He Once Had 28 Chances to Marry Me
Fuzzy Melissa · Completed · 7.1k Words
Introduction
Over those three years, he has stood me up at City Hall exactly twenty-eight times.
One time, he stole my cab while I was burning up with a fever, leaving me shivering on the curb because his new, pampered protégée had a stomachache from drinking too much champagne.
Another time, he blew off our anniversary to rush to her side for a minor sprain.
Every single time we were supposed to finally make our marriage official, his precious junior skater somehow had a devastating emergency.
After twenty-eight broken promises, I finally stopped waiting. I dropped our partnership, shredded our application, and boarded a one-way flight to Milan.
But the moment I completely vanished from his life, the man who couldn't spare an hour to marry me suddenly lost his mind—chasing me across the globe to a city he swore he’d never return to, begging on his knees outside my door for a twenty-ninth chance.
Chapter 1
Three years had passed since Julian Reed and I stood before our friends and family at our wedding, yet we still hadn't made the trip to City Hall to sign the actual marriage certificate.
Tonight was the gala celebrating our fiftieth international medal in pairs skating. It was also the twenty-eighth time he had promised me that, the second the party ended, we would finally make it legal.
But right now, while a group of corporate sponsors cornered me with flutes of chilled champagne under the guise of "celebrating," Julian was in a dimly lit corner.
He was holding a plate of delicate red velvet cake, whispering and laughing with Lily—the rising star who had joined our training camp three years ago.
I was burning up with a fever. The old injury in my right ankle throbbed brutally against the constraints of my stilettos, and the freezing champagne sloshing in my empty stomach made a wave of nausea wash over me.
A few veteran coaches kept glancing my way, their eyes brimming with poorly concealed pity.
Anyone with eyes could see I was pushing through the fever and the pain, schmoozing frantically just to secure Julian’s top-tier sponsorships for the upcoming season.
Yet, when the gala wrapped up, the man who was supposed to head straight to City Hall with me ditched me. Again.
I dragged myself to the curb just as my Uber pulled up. The moment I reached for the handle, Julian’s hand shot out of nowhere and slammed the door shut.
"Lily had a couple of sips of champagne with the investors, and her stomach is really acting up," he said, his tone dripping with casual entitlement. "Let her take this car back to the hotel. You can call another one. Besides, City Hall is closed anyway. Let's do the paperwork some other time."
Without sparing a single glance at my deathly pale face, he pulled open the back door and gently guided a swaying Lily inside.
We had been skating partners for twelve years, dated for seven, and had been "married" for three. In those three years alone, he had pushed back making it official twenty-eight times. All because of Lily.
The old me would have snapped. I would have screamed, fought him, and demanded to know who his actual wife was. I would have reminded him who was the one burning up with a fever, playing the perfect PR puppet at dinner just to save his image.
But this time, I just offered a tired, hollow smile. "Okay. Drive safe."
Julian froze. He looked genuinely taken aback that I hadn't thrown a hysterical fit. But a beat later, that default, taking-me-for-granted attitude returned.
"I’ll make it up to you. I'll be home early tonight."
He shut the door. But right before he did, he took off his team jacket and wrapped it tightly around Lily's shoulders, terrified the car's AC might give her a chill.
He used to be a massive germaphobe. Every time I stepped out of an ice bath, shivering violently and asking to borrow his jacket, he would shoot me a cold stare and tell me to go run laps to warm up.
Looking back, it wasn’t about germs. He just didn't want to give it to me.
The midnight New York wind was biting, but the chill settling in my chest was colder.
I took a deep breath, pulled the crinkled marriage license application from my pocket, tore it to shreds, and dropped the pieces into a nearby trash can.
I knew then that it was time to let these seven years go.
Later that night, I went straight to our training center. I handed David, our head coach, the papers to formally dissolve our partnership, along with my resignation from the national team.
David stared at the documents on his desk, his face a mask of utter shock. "You're quitting the camp? Twelve years as the golden couple of the ice, and you're just throwing it away?"
He clearly thought this was absurd. To the rest of the world, we weren't just invincible aces; we were the textbook definition of a loving pair.
I met his gaze calmly. "Yes. I plan to switch to women's singles, or maybe just relocate entirely. Either way, I'm done skating with Julian."
David opened his mouth to argue, but his eyes dropped to my ankle, which was still trembling faintly. He swallowed his protests, letting out a heavy, defeated sigh.
"The two of you over the last decade... what an absolute shame."
It was a shame. But beneath the surface, hidden in the cracks that should have been repaired long ago, our so-called chemistry had already shattered beyond fixing.
With the paperwork filed, I dragged my exhausted body back to the apartment. It was pitch black and eerily quiet.
