The Groom She Never Wanted

Amy Lacey and I were sworn enemiesstuck in a marriage neither of us wanted.

She blamed me for ruining her last chance with her childhood sweetheart, Bryan Gurley.

I hated her for sliding a separation agreement across the table on our wedding night.

Seven years together.

We both wished the other dead.

The day I finally decided to divorce her, our private plane started going down.

She grabbed the only parachute and strapped it around my waist.

"Isaac Irving, if you die, how are you supposed to pay me back for the years I wasted on you?"

The parachute snapped open. Then the explosion hitand her last words cut through it.

"Next life, don't come bother me again."

Later, the rescue team pulled her burned body from the wreckage.

In her arms was the love token Bryan had given her.

That night, divorce papers in hand, I stepped off a rooftop.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Amy ran to the airport to win Bryan back.

This time, I let her go without a second thought.

In this life, I set her free.

From here on out, we'd walk our own roadsowing each other nothing.

Chapter 1

"I won't stop you. Go."

Amy's head jerked up, surprise flashing in her eyes.

Her eyes narrowed. "Isaac, what are you plotting now? Don't tell me you're playing hard to get. You think I'd care?"

I held her gaze. "Your choice. Leave or stay."

A mocking smile curled on her lips. "If you'd been this reasonable earlier, we could've skipped all this. The more you cling to me, the more I hate you."

She paused, voice turning cold. "Go explain it to your family. I'm never agreeing to some marriage deal. Don't think you can use it to threaten me later."

At the words "marriage deal," I let out a quiet laugh.

In my last life, our families shoved two strangers together for profit.

That's how we got stuck in seven miserable years.

"I'll handle it. Don't worry about it."

I pulled the pocket watch off my chest and slammed it on the floor.

The crystal face shattered with a sharp crack.

"This was the engagement token our families agreed on. Now it's broken. You're free."

In my last life, I'd dropped to my knees at the airport, begging her to stay.

I even pulled out that pocket watch to threaten her.

If the Lacey family broke the engagement, they'd be the joke of the business world.

So Amy caved for her family's reputation and left the airport with me.

A few days later, the news said Bryan had died in a riot overseas.

She hated me for seven years because of it.

If I hadn't stopped her that day, maybe she could've convinced Bryan to stay.

"Isaac Irving, you're a murderer. Every time I see your face, I feel sick. Even if I die, I could never love someone as disgusting as you!"

I'd heard those words more times than I could count.

I knew she married me just to get back at me and make one thing clearher heart would never be mine.

Years of cold cruelty wore me down.

So I promised her one last trip before filing for divorce.

And yet, the woman who hated me to the bone

When the plane started going down, she shoved away the parachute I gave her without a second thought.

She'd rather die than owe me anything.

***

"Isaac, have you really thought this through? You're not gonna cling to me again?"

For once, Amy's voice carried a hint of hesitation.

Chapter 2

"Yeah." I stayed indifferent, glancing at the departure board. "Go. Keep stalling and Bryan's flight takes off."

I waved a hand before turning away. "Hope you two are happy."

***

When I got home, my dad was pacing the living room.

He saw me come in alone and his face changed. "Where's Amy? Why didn't she come back with you?"

"We're done." I tossed it out and headed upstairs.

He froze for a few seconds, then his face turned red. "Done? What nonsense is that? How is it just over?"

I stopped and looked at him, cold. "She doesn't like me. I'm not wasting my time. That's it."

The second I finished, he grabbed the ashtray off the coffee table and hurled it at me.

I stepped aside and dodged it.

He rushed over and grabbed my collar. "Our families set this engagement twenty years ago. You think a business marriage is a joke? You don't get to call it off whenever you want! Trying to make this family the laughingstock of the city?"

I let out a cold laugh and shoved his hand away. "You're so desperate because the company's thirty million in the red. You're counting on Amy's dad to bail you out. I'm not your bargaining chip. Let it go."

First time in years I'd ever talked back.

He snapped and kicked me hard in the chest. "How did I end up with a useless son like you? Can't even keep a woman. And you still dare show your face here?"

I staggered back into the cabinet.

Glass shattered.

Sharp shards dug into my back.

Before I could even catch my breath, he grabbed a chair and slammed it down on me.

The crash echoed as the chair splintered apart.

My arm shook violently.

If I hadn't blocked it with my arm, my head would've split open.

Instead, my arm went numb. Probably broken.

By then, he'd already grabbed a golf club and was marching toward me, panting.

"I don't care what you do. Bring Amy back. Or I'll beat you to death right now!"

I clutched my chest. Every breath felt like a knife twisting inside.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at him. "Lawrence Irving, go ahead. Kill me. If I'm dead, you won't get a single dime from the Lacey family."

The golf club froze in midair.

He stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

All my life, I'd been the obedient son who never made a sound, even when the belt came down.

The coward forced to kneel all night without moving.

"You've got some damn nerve."

I forced myself to stand. Every word tasted like blood. "How did Mom die? Who gambled away that thirty million? Now you want to sell your own son for cash. So tell mewho's the one with the nerve?"

