Love has a funny way of sneaking up on us, especially when we least expect it. For Luke and Lily, their story began with a simple email mix-up. What started as a polite response to a misdirected message quickly turned into an unexpected connection. These two strangers, brought together by chance, found love and faced an earth-shattering secret that would change everything.
Groom Meets His Bride-To-Be
One day, Luke opens his email to find a message in his inbox that seems to have been misdirected. He replied on the address saying that the address was not a marketing agency and that they may have erroneously included his personal e-mail address on there. The sender responded almost immediately thanking Luke for letting them know—and that's how he met Lily, his bride-to-be. After their chance encounter, Luke and Lily start writing to each other frequently.
From Friends to Lovers
Luke and Lily started by writing to each other about their days and how they were spending them. Lily worked for an advertising agency so her day was always packed and Luke was a librarian at a children's library downtown. Their interactions on e-mail quickly became phone conversations and then it was all day, every day that they spoke about anything and everything. Luke realized that he had feelings for Lily and, on one night while they were both talking late, confessed them to her. Lily said she felt the same way and their love story began!
First Meeting
After they confess their feelings, Luke and Lily decide to meet. Even though they had never met before, they recognize each other right away. The first meeting between them made Luke realize how much he really loved Lily and wanted her to be a part of his life. But he did not say that to her, not yet. They continued to meet for some time with both of them often spending time together until late.
Proposal
One such night, Luke cooked dinner while waiting for Lily to come back from work. It was an unusually late day for her, so he decided to take his time in prepping their meal. Lily returned from work and straight away went in to see Luke in the kitchen. They sat down and enjoyed the food and the conversation. Lily was pleasantly surprised with the massive gourmet spread and thanked Luke but he had something else in mind. He opened a tiny box with a ring inside and asked for Lily's hand. She exclaimed with happiness and that's how they decided to marry!
Family Secret
In all the excitement, Lily still hasn't told Luke about her family and the fact that she has none. As a child, she was abandoned by her mother who was a teen mother. She had tried to find her a couple of years ago but was unsuccessful. Lily had wanted to tell Luke about all of it but wasn't sure how to. Luke came from a big family of five siblings, who were all older than he was and had families of their own. Lily decided she would tell him soon.
Before Marrying
Lily tells Luke about her family over lunch, after they had gone about the store selecting what to put on their wedding register. Luke listened patiently to Lily as she recounted the horrors of her childhood, her wonderful adoptive parents who rescued her and gave her a home and her career. She said all she had of her mother was an old photograph of the two. Luke listened to everything and assured her that she would now be a part of his family too. Luke did not care where Lily had come from as long as she was where he was.
Meeting the Family
Luke wanted to cheer Lily up before the wedding and decided to surprise her by getting all of his family and relatives over earlier than planned. He had arranged everything and was waiting for Lily to finish work and meet him at their place. She had no idea and walked in to find his entire family cheering in the living room. Lily found the surprise endearing and started looking across the room to find Luke. But everything changed when she saw who he was standing next to.
Bride Shrieks in Horror
Lily lets out a scream. Luke is standing next to his mother, but Lily has seen her somewhere before. She remembers. The woman standing in front of her is the woman holding her in the faded photograph from her childhood. Luke's mother is her mother. As soon as she let out a scream, Luke ran over to her. Lily looked at him with a pained expression. He had no idea and she could not bring herself to tell him. She instead recoils and screams for the wedding to be called off. Unable to calm her down, Luke and his entire family decide to leave. That same night, Lily packs her bags and leaves the town. She would never come back.
*This article first appeared on ReadingRanked*