I had barely dropped my purse when my phone screen lit up the darkness.
It was an Instagram story from Lily—a screenshot of VIP Ferris wheel tickets for tomorrow night. She tagged Julian, and of course, she deliberately tagged me, too.
The caption burned my retinas: [The absolute best team leader got me a welcome surprise! Can't wait! 🎡✨]
When Julian and I first started dating, I had excitedly begged him to take me on a Ferris wheel. Back then, he had just furrowed his brow in annoyance, telling me tourist traps were childish and a massive waste of an athlete's precious recovery time.
Turns out, he didn't hate the Ferris wheel; he just hated the idea of going with me. And the man who had promised to be home early tonight was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be found.
I poured myself a glass of warm water and fired up my laptop.
Over the past few weeks, I had quietly received offers from several elite figure skating clubs.
The cursor hovered over the screen before resting solidly on an offer from an exclusive women's singles training camp in Milan.
Without a shred of hesitation, I clicked "Accept" and immediately booked a direct flight for the day after tomorrow.
Four years ago at the World Championships, Julian had a catastrophic fall on the ice in Milan, costing him the first World Gold of his career.
Ever since that day, not only did he avoid Italy like the plague, but he also aggressively shot down any opportunities I had for ice shows or overseas training there, claiming he didn't want the trauma brought back.
But now, I looked out into the empty room and whispered to the silence.
"If I go to Milan, Julian... our lives will truly never cross paths again."
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
My Billionaire Husband's Secret
He was the CEO of the Blackwood Group — a man whose wealth and power eclipsed ninety-nine percent of the world.
He was gentle. Romantic. Attentive. I fell for him fast.
But a year into our marriage, I began to notice something — a pattern.
Lucas's sexual appetite was intense — he wanted me almost every night. Yet every single month, he arranged a solo trip to send me away. I told myself it was his way of spoiling me.
Then a message arrived from someone called Sweet An.
Do you really know your husband?
From that day on, my life filled with shadows.
I suspected my husband of having an affair.
When Lucas and I made love, something felt wrong — his body too large, too much, like something I couldn't explain.
I heard sounds during sex — animal sounds, like something feral had crawled into bed with us.
My best friend Mia said: "There are men sick enough to let dogs fuck their wives."
The family doctor, Daisy, told me: "You could never stay by Lucas's side forever. Your background doesn't make you worthy of being his wife. Do you understand?"
I went looking for whoever had been tearing my marriage apart. I fought to win my husband back.
But the deeper I searched, the larger the secret grew — something far darker hiding beneath this supposed betrayal.
Does Lucas truly love me?
And why, out of everyone in the world, did he choose to marry me?
Fated to the three Alphas of MOONCREST college
Fated to the three alphas of MOONCREST college... book 1
Fated at mooncrest: Stuck with the two alphas.... book 2
A half-blooded girl. Three charismatic Alpha Wolves. And a destiny-bound bond.
Malia Reed always felt she was nothing special except for her bloodline; she only wanted to survive in the shadows.
Until she entered Mooncrest college…everything changed. A destined, inescapable bond bound her to the powerful and handsome Alpha Wolves—Aiden, Cian, and Rowan Moonfall Wolf.
The entire academy was abuzz with excitement; everyone was talking about it.
As her hidden powers awakened, the dark secrets of her parents surfaced. Enemies drew closer. And what about her three destined companions? Their feelings were subtly shifting…
But only one could truly win her heart.
The Spy Who Left
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
Inked Adonis - Mafia Romance
Of me saying I want to climb him like a tree.
And he just. Texted. Back.
It's the dog's fault, really.
If this untrained Great Dane I'm walking had any manners at all, I never would've ended up here:
With my leash wrapped around the most gorgeous man I've ever seen.
Lucky for me, the guy is a good sport about it.
(Although his joke that “Dogs take after their owners” hits a little too close to home when Rufus starts humping his leg.)
He leaves me with his business card and a smile that makes my knees weak.
I'm still pinching myself as me and the bestie resume our walk.
“Methinks you had a little crush on him,” she accuses.
Not thinking and a little flustered by the whole experience, I reply, “I’d wrap my legs around his waist tighter than that leash.”
THAT'S when she reveals that she'd been recording my response.
THAT'S when she gives me the most devilish grin I've ever seen and says, “You're welcome.”
And THAT'S when she hands me my phone and reveals...
She sent the recording to him.
My heart is in my throat as those three little dots appear…
Then a text.
“PROVE IT.”
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Rejected By My Family, Desired By The Mafia
While the real heiress struggled to survive, the nanny’s daughter, Talia, was raised in luxury as the beloved jewel of the Laurent family, pampered by Camille’s parents, adored by her three brothers, and even promised to the prestigious Matteo Devereux through a childhood engagement arranged by their grandparents.
