I spent a whole month partying wildly on the high seas with eight European male escorts. When my best friend found out, her jaw hit the ground. "Have you lost your damn mind? Aren't you afraid your arms baron husband will kill you?"

As I played the sexy nurse examining the half-naked escorts, I scoffed, "What's there to be afraid of? We're divorced."

"What?" My bestie was struck dumb, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Suddenly, the world fell deathly silent. Every gaze shifted past me.

Swiveling on instinct, I saw my husband, Finnegan Gillespie, standing on a nearby luxury yacht, his knuckles white as he clamped down on the wheel.

Seeing him like that, all I felt was a sense of absurdity.

On the day I married Finnegan, the infamous arms dealer, a friend warned me that men like him are most drawn to innocent, unworldly young women.

At first, I thought it was a harmless joke.

But, seven years later, Finnegan fell head over heels in love with Michelle Crawford, a nurse from the slums. He showered her with gifts and bought her a house, all to secure her as his mistress.

But Michelle turned him down steadfastly. "Mr. Gillespie, please leave me alone. I'm not interested in people like you."

One day, Michelle appeared at my front porch, wearing a pristine white dress that made her look pure and innocent. She said calmly, "Control your husband. Don't let him harass me again."

I confronted Finnegan as he absent-mindedly wiped down the gun. "She's fun. I like messing around with her. I'll come back to you when the fun wears off."

"Susie, I love you, but loving one person forever is too much to ask. You must allow me the chance to briefly step out of the relationship."

Heartbroken, I stared at the 99 love locks in the drawer. He had bought them from a small gift shop, each one a symbol of our eternal love.

So, I decided to give him 99 chances. Every time he broke my heart, I would break one lock. Once all the locks were smashed, I would finally let him go.

***

The first love lock was destroyed on our seventh anniversary. For the first time, he forgot about our special day. He spent the whole day sitting at the girl's hospital, waiting for her to finish her shift.

The 52nd lock was destroyed the day his enemies took me hostage. He led a legion of armed men to rescue me, yet midway, he abandoned the mission and went back to soothe Michelle, for the thunder frightened her.

On the day the 96th lock was destroyed, Finnegan and I attended an underground auction to bid on my late mother's belongings. But as soon as the auction started, Finnegan spotted Michelle, who was tricked and sold to the black market as an item. Instantly, he pulled out his gun, pointed at the auctioneer's head, and bellowed, "She's mine. Name your price."

After freeing Michelle, he caught her staring at my mother's ring. Without a second thought, he outbid every buyer and presented the ring to her. "I thought you liked it, so I bought it for you."

Battered and bruised, Michelle remained as pure as ever, but she shoved Finnegan's hand away and said righteously, "Mr. Gillespie, I told you that I had no desire to be your side piece. No gifts of yours will ever change my mind.

"I'll pay you what I owe. Please, leave me alone." With that, she turned and walked away.

Instead of blowing a fuse, Finnegan laughed. He dashed after Michelle while everyone watched in shock.

I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, but after a moment of hesitation, I followed him out. By the pond, he mercilessly threw that priceless ring into the murky water!

"If you don't like the ring, I'll buy something else," he said, his voice sweet as honey. "Until you're pleased." He took Michelle's hand and disappeared back into the auction house.

Watching my mother's ring sinking beneath the surface, I plunged into the pond without hesitation.

After a whole night of struggle, I crawled out of the stinky mud.

I had just gotten home by taxi when I saw Finnegan's friends teasing him in the group chat. "Finnegan really screwed up this time. Now, everyone in the city knows he's wooing that nurse."

"Yep. It's almost as dramatic as when he wooed Susana back in the day."

I pursed my lips and deleted the group chat. Then I took the hammer and smashed the 97th love lock. He had only two chances left.

The moment I put down the hammer, I found Finnegan standing behind me. He asked, "What's the hammer for?"

I replied calmly, "Nothing, really. The nails on the cabinet were a bit loose, so I hammered them down."

Frowning, he sensed something off about me, but chose not to ask. He said, "I had a new bulletproof vest made for you, so you're coming with me tonight to handle the Southeast Asia arms deal."

He added, "If we can close this deal, all the profits go to you. Consider it a compensation for last night's auction. What do you think?" I chuckled. Did he seriously believe money could fix everything?

However, to avoid arousing his suspicions about the locks, I reluctantly went alone. I put on the bulletproof vest and accompanied him to a private room for the negotiation.

Halfway through the negotiation, the buyer turned on us. Amid the chaos, guns were drawn, and shots were fired. A bullet pierced through my lower abdomen. Glancing down, I realized the vest's protective layer had been replaced with sheer cloth. As panic rose, I sought Finnegan for help. Guarded by hundreds of men, he sat on the leather sofa and coldly watched me.

I smiled through tears. My body convulsed as I clutched my bleeding stomach and sank to my knees. Finnegan approached me, wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth with his fingertip. He said, his voice devoid of warmth, "Susie, can you do me a favor..."

I shivered as I heard him utter those vicious words. "She has been looking for a part-time caregiver job. Only your injury gives me a reason to let her move in..."

As an arms dealer, Finnegan was always ruthless toward his enemies. Now, the same ruthlessness fell upon his own wife, all because he wanted to pursue Michelle. Agonized, I tried to scream, but everything went dark before my eyes, and I passed out.

When I opened my eyes again, a searing pain shot through my lower abdomen. Then a cold and soft female voice reached my ear. "Mrs. Gillespie, you're awake."

Turning my head, I saw Michelle at the bedside, clutching a first aid kit. "I'm your temporary caregiver, Michelle," she said, her voice calm yet detached. "I'll be staying here for now, so please, control your husband. If he crosses the line again, I'll be gone."

A dull ache settled in my chest as I croaked, "I want another caregiver."

