Chapter 1

After my 99th proposal, I finally convince Bridget Sherman to go with me to register our marriage at the city hall.

Instead, all we get is a stern warning from the clerk. "Ms. Sherman, our records show that you're already married. If you register another marriage with Mr. Peterson, you'll be committing bigamy. That's a punishable crime that could throw you behind bars for up to two years.

"I strongly advise you to respect marriage and the law. Don't treat marriage like a game or test the limits of the law."

I stand there dumbfounded, unable to accept that the woman I've loved all this time has already become someone else's wife.

Before I can even question her, Bridget loses her temper. She hurls the forms at my face.

She fumes. "I told you not to come, but you insisted! Will you only be satisfied when I end up in prison? I've never met a man as clingy and pathetic as you!"

Only then do I learn that, just to help her young intern, Keaton Joplin, put on an act, she secretly registered her marriage with him a month ago. Later, after discovering that Keaton only married her to scam her, she comes to me in tears, begging for forgiveness.

"Channing, as soon as the 30-day divorce waiting period is over, I'll marry you! Meet me at the entrance to the city hall. Don't stand me up!"

30 days later, torrential rain pours down.

Countless people see a young woman in a wedding dress waiting from morning until night in the wind and rain, shivering from the cold as tears stream down her face harder than the downpour.

She's waiting for me to appear.

But this is just like waiting for a boat that will never arrive at an airport.

Chapter 1

Channing's POV

It turned out the woman I placed on a pedestal, whom I had been longing to marry, was already someone else's wife. This felt even more disgusting than being forced to swallow a mouthful of urine.

With a grim expression, I walked out of the city hall.

Bridget Sherman chased after me and grabbed my arm in the parking lot.

She scolded, "Channing Peterson, what kind of attitude was that? Keaton Joplin's mother was critically ill and wanted to see her son settle down and meet her daughter-in-law before she died, so I married him just to make the elderly lady happy.

"Is that some unforgivable crime? I was doing a good deed! Can't you stop being so petty like a woman? You're a grown man!

"I didn't want to tell you in the first place. You were the one who insisted on coming here to register our marriage. Now you've only humiliated yourself, and you dragged me into it too."

I couldn't believe that she had pushed all the blame onto me.

Bridget and I had been dating for seven years, and I had proposed to her 99 times in total.

The first time, she said she was too young. The second time, she said she hadn't had enough fun yet. The tenth time, she said I wasn't sincere enough.

The 20th time, she said she was allergic to rose pollen. The 50th time, she said her favorite celebrity had just broken up, so she wasn't in the mood. The 89th time, her pet dog had died, and she needed to mourn it for three months.

For my 99th proposal, I gave her an ultimatum—if we didn't get married, we would break up.

So, she finally agreed to walk into the city hall with me, only to nearly send herself to prison for bigamy.

I guessed this was just how people were—when the pain and anger reached a certain point, one could no longer cry. Instead, one felt like laughing.

I laughed at myself for being such a damn fool.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to marry me," I said in defeat.

Hearing the despair in my voice, Bridget finally seemed a little remorseful. "Channing, even though Keaton and I registered our marriage, we're only married in name. We never slept together. I didn't cheat on you, so don't take it so hard.

"The wedding did some good somehow. His mother's health has gotten much better. I'll get a divorce from Keaton as soon as possible, then we'll get married."

She was about to say more when her phone rang.

"What? Mrs. Joplin wants to eat the food I made? I'll be right there!"

With that, she snatched the car keys from my hand. "I have something to take care of. I'm leaving first. You can take a cab home."

Bridget and I had been together for seven years. Forget cooking for my mother, she'd never even washed a single dish when she visited my parents' house.

I wouldn't feel so hurt if there wasn't such a stark comparison. Nothing was more heartbreaking than the person one loved having a double standard.

My phone rang too, and I heard Mom's worried voice on the other end. "Channing, are you finally going to get married this time? Your dad and I have been looking forward to holding our grandchild!"

My hand that was holding my phone trembled.

After seven years of stringing me along, Bridget had not only worn me down to exhaustion, but she had also left my parents living in constant anxiety.

