I was minutes away from marrying the man I loved when my father suddenly froze beside me. One terrified look from him shattered everything I thought I knew.I always thought I’d cry from happiness on my wedding day. More than anything, I wanted my father, Daniel, to walk me down the aisle. He’d raised me on his own and never complained. My mother disappeared from our lives when I was very little.He braided my hair before school, worked night shifts, and sat beside my bed when I was sick. My dad always told me, “Your life will be better than mine. I’ll do everything to make sure of it.”My fiancé, Julian, had only seen my dad a few times on video calls while we lived in Europe for three years. The connection always froze, and somehow, they never really saw each other clearly.

When we returned home for the wedding, Dad came down with a fever and missed the rehearsal dinner.”I’ll see him tomorrow, when I walk you down the aisle to him,” he told me over the phone. “That’s the proper way.”But I never anticipated what would happen that day.The connection always froze.The following morning, I stood beside my dad at the church entrance, trying not to cry before the ceremony had even started. I could hear the rustle of my dress and feel my dad’s uneven breathing.The doors opened.Music filled the church. White roses lined the aisle.Julian stood at the altar, tall and calm in a black suit. He smiled the moment he saw me.

Then my dad suddenly stopped walking.