Chapter 1

1

It was a year after Josh rejected my 99th proposal.

He called, crying his eyes out, saying his grandma was dying and her only wish was to see him married.

He not only agreed to marry me but also had a wedding dress and venue ready.

But when I arrived at the venue in the dress, his friends started mocking me.

"She actually believed everything! Even upgraded the $15 wedding dress to a designer one. What a simp!"

Then they yelled to the guests,

"The groom's mistress is here to crash the wedding!"

"Security! Get the mistress!"

The guests all stood up, staring at me.

Josh looked lovingly at his dream girl, Sarah.

"I promised to help you ruin this wedding, and I keep my promises."

"With me around, if you can't have him, no one can!"

Sarah finally smiled, and he turned to me.

"Sarah said, since you helped, you can be a bridesmaid at our wedding. You can even keep hanging around me."

He tricked me into coming just to help Sarah ruin the wedding of the guy she was obsessed with.

But when Josh saw the picture of me on the wedding banner, his face went pale.

......

Security grabbed my arm, and I suddenly snapped back to reality.

It was another trick.

Josh pushed the guards away, apologizing.

"Sorry everyone, it's a misunderstanding!"

"She's my friend, we were just joking around!"

After the guards left, he smoothed out my wrinkled dress.

"Ashley, are you okay?"

His friends were laughing hysterically.

"Josh, you're the man! One phone call and she shows up!"

"Yeah, that dress looks expensive. Didn't you say you got her a $15 one?"

"Ultimate simp! She bought her own wedding dress! Desperate much?"

The spotlight was on me, and the guests' whispers reached my ears.

Each one was worse than the last.

My heart sank.

Josh raised his hand, pretending to hit his friends.

"Ashley's a lifesaver. Be nice to her!"

Then he turned to me, smiling gently.

"Thanks for this."

Just when I thought he might feel a little guilty, he rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Sarah said you did her a huge favor."

"We'll invite you to be a bridesmaid when we get married!"

He leaned in, lowering his voice.

"Even if you keep hanging around me, she won't mind!"

"So, worth the trip, right?"

His friends started teasing again.

"Josh, don't get too close. She might think you're into her!"

"She rushed here to marry you without a second thought. Doesn't learn her lesson after being tricked so many times. She must really love you!"

They all knew I had proposed to Josh 99 times.

Every time, he neither agreed nor refused, just laughed and said I was kidding.

Before, I would have run away crying.

But this time, I rubbed my aching shoulders and held out my hand to his friends.

"Well, since you're here, shouldn't you give a gift?"

Sarah, who had been watching from the sidelines, looked terrified.

"Ashley, you're not actually taking this seriously, are you?"

"Josh, honey, did we go too far?"