On our wedding day, everything seemed perfect until Mike, our videographer, approached me with a serious expression. “Nora, you need to see this,” he said, showing me footage of my new father-in-law, Gerald, sneaking a gift box from the table and slipping out of the room.

Stunned, I confronted Gerald, who revealed a shocking truth: the box contained silverware that Vivian, my new mother-in-law, had tainted with orange peels, knowing I was severely allergic. Gerald claimed he was trying to protect me by removing the box before I touched it.

Reeling, I found Finn, my husband, and we decided not to confront Vivian at the wedding. Instead, we pretended everything was normal, though every interaction with her felt like a lie. During the reception, Vivian even encouraged me to open her “gift,” completely unaware that her plan had been thwarted.

As the night ended, Gerald discreetly returned the cleaned silverware box to the gift table. Finn and I left the reception, our hearts heavy with the secret we now shared. In the car, he took my hand. “We’ll get through this together,” he assured me.

We had just started our marriage, but the shadows of betrayal loomed large. Trust had been shattered, and the future felt uncertain. Yet, as we drove away, I knew one thing: whatever came next, we would face it as a team.