The tenth time I attempted to have our wedding, Jaxson once again didn't show up. I called him to ask why, forgetting my phone was still connected to the banquet hall's sound system. Everyone heard the scandalous sounds that made my cheeks burn.

"Lilah, today the team at work organized a hike. We're about to reach the summit, so let's talk about the engagement party another time. Gotta go."

A wave of disappointment swept through the crowd, and even the waitstaff looked at me with pity. After ninety-nine proposals, Jaxson had only begrudgingly agreed to our engagement, yet he never actually attended any of our celebrations.

I quietly removed my veil and dropped the engagement ring into the fountain. After seven years of trying to make it work, my constant humility and concessions only led to his increasingly blatant betrayals. Humiliated by the tenth failed attempt, I resolved to let go. He would be permanently erased from my future plans...

---

With Jaxson absent, the engagement party awkwardly came to an end. As I was returning the guests' gifts, my Aunt Camilla dismissed me with a worried look.

"Keep this ten grand. Don’t bother sending me a wedding invitation anymore."

"I'm just going to pretend you’re not my niece. Don’t call me your aunt in front of anyone because I can't take that kind of embarrassment anymore!"

Ever since my parents died in a car accident six years ago, Aunt Camilla became one of my few remaining relatives. But after so many failed attempts, even her patience had run dry. And mine too, apparently.

After cleaning up the mess, a waiter approached with a black garbage bag.

"Miss Gardner, I couldn’t find a better bag to fit these, so I had to use a trash bag. Would you like to take these love letters with you or leave them here for the next engagement party?"

I stubbed out my cigarette, feeling drained as I looked at the bulging garbage bag. Inside were the ninety-nine love letters I had written to Jaxson during our courtship. The idea was to have them cascade down from balloons above the stage for a romantic touch.

"Since they're in a trash bag, you might as well throw them away with the trash," I said, shaking my head without further comment.

They say third time’s a charm, but Jaxson stood me up ten times in a row when it came to our engagement celebrations. While I frantically called to find out where he was, he had forgotten the wedding date altogether. He even concocted absurd excuses like claiming he was on a hike.

The call connected, and scandalous sounds echoed throughout the room. I could clearly hear a woman's breathless moans, while Jaxson blandly insisted he was hiking. He couldn’t have imagined how mortified I felt standing on the stage with every eye in the room on me.

It was him who agreed to marry me, him who planned the invitations. Yet the scorn and ridicule were mine alone to bear. As I left the hotel, I overheard waitstaff mocking me:

"Do you think she's got mental issues? Maybe no one actually wants to marry her. Otherwise, why keep paying the breach-of-contract fee to our hotel ten times?"

"Watch your words. Isn’t her fiancé too busy hiking to show up? Makes you wonder what kind of mountain he's climbing. Sounds like a good time."

The laughter faded as the sound of heavy rain took over. My wedding dress was soaked, the once pristine hem now caked with mud, my makeup completely ruined. Bystanders cast curious, pitiful glances my way.

Right then, my phone rang. The wedding was already over, but the absentee groom was calling.

"Lilah, the team event is over. I'm on my way now. Just wait for another half-hour and I'll be there."

Jaxson was three hours late and continued to lie. It was pouring rain, yet there was complete silence on his end. I wiped the rain from my cheeks and laughed dryly:

"Are you on your way here or just in a hotel bed?"

Jaxson paused, speechless, seemingly caught out by my words.

"The wedding is over. Stay with that little fox in your bed. I'm not interested in your excuses anymore."

I had no delusions left about him and prepared to end the call. But just then, Jaxson began shouting:

"I told you, the company organized an unexpected team-building event, so I forgot about the wedding! Stop being unreasonable, okay? Just tell me, are we still getting married or not?"

His vehement reaction told me I struck a nerve. Without hesitating, I said bluntly:

"I'm not marrying you. Do whatever you like."

