Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On the day my boyfriend got back with his first love, I boarded a flight to Washington, D.C.

He told her, "Chloe was just a casual distraction. I won't ever contact her again. I'm only yours now."

His friends worried I would crash their party and make a scene.

None of them knew that this time, I was truly done.

Before leaving for D.C., I accepted Dr. Whitman's invitation to join a top-secret medical research project.

In two weeks, I would lose all contact with the outside world for ten full years.

Silas Montgomery and I were over for good.

...

This had been my ninety-ninth proposal to Silas, begging him to marry me.

The moment the words left my lips, the banquet hall fell dead silent.

Silas walked over slowly, his eyes cold and detached.

"Did it ever cross your mind how embarrassing this is for me?" he sneered. "Tonight was just a private gathering for close friends. Now you've made us the laughingstock of the room."

His ex, Nora Sinclair, stepped up beside him and took his hand.

"Chloe was just trying to surprise you," Nora said softly. "Don't be too harsh on her."

Snickers erupted from the crowd.

"Everyone knows Silas threw this welcome-back party specifically for Nora," someone jeered. "Chloe doesn't even know her place. She asked for this humiliation."

Cruel chuckles and whispers rippled through the room.

I stood there clutching the bouquet, my face burning, yet my feet felt glued to the floor.

I stared at Silas, desperately hoping for a different answer.

The disgust in his eyes only deepened.

"Why are you still standing there?" he snapped. "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

I choked out, "You told me... you said if I proposed ninety-nine times, you'd finally say yes."

I hadn't even planned on coming tonight.

Silas had practically begged me last night, promising that if I gave him one last proper confession, he would agree.

I had pulled multiple all-nighters to finish my mentor's lab assignments just to free up tonight, even rushing the florist to force-bloom these flowers.

Silas smirked dismissively. "That was just drunk talk. I didn't think you were stupid enough to take it seriously."

My heart skipped a beat.

Fighting the rising panic, I pressed, "But back when other guys asked me out, you were furious! You cared so much!"

Silas didn't flinch, his tone dripping with mockery.

"You know how much I care about my reputation," he said. "You're my loyal little shadow. If you ran off with someone else, people would laugh at me."

"What about this bracelet?" My voice trembled. "When I had that deadly fever years ago, nothing worked until you climbed the mountain steps in the freezing rain to get it for me. I woke up the second you put it on my wrist!"

Silas glanced at my wrist, his lips curling into a mocking grin.

"I bought it from a souvenir stall on a whim," he replied. "You were going to wake up anyway. Besides, I never made up that romantic story―you did. Why wouldn't I take credit for it?"

I clenched my fists, tears blurring my vision.

"Silas, in all these years, you've only ever dated two women. Nora was the first, and I was the second."

"You only dated her for a month before you broke up when I found out."

"After everything we've been through, don't you feel anything for me at all?"

"No," he said coldly. "I never wanted to date you. Telling people we were together was just something I said on a whim."

He raised his intertwined hand with Nora.

"Now, I know exactly what I want," Silas declared. "I love Nora, and she's the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."

Nora seemed surprised for a second before ducking her head with a triumphant smile.

Silas turned his back on me and led Nora away.

At his signal, several security guards rushed forward, grabbing my arms and dragging me toward the exit.

The harder I struggled, the tighter their grip became.

"Miss Campbell, this is Mr. Montgomery's order. Please cooperate."

Suddenly, a loud cheer erupted behind me.

I looked back and saw Silas pulling Nora into a passionate embrace.

Before I could process it, a guard wrenched my face away.

"Stop looking at things you shouldn't!"

Instantly, a memory flashed through my mind.

Years ago, when another boy confessed his feelings to me, Silas had aggressively ordered security to drag him away just like this, refusing to let anyone else look at me.

Back then, he had pulled me into his arms so tightly, making me believe I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Turns out, it was all just my own pathetic delusion.