For the 99th time, Jessa Doyle rejected my proposal.

I found an exquisitely packaged wristwatch on her dressing table.

She casually said, "I wanted to surprise you on our anniversary, but you accidentally found out."

I thought she had finally come to her senses.

On our eighth anniversary of dating, I bought flowers and prepared a table full of dishes.

But after midnight, Jessa hadn't returned.

Her childhood friend posted on Facebook.

"Although I didn't get a limited-edition wristwatch, sincere companionship is better than all the beauty in the world. You are here, so I am. We will always be together."

This time, I didn't argue or feel jealous, nor did I feel sad.

I was deeply exhausted from the bottom of my heart.

I was willing to give all my love to her, but now I would admit my defeat and quit to give her freedom.

——

A table of delicious food gradually became messy and tasteless.

I called her. It rang twice and was hung up by someone mercilessly.

I held my cell phone tightly and hesitated for a long time before turning on the hidden couple's shared location app.

Once, Jessa got drunk at a social gathering and passed out in a parking lot.

I had been worried. I had been searching along the way. Otherwise, I dared not imagine what might have happened to her.

After sending her to an emergency room that night, I was filled with fear, so I installed a shared location app on her cell phone during the waiting time.

Jessa valued boundaries a lot. She didn't like me interfering too much in her life and freedom, and she especially didn't like me prying into her privacy.

So, I hid that app. Maybe it was her drunken incident that made her feel uneasy. Later, she would always inform me first whenever she went out.

As a result, I had never used that app until now.

But today, I wanted to use this opportunity to see the scene of them being together. Face to face, I would ask her about her thoughts so that I could give up.

It was pouring rain outside. I followed the navigation to a bar.

Amid the dim lights and slowly playing music, I saw Jessa at a glance.

There was no other reason. Everyone in the bar was gathered around a booth. The focus of the audience was Jessa and her childhood friend, Brian Hawk.

At this moment, Brian was kneeling on one knee, holding a soda can ring, and looking at Jessa with enthusiasm and sincerity.

"Jessa, will you marry me?"

My heart was pounding. The ring box in my pocket was hurting my hand.

In the eight years of our relationship, I had proposed to Jessa more than once. The most recent time was at the end of last month.

It was her birthday that day. During that time, she was unusually good to me, obedient and submissive. It made me think that the timing was right.

I planned a grand proposal ceremony, secretly inviting her parents and friends and hoping that they could witness our happiness.

She cut it off and found a diamond ring hidden in the cake.

Taking advantage of her daze, I held the flowers and knelt on one knee.

"Jessa, I love you! I want to make you the happiest woman in the world. Will you marry me?"

She looked at me in a daze, with a hint of confusion and hesitation on her face.

At this moment, her cell phone rang. I saw her breathe a sigh of relief. She hurriedly answered the call on the balcony.

When she came back, her brows furrowed. She said, "There's an urgent matter at work. I need to go out for a while."

Seeing that she didn't seem fake, I asked, "What's the matter? Is it serious? Do you need me to accompany you?"

At my words, her hand holding the bag paused. A hint of annoyance and impatience could be heard in her tone.

"It's all my company's business. What can you do if you go with me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that her tone was inappropriate. Then she patted my arm to comfort me.

"Help me take care of my parents and friends. Thank you for your hard work!"

So, my 99th proposal was rejected.

After I came to my senses, the crowd around me was cheering.

"Promise him, promise him."

Just then, I dialed Jessa's phone number again.

Without hesitation, Jessa hung up the phone and took the pull tab from Brian's hand.

She smiled genuinely. I had never seen her smile like this before.

Brian stood up, and they embraced tightly, while the audience applauded thunderously.

Everyone was happy, except for me, a disappointed man.

Jessa was not afraid of getting married. She just didn't want to marry me. She let me propose again and again. At first, she told me she wasn't ready. Then she came up with various excuses to avoid it.

"Preston Horne, you've seen it with your own eyes. Give up!"

I stumbled and accidentally knocked over a table behind me along with the empty wine bottles on it.

With a loud crash, everyone turned to look at me.

Jessa let go of Brian and turned to look at me. Then her face changed drastically.

She was confused, surprised, and scared at first. In the end, she was as calm and composed as ever.

She walked up to me, looking somewhat indifferent.

"Did you follow me?"

"Didn't I tell you that I hate relationships without freedom and privacy?"

Before I could say anything, she turned the tables on me eagerly.

I nodded and forced a smile bitterly.

"Yes, I did follow you. What are you going to do about it?"

"If I hadn't been here, I would have missed such a wonderful proposal scene."

"I'm such a failure as a boyfriend. My girlfriend is going to marry someone else, and I have no idea."

