I had always been cautious about relationships, especially since I had been in a string of failed ones. I had seen it all—men who ran away from commitment and ones who weren’t ready for something serious. When Matt came into my life, I was skeptical at first. But something about him felt right. He wasn’t like the others. He was grounded, and more than anything, he showed me how much he loved his daughters and how committed he was to building a future with me.

It didn’t take long before I felt an overwhelming sense of peace whenever I was around him. Our bond grew quickly, and it wasn’t long before he proposed. I was over the moon with happiness, and it felt like everything in my life was finally falling into place. After a special dinner that Matt had arranged with the girls’ help, he asked me to marry him. Without hesitation, I said “yes,” overwhelmed with joy and excitement for the future.

Matt and I quickly started planning our wedding. It was a whirlwind of preparations, and the details consumed me. I was obsessed with the flowers, the dresses for me and the girls, and every little detail that would make our day perfect. I’m a bit of a control freak, but it was a dream come true. Everything seemed like it was going to be perfect.

However, after a few months of intense planning, Matt seemed overwhelmed. The stress of work and the wedding was starting to take its toll on him. One night, after a long week, Matt suggested something unexpected. “Let’s take a break before the chaos hits,” he said, trying to soften the mood. “We should take a family vacation, just the four of us. We need it.”

I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of taking time off when there was so much to do. We had wedding plans, work obligations, and I had my own responsibilities. But Matt was insistent, and I could tell he really needed this break. “A family vacation sounds good,” I said reluctantly. We chose a small, cozy resort on a tropical island, hoping it would give us a much-needed reset before the wedding chaos began.

The first two days of the vacation were pure bliss. We spent our time lounging by the pool, enjoying long walks on the beach, and bonding as a family. Ella and Sophie were so full of life and energy, giggling and splashing in the pool as I watched them with Matt. There was a simplicity to those moments that I cherished deeply. We all felt close, and I thought, “This is it. This is what a happy family looks like.”

“Dorothy, look!” Sophie yelled, pointing at a sandcastle she had built. “Isn’t it pretty?”

“It’s beautiful,” I told her, taking a photo to capture the moment. It was one of those perfect moments where time seemed to stand still.

Matt walked up beside me, brushing sand off his hands. “You ready for some ice cream, girls?” he asked with a grin.

“Yesss!” Ella and Sophie shouted in unison, dashing ahead toward the snack bar.

Matt put his arm around my shoulders as we walked, and for the first time in weeks, I felt at peace. “This was a good idea,” Matt said softly. “We needed this.”

“Yeah, we really did,” I replied, leaning into him. It felt good to be close again, to feel like a team, even after all the wedding chaos and stress.

However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Despite the joy of beingn vacation, there was a nagging sensation that lingered in the back of my mind. It was as if I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for some unforeseen obstacle to appear.

It didn’t take long for my intuition to prove correct.