The words hit him like knives.

The club clanged to the floor.

His face went pale, lips trembling, no words coming out.

Chapter 3

"Get out!"

In the end, all he could do was rage and throw me out.

***

With the little cash I had left, I checked into a cheap motel on the edge of town.

Once inside, I called a number I hadn't dialed in a long time.

"Mr. Cheney... sorry for calling so late. That overseas R&D job you mentioned before... is it still open?"

With my injuries, my voice came out weak.

A brief pause on the other endthen surprise.

After I gave him a clear answer, Mr. Cheney got so excited he almost tripped over his words. He immediately told his secretary to start the paperwork.

"Isaac, last time you said you wanted to stay here and focus on your girlfriend. What changed?"

He sounded casual, just curious.

"I'm still young. My future matters more than settling down."

That answer clearly pleased him.

I'd met Mr. Cheney at a university tech expo.

He couldn't stop praising the security system I built.

He offered me a job overseas as head of the tech department0-050,000 a year.

But for Amy, I'd turned it down without hesitation.

Looking back, I was an idiot.

Early the next morning, I went out for painkillers.

The wounds throbbed all night. I barely slept.

I didn't even have enough money to see a doctor.

All I could afford was the cheapest pills to dull the pain.

As I stepped out of the clinic, my phone rang.

I thought it was my dad.

Instead, it was Amy.

"Isaac, come see me right now. I need to tell you something in person."

I wanted nothing more to do with her.

But there was urgency in her voice.

After a brief pause, I agreed.

***

Half an hour later, I got to the caf we'd agreed on.

The second I pushed the door open, I spotted Amy and Bryan sitting side by side.

First time I'd ever seen her smile that sweetly at someone.

Then she noticed me. The smile snapped offlike she was scared I might get even a crumb of it.

Before I could say a word, she hurled a cup of scalding coffee straight at my face.

"Isaac, do you have zero shame? You said you'd set me free and stop bothering me, and then you sent your dad to my house to force the marriage?!"

I'd expected something like this.

For a guy as shameless as my father, nothing was off-limits.

I wiped the coffee off my face. My voice came out rough. "I didn't know about that."

The next secondsmack.

My head rang harder. The room tilted, my vision dimming.

"You really think you and your dad can put on a show and fool me? He ran to my house to pressure us because he's drowning in debt, right? If your family hadn't helped mine back then, you think my dad would've ever agreed to let me marry someone like you?"

Her eyes dragged over me, dripping with disgust. "Look at you. You're not even worth being my family's charity case."

Next to her, Bryan's eyes suddenly turned red.

"Amy, I thought if I stayed, we could finally be together... guess I was just kidding myself."

Chapter 4

Amy quickly grabbed his hand, worry all over her face.

"Bryan, what are you saying? How could I ever marry someone like him? The only person I'll ever be with is you."

Watching them cling to each other, I felt nothing.

"You don't have to worry. I'm leaving soon. If my dad can't find me, he'll give up."

Amy acted like she didn't hear a word. She grabbed my collar, eyes sharp. "If it weren't for you, would Bryan be humiliated like this? Get on your knees and apologize to him."

The sudden yank made my stomach twist.

The wound that had barely closed tore open again.

My knees slammed into the floor.

My breathing turned rough. I couldn't hold on anymore.

Amy watched me drop to my knees. Her face twisted with contempt.

"You really are pathetic. I tell you to kneel, and you kneel. No backbone at all. No woman would ever want a man like you."

I didn't have the strength to answer.

The burning in my chest spread inch by inch, grinding through my nerves.

I tried to stand. My vision went black. I collapsed.

"Cut the act. Trying to cling to me now?" She kicked me in disgust.

I didn't move.

Then she saw the blood at the corner of my mouth. Her voice finally changed.

"Call an ambulance. Now!"

***

I opened my eyes to a hospital room.

Amy sat beside the bed. A flicker of worry showed in her eyes.

I tried to move.

Pain ripped through my body. I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Don't move. The doctor said you broke three ribs, fractured your right arm, and have severe internal bleeding. If you got here any later, you might've..."

Her voice trailed off.

Then, softer, she asked, "Does your dad... hit you a lot?"

That's when I noticed the medical report in her hand.

Every injury was listed, line by line.

"I'm used to it." I turned my face away, not wanting to see pity in her eyes. "Thanks for bringing me here. I'll pay you back for the medical bills as soon as I can."

"Stop." Amy cut me off. "I... didn't know you were hurt this bad. If you're ever in trouble, I'll help however I can. Don't carry everything on your own anymore."

***

Third-Person POV

After leaving the hospital, Amy went home alone.

She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

But the scars on Isaac's body wouldn't leave her head.

Just then, the door opened. Her dad, Vincent, walked in and sat down.

"Amy, about the engagement. I wanted to talk"

"I'm not marrying him." The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Vincent sighed and pulled a document from his briefcase. "That's not what I meant. Isaac came to see me earlier. He said..."

Amy froze.

She took the document and read it.

Only then did she realize

It was an agreement to dissolve the engagement.