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The Hundredth Departure
The Hundredth Departure
Author: Local Universe

Chapter 1

Author: Local Universe
The news about the sign at city hall quickly became the top trending search topic across the entire city.

Everyone was curious about who Serena Xander was and why the billionaire CEO explicitly banned her from entering.

Arthur Hutton remained completely unbothered. He forwarded the trending topic to his social media feed.

[She got jealous and insisted on getting married to me. To make sure no one bothers us, I set up this plan.

[My bad for blowing up the timeline, folks!]

He posted these captions with a photo of him and Camila Leach showing off their official marriage license.

On the license, Arthur was the groom, and Camila was the bride.

This was the very license I had begged Arthur to get with me 99 times before, without any success.

Camila had secured it with a single jealous outburst.

And I was labelled as “no one.”

I dropped a like on the post and sat on the stairs. I was lost in my own thoughts.

Today was Valentine’s Day. It was a good day to get married.

The line of eager couples waiting to be married stretched from the city hall lobby all the way to the next intersection.

Arthur and Camila walked up to me.

Arthur said in surprise, “Why are you still here? I already told you that the divorce won’t be finalized for another three days.

“Don’t worry. I give you my word. Just three days, and I’ll definitely marry you. I mean it this time.”

I remained silent.

I recalled the last time we tried to register our marriage.

Arthur said Camila’s dog was hungry, and he had to go buy pet food for her, so he could not proceed with our registration.

On that day, I cried over that absurd excuse so much that my eyes were swollen.

Arthur simply held Camila and watched me quietly.

Only after my tears had run dry did he reluctantly toss me a tissue.

He told me to go home early and even reminded me to cook dinner.

At that moment, I just looked at the joy in Camila’s face. I felt numb as I said calmly, “Do you want to take a picture?”

Arthur was startled. He did not understand what I meant.

“What?”

I pointed at Camila and said, “Do you want me to take a picture for you two? I brought a veil. She can borrow it.”

Arthur froze. He had only just realized how elaborately I had dressed up for the day.

He had promised me 99 times. I kept holding on to the hope that we would finally get married, and that our love would last a lifetime.

But he broke his promise again.

I smiled, took off my veil, and gave it to Camila before I turned and walked away.

Arthur frowned. He did not understand what I was making a fuss about.

Camila gently tugged at his clothes, and his attention shifted back to her.

He only managed to mutter dismissively, “She’s so dramatic!”

I paused briefly, then continued walking away.

‘Arthur, I won’t wait for you anymore,’ I thought.

That night, I did not go home. Instead, I went straight to the best hotel in the city center.

I had originally booked it to celebrate our marriage registration. Sadly, I was the only one there tonight.

Before going to bed, I saw Camila’s social media update.

She and Arthur were at the rooftop bar just one floor away from my room.

She looked youthful as she nestled in Arthur’s arms. They smiled radiantly as she showed off the large pink diamond sparkling on her finger.

The caption read: A limited edition of the season.
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  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 10

    Soon after, Kyle and I were engaged.An uninvited guest crashed our engagement party.“Serena, I finally found you!”A familiar figure broke through the security at the venue and barged into the dining hall.“That looks like Arthur,” Emma said to me when she recognized the intruder.After so many years, I had nearly forgotten that he existed.His sudden appearance disgusted me. Painful memories came flooding back into my mind.“Who are you?” Kyle asked as he stepped forward to shield me.“Who am I? Ha! Serena, tell him who I am!”Arthur glared at me.I did not want to talk to him.“Come on, say something! Serena, I’m your fiance!” said Arthur and lunged at me. Kyle kicked him to the floor.I glared at him. “Don’t listen to him. He’s nobody. He’s insane!”“Please forgive me, Serena! I was wrong! I’ve changed. Come back to me! All these years. I’ve done nothing but reflect on what I did…”“That’s enough!” I shouted angrily.“We’re done! You need to leave.”“I’m beggin