"Since you two are in love, I won't interfere. I wish you a happy and fulfilling life together!"

Before Jessa could speak, Brian stepped forward and smiled at me.

"Preston, don't misunderstand! I was just helping Jessa overcome her psychological barriers!"

"You know, she has a fear of getting married, so she asked me to practice with her!"

I looked at him. He looked sincere. I ended up like an unreasonable child.

"So?"

"Do you want me to thank you? Today is the anniversary of me and Jessa's relationship. You took her for the whole day, openly proposing. Do you think I'm a fool?"

Brian looked apologetic, saying, "Preston, I didn't know it was your anniversary today."

"I asked Jessa. She said she was free today. Then I made plans with her..."

He wanted to say more, but Jessa interrupted him.

"Preston, we have been together for eight years, not eight days. If you don't even trust me, I need to seriously evaluate whether we are suitable to be together."

"You always overthink and doubt everything. No wonder no one in my family likes you!"

Her words hurt me the most. I suddenly stood still.

Jessa realized that she said the wrong thing and changed her tone.

"Preston, I just came out to hang out with friends. Can you stop making a big fuss? It's embarrassing, and I am losing face!"

Their mutual friends spoke up for them.

"Preston, this is your fault! If they want to be together, you will have no chance"

"They were just one step away from being together back then."

"Enough. Be silent."

Someone wanted to say something more, but Jessa interrupted her and rebuked him.

I clenched my fists, trying my best to control my trembling body due to anger.

"Well, since you guys are such a perfect match, I'll quit and let you have it all!"

After saying that, I turned around and left, ignoring their reaction.

Jessa chased after me, wanting to hold my hand, but I waved her away.

"Preston, listen to me."

"Brian and I grew up together since we were young. We are indeed closer than ordinary people. But I will pay attention to it in the future."

"Preston, you are my boyfriend. You are the husband in my future life plan, not Brian."

"Today, I was wrong. I forgot that it was our anniversary. But you can't deny my feelings for you because of this. Can we stop arguing?"

When I was born, my parents were going through a relationship breakdown.

After I was born, I was a boy whom my father didn't love, and my mother didn't care about.

They sent me back to my hometown, and I lived with my grandmother.

My grandmother passed away when I was in high school. Only after that was, I brought back. By then, my parents had reconciled, and they had a beloved younger son.

After I was transferred to another school, no one wanted to sit with me because of my introverted personality, except for Jessa.

She was youthful, beautiful, lively, and cheerful. She forcefully showed up in my life.

To reduce the number of times I asked my parents for living expenses, I often went hungry.

I didn't know how Jessa found out, but she would stuff bread and milk into my hands every day.

"Eat them or throw them away for me. I feel nauseous just looking at these, but I can't let my parents find out!"

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she was a ray of light in my life, redeeming me, who was ignored in the darkness.

My parents forced me to drop out of school and go to work, cutting off all my sources of income. It was Jessa who rallied my classmates to donate money to help me through the difficult times.

I secretly changed my major and went to the same university as her, watching her have fun with Brian.

Brian graduated and went abroad without any further news. Jessa became like a withered flower, gradually wilting.

She started going to have fun in bars and nightclubs. She started bungee jumping and skydiving.

And I silently waited behind her. One day, she was harassed in a bar. I stood up for her and got my leg broken.

After I woke up in the hospital, she asked me, "Preston, do you like me?"

My secret was revealed. I blushed and stammered.

But she suddenly kissed my lips, saying, "Let's be together!"

Happiness came at me, and I willingly fell for her.

In our eight years together, we had happy times.

She would iron my clothes for the next day and carefully match them for me.

When I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, she sang to me with sleepy eyes to lull me back to sleep.

The shadows and pain of being abandoned in my youth seem to be all gone because of her tenderness.

I did my best to give her everything, helping her make her company go public. I retreated after achieving success and took care of her at home.

Jessa once saved me, who had been insecure since my youth. I accompanied her through the low point of her relationship. We supported each other for eight years. I thought we would eventually have a happy ending.

Since Brian came back, he forcefully intervened in our lives. Unconsciously, Jessa's heart started to drift away.

Jessa looked painful in front of me. My heart trembles uncontrollably.

"But I don't have the strength to believe in you anymore."

Jessa curled her hands slightly, looking at the ring box that fell to the ground during the struggle just now. Then she picked it up and clenched her teeth.

"Preston, are you planning to propose to me today?"

"I promise. I promise to marry you!"

She put the ring in my arms and extended her fair and tender hand to me.

"Put it on for me! If only marriage can make you believe in me again and make you feel at ease, then let's get married, Preston!"