“But Richard, sometimes you don’t recognize me. You call me Catherine, remember?”
“You know that!”
“That’s different!” he snapped. “I’m having a good day today.”
Janine swallowed.
“What about your diary? You wrote that you’re afraid you’ll forget my face.”
“My doctor told me to write important things down. You know that!”
“Then tell me something. Do you remember the day we met?”
My Husband Took Another ‘Wife’ to His Company’s Summer Party as His Plus-One – But His Boss Made Sure He Regretted It
As a Harmless Joke, I Swapped My Number with My Twin Sister’s in My Husband’s Phone – But One Call Turned My Prank Into Something I Never Expected
A Man Complained about the Time His Wife Spent with Her Dying Father – But After a Private Conversation with Him, the Man Walked Out and Said, ‘We’re Leaving. Now’
Richard threw up his hands.
“And our first dinner?”
“Of course! You arrived fifteen minutes early for your interview. You were wearing a blue blouse and carrying a ridiculous yellow handbag.”
“And our first dinner?”
“At the Italian restaurant on Maple Street. You ordered salmon and complained about the music!”
He continued without hesitation, describing their first walk through the park and the evening he’d proposed.
Janine looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“Absolutely not!”
“Richard, I think we should postpone the wedding until we speak to another doctor.”
His expression hardened.
“Absolutely not! You’ve already humiliated me in front of everyone!”
“I’m just trying to understand—”
“You think I’m some helpless old man who doesn’t know what’s happening around him?”
“I remember everything!”
Janine’s voice trembled. “So you remember everything?”
Richard slammed his hand against the altar.
“Yes! I remember everything! Every single thing!”
The entire chapel went silent.
Richard froze, apparently realizing what he’d just shouted.
“You!”
Janine stepped backward, tears filling her eyes. And that was when I rose from my seat in the front row.
“Well, Richard,” I said, approaching the altar. “I’m glad we finally cleared that up.”
I slowly approached the altar.
Richard glared at me. “You! I should’ve known you were behind this!”
I stopped a few feet away.
“I’ve seen you.”
“Do you remember me, Richard?”
He scoffed. “I’ve never seen you before in my life!”
“That’s interesting. Because I’ve seen you.”
I turned toward Janine.
“Sweetheart, remember that medical certificate you showed me? The one with Richard’s diagnosis?”
She nodded. “That hospital is where I work. I’m a nurse there.”
“That’s a lie!”
Richard’s expression changed.
“A few weeks ago, before you announced your engagement, I saw Richard standing in one of our corridors, talking on his phone.”
I remembered the conversation perfectly.
He’d been laughing so loudly that I’d turned around.
“I told that little fool I had Alzheimer’s. Now she thinks I’m some poor, lonely man who needs saving.”
“I recognized you.”
Janine covered her mouth.
Richard shook his head. “That’s a lie!”
“Really? Because I also heard you bragging about inventing a tragic first love named Catherine. And about getting fake medical documents to support your story.”
The guests began whispering.
“She thinks I’m some poor man.”
“At the time, I had no idea who you were talking about,” I continued. “But when Janine came home wearing your ring, I recognized you.”
“She’s hated me from the beginning!” Richard shouted. “She’s making this up!”
I ignored him.
“I knew Janine was in love. I was afraid she’d think I was simply trying to separate you. So when she showed me your diary and those papers, I suggested we check your story.”
“She’s so scared.”
I glanced at Megan.
“Recognizing someone doesn’t prove a person is healthy. But your reaction today, and what I overheard, gave us plenty of reasons to question your claims.”
Richard opened his mouth. I interrupted him.
“Remember what you said on that phone call? ‘The best part is, she’s so scared of abandoning a sick man that she’ll never dare leave me.'”
I interrupted him.
His face went pale.
“You didn’t want a wife, Richard. You wanted a young woman, too guilty to ever leave you.”
Janine stared at him.
For the first time, she didn’t rush to defend him.
