While I was sleeping with my boyfriend, my son suddenly called out:

“Papa… Mom is getting married tomorrow, will you come?”

That night, I was lying in a small hotel in Lucknow, hugging my boyfriend, when the phone suddenly rang. Eyes half-closed, I heard my son sobbing into the phone:

“Papa… Mom is getting married tomorrow… will you come?”

This statement woke me up, my whole body trembling. I started stammering, my heart pounding. Before I could ask anything, the call was disconnected.

In a panic, I put on my still-disarrayed clothes and ran through the night to the small village on the outskirts of Kanpur – where my ex-wife and son lived.

The next morning,
As I reached the gate of my house, I heard the sound of drums, the reverberations of shehnai, and laughter echoing throughout the neighborhood. A thousand questions raced through my mind:

“Is she really getting married? Why so soon? How will my child cope?”

I entered the crowd, and then…

I was stunned.

What I saw wasn’t my wife wearing a bright red wedding sari and with someone else, but my son, holding his mother’s hand, walking onto the stage in the courtyard of the village community house, sobbing as he told his relatives:

“I’m organizing this for you today. This isn’t a wedding, but the day Mom officially separates from Dad, and is free to start a new life.”

The sight left me speechless.

All around, the entire village was clapping loudly. My face wasn’t red.

On the stage, my wife – Anjali – was wearing a bright red Banarasi sari, her lips smiling proudly. Next to me, my son – Aarav – stared at me, his voice bitter:

“Is that you, Dad? How dare you still come here? It’s been ten years since Dad left Mom and me to run after his girlfriend. Today, Dad, do you find Mom more cheerful than ever? Without Dad… Mom can still live happily, she still has someone to love.”

Everyone turned to me. Some pointed, some whispered. I just wanted to hide in the ground.

The final blow
At that very moment, a stranger – Mr. Rajesh, a successful businessman in the area – stepped forward, handed Anjali a large bouquet of flowers, and gently took her hand.

Aarav raised his head, his voice firm:

“From now on, this is the man who deserves to be with Mom and me.”

I stumbled, almost falling. It felt like I’d been slapped in the face. Amidst the resounding drumbeats and chants of blessings, I walked with heavy steps.

My son’s words kept coming to my mind: “Dad, do you still have the courage to come back here?