My mother never approved of my wife, Danika. On our wedding day, she quietly warned me that Danika wasn’t the right woman for me, but I believed things would improve. Two years later, after my mother passed away, I was cleaning out her house when I found something unexpected: Danika’s old college diary, hidden beneath a bed. She had always told me it was lost.
The diary began with everyday entries about school and friends, but as I read on, the tone shifted. It revealed a dark period in Danika’s past, involving an ex-boyfriend named Vaughn who had threatened her and forced her into dangerous situations. My mother must have read it before our wedding — her coolness toward Danika wasn’t coldness, but concern.
When I showed the diary to Danika, she tearfully admitted everything. She had escaped that life before meeting me, and my mother had confronted her before the wedding. Danika had promised never to let her past affect me, and my mother had quietly chosen to trust her.
Not long ago, Vaughn resurfaced, sending threats. When I found out, we went to the police together, and Vaughn was arrested. The experience helped me finally understand my mother’s actions — she had protected me in her own way, and Danika had shown incredible strength in facing her past. At my mother’s grave, I realized her concerns had come from love — and so had her faith in us.