My Last Shot After Seven Canceled Weddings Novels & Stories

All those moments I'd held dear for seven years. I've learned that when heartbreak reaches its peak, the pain in your chest goes numb. All that's left is a hollow, bone-deep emptiness. I turned calmly and walked away with my suitcase. My phone buzzed. It was a message from the wedding planner. [Mr. Duggan, Miss Clayman just confirmed the removal of the photo wall. Also, the vows have been revised with Dylan's input. Are you still certain you want to cancel the wedding?] I stared at the screen, then smiled faintly. I typed back: [Yes.]

I no longer had to humbly wait for him to marry me. My mother was still rambling on, telling me that soft, coquettish women had the best fate in life. I no longer felt the urge to pour out my grievances. “Mom, the wedding is canceled anyway. I’m not going to marry him!” I hung up and contacted the wedding planner to cancel everything for tomorrow. The planner fell silent for a moment before answering, “Mr. Quinn already called about this. He just asked us to keep the decorations and backdrop for three years, but that might be difficult. Those items are basically one-time use…”

It took them a long moment to process what they'd just heard. The groom had run out on the wedding! The groom had run out on the wedding! By the time the guests snapped out of their shock, Charles Bishop had already sprinted out the gate and thrown himself in front of the lead wedding car, which was already starting to pull away. The car was a convertible supercar—everything inside was visible. Liam Martin stared coldly at Charles Bishop and said with finality, "The wedding is cancelled. All previous promises are void." "What did you say?"

Then another text came through, carrying his usual unquestionable certainty. [Once I’m done handling this situation, we’ll have the wedding. I promise. Just wait for me a little longer, okay?] I stared at the message for half a minute before blocking his number and deleting every way he could contact me. As the plane took off, I watched the city slowly disappear beneath the clouds. I touched the scar on my face that hadn’t fully faded, then looked down at the bandages wrapped around my hands. There was no reluctance, only relief. Ninety-nine canceled weddings were enough.

Immediately following, I also canceled the photography team, makeup team, and floral services. In less than half an hour, the wedding I had personally prepared for half a year was completely canceled. I sat quietly on my suitcase, only now realizing that my hands and feet were getting numb. Just as I was preparing to return to the villa, Harrison called. "Lola, have you guys arrived at the pier?" His voice was still gentle, as if he wasn't the one who had just driven me and my parents away. "Almost." I responded calmly, and Harrison let out a sigh of relief.

"Deduct whatever needs to be deducted." He looked at me standing alone at the front desk and, in the end, didn't say anything else. After all, in what family did a wedding get handled entirely by the bride alone, from beginning to end, without the groom's parents ever showing their faces? By the time I signed the final cancellation agreement, night had fallen completely. I returned the pen to the manager. Just as I stepped out through the revolving door, my phone vibrated. It was a message from the secondhand marketplace.

The moment the manager finished speaking, the ring box slipped from Hunter's hand and hit the floor with a sharp snap. The pear-shaped diamond rolled out and bumped against the toe of his dress shoe. The smile on Gabriel's face froze as well. "What did you just say?" The manager was startled by his reaction and hurriedly handed over a tablet. "At 4:00 am, Ms. Lawson personally called to cancel every part of the wedding. The hotel banquet, the decorations, the photography and videography, the band, the floral arrangements—everything was canceled.

A few rounds into the night, when Ethan Brooks set his glass on the table and suggested a reverse game of Never Have I Ever. The rules were simple. Everyone took turns naming something they'd done. Anyone who hadn't done it put a finger down. The first person to put all five fingers down had to take a dare chosen by everyone else at the table. So when Ethan grinned and said, "I've dated a Grant," I laughed and raised my hand too. "What do you know? So have I." The whole table cracked up. When it was Claire Howard's turn, she lazily swirled the drink in her glass. She glanced at me, then looked at Noah. "Last month, Noah and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary." My smile slowly faded

she said quietly. Chloe gave a weak nod and sat at the island without speaking. I poured her water. Dominic started making coffee. The normal sounds of the morning felt too loud. Julian appeared a few minutes later. He stopped in the doorway when he saw the mood in the room. “What happened?” he asked. Dominic answered without looking at him. “The wedding is cancelled. Marcus called it off last night.” Julian’s eyebrows rose slightly. For once he didn’t make a clever comment. He just said, “That’s unfortunate,” and moved to the coffee machine.

My fiancé hated anything that felt like a hassle. In the five years we dated, I always chose where we went. His only job was to have his driver take him there. For birthdays and anniversaries, he gave me the same Barbie-pink lipstick every time. When we started planning our wedding, nothing changed. I tried to go over the guest list with him, but he said it was too much trouble and couldn't be bothered to check it carefully. Even when it came to our engagement photos, he complained that the shoot would take too long, so we only did one basic package. Today, I came to the wedding planning studio alone to give final approval on the arrangements. As the planner, Claire Bennett, pulled up the re