“I still love her” Man cries as ex-wife marries her boyfriend
*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events I experienced firsthand; used with permission.*
Rachel, one of my colleagues, had a disturbing childhood. Her devout father, Gabriel, had an affair, which broke their family. Her mother, Ester, took the divorce pretty hard.
Gabriel and Ester were high school sweethearts who started a family pretty early in their life. After Rachel’s brother’s birth, Ester’s friend, Camilla, came over to stay with them while she searched for a job in the city. One day, Ester walked in on Camila and Gabriel being intimate and that was the end of their marriage.
According to Rachel, her mother cried at night when she thought no one was watching. Her mother cooked and ate her father’s favorite dishes on their anniversary. She went to restaurants they (Gabriel and Ester) went to before things went downhill. She even danced to the song they played at their wedding after sending Rachel and her brother went to school.
I, personally, admired Ester for how she loved Gabriel. Eventually, after years, she moved on and, secretly, dated her boyfriend. Last week, they threw an extravagant engagement party and their pictures were trending.
Back to the present, Rachel looked unusually disturbed and lost today. When I confronted her, she told me she visited her dad, Gabriel, yesterday and found him crying while scrolling through her mother’s Instagram account.
Upon seeing her, Gabriel pulled her into a hug saying how much he regrets what he did. He was in disbelief at how Ester didn’t even let him explain what happened that day. He was angry at her for moving on so quickly in life with a new job, new friends, new apartment, and so on, that he ignored her existence for years.
He said, “She lives like I was never in her life; like I didn’t matter at all. But I still love her”
Rachel was surprised to see this side of her father, whom she thought never repented about having the affair or losing her mother.
She asked me, “Should I tell him it wasn’t easy for mom?”
I was honestly torn but asked her to console Gabriel without involving Ester.
What do you think? Should Rachel let Gabriel and Ester know each others’ feelings? Share your thoughts below.
