The courtyard fell silent. Even the DJ stopped the music.
Michael placed both hands on Lucas’s shoulders and pulled him close.
He spent four months teaching himself advanced crochet techniques to make the most meaningful gift his mother has ever received.
“And the woman who just mocked him? She’s my mother. And she’s WRONG.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Loretta’s face went white.
“Michael, don’t you dare embarrass yourself…”
He spun toward her, and his voice turned to steel.
“No.
You embarrassed yourself the moment you humiliated my son, Mom.”
“Yes, my son. Not my stepson. Not Amy’s kid.
My son. And if you can’t accept him, then you don’t belong in our family.”
Someone in the back started clapping.
Then someone else.
Then more.
Lucas was openly crying now, but smiling.
Michael walked to the microphone stand near the DJ booth.
“I wasn’t planning to announce this today,” he said, and the entire courtyard held its breath.
“But considering what just happened, I think right now is the perfect moment.”
He looked at me. Then at Lucas.
Then directly at his mother.
“Immediately after this wedding, I’m filing the paperwork to legally adopt Lucas. Officially. Permanently.
He will be my son in every way that matters.”
The courtyard erupted.
People cheered. Several guests openly cried.
Someone shouted, “Yes! Finally!”
Lucas made a sound between a laugh and a sob and ran straight into Michael’s arms.
Loretta looked like she’d been slapped.
“You can’t just replace your real family with…”Continue reading…
