My 99th Rejection: I Married His Boss Instead

On my 30th birthday, I posted a picture of a wedding dress on my Instagram.

Within minutes, Julianthe childhood friend who had rejected me ninety-nine timescalled me.

He specifically told me to put on the dress and meet him at City Hall.

He said he had a massive birthday surprise for me.

But when I stood outside the City Hall entrance, shivering in the cool breeze, I heard him laughing with his frat-boy friends behind me.

"See? I told you she'd actually show up in a wedding dress. Pay up, boys! A hundred bucks each!"

Then, Julian turned to me, winking and flashing that arrogant smirk of his.

"Come on, Maya. It was just a joke. You didn't seriously think we were getting married, did you?"

"But hey, if you're that desperate to get married, you can always just go inside and grab a random guy."

His friends burst into obnoxious laughter.

I rolled my eyes. Honestly, I did have an appointment to get married today.

But my groom wasn't him.

A few minutes later, when I walked out of the building arm-in-arm with another man, holding our marriage certificate, Julian's face went completely pale.

Watching Julian collect cash from his friends one by one, a cold realization washed over me.

Today was just another bet. Another game to make me look like a fool.

The guys who lost the bet handed over their money, rolling their eyes at me in disgust.

"Maya, do you have any idea how much money I've lost because of you? Get a grip, seriously!"

"We've told you a thousand times, Julian is out of your league. Did you honestly think he'd ever marry you?"

"You've been played like a fiddle at least ten times by now. How do you keep falling for this? You are hopelessly stupid!"

I bit my bottom lip so hard I tasted copper. My nails dug into my palms.

After pocketing the cash, Julian walked over to me. He actually had the nerve to look concerned.

"What's wrong, Maya? Aren't you happy?"

He turned to his friends and barked, "Hey, shut up, you jerks. Today is Maya's birthday. Don't ruin it for her."

Just when I thought a sliver of his humanity had returned, Julian pulled a ten-dollar bill from his pocket and held it out to me.

He grinned. "Thanks to you, I just made two thousand bucks. Here's ten dollars. Go buy yourself a slice of cake. Happy birthday."

His friends roared with laughter again.

"Julian, you're too nice! Watch out, or Maya's going to fall even crazier in love with you!"

"Look at her, she literally wore a wedding dress! She's like a beggar begging for scraps, desperately trying to marry into the Vance family!"

If this were the old me, I would have broken down in tears by now. I would have begged Julian to stop hurting me, to stop treating my heart like a toy.

But this time, I calmly took the ten-dollar bill from his hand.

"Thanks. The copy fee for the marriage certificate is ten dollars, and I didn't bring cash."

Julian froze. Then, he let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"Maya, did you leave your brain at home today? You're still dreaming about marrying me?"

"Are you blind? I was playing you."

"Honestly, I've seen desperate girls, but you really take the cake."

He shook his head with disgust, looking at me as if I were a piece of trash stuck to his shoe.

Even though I had prepared myself for this, his words still pierced my heart like sharp arrows.

I actually found out about his little bet yesterday.

Someone had commented on my dress photo, saying I only bought it because I was jealous of Julian's new girlfriend, Serena.

The man I had loved for eight years knew exactly how much I adored him. And because of that, he knew exactly how to hurt me the deepest.

He had completely forgotten the promise he made to me when we were younger.

"Maya, if neither of us is married by thirty, let's just get married to each other."

Today, I turned thirty. And I was indeed getting married.

I just hadn't told Julian that my groom wasn't him.

The wedding dress I chose was a simple, ankle-length gown. My fianc and I had picked it out together.

I lifted my skirt and walked past Julian toward the City Hall entrance.

But he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back.

"Stop acting, Maya. Who are you trying to fool?"

"If you're really that desperate to get hitched, go inside and drag some random guy to the altar. Do me a favor and get married so you'll finally stop stalking me."

I looked at his face, feeling too exhausted to even get angry.

I just felt a profound, heavy sadness.

The Julian who used to chase down bullies just to make them apologize to me was completely gone. This stranger had taken his place.

