When a mysterious package arrives at Kate and Josh’s home, they are confused to see that the sender is Josh’s estranged father. But things get even stranger when Josh finds a ticking box inside the gift — a beautiful pillow. A confrontation occurs, and Josh is left battling with the truth. Should he forgive his father, or act like their relationship is nonexistent?
Josh had just taken their daughter, Emily for a stroll around the garden when the doorbell rang, signaling that the day needed to begin.
A person holding a baby’s hands | Source: Unsplash
“I have a package for you,” the delivery man said as I opened the door.
I signed and carried the box into the kitchen. Our third wedding anniversary was this week, and Josh was always ordering things for me.
A person with a brown cardboard box | Source: Pexels
“I just want to surprise you, Kate,” he said one day while we were lounging on the couch. “It’s just the little things, you know?”
So, naturally, as I took the package to the kitchen, I just assumed that it was from him.
A couple on a couch | Source: Pexels
Until I took a pair of scissors and cut through the thick tape. Opening the package, I found a beautifully embroidered pillow, a note sticking out beneath it. It would have matched our living room décor perfectly.
Happy Anniversary, Josh and Kate! – Taylor.
A package with a pillow inside | Source: Midjourney
For a moment, I reveled in the kindness of the gesture. But then I remembered that there was no way possible that Josh would accept this gift.
“Hey, what’s this?” Josh said, coming back into the kitchen with Emily on his shoulders. “Did we order something?”
A man carrying his daughter | Source: Pexels
“Well, it’s a gift,” I said cautiously. “From your father.”
Josh pulled the note from me, his eyes flying across the paper.
I wondered what he was going to do. Josh and his father had a very complicated relationship. When Josh was a child, Taylor had abandoned him and his mother.
He had been seeing another woman, and when it finally came down to a choice, Taylor had chosen the other woman.
A mother and son | Source: Pexels
Josh had been seven, and he had never recovered from it. He told me all about it one evening when we went out for dinner.
“A father is supposed to choose you, Kate. But he went ahead and left us behind so that he could start a new life with his mistress. That’s not how this works.”
A couple having dinner | Source: Pexels
I understood his point of view. Of course, he had just wanted his father to be there for him and his mother.
Instead, Taylor had other ideas.
“He said that he needed to be happy, and that my mother was too strict with him. He had a job, but he was always doing illegal things on the side. So he packed up his things and left.”
A man with packed bags | Source: Pexels
“What do you mean?” I asked, shocked that Josh had been exposed to something like that at such a young age.
“Money, swindling it. Gambling, all that,” my husband said as he picked up his glass of whiskey.
And that was it. Josh didn’t speak to him again until a year before we got married.
Taylor had heard about our upcoming wedding through other relatives, and he thought it was the perfect opportunity to try and make things right between them.
A person holding a phone | Source: Unsplash
But Josh refused.
“I don’t want him around us on our special day, Kate. It’s not going to benefit anyone. And if anything, seeing him will spoil everything for me.”
“And you don’t think you’d regret it?” I asked as I folded wedding invitations into envelopes.
“Not at all,” Josh replied, picking up an envelope. “For all we know, someone will come and crash the ceremony because he owes them money.”
A wedding invitation | Source: Pexels
And that was that. Topic closed.
I didn’t want to push it. I knew it was up to him to deal with it later if he regretted it. I would support him, but I wouldn’t want to overstep anything, especially because Taylor sounded like a lot to deal with.
A couple embracing | Source: Pexels
When Emily was born, Taylor tried to get into our good books one more time. He wanted to reach out and try to make things right with Josh so that he could have his role of being a grandfather.
“I don’t want him around us. I don’t want him around our child. Please, Kate, don’t fight me on this one. This man is bad news,” my husband said, carrying our baby.
A newborn baby’s feet | Source: Pexels
So that was it.
Which brings us back to the present.
Josh picked up the pillow and felt it up and down; he even put it to his ear, his eyes widening.
“Sweetheart, we can’t keep this pillow!” he said.
A shocked man | Source: Pexels
Without another word, he rushed over and threw it out the back door.
“Josh, what’s going on?” I exclaimed, leaving Emily in her high seat with fruit slices.
