The kitchen around me in my Australian home felt colder as I looked at the photos of Jinny’s wedding.
I had always imagined her big day to be a grand affair, but what I saw broke my heart.
Jinny’s wedding was held in a shabby café with plastic tables, and she wore a tacky dress that didn’t suit her at all.
I buried my face in my palms, feeling a mix of anger and sadness. How could this happen?
I had saved up so much money to give Jinny a beautiful wedding. This was not what I had planned for her.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed on the table, and I picked it up, seeing a message from an old friend in the States.
I needed to talk to someone, so I called her.
“Hello, Hazel! How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m not great, Jane,” I replied. “I just saw the pictures from Jinny’s wedding, and it’s awful. They had it in a rundown café, and she wore this horrible dress. I gave them money for a beautiful wedding, Jane. What happened?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Hazel, I heard something about Diane and Charles. They might have used the money for their home repairs and car.”
My heart sank even further. “What? They took Jinny’s wedding money for themselves? How could they?”
And the story went viral overnight. The public backlash was immediate and fierce. Diane and Charles faced both social and legal repercussions, losing their home and being forced to repay the stolen money.
With the money returned, Jinny and I set about planning a new, beautiful wedding. This time, everything was perfect. I was there to see her walk down the aisle, surrounded by people who genuinely cared about her.
