After I've completed 98 tasks for my fiancee, Cheryl Landeau, she finally agrees to marry me once I've completed the 99th task for her.

For that task, I'm required to pick her up outside her company.

On the day I stand outside Cheryl's company with a huge flower bouquet in my arms, I don't see her at all despite having waited till late night.

Soon after, I get hospitalized due to a high fever. When I tap on my phone, the first thing I see is a photo of the marriage certificate belonging to Cheryl and her assistant, Jason York.

Jason even includes a caption with the photo. "My mom is very satisfied with her daughter-in-law. Please take good care of me from now on, my dear wife."

The next day, I hang a banner outside the company.

"May Ms. Landeau and Mr. York grow old in harmony and be blessed with children."

All of my colleagues are stunned, to say the least.

At that moment, Cheryl quickly pulls me into her office. She then explains, "Jason's mom is severely ill. Her death wish is watch him get married. What's wrong with me fulfilling her wish? Can't you show more kindness toward Jason?

"Now, stop throwing that tantrum of yours and get rid of the banner. Once Jason's mom passes away, I'll file for a divorce from him."

I just smile as I set off more fireworks at the doorway.

"Oh, you don't have to bother with a divorce. I'm worried that his mom might come back to life soon. Let's just end things here."

I turned to leave after watching the last firework fade from the sky, but my fiancee, Cheryl Landeau, yanked me back.

"Nathan, are you trying to embarrass me in front of the whole company?" she snapped. "I already told you that once Jason's mother passes or her condition stabilizes, I'll divorce him. You and I have been together for so many years. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

I stared at the ring on her finger, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Yeah. We'd spent so many years together… yet I still didn't even have the right to call myself her husband.

Cheryl reached for my hand, but I pushed her away.

"I'm fine waiting for you," I said. "A year, two years… even the eight years that I've already wasted. But what I've been waiting for is an answer, Cheryl. And I don't see one.

"It was pouring that day, but I waited for you down here the whole time. I didn't even dare to get an umbrella because I was afraid I'd miss you. And what were you doing then? You were getting hitched to your precious little assistant."

We'd been together for eight years, from our school days through our working years. All I'd ever wanted was a marriage certificate with our names on it.

But to Cheryl, marriage was just a carrot she could dangle above my head.

The 1st time, she said we would get married if I quit my job to help her start her company.

The 2nd time, she said we would get married if I bought us an apartment.

The 50th time, she said we would get married if I helped her assistant, Jason York, take care of his sick mother.

The 78th time, she said we would get married if I could wine and dine clients on Jason's behalf.

The 98th time, she said we would get married if I helped get the company listed on the stock market.

Cheryl said 99 was a lucky number. As long as I completed all 99 of her conditions, she promised we would get married.

For that promise, I'd given up a permanent, stable job at a state-owned company and squeezed into a tiny rental next to her company.

Every day, I dealt with the reports Jason had missed and smiled my way through dinners with clients, drinking until my stomach bled.

The 99th time, she said we would get married if I picked her up downstairs at her office building.

That day, I started waiting for her before dawn. I waited and waited, not even budging when the rain came down hard. I was afraid she wouldn't be able to spot me right away.

I didn't even dare get an umbrella. I was terrified that the second I turned my back, I would miss her.

I stood in front of the office building, watching the crowds rush past. Everyone looked like they were in a hurry, and they stared at me like I was crazy.

But I didn't care. Cheryl was finally going to marry me.

I kept telling myself to wait just a little longer… and a little longer after that. She would show up. She had to.

Time crawled by, but she still didn't appear. Fever burned through me, making my head spin, but I didn't dare leave. I was afraid that if I took even one step away, I would never see her again.

In the end, I collapsed on the sidewalk. Someone had me taken to the hospital.

When I woke up and checked my phone, the first thing I saw was a marriage certificate with Cheryl's and Jason's names on it.

I didn't remember how I got through that night. All I knew was that my pillow was soaked when I woke up again. In that moment, I finally understood that someone who truly loved another wouldn't make them jump through that many hoops.

I snapped back to the present. Cheryl was still ranting at me.

"Are you that petty, Nathan?" she asked coldly. "We're just putting on an act! Why are you taking it so personally when Jason and I are just doing this for some dying old woman?"

She scoffed. "Besides, I promised I'd marry you. It's not like I've changed my mind about that."

I looked her straight in the eye. "I'll come in and submit my resignation in a couple of days. Remember to approve it."

Without waiting for a reply, I turned, got in my car, and headed home.

Cheryl screamed, "Nathan Garrison, do you really think—"

I didn't catch the rest, and I no longer wanted to know.