Hearing that, Jaxson lowered his voice to a growl:

"Lilah Gardner, you said it yourself this time. Don’t go pleading like you used to."

I didn’t bother listening anymore and hung up with a snap. Shortly after, a notification popped up on my screen. It was from Ariyah Gutierrez. I opened it to find a picture of a king-sized bed in a love hotel.

The bedsheets were covered with incriminating stains. Most noticeably, there lay a pair of men's boxer briefs. I instantly recognized them as Jaxson's.

"Lilah, don't get the wrong idea," Ariyah said, her voice dripping with feigned innocence. "We had a company hiking event today, and both Jaxson and I got really sweaty, so we rented a room to shower."

"But Jaxson's so careless, he left his watch here. Should I bring it over to you, or..."

This scene was all too familiar. The last time there was an issue, she had a medical emergency, and Jaxson, in rushing her to the hospital, ended up missing our wedding. Even though the excuse seemed solid, it left me furious. We had a huge argument.

Later, he showed up with a hospital discharge paper, metaphorically hitting me with it.

"Lilah Gardner, do you really think I'd lie about something as serious as life and death? All you care about is the wedding. Doesn't Ariyah's life matter to you?"

"If you throw another tantrum, don't bother talking about marriage with me. I don’t want to be with someone so heartless!"

Feeling cornered, I feared Jaxson might indeed call off the engagement. I ended up on the floor, writing a ten-thousand-word apology, which Jaxson then recorded on his phone. That put the matter to rest, at least for the moment.

Yet, a week later, I saw Ariyah post her discharge summary on Instagram. It was just a routine appendicitis case, nothing like what Jaxson had claimed. That diagnosis paper was clearly a doctored fake.

Fueled by anger, I confronted Jaxson for an explanation. Instead of apologizing for his blatant deceit, he taunted me with the video recording:

"Ariyah was sick. When did I ever lie to you?"

"Go ahead, make a scene, spread the story, I dare you. They'll just see your groveling apology and think you're the irrational one!"

It wasn't until my rage led to hyperventilation and an emergency hospital visit that he realized he'd crossed a line.

When I recovered, he sat by my bedside, eyes red with remorse, repeatedly apologizing. He promised to make up for the missed wedding in a week's time.

Seeing his sincere regret, I forgave him once more. Only now do I realize how foolish I was.

If Jaxson truly loved me, how could he hurt and deceive me over and over? Seven years of dating, ninety-nine proposals—humiliated ten times.

I no longer had the energy for this exhausting relationship. The only option left was to cut it off myself. Going forward, Jaxson and I would have no contact.

Seeing the message Ariyah sent, I didn’t react with anger or shame like I used to. I silently deleted the chat and let it go.

In the days that followed, Jaxson indulged in drinking and partying. His Facebook updates showed him at various bars and clubs, always with Ariyah by his side. It seemed he'd already moved on, enjoying the single life before we'd even officially ended things.

Perhaps it was for the best. I had no interest in seeing Jaxson's face again. After packing up all my things, I called Aunt Camilla to apologize once more for the wedding disaster.

I knew she had always cared for me deeply and was only upset because I didn't take her advice to avoid getting involved with Jaxson.

"Aunt Camilla, you once suggested I go abroad to work with Cousin Augustine. I want to know if that offer still stands."

Hearing my words, Aunt Camilla was both surprised and pleased. After all, she had been adamantly against my relationship with Jaxson and had encouraged me to study abroad many times, advice which I had ignored.

"Of course! As long as you cut ties with that scoundrel Jaxson, I will support you completely."

Once I decided to leave at the end of this month, I reached out to Saige, the real estate agent, to put my house up for sale. I bought it outright five years ago, intending it to be our marital home. Clearly, that was no longer necessary.

While sorting through my things, my friend Marisol suddenly sent me a video. Her voice was shaky with excitement:

"Lilah, look quickly! Isn't that necklace around that witch's neck yours?"