I shook my head, trying to pull my hand away. Suddenly, a voice called out.

"Julian!"

It was Serena.

Julian instantly let go of my wrist. To prove his loyalty to her, he pulled a sanitizing wipe from his pocket and meticulously wiped his hand.

As if I were contagious.

Serena walked up, looking confused. "Julian, what are you doing here?"

Then she looked at me. "Maya? Are you getting married today? You're even wearing a wedding dress."

Julian looked around nervously. He didn't want Serena to know he had organized a bet around me.

In a panic, he grabbed Brad from his group of friends and shoved him next to me, laughing loudly.

"Serena, you're so smart! You guessed it. Today is the big day for Maya and Brad!"

"We all came out here to support them and wish them well."

His friends instantly caught on and chimed in.

"Yeah, Serena! We're celebrating Maya and Brad today!"

I looked at Bradwho was shorter than me and wearing a greasy, stupid grinand felt a wave of nausea.

Seeing that Serena was still skeptical, Julian pushed Brad and me toward the doors.

"Go on, go get registered! Serena wants to see!"

I stumbled forward from his push. Brad actually had the audacity to grab my hand.

He whispered in my ear, "Look, Maya, Julian's never going to want you. But you've got a nice face and a decent body. I guess we could make it work."

I lost it. I ripped my hand away from his greasy grip and leaned against the wall, dry-heaving.

Julian immediately mocked, "Oh my god, Maya. Are you pregnant? Is this a shotgun wedding?"

"Brad, you dog! Nice job!"

Serena joined in, her face beaming with fake sweetness.

"Maya, I was so worried about your love life. I had no idea you'd find a husband and get pregnant so quickly. Congratulations!"

I stood straight and looked coldly at Julian, who was still laughing hysterically.

"You're right," I said quietly. "I am getting married today. But not to any of you losers. My fianc is inside getting our queue number. Save your congratulations for him."

Julian's laughter died instantly.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

I answered it, nodding a few times.

"The second floor? Okay, I'll go up first. Sounds good."

I hung up, turned to the stunned Julian, and said, "I wore this dress because my fianc hired a photographer to capture our day."

"This is the simplest gown of the seven dresses I bought. It's easy to move in."

"Since you're all here, you might as well take the invitations. My wedding is on the tenth of next month. You're welcome to attend."

I pulled the elegant, gold-embossed invitations from my bag and handed them out. When I reached Julian, he refused to take it.

One of his friends looked at the card and gasped. "The Grand Pierre Hotel? That's the most expensive venue in the city! Maya, did you land a sugar daddy? He must be loaded."

Julian's lips twitched, his eyes filled with utter disdain.

"Maya, you really are committed to this act, aren't you?"

"Fake invitations? Booking The Grand Pierre? This is pathetic, even for you."

With two fingers, he took the invitation from his friend and tossed it onto the street.

Serena glanced at the invitation on the ground and sighed. "Honestly, Maya, I have to side with Julian on this. There isn't even a photo of the groom on the card. It looks totally fake."

We hadn't had time to take engagement photos yet.

Serena stepped closer, grabbing my hand with a look of pity. "Look, I know how you feel about Julian..."

Julian suddenly went tense. "Serena, let me explain"

Serena waved him off. "Julian, you don't have to explain. I know you two grew up together. You have history."

She turned back to me. "Maya, woman to woman, I get it. But you can't force love. Julian has told you a million times that he only sees you as a sister."

"And since I'm practically your older sister now, let me give you some advice: stop this embarrassing show. The more you do, the more people are going to laugh at you."

The crowd behind her murmured in agreement.

"Serena is so sweet and understanding!"

"She's a class act. Only someone as nice as Serena would try to save Maya from embarrassing herself!"

Serena looked at me with pure condescension.

"Come on, Maya. Let me help you take that dress off."

It was always like this.

Whenever Julian humiliated me, Serena would step in to play the saint.

And over time, Julian became convinced his girlfriend was an angel, while I was just a bitter, pathetic villain.

I was about to push her away when she noticed the tag sticking out of the back of my dress.