“It’s ticking, Kate! There’s something inside. He’s up to something.”
A person cutting fruit | Source: Pexels
“Ticking?” I said. “What do you mean?”
We both went outside.
We stood over the pillow lying innocently among our garden flowers. I hesitated, then reached down to listen.
Sure enough, there was a soft ticking sound.
Yellow garden flowers | Source: Pexels
“Oh,” I said, shocked. I had been convinced that Josh had been hearing things that weren’t there.
Why would Taylor want to hurt us in any way?
“Take out your phone and video this entire thing,” Josh said as he bent to pick up the pillow. “Just in case something happens or there’s something illegal in there.”
A woman holding a phone | Source: Pexels
With a deep breath, Josh tore the pillow open to reveal a small, mysterious box equipped with a timer.
“What the hell is that?” I murmured, dread creeping up my spine.
“Let’s find out,” Josh’s jaw was set. “Call him.”
I dialed Taylor’s number, my hands trembling.
A man holding a box | Source: Unsplash
“Hi, Kate,” he said, his voice cheery. “Did you get my package? I didn’t know what to get you, but I knew that I had to get something.”
“There’s something inside the pillow,” Josh said. “A box. It’s making a sound. What is it?”
“Please be honest,” I said.
“It’s a gift, Kate. For your anniversary,” Taylor’s voice was calm, almost soothing to me.
A woman on the phone | Source: Pexels
“The sound is probably the timer; it’s supposed to make a sound and open on the day,” he said. “There’s something in there.”
My husband snatched the phone from my hand.
“Do you really think we want anything from you? What’s really in the box, Dad? Is there something that shouldn’t be there? Something illegal?” Josh demanded.
An angry man on the phone | Source: Pexels
“Please, Josh,” he said. “It’s just a gesture. I mean absolutely no harm.”
“If you truly mean that, then stay out of our lives.”
“Wait, Kate,” Taylor said. “Just open the box, okay?”
Taylor sighed deeply, and Josh reached out and cut the call.
I looked at my husband; he seemed confused by it all. I knew that he was curious about what was inside the little box, but he was traumatized by everything his father had done.
An expressionless man | Source: Pexels
“What do you want to do?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said, holding his head.
“Let’s open it,” I said. “If he wanted me to open it, then there’s no way that he’s trying to hurt us, darling. Okay?”
Josh nodded slowly, finally accepting it for what it was. His father had simply wanted to reach out to us and give us a gift. That maybe everything was as easy as it seemed.
A man holding a phone | Source: Unsplash
“But record it, okay?” Josh said.
I picked up my phone again and began recording.
My husband pried the box open, revealing its contents: a check for $100,000.
Josh stared at the check, his emotions flying across his face as he tried to make sense.
“What is he playing at, Kate?” Josh asked, stunned. “There’s no way that this is clean money. He must be trying to cover up for something.”
But before we could process this further, Taylor called back.
An uncertain man | Source: Pexels
I answered, hesitant.
“We found the check,” I said. “Why did you do that?”
“Because I’m dying, Kate,” he confessed quietly. “I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, and I know that Josh hates me. But that money is for you guys. And if Josh doesn’t want it, then keep it for Emily’s future. For school. Nobody needs to know that it came from me.”
A bank cheque | Source: Flickr
I walked inside the house, realizing that we had left Emily alone for too long. Not that it mattered, because our daughter was sitting quietly by herself and eating her fruit.
Josh was right behind me.
“Dad,” he said, taking the phone from me. “If you’re really serious about your health, then please, we need to talk. No more games.”
A man talking on the phone | Source: Pexels
“Thank you, Josh,” Taylor’s voice came through the phone. “You tell me when.”
We arranged to meet Taylor at a park later that week; it wasn’t far from us, and we often took Emily there.
As the day arrived, Josh was visibly nervous, fidgeting as we waited on a secluded bench.
When Taylor arrived, he looked frail and worn.
A secluded park bench | Source: Pexels
“I’m so sorry for everything. I was a terrible father. I don’t have much time left, but I want to spend it making amends.”
Josh took a long breath.
“It’s not easy, Dad. But I’m willing to try. For Emily’s sake, so that one day, she’ll know that her grandfather carried her through school.”
