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 😍
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Dan Belinni: Pregnant by the Lethal Mafioso
Dan Belinni was raised inside violence, trained in the blood-soaked discipline of the Outfit until he became its sharpest weapon. At nineteen, he is already known for illegal fights, brutal enforcement, and a temperament that turns any challenge into punishment. He doesn’t believe in mercy. He doesn’t believe in love. He believes in control.
Milena Lima has spent her life surviving, not living. An undocumented immigrant in Chicago, she works herself to exhaustion just to stay afloat and protect the only stability she has left—her friend María. But when she loses her job and her visa expires, Milena becomes invisible to the law and vulnerable in ways she never imagined.
Desperate, she steps into a Belinni-owned nightclub, hoping to earn enough to survive another week. One stage. One performance. One decision.
That is all it takes for her to cross paths with Dan Belinni.
He is not a man who lets go.
And she is not a woman who submits.
But beneath survival and violence lies a truth neither of them is ready for—Milena is tied to a mafia legacy she never chose, one that makes her both a target and a claim in a world where women are never just women.
When their worlds collide, obsession replaces restraint, and a single night changes everything.
Because in Dan’s world, love is not given.
It is taken.
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
The mafia princess return
Mated To The Last Scribe
A missing woman is found exactly where her latest story said she would be.
A warehouse burns down hours after she publishes another.
Then anonymous messages begin appearing.
WE KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW.
The problem is that Iris doesn't know anything.
At least, she doesn't think she does.
When her stories attract the attention of billionaire Alpha Cassian Blackmoor, Iris is pulled into a hidden world of werewolves, secrets, and deadly conspiracies.
Cassian believes she may be connected to a mystery that has claimed the lives of powerful Alphas for years.
His wolf believes something else.
That she is his mate.
As enemies close in and events from her stories begin unfolding in real life, Iris must uncover the truth behind her impossible gift before she becomes the next target.
Because someone is watching.
Someone is waiting.
And someone will kill to keep the truth buried.
The Billoniare's Fake Husband
Quin is wealthy, controlling, and desperate to keep his inheritance, so he offers Tyler a deal: stay married until he clicks thirty and get paid. Tyler doesn’t trust him, but he needs the money Quin was offering, so he agrees.
What starts as a fake marriage soon turns into something messy and real. Feelings begin to get involved and walls start to crack. Suddenly Tyler is risking his heart for a man he swore to hate.
Now, with secrets coming out and time running out, they both have to decide—is this just a mistake… or something worth fighting for?
The New Girl and the Broken Basketball Star
After years of feeling unwanted by the father who should have protected her, Clara is finally forced to leave the only home she has ever known. Her stepmother’s pregnancy only makes it easier for her family to let her go.
With nothing but her mother’s old violin, she arrives in a small Pennsylvania town carrying the fear that she will never truly belong anywhere.
The last thing she expects is Adrian Cole.
Once the town’s basketball star, Adrian gave up his dreams after his father disappeared and left him with debts he never should have carried. Now he spends his days repairing cars, avoiding the court, and pretending he doesn’t want anything more from life.
Clara thinks she is too broken to be loved.
Adrian thinks his future is already over.
But somewhere between physics lessons, late nights at the repair shop, and a forgotten small-town high school, two lonely people begin to find something they both thought they had lost forever:
A reason to stay.
✦ ✦ ✦
A tough exterior with a soft heart x A soft exterior with a strong heart
✦ ✦ ✦
The first half is set in high school, and the second half is set during their college years. Hope you enjoy the journey!
This is a slow-paced story, focused more on emotions, healing, and the small moments in life rather than intense action or dramatic twists.
If you find any mistakes while reading, please feel free to leave a comment. I’ll be happy to correct them.
I hope ordinary Clara, ordinary Adrian, and all of us ordinary people can find the happiness we deserve.
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna
Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?
Where I End and She Begins
But when a body lies at Amelia’s feet, and her hands are covered in blood that isn’t hers, one question echoes louder than the rest:
How did it come to this?
As the school year unfolds, cracks begin to show — in friendships, in family, and in Amelia’s own mind. The lines between loyalty and control blur. Between truth and perception. Between who she is… and who she thinks she needs to be.
Because some friendships don’t just shape you.
They consume you.
And when the illusion shatters, there’s always something left behind.
Kaged In
Follow Kage's journey as he tries to heal, falls in love and faces his inner turmoil.
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.
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