That night, I was curled up on the couch after downing a few bottles of beer when my phone screen lit up. Cheryl had updated her social media with a photo grid—a collage of nine photos of her and Jason.

In my drunken haze, I suddenly thought about deleting all the photos of Cheryl and me. I opened my gallery, but all that popped up were work files and meeting notes.

That was when I remembered that Cheryl had once said she hated taking photos. In eight years together, we'd never taken even a single picture together.

After scrolling through my phone, the only image I found of her was a candid shot from when we were working overtime once. She'd been on the phone while leaning against the conference room window.

My thumb hovered over the delete button, but I just couldn't press it. It wasn't that I couldn't let go; it was that I suddenly realized there was nothing between us for me to actually erase.

Just then, a WhatsApp notification popped up. It was from Cheryl.

"Pick me up at 10:30 pm."

I instinctively stood up, but a wave of dizziness hit me hard. The last bit of reason I had reminded me I'd been drinking and couldn't drive, so I should call a designated driver.

I braced myself against the wall, swaying as I walked toward the front door. Another message came in from Cheryl.

"Why aren't you here yet? What's taking you so long?"

My stomach suddenly churned. I stumbled and staggered as I dashed to the bathroom, throwing up until I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out.

When I was done, my head felt a little clearer. It suddenly hit me—why did I need to pick Cheryl up? We were already broken up.

A beer bottle rolled against my foot. I kicked it away.

Cheryl fired off another message. "Are you dead? Can you not see my messages?"

"Cheryl, we're over." After sending that, I blocked the number I knew by heart.

It was still raining. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and headed to a convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Cheryl always said she hated the smell of cigarettes and wouldn't let me smoke. So, for her sake, I'd gone without them for eight whole years.

But that day, I'd watched as Jason had smoked one cigarette after another in her office. All she'd done was smile at him without a hint of annoyance.

I watched the cigarette tip glow and fade. Suddenly, I started laughing. I laughed until the tears came. It turned out the disparity between love and indifference had been there for a long time.

Jason updated his social media with a cringey, hand-holding photo. No one from the office liked it, nor did Cheryl. I knew the picture was only for my eyes.

…

I had no idea how I made it home. I just collapsed onto the couch and passed out.

Cheryl came back at 3:00 am. I was rudely awakened by her smacking me with her purse.

"What the hell is your problem, Nathan?" she screeched. "I already gave you a way out to save you the embarrassment, so why didn't you come pick me up? What the hell did you mean by that? Do you know it's pouring outside?"

The moment she'd walked through the door, I was hit with a mixture of men's cologne that wasn't mine and cigarette smoke. I also noticed a few red marks on her neck.

"Nathan Garrison!" Cheryl threw her purse at me. "How many times have I told you not to smoke at home?"

I sat up, leaning back lazily against the couch. "You have a great memory, Ms. Landeau."

I paused and lifted my eyes to look at her. "But the smell of smoke on you is stronger than on me. Let me guess—Jason's Marlboros, right?"

"Cut the sarcasm, Nathan!" She took half a step back, diffident without even realizing it. "I'm out there every day working my ass off and building a career, unlike you, sulking at home like a child!"

"A career, huh?" I lit another cigarette. "So, your career involves working overtime with your precious little assistant until the wee hours, soaking yourself in his cologne? And while you're at it, you throw in a few bedroom shots? Do you think I'm blind, Cheryl?"

She flipped her hair. "We're just coworkers. Can you stop being so narrow-minded?"

I watched her little hair-flip and started laughing. Her tell when she lied hadn't changed a bit.

"So, a regular coworker would leave hickeys all over your neck? Do you get off on lying to me, Cheryl?"

"You're being ridiculous, Nathan!" Cheryl backed away again, clearly shaken. "Even if Jason and I have gotten closer, it's because you've never known how to be understanding! All you do is push me to get married!"

She always did this. The moment she was in the wrong, she shoved all the blame onto someone else.

I stood up and walked into the bedroom, letting her say whatever she wanted. This time, I wasn't going to sit there wondering if I'd done something wrong.

…

The next day, I went to the office to clear out my desk. As soon as I got there, Jason sauntered over.

"Morning, Mr. Garrison. Wanna guess what this is?"

He waved a marriage certificate in my face.

I didn't have the patience to play his games and turned to walk past him. However, he stepped in front of me and blocked my way.

I pushed him aside, but he let out a dramatic cry and threw himself to the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nathan?" Cheryl rushed out of her office the second she heard Jason's cry. "You're assaulting coworkers now? Apologize to Jason right now!"

I watched as Jason continued acting like he was hurt and snorted. "It's his fault for not watching where he's going."