A smiling little girl | Source: Pexels
While Josh and my father-in-law spoke, I set up the picnic that I had brought along with me. I figured that if anything awkward happened, we all still needed to eat.
As we left the park, Josh squeezed my hand, a weight lifted from his shoulders.
“Maybe it’s good that pillow showed up, after all,” he mused, a small smile breaking through.
Things could only get better from here, right?
A picnic setup | Source: Pexels
What would you have done?
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one
Leighton, after witnessing how her parents celebrated their anniversary, is sure about one thing — when she gets married, she will do just that. But when her anniversary rolls around, her husband skips their romantic dinner and lies about a meeting.
A newlywed couple at the beach | Source: Pexels
Curiosity prevails, and Leighton follows Josh, only to find him at a motel with the first person he ever loved. Is there a hidden truth, or is the story exactly what it looks like?
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
My Son Proposed to a Girl He’d Only Known for 3 Weeks—During the Ceremony, the Police Walked In
I never imagined my son’s wedding day would end with flashing lights and a runaway bride. When those men flashed their badges and called Lisa’s name, her face changed so fast it was like watching a mask slip.
When my son, Daniel, told me he was getting engaged after just three weeks of dating a girl named Lisa, my heart sank. We were having our regular Sunday dinner, Arnold grilling steaks outside while I finished the salad. Daniel had been unusually quiet all evening, checking his phone and smiling to himself.
A boy using his phone | Source: Midjourney
“Mom, Arnold, I have some news,” he announced, putting his water glass down with deliberate care.
Arnold came in from the patio, spatula still in hand. “Everything okay, buddy?”
“Better than okay.” Daniel’s face broke into a wide grin. “I’m getting married.”
I dropped the serving spoon. “You’re what?”
“Her name is Lisa. She’s amazing, Mom. She’s smart and funny and beautiful, and we just… connect, you know?”
Arnold sat down slowly. “How long have you been seeing this girl?”
A close-up shot of a man’s face | Source: Midjourney
“Three weeks,” Daniel said proudly, as if this was an accomplishment.
“Three weeks?” I echoed, my voice rising. “Daniel, that’s not enough time to decide what college courses to take, let alone choose a life partner!”
“I knew right away,” he insisted. “When you know, you know.”
“No, honey, you don’t,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “You think you know, but people show their best selves at the beginning. It takes time to truly know someone.”
“Lisa isn’t like that. She’s genuine. She gets me.”
A young man talking to another man | Source: Midjourney
Arnold, always the diplomat, tried a different approach. “What does she do? Where did you meet her?”
“At the campus coffee shop. She’s studying business. Mom, she’s so driven. She’s got these amazing plans for the future.”
“Daniel,” I said carefully, “you’re only 19. You have your whole life ahead of you. What’s the rush?”
His face hardened in that stubborn way I knew too well. “There’s no rush. It just feels right. I thought you’d be happy for me.”
A close-up shot of a man’s eyes | Source: Unsplash
“We want you to be happy,” Arnold said. “But we also want you to make good decisions. Marriage is serious.”
“I am serious,” Daniel snapped. “Lisa is perfect for me. She makes me feel like no one else ever has.”
Two days later, we met Lisa. I had to admit, she was stunning. Tall and poised with intelligent eyes and a dazzling smile. She charmed Arnold with questions about his job and complimented my home with the precision of an interior decorator.
A woman standing in a house | Source: Midjourney
“Your son is incredible, Mrs. Harrison,” she said, her voice musical. “I’ve never met anyone like him.”
There was something rehearsed about her, though. Like she knew exactly what to say and when to say it. And despite claiming to be 19, there was a worldliness to her that seemed beyond her years.
“Where did you grow up, Lisa?” I asked casually over dinner.
“Oh, all over,” she replied smoothly. “My dad’s job meant we moved a lot. It taught me to adapt quickly.”
Cardboard boxes in a house | Source: Pexels
Every answer was like that. Perfect but vague, deflecting further questions while sounding completely reasonable.
Later that week, Daniel told us he’d introduced Lisa to Morgan, his biological father.
“Dad thinks she’s amazing,” he declared triumphantly. “He said we have his full blessing.”
I called Morgan that night after Daniel left.
“Did you really give your blessing?” I demanded.
