Rejected 99 Times, Chosen By The Mafia Don

Eliana Gill's POV:

Over the six years Lucas Morgan and I had been together, he had canceled our wedding an unbelievable ninety-nine times.

The first time, his former flame, Bella Smith, came back to town. The moment he heard the news, he left and abandoned me on a sun-scorched lawn for a whole day.

The second time, during the wedding ceremony, Lucas learned that Bella had been admitted to the hospital with a stomach bug, so he left without a second thought. I stood there clutching my bouquet while the guests snickered and whispered around me.

The third time, Lucas was about to slip the ring onto my finger when Bella called him, saying she wanted the freshest cherries. Lucas flung the ring aside and left without hesitation.

From then on, whenever Lucas and I were about to get married, Bella would somehow manufacture another emergency-and apparently, Lucas was the only man who could handle it.

Every time, Lucas would summon his most earnest expression and say to me, "I'll make this right. Next time, I'll take care of everything and give you a wedding more spectacular than you could ever imagine."

But I knew, deep down, that we would never be able to get married successfully.

After ninety-nine chances, I was finally ready to step aside and let Lucas and Bella be together.

***

Today marked our ninety-ninth attempt to get married.

The church was utterly deserted. No flowers adorned the aisles, no applause echoed, and not one guest had been invited.

That was because a grim suspicion had already settled in my bones.

The wedding this time probably still wouldn't be completed.

Even with a fever scorching through me, I stood before the altar and listened as the elderly priest began the vows in a solemn voice.

Then, right on cue, Lucas' phone rang, shattering the sacred moment.

After ending the call, he turned to me with blunt urgency. "Eliana, I need to leave. Something happened with Bella, and I need to go to her right now. I swear I'll make this up to you. Next time, I'll handle every detail myself and give you a wedding more spectacular than you ever imagined. Oh, and I'll pick up that mango mousse you love on the way home."

The words had just left his mouth before he bolted from the church, never once looking back.

I watched him disappear, my lips twisting into a smile edged with bitter ridicule.

Mango mousse-seriously?

I had stood beside him since I was nineteen, helping him claw his way up until he became the Morgan family's second-in-command.

Yet somehow, he had forgotten that I was dangerously allergic to mangoes-that a single bite could send me into anaphylactic shock.

Mango mousse had always been Bella's favorite.

Just then, my phone lit up with an incoming call.

The moment I answered, Bella's syrupy voice slid through the speaker, every word dripping with mock innocence.

"Eliana, I feel absolutely awful. I didn't ruin your wedding again, did I? But honestly, Lucas wouldn't take no for an answer. I kept telling him that I was fine, yet he came rushing over anyway and carried me straight to the hospital. He held me so close-"

I ended the call before she could drag out the rest of her little performance.

No tears came. I didn't break down.

After ninety-nine crushing disappointments, my mind had never been clearer.

Whatever Lucas and I had shared over the past six years was finally, irrevocably over.

I changed out of the heavy bridal gown, left it behind, and walked out of the church by myself.

Before I made it far, the sky split open without warning, unleashing a violent downpour.

With no umbrella to shield me, I was soaked through in seconds, as miserable as a stray cat abandoned in the storm.

Once I made it back to my apartment, I dragged myself through a shower, slipped into clean clothes, took a fever reducer, and fell onto the bed, quickly falling asleep.

I didn't know how long I had been asleep before the bedroom door burst open and someone pulled my blanket away.

"Eliana! Get up!" Lucas roared.

A violent chill shook me awake. I pried my eyes open and found Lucas standing beside the bed, his face twisted with fury.

"You've gone too far this time!" His voice crashed through the room. "You know how delicate Bella's health is, so why the hell did you insult her over the phone? She went into cardiac arrhythmia because of that. She's still in the ER now!"

Fever throbbed through every bone in my body, but a bitter laugh still escaped me. "I insulted her? Lucas, I didn't say anything to her."

"Enough with the lies!" Lucas dragged his tie loose with an angry jerk, looking at me as though I disgusted him. "She cried and told me that you wished her dead. How could you say something like that? I bailed on our wedding, but that didn't give you the right to attack a woman who's already sick."

I pushed myself upright and stared at him. "Today marked the ninety-ninth time you bailed on our wedding. Tell me, Lucas-after six years together, can you name even one time you actually made it through the entire ceremony?"

"So what? I said we'd hold the wedding again, didn't I? The church isn't going anywhere, so why the hell are you so desperate to rush this?"

"I'm rushing this?" The words slipped out under my breath as the final trace of warmth in my heart froze solid.

Lucas looked at my pale face. His voice lost a sliver of its bite, but the patronizing arrogance remained. "That's enough sulking. As soon as Bella leaves the hospital, I'll give you the most extravagant wedding you could ever want. Now, go tell her that you're sorry."

I looked at the man I had loved for six years, and suddenly, he felt utterly foreign.

"Don't bother," I said. Not a trace of emotion entered my voice.

Lucas' brows drew together. "What?"

I raised my chin and held his gaze without wavering. "There won't be another wedding. We're done."