She ignored me completely and took out the iodine and cotton swabs. "Time to change your dressing."

She was clumsy. On her first attempt, she poked my wound with the swab.

Then, she ripped through my stitches.

Blood began oozing from my wound.

"If you don't know how to do this right, let someone else do it." I shuddered in pain.

Immediately, her eyes welled up with tears, her voice thick with grievance. "You think I wanted to come here? If it weren't for the money that I need for my mother's treatment, I would never endure this." She lifted my shirt and drove the swab into my wound, blood instantly soaking my shirt.

I couldn't take it anymore and shoved her away. "Enough! Don't touch me!" She staggered back, knocking the medicine tray to the ground, and the glass bottles shattered across the floor.

Suddenly, the door swung open. Finnegan stormed in. The moment he saw Michelle on the floor, his face darkened. "What's going on?"

"Since you all hate me, I'll just go!" Michelle rushed toward the door, her eyes brimming with tears.

Finnegan yanked her back. "Who said that?"

She wrenched her hand free from Finnegan's grip. "Your wife. I was trying to change her dressing, and she pushed me! Haven't you known that I was inexperienced?"

Finnegan watched the blood seeping through my wound, a flicker of concern passing his eyes. Then he turned to her, his voice soft and humble, "What will it take for you to stay?"

Michelle raised her chin defiantly. "I can't stand the hubris of people like you. I want her to apologize!"

"Susie," he said, fixing his eyes on me, his voice unyielding. "Apologize."

I stared at him in disbelief. "After Michelle hurt me, you want me to apologize?"

The light in his eyes dimmed. "Think about your father's company before you turn me down."

My blood ran cold. "You wanna threaten me for her?"

"It's just an apology, not the end of your world," he scoffed, brows knitted. "Do you want to see your father's company go under? Now, he's abroad on a business trip. One order from me, and his protection is gone. Do you think he would make it back home alive?"

In an instant, my heart shattered into pieces. I ground my teeth until I tasted my own blood. Seeing Finnegan's finger tap against the holster, I knew he wasn't joking. With a dry and raspy voice, I said, "I'm sorry."

Michelle gave a forced nod. Finnegan's face finally softened. He carefully coaxed her into dressing my wound.

When the door clicked shut, I collapsed to the floor and wept in silence. After a long time, I stood up, numbly grabbed the hammer, and smashed the 98th lock.

For the next few days, Finnegan was nowhere to be seen.

His men told me that he had taken Michelle to Iceland to see the aurora, to the farthest reaches of the world to watch the sunrise, to every place he had once promised he would take me after retiring.

I remembered my mother's last words. "Susie, never marry men who thrive on danger. Their promises are worth nothing."

Looking at the last lock, sitting alone in the cabinet, I whispered with a bitter smile, "Mom, you were right all along."

That day, as I sorted through my mother's keepsakes, Finnegan's men dragged me to a private hospital. In the hallway, Michelle clung to him, shaking and sobbing. The moment she saw me, she dropped to her knees.

"Mrs. Gillespie, the doctor says my mother has only six months to live. But last night, her condition deteriorated, and she went blind," she said, voice cracking. "I just want her to see the world one last time before she's gone."

She pleaded, "Only your cornea matches hers. Please, you have to save my mother." Flabbergasted, I pulled my hand away, but Finnegan seized it immediately. "Susie, just donate one. You'll be able to see with the other."

My heart sank. "Never gonna happen! I'm not your living organ bank."

Finnegan's voice carried no warmth. "Susie, what happened to you?"

"Fine. Since you won't donate, I'll take the cornea from your other eye myself. It was mine to begin with!" A chill ran down my spine. I managed a resigned smile and let him jab the needle into my neck.

Darkness engulfed me. Before I lost my consciousness, I heard him tell the doctor, "Prepare for surgery."

When I opened my eyes again, my vision was blurred. I fumbled to get out of bed, but the nurse held me down and said, "You just donated your cornea and received a prosthetic eye. Your vision isn't fully restored yet. Don't move, or you'll fall."

Trembling, I reached for my right eye, while tears streamed down from my left. How ironic! He once gave me sight, and now, he had taken it away and cast me back into darkness. Maybe that was for the best. I never had to see Finnegan again.

I spent two weeks in the hospital. Every day, I could hear Finnegan asking Michelle and her mother in the hallway how they were doing. Yet he only visited me once.

That day, he showed up with a box of fruit tarts. Whenever I was sick, he would get these for me to lift my spirits. I turned my face away, never once meeting his gaze. He let out a sigh and said, "Why are you so stubborn? After all this time, you still won't accept it?"

"I've told you. I love you the most. What I have with Chelle is just a fling. Once it's over, we'll go back to the way we used to be."

Back to the way we used to be? Did he honestly remember what they were like before?

On the day I was discharged, I passed by the corner and overheard Michelle and Finnegan's conversation. "Mr. Gillespie, I've refused you over and over again. Why do you still go to such lengths to please me?"

She added, "You would even take your wife's cornea just to save my mother."

I stood, paralyzed, as Finnegan's deep voice reached my ear. "I've told you so many times that I like you. I want to be with you."

His voice carried a hint of impatience. "Do you want me to carve my heart out to prove it to you?"

After a long pause, Michelle finally made up her mind. "I can be with you, but on one condition."

Finnegan's heart leaped, and he quickly pulled her into his embrace. "Whatever you ask, I'll agree to it."

"I won't be your prisoner!" She enunciated every word slowly. "I want to have a proper relationship with you, on the condition that you're divorced."

Moments later, Finnegan said solemnly, "OK." A single word, and it shot through my heart like a bullet.

I headed back home and smashed the last lock.

99 locks. 99 chances. Finnegan had used them all.

And it was time for me to leave.