Rejected Seven Times, I Married His Rival

Elena Sinclair has loved Grant Caldwell for nearly twenty years, but every marriage draw gives her a blank card. On the eighth and final night, she overhears the truth: Grant has replaced his own name seven times to stay with so-called fragile Blair, laughing, "That fool Elena would never marry anyone but me." Elena records every word. When Grant expects another public humiliation, she says, "There is no next year" and reaches into the chest. This time, the valid name belongs to Julian Hawthorne, Grant's deadliest business rival. And the other ninety-nine cards carry Elena's final answer.