My stepdaughter arrived at my second wedding in a wedding dress to steal the show – but what my daughter did made her shout, "You had no right!"

I had forgotten what it felt like to be protected.

Something had upset her.

But not as I feared.

Lauren had come in trying to ruin my day.

Instead, she had given my children a reason to finally show me, out loud, in front of everyone, how far they were willing to go to protect what I had spent a lifetime building.

It's something she could never have foreseen.

Lauren had come in trying to ruin my day.

It was simply the truth, which came late, but came nonetheless.

Tonight, I remembered what it felt like to be protected.

And for the first time in a very long time, I allowed myself to simply be happy.

I was no longer waiting for the final blow to fall.