Fifty-Two Cancellations

Just as we were about to exchange rings at our wedding, Veronica Monroe’s childhood friend, Damon Foster, burst in, his voice trembling.

"Veronica, if you marry him, I’ll kill myself right now."

Veronica’s hand froze in midair. She sighed, her voice filled with an almost indulgent helplessness. "Stop messing around. I only see you as a younger brother."

"Your younger brother?" Damon’s tears instantly spilled down his face. He pointed at me, gritting his teeth.

"He’s just some guy from a nightclub! Veronica, you’re the heir to the Monroe family. How many people in this city are watching you? Are you really going to humiliate yourself like this and drag the Monroe family’s reputation down with you?"

The entire room fell silent.

Countless looks of pity and ridicule pierced me from every direction. I stood onstage, my fingertips ice-cold.

A nightclub guy.

Those three words effortlessly tore open every ugly part of my past.

Abandoned at six, I was pushed into a neon-lit hell at sixteen by the woman who raised me.

With nothing but my stubborn refusal to bend and the last bit of compassion my foster mother had left, I had barely managed to remain a singer who never sold my body.

Veronica happened to pass by one night, pointed at me without a second thought, and pulled me out.

I clung to her like she was a lifeline, pouring everything I had into loving her and repaying her.

She had once held my hand and told me, "Shawn Jackson, I don’t care about anything except you."

When her parents learned about our relationship, they were furious. They cut off her financial support and still demanded that we separate.

Back then, we lived together in a cramped rental, splitting a single hunk of bread between us. She smiled and said she was happy to have it.

In that moment, I truly believed love could overcome anything.

So even after being abandoned fifty-one times, I was still standing here, waiting for the possibility that the fifty-second time might finally end happily.

I looked at her, praying she would defend me as decisively as she had before, telling everyone that she didn’t care.

But she simply turned to Damon and even smiled faintly. "At least Shawn genuinely loves me. What about you? Why did you come here to make a scene?"

Damon rushed forward and shoved me hard.

My arm slammed into a decorative display beside me, and the pain caught my breath.

"I made a bet with someone that you wouldn’t be able to get married today!" He grabbed Veronica’s arm, his voice leaving no room for argument. "If I lose, I have to give away the kitten I’ve raised for ten years! Veronica, please…"

Veronica’s expression visibly softened.

Ignoring the pain, I hurriedly grabbed her other hand, tears already blurring my vision. "Veronica, this is the fifty-second time. Please don’t go…"