My fiancee, Emma Jillard's assistant, Charlie Ziegler, loves placing bets. After Emma loses a bet to him, she cancels our wedding for the 19th time because of him.

I warn her that if this happens again, I'll marry another woman immediately.

But Emma just smiles at me nonchalantly.

"You've already donated your kidney to me, Shawn. What makes you think you can marry someone else? Besides, who else but me will marry a handicap like you?"

On the 20th wedding, Charlie sends Emma a photo of the airport, where half a flight ticket can be seen. This is another bet that he has made with her.

"If you can't find me in half an hour, you will never be able to see me again."

Having noticed the destination that's printed on the ticket, Emma rips her wedding veil off her head before rushing toward the airport in a fit of panic.

Half an hour later, Charlie updates his social media feed.

"Only the one who truly cares for you is willing to overcome challenges for you."

Upon noticing the post, I don't bother responding to it. Instead, I quietly dial a phone number that I'm very familiar with.

"Eleanor, are you still going to keep your word of marrying me back then?"

Her voice echoes back excitedly. "Seriously? Of course! As long as you're my marriage partner, I will forever stick to that promise!"

In that instant, the guests in the banquet hall looked at one another in confusion; it was a humiliating farce within the circles of the rich and influential, while my friends and family were all indignant on my behalf.

"How can Ms. Jillard be so muddle-headed? How could she call off her wedding with Mr. Fuller 20 times just for some lowly assistant?"

"Mr. Fuller treated her so well that he donated one of his kidneys to her, which caused Mr. Fuller Senior to cut him off entirely."

Upon hearing all the whispers around me, I let out a wry smile, thinking that even outsiders had realized that Emma Jillard had taken things too far this time.

Josie Hall, Emma's mother, rushed onto the stage, grabbing my arm as she said, "You should calm the guests down and get everyone started on dinner, Shawn. You can just tell them that Emma had an urgent matter at work."

I looked indifferently at Josie, feeling nothing but utter disappointment. "I've said that same excuse 19 times—just as Emma had skipped the wedding 19 times! Do you honestly take the guests as fools, Josie?"

Josie glared at me with displeasure. "You've already used that excuse so many times, so once more won't make a difference. You claimed to be hopelessly in love with Emma for ten years, but I guess your feelings weren't that deep after all."

I couldn't help but feel sick at Josie's matter-of-fact attitude.

I was suddenly reminded of past events. Since Charlie Ziegler started working as Emma's assistant two years ago, the wedding had been repeatedly postponed because he would make a bet with Emma each time during our engagement ceremony, and she would lose every single time.

I couldn't help but wonder if she had lost those bets on purpose.

She had made a bet with Charlie during the first engagement and lost, leading her to transform the ceremony into a ball, with Charlie as her dance partner.

She had lost the second time, and because Charlie claimed he had never been married, she handed him the groom's attire and a corsage and acted out the ceremony with him, stunning all the guests present.

She had continuously lost the bet from that point onward.

I recalled how Emma would repeat the same excuse. "You have to see it from my side, Shawn. I'm the CEO of a company, so I definitely have to lead by example and keep my promises. Charlie is a high-stakes hire as well, so I can't afford to have him feeling slighted."

I reflected on that and became even more convinced that they had made a game out of my wedding every time.

Did they really think I wouldn't notice?

Their wager during the 19th time was that the wedding would be called off if Charlie could run from the hall to the stage, which was only 330 feet, in under a minute. Charlie, standing close to six feet and three inches, could have easily made it even by crawling.

Charlie took his time getting to the stage before shooting me a mocking look. "You're so permissive with me, Ms. Jillard. Is it because you want to marry me instead? Why don't you make it happen, then? I'd definitely look incredibly sharp in that wedding suit."

Emma let out a doting smile. "You're already up on the stage, so I shouldn't let you go down just like that. You actually look quite good in this suit."

That day, Emma actually exchanged rings with Charlie. She then explained to me, "It's been a long day of celebrations, and everyone is worn out, so let's just postpone the ceremony until next time."

If it had been me exchanging rings with her that day, our wedding would have gone through.

That occasion marked the closest point to happiness in my life.

Josie was still pressuring me to take the fall for Emma when Emma and Charlie suddenly appeared, walking arm in arm.

Charlie said, "You've lost again, Ms. Jillard. You missed it by a single second, so you'd better pay up."

Emma replied gently, "You can go ahead and tell me what you want, then."

Charlie put on a thoughtful front before saying, "You've had a long, tiring day, so I'll just make you go to dinner with me as your punishment."

Emma beamed immediately. "You're so thoughtful, Charlie. You always seem to know just what I need."

I felt unexpectedly calm as I watched Emma throw the boutonniere and the ring into the trash. I realized then that I had completely given up on Emma. I asked her politely, "Do you plan on skipping out on the wedding again, Emma?"

Emma turned around and shot me a scornful look. "You're seriously fussing over nothing, Shawn. It's already past the designated time, so we'll deal with the wedding stuff some other time."

Emma walked off with Charlie in front of every guest present, causing quite a bit of laughter to echo throughout the hall.

They were laughing at how I, the proud heir of the Fuller family, had my dignity completely trampled on by Charlie, a mere assistant.

I broke into a wide grin as I watched them walk away. I then called out to them. "How about we make a bet on whether there will be a 21st attempt at this wedding, Emma?

Emma looked back with an impatient glare. "I made it clear that I only do this with Charlie. You aren't even in a position to challenge me to a bet, Shawn."

I could hear the mocking laughter from the crowd intensifying, yet it didn't bother me in the slightest.