Everyone Laughed at Him For Marrying an 85-year-old Woman. Years Later, They Regretted It a Lot

Mua was 25 years old when he married the love of his life, Teresa, an 85-year-old woman. People laughed at him and mocked them, but in time, they showed sincere regret.

The morning of Mua and Thea’s wedding dawned with cheerfulness. The couple eagerly dressed up and hurried to the church, looking forward to seeing each other. For two agonizing days, they had been apart due to the wedding preparations and for custom’s sake, but all of that would soon be in the past.

When Teresa arrived at the church, she looked towards the altar where her groom, Mua, stood proudly in a smart suit. Her heart swelled with love. She still found it unbelievable that a young and energetic man like him would love her so wholeheartedly and be willing to become her husband.

Mua held back tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks. How was it that this kind-hearted, caring woman, who’d seen and experienced so much in life, chose to marry him, an inexperienced boy who was about the age of her fifth grandson? It was still beyond him. He felt gratitude and a surge of love watching her walk down the aisle to him in a beautiful white dress.

Teresa was accompanied down the aisle by her son, whose mouth was turned down in a disapproving expression. He wore a big frown as he walked beside his mother, almost as if he was being compelled to. In a way, he was. Theresa’s eight children had been strongly against her marriage to Mua, but she had insisted that it was her decision to make and not theirs.

Throughout the entire time that the wedding preparations were ongoing, they had watched their mother like a hawk, praying and expecting that she would wake up one day and cancel the whole thing. To them, it was madness. What did a woman her age hope to gain from marrying a child, as they referred to Mua?

Thea’s 20 grandchildren were all in attendance as well, and like her son, they didn’t approve of the wedding. Their matching frowns attested to that.

Mua’s parents came from Congo to Theresa’s own country where the wedding was held. They too were deeply disturbed and concerned by their son’s decision. Did he truly want to marry Teresa, or was he being forced into this arrangement? They suspected that he was being blackmailed, but by whom they didn’t know. All that Mua told them was that he had found the love of his life and was going ahead to marry her.

Other guests in attendance were Mua’s friends and some people who knew the families of the couple. They found the entire scenario too hilarious and couldn’t hold their laughter, no matter how much they tried. Echoes of laughter could be heard in the church, and many people were seen covering their mouths with their palms to stifle their laughter a bit. To them, the wedding was a spectacle. They had never seen nor heard of a young man like Mua marrying a woman like Teresa, who was 60 years older than he was.

Mua and Thea ignored the background disturbances and disapproval. They focused solely on each other and the happiness they felt. When Theresa finally arrived at the altar, Mua kissed the back of her hand, tucked it into the crook of his elbow, and then faced the priest with a solemn smile on his face.

The priest prayed that they would live long lives and enjoy prosperity. They agreed with him and chorused “amen” repeatedly as he blessed their union. The rest of the day was a blur, and the couple spent it celebrating.

A few days later, Mua moved into Teresa’s house. He had wanted to rent a different house for them to live in as their matrimonial home, but Theresa had told him that there was no need for that. She had a perfectly good house that both of them could live in, and it would be a shame if it was left to sit empty. Seeing the wisdom of her words, Mua agreed and moved in. Within a few weeks, he was glad that he did so because he observed that Theresa was used to her home. It was already set up in a way that let her move about easily and do whatever she wanted with ease. A new home would have been hard for her to adapt to, especially considering her age.

A few months after their wedding, Theresa noticed Mua withdrawing from her. He didn’t touch her as much as he used to, and he mostly sat in a corner by himself, appearing lost in thought. She approached him and asked what the matter was. Mua was hesitant to tell her, assuming he was tired of their marriage. Theresa asked if he had changed his mind about her. She looked so hurt that Mua rushed to assure her that it was nothing like that.

“What is it, then?” she inquired. “Are you seeing someone? I’ve noticed that whenever your friends come around, they bring young beautiful girls that I know must have piqued your interest. And I also know that at your workplace, you have many beautiful female colleagues.”

Initially, Mua didn’t want to tell her the true nature of what was bothering him. But because of her assumptions, he opened up to her. The reason why he had been withdrawn was because of how people looked at them in public and the ugly things they said.

Teresa laughed when she heard this, and the anxiety in her heart instantly dissipated. She had expected the worst, but to her, this was nothing. She had lived a long life and was used to people talking. She told him to forget about them, as they would eventually get tired and go torment someone else. If he lost his sleep over what people were saying, he was the one at a huge loss.

Theresa’s words cheered Mua up, and in no time, they were talking and laughing as they normally did. She prepared a delicious meal for them, and they fed each other. Later, they played cards. Theresa was very good at cards, and no matter how crafty Mua tried to be, she figured it out and beat him. When he playfully sulked, upset that he was losing, she let him win a round of cards, and he became happy again.

A few weeks later, Mua went to meet up with some of his friends from university. They were having a jolly good time until his friends brought up his wife.

“If only we hadn’t rented one of the rooms in Teresa’s house as students, you wouldn’t have met her, and both of you probably wouldn’t be married today,” one of his friends said, looking at him with pity.

Mua replied that meeting and marrying Teresa was a blessing to him, but they refused to believe him. Mua was handsome, and during their university days, many girls liked him and wanted to date him. But he told his friends that many of those girls broke his heart and hadn’t been there for him the way Teresa had been. She had fed him on days that he had nothing to eat, and she had always been concerned about his welfare and that of his friends. Teresa was a good person, and that was it.

It didn’t matter what Mua said to defend her; his friends were convinced that she had cast a love spell on him. They were sorry they hadn’t seen the signs back in their university days when Teresa started calling Mua “my husband