Ninety-Nine Failures

Five years ago, the government launched the Landmark Project, to be led by my parents, both star architects. On the day the building finished, it collapsed, burying them. The Blackwell familys reputation was ruined overnight. Relatives and friends whod once been close turned me away coldly.

In my despair, my fianc Daniel Bloom stood by me. He arranged their funeral and married me as promised.

For five years, I dedicated myself to design contests to restore my familys honor, only to fail on my 99th attempt.

With little money left, I bought roses to surprise him, but overheard him talking to a friend.

His friend mocked my repeated failures and mentioned Audrey Spano, Daniels real love, returning soon. They said Daniel had only married me because he couldnt be with Audrey then, and now her success made it all worthwhile.

I crushed the roses in tears, realizing my supposed salvation was just a stepping stone for his true love.

Fine, Daniel. Ill give you what you want.

"But"

Daniel cut off his friend directly.

"Even if I hadn't married Phoebe, the Bloom family wouldn't have allowed me to be with Audrey. Since that was the case, I could only help her, lift her from being a lowly employee. As for Phoebe marrying her was the greatest return I could offer her."

His friend's indignant voice followed immediately, "You sent her so many proposals, and she rejected them all, but then she specifically asked for Phoebe's blueprints? She was completely intentional! She's sabotaging your relationship with Phoebe!"

"If this ever comes out, you and Phoebe can never go back. She might even hate you, considering she only has you."

Daniel abruptly stood up, taking a sip of his drink. "I know all that. But Audrey only has me too. I can't just stand by and watch her suffer alone overseas. Once I get these blueprints, everything will be over. And you, don't bring it up again."

"Not talking about it doesn't make it disappear, does it? Phoebe buried herself in the studio for five years, and you expect her to watch the thief of her hard work bask in glory while she's scorned by everyone? She's human, you can't just"

Daniel slammed his glass down, shattering it in frustration. "Enough! It's only five years, not a lifetime."

"Worst case, after all this, I'll get her an award, let her be the Blackwell heiress again!"

"Oh, why go through all this? Phoebe's talent doesn't need your help; she shouldn't have been dragged into it. The Bloom family has so much Don't get mad, I won't say another word. You do whatever you want."

The voices inside gradually faded into silence. I slid down the wall to the floor.

Five years ago, after my parents' sudden death, the Blackwell company faced collapse. All I knew was drawing, and I was completely lost. It was Daniel who pulled me back from the edge, from the rooftop, and we rushed to get married. As the son-in-law of the Blackwells, he handled everything.

Later, when the Bloom family found out, they pressured him to divorce me. He knelt and begged Grandfather Bloom for time, believing I could restore the Blackwell name. He even helped me gather information on various competitions, all to help me win awards.

That's why, despite 99 consecutive failures, I never gave up, all because of Daniel's faith in me.

But all of it, it was just him paving the way for Audrey.

Wiping away my tears, I staggered to my feet, handed the crushed roses to a staff member, and walked away. With every step, a piece of my love for Daniel disintegrated.

Until my feet were blistered and bleeding, I silently opened his most treasured possession: his diary.

All love vanished completely.

The moment the book opened, my eyes fell upon a hand-drawn portrait. The lines were blurred, clearly worn from constant touching. Every page of the diary held a photo of Audrey, arranged chronologically. The very first picture was from the day Daniel and I got married.

So, for five years, every time he said he was writing in his diary to record our beautiful moments, he was actually just reminiscing about Audrey.

Beneath the diary was a locked box. I entered Audreys birthday and it clicked open. There were no precious items inside, only the love letters Audrey had written to him. From the first time I failed a competition, every time he got my design, she would write Daniel a love letter. They were filled with the longing and devotion shared between the two of them.

Even though I already knew our relationship was just a lie orchestrated by Daniel, my heart felt like it was ripped in two.

After each of my failures, Daniel would always invite experts to analyze my problems and offer guidance. I had believed in his affection because of this, willingly falling deeper. But who knew, everything he did was merely to facilitate passing my blueprints to Audrey.

Flipping to the very end, there was a letter Daniel hadn't mailed. My hands trembled as I opened it. After reading it, tears streamed from my eyes uncontrollably. Daniel planned to propose to Audrey after getting my final blueprint. Even if he couldn't give her a proper title, he would give her a wedding.

As for me, because my parents had passed away, Daniel had said it wasn't appropriate to celebrate, so I received nothing but that marriage certificate. I scoffed, wiping the tears from my face, and used my phone to photograph all these letters. They were not only symbols of Daniel's betrayal but also proof of Audrey's theft of my awards.

Having done all this, I silently restored everything to its original state. Closing the bedroom door, I made a call.

"Miss Blackwell, you agree?"

"Yes, I agree to authorize all my designs to you. But you must help me with one thing!"

I had just hung up when Daniels familiar voice came from behind me. "Phoebe, who were you just on the phone with? What do you need help with?"

I quickly put away my phone, calmly replying, "Nothing, just an employee from the studio. She asked for some help with something."

"Do you like the flowers I sent? Ill arrange them."

Hearing this, Daniel didn't ask further. He handed me the roses, his fingers brushing against my palm as I arranged them. "Sweetheart, let's have a baby?"

My hand, holding the rose, suddenly froze. He took the stem from my hand and looked directly into my eyes. "Didn't you go to the orphanage and play with the kids last time?"

"I didn't like children before, but seeing you that day, I suddenly didn't hate them anymore."

"We'll have two children, one like you, one like me. What do you say?"

I looked at his hopeful expression, unconsciously biting my lip. He was lying to me again. For the past five years, he had kept me hanging with one promise after another. Was he going to use a child as leverage now? But the truth was, the day after we got our marriage license, Id ensured I would never have children. It was because Daniel had said he was terrified of pregnancy and children; his mother had died in childbirth. He loved me, and I couldn't bear to hurt him, so I had voluntarily taken the sterilization potion. He had forgotten all these things.

