Chapter 1

This was the ninety-ninth time I'd proposed to Justine Clarke. Right after the words left my mouth, the huge banquet hall fell completely silent—no one said a thing.

After a long pause, Justine slowly walked up to me, her expression cold.

"Did you ever stop to think about how awkward this makes me? Tonight was just supposed to be a casual get-together with friends. Now everyone's laughing at us."

Justine's ex, Wayne Frazier, stepped beside her and took her hand.

"Hey, Craig just wanted to surprise you. You should cut him some slack."

A mocking laugh came from somewhere.

"Everyone knows Justine held this party as Wayne's welcome-back bash. Craig can't even tell who's the star of the show here. Serves him right to get rejected."

That set everyone off. People covered their mouths, snickering and whispering.

I stood there clutching the bouquet, feeling embarrassed but unable to move an inch.

My eyes stayed locked on Justine, hoping she'd say something different. But the disgust in her gaze only deepened.

"Why don't you just leave already? How long do you want to embarrass yourself?"

I couldn't hold back and said, "You said if I proposed ninety-nine times, you'd say yes."

I wasn't even planning to come tonight. Justine had begged me last night to join, saying if I gave a proper proposal this time, she'd agree.

So I had stayed up late to finish my advisor's research and even conditioned the flowers to bloom early for tonight.

Justine rolled her eyes. "That was just drunken nonsense. I never thought you were dumb enough to take it seriously."

My heart skipped. I swallowed my nerves and pressed, "But when a girl confessed to me before, you clearly minded a lot."

Justine's face didn't change as she sneered, "You know I care about my pride. You're my pet. If you walked off with someone else, everyone would just laugh at me."

"And what about this bracelet? I had a fever, and none of the doctors could cure it. You went through a lot to get me this bracelet, and I woke up after you put it on my wrist."

Justine glanced at my wrist briefly, a faint smirk curling her lips.

"I bought it on a whim. You were supposed to wake up that day anyway.

"And I never said all that—you did. Since you wanted to give me credit, of course I'd take it. What's the harm?"

I clenched my fists so tight my vision blurred.

"Justine, after all these years, you've only had one boyfriend before me. I'm the second. You two only dated for a month before I found out, and you broke up immediately. I don't believe that after all this time, you don't feel anything for me."

"No, I never wanted a relationship to begin with. I didn't mean all those things I said to you."

Justine raised Wayne's hand.

"Now, I know exactly what I want. I love Wayne. He's the one I want to spend my life with."

Wayne looked surprised for a moment, then smiled softly, head bowed.

Justine didn't look at me again. She took Wayne's hand and turned away.

Then, on her command, a few security guards rushed forward, grabbing one arm each and pushing me toward the exit.

The more I struggled, the harder they held me down.

"Mr. Cummings, this is Ms. Clarke's order. Please cooperate."

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers behind me.

I whipped around just in time to see Justine and Wayne holding each other tight, bodies close.

I tried to look closer, but the guards forcibly turned me away.

"Stop looking. Just get out!"

At that moment, I remembered the day she had confessed to me.

Justine was just as forceful then, having someone escort the girl away, not letting anyone steal a glance at me.

She had just as tightly embraced me, making me believe I was the happiest man alive.

It turned out it was all just my own foolish fantasy.