The day my girlfriend got back together with her first love, I boarded a plane bound for Brindlewood.

She told her first love, "Craig was just a fling. I won't have anything to do with him anymore. From now on, I'll only be by your side."

Her friends all worried I might cause a scene.

But they didn't know—this time, I wasn't going to make a fuss.

Before leaving for Brindlewood, I had promised my mentor I'd join his medical research program.

In just two weeks, I'd lose all contact with the outside world and dive into a secret project for the next ten years.

From that moment on, there would be no ties between me and her anymore.

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.

After being thrown out, I didn't go back to confront Justine again.

Instead, I rushed back to school that very night and buried myself in research, trying to pull myself out of the grief and lose myself in my studies.

When Justine's parents, Bernard and Sally, messaged to ask where Justine had disappeared to overnight, I simply replied that I had no idea.

Before long, my emotions settled back down.

It wasn't until I finished my work and stepped out of the building that I happened to run into Wayne.

He was leaning casually against the doorway, clearly waiting for someone. When he looked up and saw me, he smiled.

"Hey, Justine and I are grabbing dinner tonight. Wanna come?"

I ignored him and walked past, but he reached out and stopped me.

"Come on. I'm begging you. Can you just let her go? Please?"

I frowned, completely baffled, and shoved his hand off.

"What does this have to do with me? If you have feelings for her, feel free to pursue her."

I had only pushed him lightly, but to my surprise, Wayne went stumbling to the ground like he'd been knocked over, and his face twisted like he was about to cry.

"I know you've loved Justine for years, but love isn’t first-come-first-served. I know you can't accept that she wants to break up with you to be with me, but that doesn't give you the right to attack me in the middle of the street."

Anger surged in me, and my voice rose without thinking.

"Stop making up lies! You know full well you're the one who—"

"Wayne!"

Justine's furious voice cut through the air as she came storming toward us and shoved me aside.

"What are you doing?"

I stumbled back and collapsed onto the ground. A sharp needle sticking out of the curb jabbed straight into my ankle. The pain was so intense, I couldn't stand—I could only glare at her in disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind? He fell on his own! You saw it yourself!"

Wayne stood up with her help, shaking his head weakly.

"Yeah... it was just an accident..."

But Justine didn't buy it for a second.

"You think I'm blind? What, you just decided to sit on the pavement for no reason? Craig, I never imagined you could be so cruel."

Her eyes burned with rage as she looked at me.

Wayne murmured softly, trying to calm her, "Don't be mad... I don't want to come between you two. What if your parents blame me? I'd hate for them to think I forced you into anything."

Justine gripped his hand even tighter, her expression full of pity.

"My parents aren't fools. They can tell who's decent and who's not." She then turned to me. "I already told you—Wayne is the one I want to spend my life with."

Then she stepped toward me and slapped me across the face. "That's for Wayne. I hope from now on, you can be more sensible and stop making a scene."

My head snapped to the side with the force of the slap. A sharp ringing filled my ears.

Blood was still seeping from my ankle, and between the pain and humiliation, I felt completely numb. "That's not what happened… You seriously don't believe me?"

Her tone was icy as she let out a sarcastic laugh. "With the way you've always stirred up trouble, why should I?

"This time it's just a slap. I can't promise what I'll do next time."

The threat hung heavy in her voice.

I slowly got to my feet, my head bowed. "Well, I really appreciate your mercy."

Justine frowned. "Try sounding a little more sincere."

I choked back the tears and bent forward, shouting, "I'm sorry!"

Wayne quickly waved it off.

"It's fine. This isn't necessary."

He reached out to help me, but Justine stepped between us. "People like him are better left alone—don't let his bad attitude rub off on you."

Then she took Wayne's hand and pulled him into the car.

As they drove off, the exhaust hit me square in the face, covering me in dust.

I stood there for a long time, frozen.

It was like I couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

Whatever scraps of affection I had left for her had been buried right then and there—reduced to ash and gone without a trace.

That night, when I got home, the military housing compound was buzzing with noise.

I saw a group gathered around a campfire, and Justine and Wayne were right in the middle, teasing each other.

My peers shot me knowing looks.

Someone called out, "Craig, wanna join us?"

I knew they just wanted to see me get humiliated again, like a few days ago when Justine embarrassed me in front of everyone.

But that wasn't the old me anymore.

This time, I ignored them and went straight inside, shutting the door to block out all the noise.

[Mr. Russell, I'm in. I'll join the medical research program.]

Justine and I both came from military families. My father was one of Bernard's most trusted men.

