Today I Canceled Proposal No. 99

"Christina, will you marry me?"

For the 98th time, I dropped to one knee, waiting expectantly for Christina Lockwood to accept my proposal.

Everyone laughed at me for being delusional enough to propose to Christina—that I was a fool for thinking I could be with someone so far out of my league.

After all, the way they saw it, the only reason that Christina, the most well-known heiress in Seamarsh, had ever taken a liking to a food delivery guy like me was probably that thing between my thighs.

"No. I can't say yes to you."

For the 98th time, Christina rejected me, her voice as cold as ice.

My eyes flashed with disappointment. After a sigh, I lifted my eyes and said, "Go on, then. Tell me what your reason is this time. What do you need me to do before you'd say yes to me?"

After being with Christina for nine years, I had long since grown accustomed to her rejections. To make things more ridiculous, she always had a different reason for rejecting me.

The first time, she said she'd marry me if I could earn a 10,000th of her monthly allowance each month. During my 38th proposal, she said she'd marry me if I could afford a five-figure car. And on the 66th time, she said she'd marry me if I could buy a 2,000-square-foot apartment in the city center.

As it was, I'd completed all 97 of her previous demands, but she still refused to marry me. Could it be that, in her eyes, I would forever be nothing more than her emotional punching bag and free bed companion?

Christina shot me a glance and declared with a hint of arrogance in her voice, "Liam, you know my family's standing in Seamarsh. You and I were never in the same social class, to begin with. If you really want me to accept your proposal, then you have to sign an agreement."

She paused for a moment before pulling out a document from her bag and holding it out to me.

"You have to promise that after we get married, you won't try to get even a cent of my family's money. And once we have children, they can't take your last name, Ellison. They have to take my last name, Lockwood."

Stunned, I stared at Christina in disbelief. "You want me to marry into your family?"

I'd thought of countless possible demands she could've made, but I truly never expected her to ask me to reduce myself to some live-in son-in-law.

Did she even see me as a man?

Christina was about to speak when a sports car suddenly swung around and stopped in front of us.

Daniel Simmons rolled down the window. Once again, he'd shown up in the middle of my proposal to Christina.

"Chrissy, something urgent came up at the company. I'm afraid you'll have to head back to the office with me."

Christina tossed the document over to me and headed toward Daniel's car at once. "I'm leaving. You can propose to me for the 99th time three days from today. As long as you sign the agreement, when you propose again three days later, I'll say yes."

After the roar of the engine faded, all that remained at the scene was me, still down on one knee.

Throughout these years, Daniel had appeared at our proposal almost every single time, right on schedule. And every time he showed up, Christina would leave with him without the slightest hesitation.

After all, no matter how much thought I'd put into preparing the proposal, how could I compare to the happiness of her precious childhood friend, Daniel?

I let out a bitter laugh and sighed as I stared at the prenuptial agreement. Perhaps this was Christina's final test for me. After deliberating for some time, I took out a pen and signed my name on the last page.

Not once had I ever set my sights on the Lockwood family's money. I didn't mind letting our children take Christina's last name either. Either way, I was still going to be their father, regardless of what their last name was.

None of these things mattered, so long as Christina and I loved each other, and as long as I got to marry her.

Once I signed the agreement, I went back to the house alone. I was about to call Christina and tell her the news when I received an audio recording.