Ryan is a decent young man now; he’s responsible, compassionate, and a little innocent when it comes to things of the heart. I therefore immediately wanted to make sure he wasn’t entering a scenario blindly when he broke the news to me. To be safe, I advised getting a DNA test done. Ryan, god bless him, completed the test after taking the advice to heart. Upon receiving confirmation of his paternity, he jumped at the chance to support Shelly and enter into a formal relationship.

I knew from the moment I met Shelly that things would not go well between us. She came up to me about the DNA test and said I was making assumptions about her. Although I attempted to clarify that it was merely a precaution and a typical counsel I would offer in a similar circumstance, the harm had already been done. Our relationship never got off to a good start, and even when she was accepted into the family, things never got better. For the sake of peace, I made the decision to keep my distance, being polite during family gatherings but not more.

After some time, Ryan and Shelly’s romance developed into a proposal. That’s when everything started to go south. For reasons only she knew, Shelly started disparaging me to everybody who would listen. She twisted my words and deeds into something evil in order to portray me as this villain. It seemed as though she was determined to incite my own family against me, and the awful thing is, it was succeeding. Being torn between his mother and his prospective spouse, my son felt compelled to take a stand. He threatened to exclude me from Shelly’s wedding unless I apologized to her for something I had never said or done.