Ninety-Nine Times Does It

My sister abruptly returns to the country on the day of my wedding. My parents, brother, and fiancé abandon me to pick her up at the airport.

She shares a photo of them on her social media, bragging about how she's so loved. Meanwhile, all the calls I make are rejected.

My fiancé is the only one who answers, but all he tells me is not to kick up a fuss. We can always have our wedding some other day.

They turn me into a laughingstock on the day I've looked forward to all my life. Everyone points at me and laughs in my face.

I calmly deal with everything before writing a new number in my journal—99.

This is their 99th time disappointing me; I won't wish for them to love me anymore.

I fill in a request to study abroad and pack my luggage. They think I've learned to be obedient, but I'm actually about to leave forever.

The door to my room was suddenly pushed open without warning. My brother, Adrian Hoffman, walked in and scoffed when he saw me staring blankly at my diary.

"Aren't you a little too old to be writing a diary?"

Normally, I would have argued back. But this time, I didn't even lift my head or respond.

Seeing my lack of reaction, he grew irritated and ran his hand through his hair before snatching my diary to take a look.

On it was a single number—99.

It was the number of times they had let me down over the years.

Adrian frowned, unable to make sense of it.

He tossed my diary onto the floor and ordered, "Stop writing this nonsense. Nina wants to eat the garlic shrimp you make. Go wash your hands and get downstairs. Consider it an apology for that snarky remark you made to her earlier."

I only hummed in response before I got up and headed downstairs.

Adrian was surprised that I didn't throw a tantrum. After all, every time my family asked me to make garlic shrimp, I would always cry and whine as if it were some huge injustice.

He must be wondering why I was so quiet this time.

"Sadie, did you switch personalities or something? Or are you planning something sneaky like putting something in the food?"

Adrian eyed me suspiciously, trying to see through me. He finally noticed my slightly red-rimmed eyes and stiffened, shutting his mouth.

After a long while, he spoke again, "Nina was abroad for a year. She's been on her own for so long, and this is her first time back. We were eager to see her. You should be more understanding. It was just a wedding. We can just push it to a later date, can't we?"

I remained silent as I took the shrimp out of the fridge and began to clean them.

Right, it was just a wedding.

In their eyes, nothing was more important than welcoming my sister, Nina Hoffman, back home—not even the wedding I had been looking forward to for so long.

It had taken me a lot of convincing to secure a high-end designer wedding gown. I had also spent more than six months meticulously planning the decorations with my wedding planner.

They had seen all of my efforts. And yet, the people closest to me had turned me into a complete joke.

My entire family had been absent at my wedding, and even the groom, Brandon Keller, had never shown up.

While Nina was flaunting on social media about how many people had come to welcome her home, I had faced the guests' ridicule and dealt with the aftermath alone.

Even the hotel staff had felt sorry for me when they had seen how pale I looked. They had urged me to return home to rest, but the first thing my family had done when they got home was make me their cook.

I smiled wryly.

Thinking of my aging parents, I had originally planned to turn down my professor's offer to study abroad, especially since Nina had also been abroad, Adrian was busy with work, and I had plans to get married.

But now, I knew leaving was the only right decision.

Unfortunately, even though I had submitted my application, I still had to wait two more weeks before I could leave.

I pushed Adrian away. "Move, please. You're in the way."

He appeared a little lost and was about to say something when the beloved princess in the living room called out to him, "Adrian, I can't seem to shell this pecan!"

That made Adrian all worked up. "Don't do it yourself. You're going to hurt your hands. You're a future pianist. Hold on, I'll do it for you!"

With that, the annoying fly finally left the kitchen.

I looked down at my hands. My slender fingers were now red and swollen from an allergic reaction.