I clicked on the video and saw it was taken in a booth at a bar. Ariyah Gutierrez leaned tipsily against Jaxson Gardner, wearing a delicate Victorian-style necklace around her neck. It was the heirloom my mom had left to me before she passed away, which I had given to Jaxson as a symbol of our engagement. He had claimed he lost it three years ago, and I'd seen him anguished over it for a long time. Yet here it was, around Ariyah's neck.

I quickly headed downstairs, caught a cab, and raced to the bar using the location from the video. I wasn’t planning to see Jaxson again, but that necklace was irreplaceable, and I was determined to get it back. By matching the scene in the video, I soon found the booth where Jaxson sat. He was messing around with a woman’s bra draped over his face, playing a silly game of peek-a-boo. His hands flailed about and accidentally brushed against me.

"Ariyah, have you put on some weight lately? You feel so soft and squishy," Jaxson muttered, oblivious to the fact he was touching the wrong person, spewing shameless remarks. Ariyah let out a shriek at the sight of me, but Jaxson remained engrossed in his game. "No need to be shy; it’s not the first time, is it?"

The bra, still warm from its previous owner, slipped from his face. Jaxson’s eyes widened as he realized that the person he was touching wasn’t Ariyah but me, standing there, seething with anger, trembling with fury. Instead of panicking, he seemed indifferent, even dismissive. "Lilah Gardner, didn’t you swear you’d never come looking for me again? It’s only been a few days, and you’re already breaking your promise?"

"I was just joking around with Ariyah; do you really need to glare at me like some angry monster?" Jaxson continued. I didn’t respond, grinding my teeth in frustration. "You know that necklace is the only heirloom my mom left me. Lying about losing it was bad enough, but giving it to her—what’s that supposed to mean?"

I reached for Ariyah's neck, trying to get back my necklace. Jaxson halted me with one hand, shoving me to the floor. "Lilah Gardner, you gave me that necklace, so it belongs to me now. Do I need to inform you about what I do with my stuff? If you came to make up, just say so. No need to make up excuses."

The impact from the push left me dizzy, my forehead accidentally hitting the edge of a table, starting to bleed badly. Seeing this, Jaxson became even more smug. He teasingly removed the necklace from Ariyah’s neck and tossed it into a crowded area. "Want it back? Then crawl around and find it. Ariyah doesn’t want junk like this; only you would get worked up over it."

Ignoring the pain, panic surged through me as I crawled into the dance floor, terrified the necklace might get crushed by the crowd. Jaxson laughed loudly at my humiliating state. "Lilah Gardner, you’re acting like a fool. You better find it quick because I’m heading to another spot soon."

For nearly twenty minutes, I searched amidst the throng of people, but came up empty-handed, and got accidentally stepped on a few times as well. Jaxson had vanished by then. With the help of Marisol, my best friend, I pushed through the pain and went to the hospital. My forehead needed stitches, and my right hand had a fractured finger, swollen and bruised.

Marisol looked at me with deep concern, her face filled with regret. "Lilah, I ran into Jaxson at the bar by chance. I wish I hadn’t sent you that message. I should have found someone else to deal with him instead. Guys like him aren’t worth your kindness. You’ve figured that out now, right? Don’t let him back into your life again."

I shook my head, forcing a weak smile. From the moment Jaxson first ditched our wedding, Marisol was frustrated by my refusal to end this toxic relationship, avoiding contact with me for almost half a year. This time, she reached out because she was simply disgusted by Jaxson’s behavior. Tears welled up as I thought about how I’d lost valuable friendships over someone unworthy, repeatedly sacrificing my dignity.

Though my realization came late, I was grateful for the chance to make things right. I held Marisol’s hand, sharing my plans to move abroad. Even though she was hesitant, Marisol supported my decision, understanding that repeating the same mistake would only mean I'd earned the consequences.