
A beautiful promise I gave to my wife and to God, but loving Katherine wasn’t my real intention.
The real reason why I married Katherine was all about business. When I learned that she is the only daughter of a family who owns a huge branch of auto shops, I know that I have to marry her to inherit that business. My life with Katherine was perfect, she’s crazy about me and I got the things I wanted. I am in love with my wife but my love for her was not enough to win against my selfish ambitions.
A year after, my wife gave birth to a baby girl; my father-in-law retired and handed the family business to me. Everything went according to plan. I was very proud of my self. The time when I finally got settled in my new position, I’ve become a very busy man. When I’m in work, I totally forget about my wife and daughter. I rarely have time for family, I didn’t even notice that my daughter was already walking and never noticed how tired my wife is in trying to hang on to me.
Our weak marriage was put to the test when Mia Richards came to my life; I met her during a convention in Vegas, she’s strikingly beautiful and we share the same interests.
Mia made me forget about Katherine’s existence, sometimes I would take a day off just to spend the whole day with her. Our love affair wasn’t hidden for too long, the people at the office started to talk until it finally reached to Katherine.
When she learned about it she was in rage. I’ve never seen Katherine so mad before, she slapped me so hard , took my car keys and scratched ugly lines allover my car but I did not dare stop her because I know that it was all my fault. She filed for divorce and we made an agreement that I could see our daughter on weekends.
The 5 years of marriage meant nothing to me, it was only a stepping stone but to Katherine it was a waste of everything.
My relationship with Mia was made public and most of the people, almost everyone hated me. Katherine was a good wife and she never forced me to do something, she doesn’t even demand anything from me but I cheated on her that was a great mistake. Her father was angry at me but we maintained our work relationship.
I didn’t contact Katherine after the divorce and I didn’t even bother seeing my daughter, I don’t want to cause anymore trouble and I’m not even emotionally attached to my daughter.
My parents would call telling me what a terrible father I am and suggested that I should be fair to Katherine in doing my part as a parent – I gave in and did what they told me to do, I thought that maybe parenting would change something or maybe nothing at all.
I talked to Katherine about it, she hesitated at first but I convinced her to give me a chance, I know she doesn’t trust me but Lauren is my daughter too. She gave me 3 days to spend time with our daughter. I thought that my daughter hated me but her approach was far different from what I had expected, she was very happy to see me and at that moment I was moved. “In case you didn’t know, you’re daughter is already four years old” Katherine gave me Lauren’s bag and a long “to do” list. She was right, I didn’t know anything about my daughter the only thing I know is her name. I realized how much I’ve missed in life, I really am a terrible father and I should try hard to make it up to Lauren.
Lauren has the face of an angel, she’s smart, polite and very well behaved compared to the other kids – I am very proud of her and thankful that she’s nothing like me. We bought new toys and lots of candies; I really made sure that she’s having fun. Lauren taught me how to pray and told me how important it is, I was very amazed how easy she can find happiness in little things. After praying, I read to her the story books we just bought until she fell asleep. Tears fell down my cheeks as I was watching her, “I’m very sorry” I said it silently. I blamed myself for ruining her chance of growing up in a complete family. My daughter taught me a lot of things that changed my life and brought me an indescribable joy that I believe, only a father can feel.
I would call everyday to check up on Lauren and we would share stories about how our day went – I’ve become pretty attached to my daughter. Mia and I quarreled about Lauren, it was very clear that she was jealous of my daughter – it was insane. We settled our first fight about it but the second fight was the last draw. She made me choose between me and my daughter, it didn’t take me more than 10 seconds to answer – I chose my daughter. No man in his right mind would give his daughter up for a lover. I didn’t feel hurt when Mia left, actually I felt free. I realized that love never existed between us – it was only infatuation.
I told Katherine about the break up and she laughed at me because I made it sound like a successful plan. Katherine finally warmed up to me and accepted my apology. She noticed how much I changed and my efforts in trying to make it up to them. I admit that I have cheated on her but she’s the only woman that I have ever loved. I took Katherine and Lauren to a vacation and we bonded like a complete and loving family. Lauren was very happy because she felt complete, it touched my heart and I realized that everything’s never too late; Katherine and I have divorced but that’s only in the papers. We made a vow of togetherness for the rest of our lives and as long as we are both alive, there’s no such thing as a divorce. I had a heart to heart talk with Katherine and I told her about the plans I have for us if she’ll give me another chance — and she did.
I married Katherine again and I said the wedding vows sincerely.
“Katherine, I thank you and especially God for giving me a second chance at happiness and for believing in me. I come today to give you my love, to give you my heart and my hope for our future together. I promise to bring you joy, to be at home with your spirit and to learn to love you more each day, through all the days of our lives.”
Even though I did a lot of things that complicated my life, I didn’t regret doing them because it changed me into a better person.
I can say that it was a lesson well learned.
(Screen) Name: Story teller 777