I used to believe love could conquer anything. That when two people truly cared for each other, the rest of the world faded away. I was wrong.

Daniel and I had been dating for nearly two years when he proposed.

"Will you marry me?" hel asked, down on one knee in our favorite restaurant. The candlelight caught the diamond just right, making it sparkle like the tears in my eyes.

"Yes," I whispered, then louder, "Yes!"

Daniel slipped the ring onto my finger, and I felt like I was floating. Finally, I thought, my life was coming together.

That night, as Daniel slept beside me, I stared at the ceiling and allowed myself to dream of our future. My daughter, Lily, would have a proper family, and I'd have a partner I could count on.

I knew there would be challenges. Margaret, Daniel's mother, had never fully accepted me, but I thought we had reached some kind of understanding.

Turned out I was wrong about that too.

I went dress shopping the next day. As luck would have it, I found the perfect dress in the third store I visited. I bought the dress that day, spending more than I should have but knowing it was worth it.

Then Margaret arrived. I was still upstairs, admiring my gorgeous gown, when she stepped into the room. She took one look at my dress and her face twisted in disgust.

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "You can’t wear white."

"Why on earth not?" I asked.

She let out a patronizing laugh. "White is for pure brides. You already have a child, so you should wear red instead. It's less… misleading."

"What!?" I was so shocked I almost dropped my dress on the floor.

Daniel appeared in the doorway then, all smiles, and completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

"Daniel, you should've told her she can't wear a white dress, dear," Margaret said before I could get a word in. "It's completely inappropriate. I told her she should wear red instead."

I turned to Daniel, expecting him to shut this down immediately.

Instead, he nodded. "I didn't think of it…" He then looked me in the eye and said, "Mom's right. You can't wear that dress on our wedding day. It's only fair."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

"Fair? You can't be serious," I said, chuckling half-heartedly. "It's the 21st century… you surely don't believe every bride that walks down the aisle in a white dress is a chaste virgin!"

"It's not about what other people do, babe," Daniel said. "We agreed on a traditional wedding, right? So, if you wore white, it would be like you were lying to everyone about who you are."

"About what you are," Margaret added coldly.

That was the moment I realized this wasn’t just about a dress.

They were trying to shame me!

I hung up my dress and stormed out of the room. I couldn't bear to face them after that, so I went to Lily's room and played with her until I felt calmer.

I still didn't know what I was going to do about this ridiculous wedding dress debacle, but it turned out that Daniel and his mother had already taken the matter into their own hands.

The next day, I came home from work to find Margaret in our living room. Daniel had given her a key for "emergencies."

Apparently, my wedding dress was an emergency.

"I took care of the dress situation," she announced, gesturing to a large box on the sofa. "Open it."

With shaking hands, I lifted the lid.

Inside was a blood-red gown with a plunging neckline and heavy embroidery. It looked more like some costume for a vampire movie than a wedding dress.

"Now this is a proper dress for someone like you," she declared.

"I'm not wearing this." I shook my head and shut the box. "I'll stick with the dress I bought, Margaret."

"You can't," she said simply. "I used your receipt to return it. Then bought this one. It's far more suitable for someone in your situation."

The audacity of this woman! The front door opened then and Daniel walked in.

"Perfect timing!" Margaret opened the box and lifted the dress to show Daniel. "Look what I got today! Isn't it perfect?"

To my horror, Daniel studied the dress and nodded. "I like it. It's much more appropriate for you, babe."

I was a volcano about to blow, but before I could do or say anything, Lily entered the room.

She took one look at the dress and frowned. "Is that what you're wearing to the wedding, Granny Margaret? It looks like it's covered in blood."

I looked at my beautiful daughter, then back at Daniel and his mother. It was clear now that I could never win a head-to-head battle with them. No matter how hard I fought, they'd still see me as someone unworthy of a white dress, someone impure.

So, I agreed to wear the red dress. But not for the reasons they thought.

The weeks leading up to the wedding were tense. I smiled through fittings and tastings and rehearsals, all while making phone calls and sending texts when no one was looking.

If Margaret wanted to make a statement with my dress, I would make an even bigger one.

The wedding day arrived bright and clear. I stepped into the venue wearing the red dress Margaret had chosen and clenched my jaw into a semblance of a smile.