Chapter 2

Channing's POV

"Mom, Bridget and I are over."

That night, I drank an entire bottle of strong liquor. I had never been much of a drinker, but that night, I desperately needed the numbness alcohol could provide.

Bridget called several times in between and sent me voice messages.

"Channing, there's a 30-day waiting period after filing for a divorce. So, even if Keaton and I take care of the paperwork tomorrow, I still won't be able to marry you until a month later.

"Don't rush, and don't pressure me.

"I'm not coming home tonight. Mrs. Joplin won't let me leave."

Silently, I deleted all our chat history and drifted into a drunken sleep.

The next morning, I felt like my head was about to explode because of my hangover. Even so, I still forced myself to go to the office and began preparing my resignation paperwork.

The company belonged to Bridget's family.

She had a younger brother, but he had died unexpectedly. So, she became the sole heir. She asked me to manage the company's finances because she didn't trust outsiders.

Therefore, I gave up my own career plans and became the man behind her. Later on, she said office romances would be frowned upon, so she insisted that we keep our relationship a secret at work.

Over those seven years, Bridget gained complete control of the company with my help.

Even though anyone who wasn't blind could see how I felt about her, I was still denied the official status as her other half in front of everyone.

"Once we get married, you'll be my legitimate life partner."

She was always making empty promises. It was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey to make it work. The carrot was always tantalizingly close, yet forever out of reach.

But now, I was tired. I didn't want to play this game anymore.

I was calmly preparing for my resignation according to protocol when the company group chat suddenly started pinging nonstop. One exclamation after another came from my coworkers.

"Ms. Sherman and Keaton are married!"

"Oh my goodness! They even posted their wedding photos in the group."

"Look how happy Ms. Sherman is! She looks every bit the blissful woman basking in love."

"Keaton's really got what it takes! He only interned here for three months and already managed to win over the beautiful boss. He's married a rich, beautiful woman and is living his best life."

"He's practically exempt from putting in hard work to make it in life. This is basically like being reborn into a privileged life."

Everyone in the office was envious of Keaton.

"But if Ms. Sherman married Keaton, then what about Mr. Peterson? I always thought Mr. Peterson and Ms. Sherman were a couple," someone muttered quietly.

"What about him? He's a shameless homewrecker who got carried away with his own fantasies. He let his delusions get the better of him," someone else answered in a deliberately loud voice.

I'd always been meticulous at work. Whenever I handled reimbursements, I carefully checked every invoice and receipt. I never gave the people under me a chance to fudge the numbers.

As a result, I'd offended quite a few people.

Previously, they had been wary of my relationship with Bridget and had kept their resentment to themselves. But now that I had clearly fallen out of favor, they seized the chance to kick me while I was down.

"Exactly! He used to act like he had some special authority just because he was carrying out Ms. Sherman's orders. Did he really think he was her husband? Pfft! What a delusional idiot!"

"I bet this lapdog is about to pack his things and get the hell out of here."

They talked loudly, making sure I could hear every word.

A few coworkers who had a conscience wanted to defend me. But just as they opened their mouths to speak, they suddenly stopped.

It was because Keaton had appeared.

He was dressed in an ostentatious white suit and was carrying a huge bag of wedding favors. He handed candy to everyone he passed, and every coworker greeted him with flattering smiles, scrambling to curry favor with him.

"Congratulations, Mr. Joplin!"

"May you have a happy married life and a baby soon."

"You're the man, Mr. Joplin. You and Ms. Sherman are a match made in heaven!"

Keaton was merely a junior assistant who was still doing his internship. But after becoming Bridget's husband, he had instantly become the company's second-in-command.

Everyone called him "Mr. Joplin" so naturally, and Keaton clearly enjoyed hearing it. No one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.

After handing out all the wedding favors, Keaton walked over to me.

He pulled a bottle of champagne from his bag and handed it to me. "Mr. Peterson, I've handed out all the wedding favors. Here's a bottle of champagne you can use to toast to our happy marriage on the wedding day."

He had a blatantly provocative look in his eyes.