Then the truth came out.
Six months ago, Camille was finally brought back to the Laurent family. To protect the family reputation and prove their devotion to their bloodline, the Laurent patriarch transferred 35% of his personal shares into Camille’s name overnight, instantly making her one of the wealthiest heiresses in the country.
It brought anxiety to all the Laurent family. But what they don’t know…is that Camille never needed them.
Behind her elegant smile lies a woman filled with secrets powerful enough to shake the whole family. She's a miraculous healer capable of curing the incurable poisons.
Yet despite everything, her family still chooses Talia.
Every accusation against Talia is forgiven. Every scheme against Camille is brushed aside. Even Matteo, the man who was supposed to be Camille’s fiancé—cannot let go of the woman he always believed belonged by his side.
But while the Laurent family underestimates Camille, another man begins to see exactly who she is.
Dante Moretti.
The ruthless heir of an old-money dynasty. A billionaire CEO worshipped by the public…and the merciless king of a criminal empire hidden beneath the city’s glittering surface. When Dante is poisoned by a rival syndicate with a deadly toxin no doctor can cure, he offers a fortune for anyone who can save him.
Only Camille can. Their deal is simple: she becomes his personal physician, and he gives her anything she wants.
Filled, Owned, and Fucked by My Best Friend’s Father
He was supposed to be off-limits. Untouchable. The kind of man you only fantasize about when you’re alone in the dark with your hand between your thighs.
But the night I caught him eating another woman alive by the pool, I couldn’t look away.
And he knew it.
The moment his dark eyes locked on mine through the glass, I became prey. His filthy smirk promised one thing—he saw me touching myself to him, and he wasn’t about to let me forget it.
Now, every time I’m in his house, I can’t breathe without thinking of his mouth between my legs.
I left my cheating boyfriend behind, only to fall into something even more dangerous:
a man who could ruin me, break me, and make me beg for his cock while his own daughter sleeps in the next room.
He’s too old. Too powerful. Too forbidden.
But Gianni doesn’t ask—he takes.
And I don’t want him to stop.
The Legacy Game
When scholarship student Chris Linds stumbles onto a mystery someone has killed to protect, she becomes the next target. The only person standing between her and death is Ashen Ford, the academy's cold, untouchable Student Council President—and heir to one of Corvain's founding families.
As anonymous invitations summon twelve students into the legendary Legacy Game, alliances fracture, secrets surface, and every challenge brings another deadly truth to light. But the greatest secret isn't who will win.
It's why one winner vanished without a trace... and why someone will do anything to make sure history repeats itself.
The Lycan Kings and the White Wolf.
MOONLIT CHASE
But no, I had to walk through the park at midnight like an idiot. Now I've seen something I can't unsee—a massive black wolf tearing apart three men, then shifting into the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on.
Kieran Vaughn. Wealthy lawyer, werewolf, and apparently, he thinks I'm his mate.
Here's the problem: I don't do relationships. I definitely don't do supernatural things. I absolutely don't do rich guys who think they can control my life just because their inner wolf has decided I smell like home.
When hunters start targeting me to get to him, Kieran drags me into his pristine penthouse for "protection." Now I'm living with a man who looks at me like I'm his last meal, whose touch sets my skin on fire, and who's barely holding onto his control.
He says everyone he loves dies. I say that's not my problem except it is because I'm falling for this broken, dangerous man and his beast.
And in his world? Love will get you killed.
Bonds at War: The Virgin is Mine
Perhaps then they would stop controlling my every move. Maybe my brothers would stop resenting me. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel so invisible anymore.
No one believed I could do it—not even my mate, Alpha Jaxon Trevane.
The night I planned to tell him... I found him tangled in bed with my best friend.
Heartbroken and humiliated, I left everything behind and went to Elite alone.
But the academy isn’t the fairytale I dreamed about.
Beneath the grand halls and traditions, a brutal game is being played.
The four ruling Alphas of the North, South, East, and West fight for power, dominance... and now, for me.
A virgin. Untouched. Unclaimed. The prize they all want.
There’s the mate who shattered my heart and swears he’ll win me back.
The brilliant strategist who wants me as his Luna.
The dangerous playboy who promises no one will ever touch me but him.
And the cold, possessive Alpha who watches from the shadows—and would destroy anyone who dares to take me from him.
But in a place where love is a battlefield and lust is a weapon... falling in love might be the most dangerous thing I ever do.
Welcome to Elite Order Academy—where every desire has a price, and my body is the ultimate trophy.
Tempted By The Enemy
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