So I grew up trying to protect her, just like my father had.

But a few years ago, during an incident, my father caught a rare illness protecting Bernard. There was no cure, so he died.

That was why I didn't hesitate to pick medicine when I got to college.

Melvin Russell happened to be an old friend of my father's, someone I hadn't seen in years.

When he learned about my father's death, he had promised to guide me.

Whenever he encountered any opportunities, he'd push me toward them.

Before, I was too tied down by Justine to say yes.

But now, I'd let go.

Justine didn't need me anymore. Holding on only made me a joke.

Maybe this research was my chance to walk away and start fresh.

Melvin replied quickly, [Great! Finally, you said yes!

[Tonight's the deadline—I was just about to beg for an extension for you.]

I smiled as I read it, but then my vision blurred.

Twenty-four years together with Justine, nine years tangled up.

Now, after just four days, I could leave her without hesitation.

Just as Justine and Wayne announced they were back together, I was packing to head to Brindlewood.

Melvin reminded me to bring warm clothes as winter in the north was brutal.

When I finished packing and checked my phone, messages about Justine flooded the screen.

I ignored them.

Just then, my mother called out from outside my room.

"Craig, Bernard and Sally invited us out. They said there's big news."

I was surprised.

I figured I might as well wait until after dinner to leave.

When we arrived, it wasn't just Bernard and Sally—there was also a couple I didn't know.

Everyone was chatting and laughing, and when they saw me and my mother, they beamed and pulled us to sit.

Then Justine and Wayne appeared, hand in hand.

The other couple waved eagerly. "Wayne, you finally showed up!"

My mother froze, staring, exchanging uneasy looks with Justine's parents.

Justine noticed our tense faces and snapped, "Craig, did you come here on purpose? You found out Wayne and I were meeting our parents to announce we're getting married and decided to cause trouble?"

I shrugged, calm as ever.

"I don't know anything. I'm just here with my mom for dinner."

Sally stepped in smoothly. "Yeah, I invited them. Justine, you shouldn't be causing a scene."

Justine was about to lash out, but Wayne put an arm around her shoulders, soothing her.

"We didn't explain things well today. It's okay. Justine told me before that Craig is family. If he's family, he should know I'm marrying Justine."

My mother's face darkened completely.

"Justine, is this how you treat my son?"

That caught Wayne's parents off guard—they'd been ready to applaud.

Wayne's mom spoke up. "What do you mean? My son says it's your son who keeps bothering Justine."

My mother was furious and stood up.

"Who said you could speak?"

I quickly pulled her back down and said, "Justine and I broke up a long time ago. I'll be leaving tonight anyway. I'm heading to Brindlewood."

My mother whispered, disbelief in her voice, "Are you crazy?"

I pressed her hand down, shaking my head. Before I could say more, Wayne interrupted.

"Craig, you've looked out for Justine all these years. You're kind of like her big brother. I hope to have your blessing."

I looked up. Usually simple in her style, Justine wore a pink skirt tonight—cute and lively.

But inside, I was calm.

"I wish you both a long, happy marriage. I hope you never let go of each other."

Justine's friends suddenly appeared, popping confetti cannons over them.

"Woo! Congrats to the happy couple!"

One of them glanced at me, shocked.

"No way, Craig. You actually crashed their wedding announcement?"

Then he glanced apologetically at Justine.

"We didn't tell him; someone must've spilled the beans. But with how sweet you two are, I've got to say, the guy sure is thick-skinned."

Their words only confirmed I was here to stir things up.

Justine looked annoyed.

"I knew you'd never learn to behave." She rubbed her temple, then pointed toward the door. "Get out."

Her friends surrounded me, rifling through my things.

"Got anything left to sweet-talk her with? Or are you planning the hundredth proposal?"

They all burst out laughing.

They were right. I had prepared ninety-nine proposals just to make Justine happy.

For three years, I kept trying, never backing down.

But now, I had nothing left.

My mother's eyes welled up. "Get out of here, you little pricks!"

But they barely noticed, pulling a confidentiality agreement I'd signed from my bag.

They laughed, showing it around like it was a treasure.

"Look, he's joining a medical research project, and he'll have to work in a secret facility for ten years."

"Maybe he's threatening Justine that she can't reach him anymore."

I took a deep breath, voice steady.

"Justine, you know better than anyone if the stamps on that paper are real."

After all, their family had plenty of business dealings with Melvin.

Justine opened her mouth to mock me, but the longer she looked, the darker her expression grew.

After a while, her hand trembled. When she looked at me, her eyes were wet.

"Are you serious?"