Morgan sighed. “What was I supposed to say, Christie? The kid’s got stars in his eyes. Besides, he’s an adult now.”
A man talking on the phone | Source: Pexels
“An adult who’s making a huge mistake!”
“Maybe,” Morgan conceded. “But sometimes people need to make their own mistakes.”
I tried reasoning with Daniel one more time. I told him he was too young, that he should finish college first, and that they could have a long engagement. But my impulsive, headstrong son wouldn’t budge.
“I love her, Mom,” he said simply. “I’m going to marry her.”
A young man talking to his mother | Source: Midjourney
As the days passed, I realized I had no choice but to support Daniel’s decision. When he told me they’d set a date, just six weeks away, I plastered on a smile and nodded.
“Lisa’s parents want to meet you,” Daniel said one evening, practically bouncing with excitement. “They’re in town this weekend.”
The meeting was at a restaurant downtown. Lisa’s parents, James and Elaine, seemed pleasant enough. Elaine had Lisa’s same striking features, and James was all firm handshakes and hearty laughs.
“We were surprised too,” James confided over appetizers. “But when you see them together, you understand.”
A man talking in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
“Lisa has always known her own mind,” Elaine added. “When she’s certain, she’s certain.”
When the conversation turned to wedding plans, I braced myself for discussions of venues and caterers. Instead, Lisa’s mother surprised me.
“We don’t believe in extravagant ceremonies,” she explained. “In our family, we value the marriage more than the wedding day.”
“Just something small and meaningful,” James agreed. “No sense starting a life together buried in debt.”
Daniel nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I’ve been telling Mom. Lisa and I want something simple.”
A young man sitting in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
Something still felt off, but they seemed so reasonable that I couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering me. By the time we left the restaurant, the wedding was set for three weeks later in a small rented hall downtown.
That night, I sat on the edge of our bed while Arnold got ready for sleep.
“Are we doing the right thing?” I asked, staring at the carpet. “Supporting this… rushed marriage?”
Arnold paused. “What choice do we have, Christie? He’s an adult.”
A man talking to his wife | Source: Midjourney
“But something doesn’t feel right,” I insisted. “Everything’s happening so fast. And Lisa… she’s lovely, but sometimes it feels like she’s performing rather than just being herself.”
Arnold sat beside me, his weight sinking the mattress. “You’re overthinking this. Daniel seems happy. Happier than I’ve seen him in ages.”
“But what nineteen-year-old knows what they want? What marriage means?”
“We were young when we got married.”
A couple holding hands on their big day | Source: Pexels
“That was different. I’d already been married and divorced. I had Daniel. And we dated for two years, not three weeks!”
Arnold slipped an arm around my shoulders. “Lisa seems like a nice girl, Christie. And if Daniel is happy, shouldn’t we be happy for him?”
“I’m trying,” I sighed. “I just can’t shake this feeling.”
“Mother’s intuition?” he asked with a small smile.
“Maybe.” I leaned into him. “Or maybe I’m just not ready for my baby to be married.”
The weeks flew by in a blur of hasty preparations.
A wedding planner | Source: Pexels
Before I knew it, we were booking the small hall, ordering a modest cake, and sending out invitations to a carefully curated guest list.
It all happened so fast that I barely had time to catch my breath.
On the morning of the wedding, everything seemed normal. The hall looked lovely with simple flower arrangements. Guests arrived in small groups, mingling and laughing.
Daniel, handsome in his suit, couldn’t stop smiling.
A groom smiling| Source: Midjourney
When Lisa arrived in a sleek white dress, she was radiant. Perfect makeup, perfect hair, perfect smile. But when she hugged me, her eyes darted over my shoulder, scanning the room.
For what, I wasn’t sure.
“Beautiful ceremony,” one of Morgan’s cousins commented as we took our seats.
I nodded, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. As Daniel and Lisa took their places before the officiant, I noticed her parents exchanging glances. Not proud, loving glances. Something more like… nervous anticipation.
The officiant began speaking about love and commitment, but I barely heard the words.
A wedding officiant | Source: Midjourney
All I could focus on was Lisa’s face and the strange tension radiating from her perfect posture.
