The Hundredth Rejection

For seven long years, I'd been trapped in a rigged game, playing an ER nurse in Chicago. My mission was simple: get the hospital's wealthy benefactor, Julian Vance, to romantically reject me 100 times. The prize? My real life back in Montana, a massive payout, and a unique gift. I was so close, just two rejections away. For rejection ninety-nine, I pitched the ultimate absurd proposal: marriage, but only if I survived a risky medical mission. He always said no. But this time, Julian Vance, Mr. Emotionally Unavailable, looked me dead in the eye and said, "Alright. Seriously." My carefully constructed world imploded. My "game" was utterly derailed. Every desperate attempt to provoke a rejection only made him agree, sometimes even openly. Then the Vance Tower collapsed. I was trapped, severely injured, calling for help amidst the chaos. My comm crackled, Julian finally picking up. Relief flooded me until I heard his voice, sharp and impatient: "Ava, I'm dealing with Chloe's trauma right now. This isn't the time for your dramatics." He hung up, prioritizing his ex-fiancée's fake injuries over my life. The universe twisted. That dismissive click became my one hundredth rejection. My mission was complete. I died in that crumbling building, only to reawaken in Montana, rich and gifted. But the question remained: had I truly won, or merely traded one prison for another, haunted by the man I' d been forced to break?