No More Love by the WheelChapter 1

On the night of our seventh anniversary, I got down on one knee to propose to my girlfriend. In response, her personal assistant dragged out a massive carnival prize wheel for the tenth time to decide my fate.

Once again, the ticking needle bypassed the "Engagement" slot. It clattered to a stop on a punishment: Lick the assistant's shoes.

"Oh well. Since you look so pathetic, I will give you a consolation prize." Victoria smiled down at me. "Just finish this little punishment, and I will finally agree to marry you."

Her assistant, Simon, deliberately shoved his leather shoe into a nearby trash can, scraping it against the grime before holding it out to me.

The entire banquet hall erupted into roaring laughter. Every single guest expected me to obey. After all, marrying Victoria Harrington was the ultimate dream I had bled for over the past seven years.

But as the laughter echoed off the crystal chandeliers, a sudden, crushing exhaustion washed over me. I dropped the velvet ring box. I dropped the bouquet of red roses.

"Victoria."

"I don't want to marry you anymore."

Dead silence fell over the room.

Victoria simply smirked. She reached out, tilting my chin up with a manicured finger. "Wow. Is my little puppy learning how to bark?"

"The whole world knows that marrying me is your life's singular purpose."

She was always like this. Completely dismissive of my actual feelings. But even a pet dog gets taken to the vet when it is sick. She just watched me bleed.

Sensing the mood, Simon stepped forward. "Get on your knees and lick the shoe, Rowan. This is your final test. Don't drop the ball now."

The momentarily quiet crowd burst into laughter all over again.

"Is it really the final test?"

I clenched my fists, locking eyes with Victoria. "If I pass the engagement test, will there be a wedding photoshoot test? If I pass that, will there be a pre-wedding test? A marriage certificate test?"

In the beginning, Victoria used to bury her face in my chest and cry about her past. She told me her toxic ex had destroyed her ability to trust. She said she stopped believing in love until she met me. She begged me to prove that I could withstand the test of time.

For seven years, she pushed me away hundreds of times. I never left. I stood by her like a stone pillar.

Eventually, I thought I had proven myself. I proposed.

Instead of a yes, she listened to Simon and brought out that twisted roulette wheel. Let fate decide, she said. The chance of the needle landing on "Accept Proposal" was exactly one percent. The other ninety-nine percent were humiliating punishments, all centered around serving Simon.

One time, the wheel decreed I had to be Simon's errand boy. He treated me worse than a stray animal. I fetched his coffee. I stood outside the restroom stall to hand him toilet paper. I was forced to be his driver and denied food for a whole day. At a business dinner that night, he made me take all his shots.

I drank until my stomach hemorrhaged.

When Victoria visited me in the hospital, she didn't reprimand Simon. She just sighed and said, "A bet is a bet. Let's hope fate is on your side next time you propose."

I used to think fate would eventually throw me a bone. I used to think Victoria would finally see my devotion, or at least pity me.

So, I meticulously planned another proposal. And failed again.

I drew a punishment to scrub the corporate bathrooms for a month, with Simon as my supervisor. Even when I polished the tiles until they mirrored the ceiling, Simon found flaws. Every employee who walked past snickered at me. They whispered that the Vice President of the company lived worse than a dog.

When Victoria heard the gossip, she did nothing. Instead, she temporarily stripped me of my VP title and gave it to Simon. She took him to every high-profile gala. He basked in the spotlight while I scrubbed urinals.

When I finally broke down and asked her why, she looked at me with disappointment.

"Rowan, it is not that I don't care. I just have to maintain absolute fairness in front of the company. After seven years together, can't you understand my position? Be a good puppy and just obey."

Looking at her disappointed eyes, I actually brainwashed myself into thinking I hadn't done enough. The cycle repeated.

Until yesterday, when I accidentally overheard a conversation between her and Simon.