My coworkers burst into laughter.

The office was full of cheerful amusement, while I became the clown everyone enjoyed mocking and ridiculing.

Chapter 3

Channing's POV

"Keep it for yourself," I said.

I didn't want to argue with a petty man who had suddenly risen to power. Unfortunately, such men were the most shameless. Keaton just had to rub salt in the wound.

"Oh, you don't like champagne? Then how about bow ties and corsages? I can prepare some for you. You can take them home and put them on your whole family even when you're not having a wedding…"

Insulting me was one thing, but he had even insulted my parents.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I punched Keaton in the face, sending him stumbling backward and falling to the ground.

"Mr. Joplin!"

"Mr. Joplin, are you okay?"

My coworkers swarmed over, scrambling to help Keaton back to his feet.

My punch had left Keaton with a bloody nose. He wiped the blood away with his hand and sneered viciously at me through gritted teeth.

Keaton barked, "You bastard! How dare you hit me? Get him! Beat him up! Whoever hits him the hardest gets double their year-end bonus!"

With enough money on the line, there was no shortage of brave men. Plus, they were eager to suck up to the boss' new favorite.

Three or four male coworkers immediately rushed over and knocked me to the ground. They pinned me down as they kicked and punched me.

My glasses shattered, and the skin around my eye split open. Blood streamed down my face.

Breathing heavily, Keaton grabbed that bottle of champagne and smashed it hard against my head.

The glass shattered following a loud crack. My vision went black, and I passed out.

A second before I lost consciousness, I seemed to hear Bridget's heart-wrenching scream. "Channing!"

When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in a hospital bed.

"You're awake, Channing."

Bridget had been sitting by my bedside the whole time. She hurriedly grabbed my hand.

"Does your head still hurt?" she asked.

It had been a long time since she had treated me so gently—not since Keaton appeared.

Keaton joined the company as an intern three months earlier. He used to be a competitive gymnast in college, so he was tall and muscular.

Around that time, Bridget wanted to work out and get in shape, so she made Keaton her assistant and personal trainer. She said he was much better than the regular trainers in the normal gyms who only knew how to pressure people into buying memberships.

At first, I didn't pay much attention to it.

But gradually, the two of them started behaving more and more inappropriately with each other. Their relationship became more and more intimate, while Bridget's attitude toward me became increasingly perfunctory and cold.

I began to sense danger.

But every time I urged her to keep her distance from Keaton, she accused me of being overly suspicious and jealous. She insisted that there was nothing going on between them.

I was just about to speak when Bridget's concerned tone suddenly turned accusatory.

She chided, "You've gone too far! How could you hurt yourself just to frame Keaton? Everyone at the company said you were the one who provoked him. He kept trying to de-escalate the situation. But then, you went and smashed your own head with the champagne!

"You're not a child anymore. Can't you act more mature? I already told you that the divorce would take at least a month. Can't you stop pressuring me like this? Keaton is just a naive young man. You scared him so badly that he even cried.

"When you see him, you'd better apologize. You're about seven or eight years older than him. Act more like your age. You should be like an older brother to him."

Bridget spoke as though she knew everything about the situation. She pushed all the blame onto me.

I was already too tired to explain myself.

Since I was leaving anyway, it didn't matter to me even if she got everything wrong and blamed me unfairly.

I simply said, "I'm tired."

"Okay. I'll just stay here with you a little longer—"

Before she could finish, her phone rang.

She accepted the call and exclaimed, "What? You hit someone with your car? Are you hurt? Don't cry… Don't be scared… I'll be there for you!"

After hanging up, she hurriedly left.

A couple of years ago, I had given her a car for her birthday. Now, it had become Keaton's flashy ride that he drove around to show off.

Over the next few days, Bridget never came back. All she did was hire a caregiver to look after me. She had also deliberately blocked me so I couldn't see her social media posts.

But every day, the company group chat was practically a live broadcast of Bridget and Keaton's romantic honeymoon abroad. They went shopping, browsed stores, and lounged on the beach together.

Keaton even helped apply sunscreen to the bikini-clad Bridget. His movements were suggestive enough to make anyone blush.