She grabbed it and read it aloud. "A designer dress? From this season's collection?"

She sighed. "Maya, my heart breaks for you. Did you rent this? You didn't even take the tag off. You really don't have to go this far..."

Julian's expression turned even more vicious.

He pulled Serena into his arms, kissing her hair. "Serena, you're too good for this world. Why are you even wasting your breath on a pathological liar like her?"

Serena squeezed Julian's shirt, playing the worried friend. "Julian, I'm sure Maya didn't mean any harm. It's just a girl's vanity. She just needs someone to guide her."

My cheeks burned with humiliation. I clenched my fists and explained, "My fianc bought it for me yesterday. I just forgot to cut the tag..."

"Save it. If you lie enough, you start believing your own BS."

Julian chin-gestured toward me. "If you actually have a fianc, Maya, call him out here. Let us see him."

His friends immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, let's see this imaginary billionaire!"

"Show us the guy who can afford designer clothes and The Grand Pierre!"

"Isn't today your wedding day? Where is the groom?"

We were standing right at the entrance of City Hall, and a crowd of strangers was starting to gather, whispering and staring at us.

Brad, whom I had pushed away earlier, pointed at me and yelled to the crowd:

"Hey everyone, look at this girl! She tried to ruin someone else's relationship, got caught, and now she's pretending she's getting married today!"

"Let's see if her imaginary groom actually exists!"

People stopped to point and whisper. Some even pulled out their phones to record me.

The autumn wind felt freezing. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to shrink away.

Serena shivered slightly. Julian immediately took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

He glared at me. "Maya, call your fake husband already. If Serena catches a cold because of your little stunt, you're going to pay for it!"

I lowered my head. I felt frozen from the inside out.

To be honest, I wasn't even sure when my fianc would arrive. We had only met once.

As the minutes ticked by and nobody appeared, the crowd around us grew larger.

Phone cameras were practically shoved in my face.

I kept backing up, trying to escape the lenses, until I bumped into a solid chest.

"I'm sorry, I"

Before I could finish, a pair of strong, warm hands rested on my shoulders.

"I should be the one apologizing."

"I'm sorry, Maya. The traffic was awful. I'm late."

The voice was deep, smooth, and right at my ear.

My heart leaped into my throat. I was almost too afraid to turn around.

But the man behind me, sensing my tension, gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He took two steps forward, completely shielding me from the crowd.

"Everyone, today is my wedding day with my beautiful bride. Please, have some chocolate."

As soon as he spoke, his assistant stepped forward from a sleek black SUV, carrying a large basket of expensive, artisanal chocolates to hand out.

"Wow, this packaging is gorgeous. These must be expensive!"

"The groom is so handsome, and the bride is stunning. They look perfect together!"

"See? She wasn't lying! They really are getting married. Who was the jerk calling her a homewrecker earlier?!"

The crowd's attitude flipped instantly. They turned around, looking for Brad.

Seeing the tables turn, Brad tried to sneak away, which only made him look guiltier.

"It was him! He tried to ruin this lovely couple's big day!"

The handsome groom standing in front of me, Ethan Carter, gave his assistant a slight nod. The assistant understood immediately, heading off to deal with Brad.

Someone in the crowd gasped. "Wait, he looks so familiar... isn't he...?"

"Oh my god! He's Ethan Carter! The CEO of Carter Enterprises! He was on the cover of Forbes last month!"

My jaw dropped.

I had met Ethan through a blind date arranged by our families. We had only met once.

Both of us agreed we wanted to settle down, so we casually agreed to get married.

I had no idea he was that Ethan Carter.

The onlookers quickly deleted their videos and offered us warm smiles and congratulations.

"Happy wedding day! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!"

Once the crowd dispersed, Ethan turned and gently took my hand.

"Shall we go in, Maya? Let's get our license."

I followed him like a robot, my brain completely blank. I couldn't help but glance back one last time.

Julian was frozen on the sidewalk. His face was a mix of confusion and pure, boiling rage.

I didn't understand. What did he have to be angry about?