Then, just as the officiant asked if anyone had any objections, two men in plain clothes stepped into the hall. They weren’t dressed like the other guests. They were just wearing jeans and button-downs with serious expressions.
At first, nobody understood who they were until one of them pulled out a badge and said, “Miss Lisa, could we see you for a moment?”
Two men looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
At that point, Lisa’s smile vanished, replaced by something I’d never seen on her face before. Raw fear.
She stuttered something about needing to grab her ID from the coat check, and before anyone could react, she was gone. Out the back door. And so were her parents.
Confusion turned into chaos. Daniel stood there stunned, guests started murmuring, and the officiant awkwardly stepped aside. Arnold moved toward our son, placing a protective hand on his shoulder.
“What’s happening?” Daniel whispered.
A groom looking at his side | Source: Midjourney
I noticed Morgan striding toward the two men with a grim satisfaction of his face. That’s when I realized something wasn’t adding up.
“Morgan?” I called out. “What did you do?”
He turned to face me, then looked at Daniel. “Son, I’m sorry it had to happen this way.”
The two “policemen” weren’t shifting uncomfortably or taking control of the situation like real officers would. One of them was actually grinning now.
“They’re not real cops, are they?” I asked, the pieces suddenly falling into place.
Morgan had the decency to look ashamed. “No. I hired them. I had to do something before it was too late.”
A man at his son’s wedding | Source: Midjourney
“Dad, what are you talking about?” Daniel demanded, his voice cracking.
The wedding guests were gathering around us now, hungry for answers. Morgan gestured for everyone to calm down.
“Three weeks ago, I was meeting with a client at a bar downtown,” Morgan explained. “The bartender there, Joe, recognized Lisa from your phone picture. He pulled me aside. Told me she was a regular.”
A neon sign above a bar | Source: Pexels
“So what?” Daniel challenged.
“So, Joe also told me about her pattern. She finds wealthy young men, pretends to fall in love, rushes them to the altar, then finds ways to drain them financially. Sometimes it’s joint accounts she empties, sometimes it’s ‘family emergencies’ that need cash.”
I felt my knees weaken. “And her parents?”
“Not her parents,” Morgan said grimly. “Joe recognized them too. They’re just two people from her circle. Part of her crew.”
Daniel’s face had gone white. “You’re lying.”
“Son, there’s more,” Morgan continued gently. “Lisa is pregnant.”
A man at his son’s wedding | Source: Midjourney
Daniel’s eyes widened. “She… she never told me.”
“Because it’s not yours,” Morgan said. “Joe overheard her on the phone two days before she met you. She was bragging about finding a ‘rich fool’ she could trap into marriage, pretend the baby was his, and secure a comfortable life.”
“You’re lying,” Daniel repeated, but there was no conviction in his voice.
An upset boy | Source: Midjourney
I stepped forward, anger boiling inside me. “You knew all this, and you still gave your blessing? You let it get this far?”
“I needed proof,” Morgan said defensively. “I needed Daniel to see for himself.”
“By humiliating him on his wedding day?” I hissed.
“Better humiliated than bankrupted and raising another man’s child under false pretenses,” Morgan countered.
Arnold placed himself between them. “What matters now is Daniel.”
A man smiling | Source: Midjourney
We all turned to my son, who stood perfectly still, processing everything. Then he slowly removed the wedding band from his finger.
“Well,” he said quietly, “I guess that’s that.”
My heart broke for him. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, his voice strengthening. “Dad’s right. Better now than later.”
The wedding guests were dispersing now, murmuring sympathetically. Someone had already started packing up the gifts. The cake sat untouched on its stand.
A close-up shot of a wedding cake | Source: Pexels
Daniel looked around the half-empty hall and gave a short, humorless laugh. “Some wedding day, huh?”
I pulled him into a hug, feeling him trembling slightly. “This isn’t your fault,” I whispered.
“I should have listened to you.”
“You loved her. There’s no shame in that.”
It took time for Daniel to heal from Lisa’s betrayal. Weeks passed before he smiled easily again. Months before he stopped checking his phone, half-expecting texts from her.
But at least he still had his dignity and his future intact. And maybe he’d learned to listen to his mother’s intuition once in a while.
A silhouette of a man | Source: Midjourney
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