"Sweetheart, what do you say?"

His question broke my reverie. Afraid he would notice, I could only hug him back, my gaze turning increasingly cold. He, however, thought I was overcome with emotion, and quickly ran off to instruct the staff to prepare a candlelight dinner, not forgetting to glance back at me suggestively.

I watched his retreating figure and quietly said, "Daniel Bloom, you saved my life, but you lied to me for five years. That's enough to pay off the debt."

After that, I sent another message to that number.

After my parents' death, the Blackwell family had long faded from the citys elite circles. Revealing Audrey now, I had no chance of success. The only opportunity was her awards ceremony three days later.

Then, everything would end.

The next day, when I woke up, Daniel was already gone.

I hastily drafted a divorce agreement and went to Bloom Corp, only to be stopped at the reception. Daniel's phone went straight to voicemail. In desperation, I called his assistant.

"Miss Blackwell, my apologies. The receptionist is new; she doesn't recognize you. I'll reprimand her later. Please, go on in."

I didn't intend to argue with a junior employee, but before I'd gone far, I heard gasps and whispers behind me.

"Is that really Mr. Bloom's wife? But I just saw Mr. Bloom personally come down and pick up someone else, arm in arm. I thought she was his wife."

"Assistant Cole, it's not my fault! She's dressed so shabbily, who could tell?"

"Of course, she's shabby. Five years ago, her family was already struggling in this city. Now she's entirely dependent on Mr. Bloom C a total parasite. I really don't know what Mr. Bloom saw in her."

"The woman who just went in is different. Have you been to Pearl Harbor in the City of A? She designed it herself. It's an indispensable tourist attraction now, and the government even awarded her a prize. Only someone like that deserves our Mr. Bloom!"

I clenched my fists tighter, ignoring them. I walked straight to Daniels office door. Just as I was about to knock, the voices from inside made me freeze.

"Audrey, how have you been these past few years?"

"Haven't you read all the letters I've written you? Many men have been around me over the years, but I've only ever loved one person, always. It's just a pity he's married. I wonder if I'll ever have a chance."

Daniels eyes welled up with tears, and he looked up in shock. "You will, you definitely will."

"Daniel, thank you. If you hadn't been willing to help me back then, how could I have achieved all this on my own?"

"Before the celebration party, I still shouldn't meet Phoebe. She already misunderstood me last time. After all, I used to be an employee of the Blackwell family. Now our positions are reversed; I'm afraid she'll find it even harder to accept."

A cold smirk played on my lips. How could it be a misunderstanding? When I failed my first competition, I had secretly investigated. I found that her submitted work was strikingly similar to my design. I reported her through official channels, demanding she show her sources, but the police arrested me for defamation. Everyone said I couldn't accept my failure and was maliciously slandering others. Only Daniel had stepped forward to mediate for me, believing me unconditionally, as always.

But the truth was, he had handed over everything of mine to her.

Through the crack in the door, Daniel wore a bitter expression. He took a paper from his desk and handed it to Audrey. "This is Phoebes latest design. With it, you'll establish a foothold in this country after the celebration party in three days. Consider it a welcome-back gift."

Audrey accepted it with a smile, her eyes filled with triumph. Seeing this, I suddenly didn't want to let them off the hook. I crumpled the divorce agreement in my hand and turned to leave.

"Miss Blackwell, are you finished with Mr. Bloom already? So soon?"

The assistant's words made Daniel in the office whip his head around. His eyes were tense as he quickly walked towards me. "Phoebe, why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"Do you remember Audrey? She came to the Bloom family for help back then, and you took her in. She just returned and was discussing a collaboration with me. She even said she wanted to invite us, as a couple, to dinner to thank us personally."

Daniel subtly signaled to Audrey, who placed the documents behind her back and immediately chimed in with a smile, "Yes, Phoebe, I wonder if I'd have that honor!"

Looking at her outstretched hand, it was clearly the demeanor of a successful person, high and mighty. It was as if our roles had been reversed, and I was the lowly employee begging for shelter. I swallowed my unspoken thoughts and calmly replied, "No need."

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message. Before I could even check it, Daniel spoke. "Phoebe, if you have something to do, go ahead. I still have some work matters to discuss with Audrey. I'll see you home tonight."

Seeing how eager he was to rush me away, I understood everything. "You two carry on. I'll see you tonight."

When I got home, I had just finished packing all my belongings when people from an auction house arrived at the Bloom residence. Daniel had successfully bid on an item a week ago, but he had given a wrong digit in his phone number, so they had tracked me down instead. When signing to receive it, the person opened the box for verification. Inside lay a pair of exquisite matching rings. I froze for a moment, looking at the simple, almost crude wedding ring on my own finger, my heart turning cold.

Daniels call came as expected. "Phoebe, I won a piece of jewelry at auction. It's for a client. My phone died earlier; can you take it home for me? I'll have Assistant Cole pick it up."

"Also, don't overthink what happened today. Audrey and you are both in the architectural field. I spent a lot of effort convincing her to give you some advice."

"Didn't you always want my dad to approve of you? Now's the best chance."

Listening to his words, so seemingly considerate of me, I suddenly felt like laughing. To elevate Audrey, he didn't hesitate to abandon his upbringing and become a thief. Now that his goals were within reach, why bother using the Bloom family's approval to manipulate me?

"I know you're doing this for my good. Take care of yourself; I'll wait for your news."

Hearing my words, his tone relaxed. I hung up and put the box away.

Daniel, youve lied to me so many times. I'll only lie to you once.