Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Last Shot After Seven Canceled Weddings: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

Cecilia's POVI looked up toward the airport entrance, where two figures were chatting and laughing.My fiance, Marcus Benton, was casually helping his childhood friend, Bianca Warner, with her luggage.Bianca put on a frail expression. "I only said I wanted to visit Solaviera, and you left Cecilia behind like that. Won't she be mad?"Marcus glanced back at me and dropped his voice. "Don't say that, Bianca. Cecilia understands your situation.""Still, she looks upset. I feel terrible seeing her like that," Bianca said, her eyes welling up."What does she have to be upset about?" Marcus paused, then offered a soft word of comfort. "You haven't been well these past two years, so it's only natural I look after you. She's never made a fuss. I'll just say a few sweet words to reassure her. Don't worry about any of that. Just focus on enjoying the trip."It was true.In Marcus' eyes, I was always reasonable and easygoing. Even if I got upset, a little effort on his part was all it to

Cecilia's POVBianca flashed a swift, faint smile—one completely devoid of any trace of depression.Then, she pinched my arm with all her strength. Wincing in pain, I reflexively yanked my hand back. Bianca let out a sharp cry and immediately collapsed to the ground."Ah!" Bianca curled up on the floor, clutching her knee, her face twisted in pain."Cecilia!" Marcus rushed over and shoved me aside.Unsteady on my feet, I stumbled backward into a nearby beach umbrella. A glass on the table underneath toppled over, drenching me in ice-cold water.My elbow took the brunt of the fall, and a dull, agonizing pain burst straight from the bone, drawing a soft groan from my lips.Seeing me hit the ground, Marcus froze for a second and instinctively took a step toward me.But the next second, Bianca grabbed his sleeve. "Marcus, it hurts so bad…"Taking in Bianca's pathetic state, he forgot all about me and quickly helped her up.When he looked back at me, his eyes were filled with ange

Third-Person POVMarcus' hand froze on the phone. "What was their reason?"Dante replied, "They didn't give a clear one, just cited strategic adjustments. But our funding pool for next quarter heavily relies on their injection. If that money gets cut off, all three product lines in development will have to stop, let alone our plans to expand the chain in the second half of the year."Marcus frowned. "Who's the person in charge over there? I'll reach out directly.""I already tried." Dante's voice sank even lower. "They said they're only acting as custodians. The real investor is someone else, and they don't have the authority to make the calls.""Who's the investor?"Dante hesitated before saying, "We ran a check. Ceciora Capital is just a shell. When I trace back three layers of ownership, I found that the ultimate controlling entity points back to… someone with the surname Caruso."Marcus was stunned. "Caruso?""Yes, the Caruso family. But the records are extremely limited. T

Third-Person POVIt was Bianca who had instructed the PR department to issue that statement in Marcus' name.When Marcus saw it, he was in a company meeting. His phone buzzed with a notification. As he tapped to open it, his brow furrowed. "Who published this?""…Ms. Warner said you gave your approval," Dante answered cautiously.Marcus picked up his phone, intending to retract it. As his finger hovered over the screen, a WhatsApp message from Bianca popped up."Marcus, it's better to end the pain quickly. Give her a sign. If she truly cares about you, she'll come running back. If she doesn't, it just means she never loved you that much anyway, so you lose nothing."Marcus stared at the line of text. After a long silence, he placed his phone face down on the table.In the end, he didn't retract the announcement.That afternoon, he sent another message to Cecilia. He knew she had blocked his number, so he had switched to a new one."The engagement is off. If you don't come back

Cecilia's POVSix months later, by Lake Bellavere in Meravino, my fiance, Gabriele Venturi, walked up from behind me."There's news about Marcus," he said casually while placing his phone on the table in front of me. "Care to hear it?"Without even looking up, I said, "Go ahead.""He got to the bottom of everything. Bianca was never sick. She forged every single diagnostic report with the help of a cousin. The one working at that community clinic, remember?"That file you gave him had everything, including internal clinic logs, cross-checked timestamps from the social security system, and even a recorded confession from the cousin."All those threats of taking her own life, depression episodes, and emotional meltdowns Bianca pulled over the years were complete theater. Her sole goal was to make sure he'd never marry you."I turned a page of the book in my hand, the paper rustling beneath my fingertips. "And then?""Marcus kicked Bianca out. Her family cut ties with her too, and