He Left the Altar to Save His First Love

Chapter 1: Please, Save My Mom

The little girl walked down the wedding aisle alone.

She could not have been more than five. Her beige dress was damp from the rain outside, and tears covered her face, but she kept moving forward while the organ played and the wealthy guests whispered in shock.

At the altar, Marco Bellini stood beside his bride, Celeste.

The priest had just asked if anyone objected.

Then the child appeared.

Marco froze.

The girl stopped in front of him and lifted a burned, cracked photograph with both hands.

"I don't want money," she cried. "Please, save my mom."

Celeste's face changed. "Who is this child?"

Marco took the photo.

His breath stopped.

It was him.

Younger.

Smiling.

Standing beside a woman he had spent six years trying to forget.

Yolanda.

The woman who had vanished without a word.

The woman he had once loved more than his own life.

Marco dropped to one knee and gripped the girl's shoulders.

"Who are you? Who sent you?"

The girl shook her head, sobbing. "Nobody. I came because she's dying."

The church went silent.

Marco's hands tightened around the photo. "What's your mother's name?"

"Yolanda."

The name broke something inside him.

Celeste grabbed his arm. "Marco, don't you dare leave this altar."

But Marco was already standing.

"Where is she?"

The girl pointed toward the church doors. "Hospital."

Marco tore off his boutonniere, pulled loose his tie, and ran.

Behind him, Celeste shouted his name.

He did not turn back.

By the time he reached the hospital, he was still in his wedding suit.

He burst into the ICU and stopped at the bed.

Yolanda lay there, pale and weak, barely breathing.

Marco fell beside her.

"I'm here," he wept. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Yolanda lifted one trembling finger toward the doorway.

"Because..." she whispered, "she's not the only one."