  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 9

    “Arthur has been running the firm into the ground for years. He’s driven away all our important clients. I’ll never forget that a year ago, Mr. Wallace, even while fighting late-stage liver cancer, came in person to cancel his contract. He said he won’t let his life’s work be destroyed by a man with no principles.“Ms. Xander, we need you. We’ve even worked out the equity split. You’ll take a fifty-one percent controlling interest. We’ll divide the rest among ourselves.”My former colleagues excitedly presented their proposal to me.I looked at them and gave a slight nod. I could not let them down.I noticed that every potential loss had been crossed out with a red pen. Handwritten notes replaced them.[If we fail, we start over.]As I signed my name carefully, someone suggested opening a champagne bottle in celebration.The sound of foam rushing from the bottle sounded like a long-overdue applause.Emma Smith leaned in to clink glasses with me.“We’ve got the whole team alrea

  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 8

    He replayed every memory of our time together.The small details he had once ignored now felt unbearably precious.He remembered the breakfasts waiting for him when he woke and the always-stocked hangover medicine.He recalled my hopeful, pleading smile each time I asked him to marry me.These memories left him even more heartbroken.The agony was all-consuming.By the time he finally understood my worth and recognized how deeply I had loved him, I was already gone.I had left for good.Regret overpowered him, but it was useless.I had already cut him completely from my life.Whatever he wanted to say or do, it was too late.Every text he sent disappeared into the void.… After three years away from that city and all its hurt, I traveled to every place I ever wanted to see.I had embraced the freedom I was once denied.I had completely detached myself from everything in my past.My old wounds had finally healed!Then I decided to go back to my home country and begin a

  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 7

    A year ago, this might have softened my heart and drawn me back to Arthur.But things had changed. Everything he did struck me as hypocritical and repulsive.Perhaps he was still performing the role of a devoted lover for no other reason but to maintain his image.Since I had left, Arthur had gone to the city hall every evening.He had not yet come to terms with my sudden disappearance.Then, out of nowhere, Camila appeared.She was dressed in a white gown Arthur loved the most. She looked like a beautiful bride as she stood at the entrance of the city hall.“I’m here for you, Artie!”Her voice was soft, gentle, and filled with affection but still managed to carry a slight arrogance of someone who thought she had won.“Artie, you can stop waiting. The world already thinks she walked out on you. You’ve put on a good show, but we both know the truth. Just say the word, and we can go get our marriage license again right now!”As she spoke, she extended the documents toward Arthu

  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 6

    Arthur was all alone.Beneath the photo was a caption that described the scene.[This morning, well-known local attorney, Arthur Hutton, was left standing alone at the steps of the city hall, dressed in a formal suit and holding a bouquet of flowers, in what appeared to be an attempt to marry his fiancee. The situation took a humiliating turn when his intended partner failed to appear. Mr. Hutton remained at the location throughout the day until the office closed in the evening. The awkward scene, captured by bystanders and shared online, has since gone viral, sparking intense speculation and discussion across the city.]Just looking at the photo, I could imagine how Arthur might have felt at that moment.I could see his face shift from anticipation to shock, then to anger and resentment.I imagined that, in his heart, he must have cursed me a thousand times.I wondered if he blamed me for being heartless and for breaking my promise.But even then, he would never even consider h

  • The Hundredth Departure   Chapter 5

    After I sent the text, I set my phone to airplane mode.I no longer wanted to hear from him.As the plane took off, I let out a long sigh of relief. It felt like the burden that had weighed my heart down for so many years had finally eased.I felt like this was the day I had truly waited for.I wanted to shout to myself that I had finally done it!“Ma’am, would you like something to drink?”“An Americano, please… No. I’ll have orange juice instead. Thank you.”“Certainly, ma’am. I’ll be right back.”On my headphones, my favorite song played repeatedly. I felt the lyrics deeply, and they hurt.My life had revolved entirely around Arthur for far too long.I had always believed that if I loved enough and gave enough, I would eventually have my happy ending with him.Even after I got down on my knees and begged him ninety-nine times to marry me and was met only with disappointment and ridicule, I never once thought of giving up.It was not until my self-esteem was completely

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