Cheryl slapped me across the face for that. "How did you end up like this, Nathan? I'm so disappointed in you!"

I hadn't expected her to hit me. She'd put so much force into it that I actually stumbled back a couple of steps.

She was disappointed in me? Who exactly was the one who should be disappointed in whom?

"Get out, Nathan! This company doesn't need people like you throwing your weight around!" Cheryl shouted at me as she helped Jason up.

"Fine. I came to clear my desk, anyway. I don't want to stay in this company for another second."

…

On the third day, I finished packing my bags. I would be heading back to my real home in Horsville.

All these years, I'd ignored my family's objections and stubbornly pursued Cheryl. I'd left a big, bustling city for a small town just to be with her.

When I went to the office to submit my resignation, Cheryl wasn't in. My coworkers looked puzzled when they heard I was looking for her.

"Ms. Landeau and Mr. York are having their outdoor wedding today, Mr. Garrison. You didn't know about that?"

The wedding, huh?

I clenched my fists. Well, who was I to ask about Cheryl's wedding?

On the way home, I drove past the park where Cheryl and I used to go all the time. It was a beautiful place, with a big lake and flowers planted all along the bank.

I remembered something that happened seven years ago.

In a daze, I could almost see 20-year-old Cheryl again, crouching in front of the flowerbeds. Her fingertips had been smudged with dirt as she'd looked up at me with a smile.

"Nate, can we use these flowers for our wedding someday? Red roses mean eternal love."

Back then, we'd just scraped together enough for a down payment and were renting an old apartment near the park. Every weekend, she would drag me over to feed the fish.

I'd looked into her bright, innocent eyes and ruffled her hair. "Sure. We'll have our wedding here in the future."

She'd pointed toward the pavilion in the middle of the lake. "We'll have the ceremony right there. You'll wear a white suit, and I'll wear a wedding gown with a long train. We'll rent a swan boat to take all our guests around the lake."

I pulled over by the side of the road and walked toward the lake, almost without thinking. The bank was lively now, decked out with white balloons and champagne-colored arches. From a distance, strains of the wedding march floated over the water to me.

"Mr. Garrison?" A familiar coworker walked up, holding a champagne flute. Her gaze flicked between me and the wedding setup.

"Did you… come to drop off a gift?" Her tone had a probing edge to it, as if she'd just stumbled onto a live soap opera.

I smiled and nodded. I went back to the car to grab a nice envelope. I'd been keeping a whole stack of them in the glove compartment, originally planning to use them to give out return gifts after my own wedding someday.

I stuffed some cash inside.

From the direction of the lakeside pavilion came a wave of cheers. Jason was carrying Cheryl toward the swan boat.

I walked over and looked at her in that pure white wedding gown, feeling my eyes sting a little. But I quickly got myself under control.

"Ms. Landeau, Mr. York, why didn't you invite me to the wedding?" I asked. "Pardon me for showing up uninvited, but at least I have a wedding gift. I wish you two a long and happy marriage."

I set the envelope on the sign-in table and signed my name on the guest list.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" Cheryl's smile instantly froze on her face. Behind her, though, Jason grinned.

"I was just passing by and thought I'd drop off my gift."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Mr. Garrison. When you get married someday, you have to invite me. I'll make sure to give you a big gift in return!" Jason's eyes were full of open provocation. "Oh, wait—you don't have a girlfriend yet. I'll introduce you to someone!"

He pulled Cheryl closer to his side, staking his claim, but she shook him off and tugged me aside. The look on his face soured.

"Do you get some sort of thrill from stalking me?" Cheryl frowned at me. "Did you really have to show up and stir things up with all my family and friends here today? Jason's mother insisted on seeing us get married as her final wish. Don't overthink this."

I took a step back, putting some distance between us, still wearing a smile. "Ms. Landeau, you're a married woman now. Is it appropriate for you to be standing this close to me? Anyway, don't take this the wrong way. I honestly just came to drop off my gift. Well, I'm heading out. My resignation is on your desk."

I turned and walked away.

"You—" Cheryl started to come after me, but Jason yanked her back.

The guests, not knowing what had happened, kept on cheering and egging them on.

Rain began to fall. My phone buzzed with a message from Mom. "Nate, come home. Your dad has saved you a project in Horsville."

I replied, "Okay."

Back in the car, I took one last look at the lake. This time, it was really over.

That same night, I flew back to Horsville. As the plane slowly ascended, I was finally leaving the city I'd spent eight years in.

A message popped up on my phone from Cheryl. I'd blocked her on WhatsApp but forgotten to block her number. "Nathan, where did you go? I bought you some cake."