Half a month later, I was finally discharged from the hospital.

I took a cab home alone. As soon as I walked through the door, I saw Bridget happily sorting through the things she had bought during her trip abroad.

Chapter 4

Channing's POV

There were dozens of sets of lingerie and stockings.

Bridget had always dressed conservatively in the past. But ever since meeting Keaton, her outfits had become increasingly provocative.

"Huh? You've already been discharged?" Bridget looked a little nervous when she saw me. "I… I went on a business trip a few days ago… It was for an overseas deal…"

She stammered through her explanation and hurriedly hid a pair of men's swim trunks in her hand.

"I… I took Keaton along to broaden his horizons… Don't misunderstand. We had separate rooms when we were abroad. You know I used to have a younger brother. After he died, I started treating Keaton like a younger brother and spoiling him…"

"It's fine. Do as you please," I said indifferently.

I couldn't be bothered to listen to her insincere explanations, so I went to the spare bedroom.

That night, Bridget entered the spare bedroom wearing the new lingerie and fluorescent stockings. She climbed onto the bed with a seductive smile.

"Channing, it's been so long since we've been intimate with each other. Tonight, I'll make it up to you…"

As she spoke, she reached over to undo the buttons of my pajamas.

In the past, whenever she rejected my marriage proposals, she would make it up to me with physical intimacy. I used to fall for her cheap trick every time.

But now, it only made me feel disgusted.

"No." I slapped her wandering hand away.

Bridget was embarrassed and angry at my rejection.

She scolded, "Enough, Channing! Don't be such a child! I already apologized, didn't I? What more do you want?"

My tone remained calm as I said, "I'm a man of principles. I can't sleep with someone else's wife."

Those words seemed to have an almost magical effect. Bridget was instantly left speechless.

While we were stuck in an awkward silence, there was a loud pounding on the front door.

Keaton had arrived.

He pleaded, "Ms. Sherman, my mom told me to sleep with my wife so she can have a grandchild as soon as possible. She kicked me out, so now I'm homeless. Can you take me in? She's going to video call me later. She won't be at ease until she sees me sleeping in the same bed as you."

Bridget turned to look at me with a conflicted expression. "Channing, you—"

I cut her off. "I'll give you two some space, so you can keep up the act."

I calmly got out of bed and picked up the suitcase I had already packed that evening.

A look of relief immediately appeared on Bridget's face. "Okay, go stay at a hotel for a few days. I'll put on another show for Mrs. Joplin tonight. Tomorrow, I'll go file for a divorce with Keaton. Once the one-month waiting period is over, I'll meet you at the city hall.

"Even though Keaton and I will be sleeping in the same bed tonight, we'll use separate blankets. You won't have to worry about anything."

She was still explaining herself when I walked out the door. Once outside, I hailed a cab and headed straight to the airport.

…

Third-Person POV

A month later, it was a gloomy, rainy day.

Bridget was going to the city hall to register her marriage to Channing. The waiting period for her divorce from Keaton had ended, so she was single again.

Of course, Keaton didn't want that.

He pleaded and threw a tantrum, refusing to let Bridget leave.

"Ms. Sherman, am I not good enough? Can't we make our fake marriage real? I love you! I'm your husband! Besides, Channing has been gone for a month. That means he already knows you've changed your mind. He must have chosen to leave on his own rather than humiliate himself."

Keaton was about to say more when Bridget slapped him hard across the face.

Fuming, she said, "Do yourself a favor and take a good look in the mirror. Do you think I'd marry you for real? As if you're worthy of being my husband. I only married you as part of the act. Don't flatter yourself!

"Also, I found out that your mother was faking her illness. You should be grateful I didn't report you for fraud. So, stop deluding yourself! You can never have me! Only Channing is fit to be my life partner."

Under Keaton's resentful gaze, Bridget walked through the rain to the entrance of the city hall, still wearing a high-end designer wedding dress.

She sent Channing a text. "My dear, I'm waiting for you at the city hall. Even though there's wind and rain, my love for you will withstand it all and never change! Come and take your bride home!"