Page 3 of Ninety-nine times he refused my marriage proposal

The name on the paper was actually Aiden.

Among the five men Grayson had chosen for me, Aiden was the one I understood least.

He was Bennett's colleague at the same school, and he was notorious for being careless and half-hearted about his work as a teacher.

Before turning eighteen, Aiden was constantly getting into fights, skipping classes, and dating around.

As an adult, he spent money recklessly and nearly beat someone to death.

Thanks to his prominent family background, he was able to settle that matter privately.

To help him get his life together, Aiden's family spent a fortune to arrange for him to become a teacher at the academy.

However, he lacked real talent or knowledge. Students who actually wanted to learn refused to attend his classes, and many openly criticized him.

The other four candidates were completely different.

Some were self-made entrepreneurs who were honest and decent, while others were humble, polite, and had stable jobs.

Not only did they have great personalities, but they were also quite handsome.

However, when standing next to Aiden, their good looks paled in comparison.

But Aiden's family was the only one that owed Grayson a favor. Besides, his parents were good people. Even if I really did marry Aiden, I wouldn't suffer too much.

With this thought, I felt relieved and headed to Aiden's house with gifts.

When I explained my purpose and mentioned Grayson's serious illness, Aiden's mother, Cora Hunter, was both sad and happy.

She asked, "Are you really willing to marry Aiden? He's such a troublemaker. Did he do something bad to you?"

I felt helpless and shook my head repeatedly.

I said, "No. I'm doing this willingly."

As I handed over the gifts, Cora became so emotional that tears streamed down her face. She immediately removed the gold chain from her neck and put it around mine.

She said, "Sweet child, I don't have anything else nice to give you right now. Please make do with this for now."

My cheeks instantly turned red.

I said, "Cora, don't you need to ask Aiden what he thinks?"

"No need!" Cora said with a smile.

She continued, "Whether he's willing or not, I've always hoped you could be my daughter. Just think of it as marrying me instead."

I laughed.

Over the years, Cora had indeed been very kind to me.

I knew she genuinely liked me.

We quickly settled on a preliminary wedding timeline. We'd get engaged in a month, then hold the wedding ceremony six months later. Cora said she would inform Aiden about this.

After arranging everything, I prepared to return to the hospital room to continue watching over Grayson.

When I got back, I discovered he was already awake.

The moment he saw me, Grayson smiled and said, "My dear daughter."

My eyes immediately welled up with tears.

I ran over and threw myself into his arms, calling out, "Dad!"

After ten whole years, I had finally seen him again.

Grayson gently stroked my head with his hand. I could feel that his movements were much slower than before.

Ten years had passed so quickly, and he had aged considerably.

We talked for a long time.

Afterward, Grayson asked me, "You're twenty-eight now. Do you have a boy you like? I'm old and sick. What will happen if no one takes care of you?"

I nodded and said directly, "I do have a boy I like, Dad. And he's actually one of the candidates you selected for me before."

"Are you telling the truth?" Two voices spoke simultaneously.

One filled with surprise, the other trembling with disbelief.

I turned to look and saw Bennett, who had just opened the door to come in, staring at me intently with a panicked expression.

After a while longer, disappointment flickered in Bennett's eyes. He shook his head, as if trying to stop me from continuing.

His expression was like someone watching a child about to get into trouble.

But I wasn't a child anymore.

As for my relationship with him, if it wasn't necessary, I would bury these feelings forever in my heart and let them slowly fade away.

I pulled out the gold chain from around my neck to show Grayson.

"Look," I said, "I even received a gift from his mother."

Bennett, who had just relaxed, froze in place, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He studied my expression carefully. After a moment, he finally regained his composure.

Bennett probably thought I was deceiving Grayson.

Grayson asked me with a smile, "If that's the case, whose son is he? How come you've never mentioned him to me before?"

My face instantly turned red.

Then I lowered my head and said, "Anyway, you'll definitely like him. He and I have been together for a while now. Our relationship is stable, which is why I finally dared to tell you."

Bennett's face immediately darkened.

But Grayson laughed.

"Well," he said, "my child has grown up and has little secrets now. You actually waited until you were about to get engaged to tell me."

Then Grayson turned to Bennett, who had just walked in, and teased him.

"Bennett, you're here too? Look at your sister. She's been hiding her relationship from me, only willing to tell me when she's ready to get engaged. But that's okay. I trust your judgment. As long as you approve of him, he must be a good man."

Grayson gently patted my hand to show his encouragement.

Bennett stood to the side, only able to force a happy expression.

"Yes," he said. "The person she chose must be good."

Since Grayson had always insisted we call each other brother and sister, he naturally didn't know the true nature of my relationship with Bennett.

But after hearing "sister" several times in a row, Bennett was reaching his breaking point.

While I went outside to get Grayson's medicine, Bennett grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me toward the empty stairwell.

This was the first time he had ever held my hand in front of everyone.

After all these years, Bennett had always been composed in his actions. But this time, he roughly pressed me against the wall.

He questioned me in an icy tone: "Your father just recovered, and you have to lie to him now? What's the point of forcing me like this? What are you going to do when you can't produce an engagement party?"

I looked up at him calmly.

"What does this have to do with you?" I asked.

Bennett frowned. He looked at me and sighed softly.

"How does this have nothing to do with me?" he said. "Besides knowing me, do you know any other men? You even lied to your father about having a candidate. Where is this candidate?"

I looked at Bennett quietly.

He was still the same as before, scolding a misbehaving child from the position of an elder.

I suddenly realized how quickly ten years had passed, and Bennett was already 38 years old.

His youthful, handsome appearance from years ago was long gone, and his face now showed the marks of middle age.

In that instant, I seemed unable to find the excitement I once felt when I was with him.

Perhaps it was because I had felt insecure for these ten years. We constantly argued and gave each other the cold shoulder. My desire to get married had been extinguished by him time and time again.

No matter how intense my love had been initially, it would slowly disappear.

Watching Bennett's mouth as he kept talking, I said calmly, "But I never said I wanted to get engaged to you. What are you so anxious about?"

Bennett's expression changed instantly, and he froze in place.