All Chapters of Longing Leads To Love No More: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

I died in Jimmy’s nursery. I had wanted to stay as close to him as possible.Joan opened the bedroom door. When she found me absent, she assumed I had not come home yet.She turned and took Randy by the hand. Then, he pulled him down onto our bed. With an indifferent tone, she said, “He probably fell for another swindler’s tale and ran off to some godforsaken wilderness.”Randy laughed loudly. “It’s not even the first time. I’ve never seen anyone so gullible. He believes everything every fraudster tells him. I remember that time he ran off into the mountains and nearly did not make it back. When the police finally found him, his clothes had been torn to pieces. He was standing there with a knife in his hand, completely out of his mind. Three men were lying on the ground beside him. Nobody ever found out what happened.”As soon as he said that, Joan’s expression darkened. She shoved him away coldly.Realizing he had misspoke, Randy immediately wrapped an arm around her neck an

Chapter 2

A flicker of secret pleasure crossed Randy’s lips. He feigned alarm and said, “When did Steven come back? Do you think he heard us?”Joan dressed hastily and walked toward the nursery. I followed them and watched with cold detachment as she hesitated to open the door.Finally, with a soft creak, the door swung open. She walked to the bedside.I lay beneath the quilt. My entire body was curled into a tight ball.Joan’s face cycled between pale and flushed. She assumed I was giving her the silent treatment. “Steven, since you’ve found out, there is no point hiding it anymore. Yes, I was the one who took Jimmy. But this all started because of you.”She glanced at me and paused before continuing. “As long as you don’t make a big deal out of it, we could still make this marriage work.”Silence filled the room for dozens of seconds. Joan’s expression soured further. She snorted.“Oh, so now you are pretending to be dead? Fine. Let us see how long you can keep this up.”I watc

Chapter 3

However, Randy suddenly said, “I saw Steven get up and eat yesterday.”Joan froze for a moment before turning around.She asked, “He got up yesterday?”Randy nodded and looked uncomfortable.“Yeah. I even tried talking to him, but he ignored me. He told me to get out and everything.”Joan’s expression immediately darkened.She snorted and sat back down.“I knew it. He’s been pretending to be ill. Looks like all that talk about loving his son has been an act. He nearly got Jimmy killed.”Floating above them, I could only let out a bitter laugh. Far from faking an illness, I was dead.As I watched the triumphant smile tug at Randy’s lips, I found myself wondering whether he would still be able to smile when the truth finally came out.I drifted back home and spent several more hours keeping watch over my own body.My phone suddenly rang. It was my mother.After two days without hearing from me, she must have sensed that something was wrong.She called three times in a row. F

Chapter 4

Randy was startled. He was unable to grasp why she had flown into such a fury. His voice trembled slightly as he tried to calm her down. “Joan, Jimmy is right here. Don’t get so worked up. If it comes to it, you can divorce him. It’s not worth getting upset over him.”The word “divorce” seemed to strike a nerve. Joan’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.Then, unexpectedly, she laughed. “Divorce? Wouldn’t that be letting him off too easily?”She took a deep breath and bent down to pick up her phone. Its screen had shattered into a web of cracks. She called my mother.After what felt like an eternity of ringing, my mother finally answered at the very last moment.Before she could say a word, Joan blurted out impatiently, “Reese, where is Steven? I need to talk to him.”My mother’s voice was hoarse. Each word seemed to claw its way out of her throat.“You monster. You’ll never see him again. I hope you’re happy now.”Joan froze. She did not understand what my mother meant. Bef

Chapter 5

My funeral was already over, but my mother was still wearing the black dress she had worn to the service. A rosary remained clenched in her trembling hand.Her face was deathly pale. Her dull eyes were streaked with bloodshot veins.A sense of dread settled in Joan’s chest.Her voice trembled as she asked, “Who died? Why are you dressed like that and holding that?”As soon as she said that, Joan was slapped. Her head snapped to the side from the force of the slap.My mother looked at her with pure disgust and shoved her. “Get out! Get the hell out! You killed Steven! This is all your fault! He is dead! He’s been dead for days. His body had gone cold and stiff, but you didn’t even care enough to check on him! You monster!”Joan’s mind went blank. Her eyes widened in disbelief.“He’s dead? No, that’s impossible. Let me go in and see him.”With that, she lunged forward like a madwoman. She shoved my mother aside and rushed through the door.Panic surged through me as I rushed o

Chapter 6

I drifted above them and watched the paramedics load Joan into the ambulance.Randy arrived soon after, along with my mother-in-law, Maggie Walker.Neither of them seemed particularly shaken by the news of my death.Maggie merely let out a sigh.Then, she spoke with casual indifference. “Maybe it is for the best. They were always miserable together. Randy, this works out nicely for you. Now, you and Joan can finally be together openly.”My heart felt as though a giant fist had closed around it and squeezed. It turned out that the woman I had honored and loved as a mother for all these years had known about Joan’s infidelity all along. Worse still, she had aided and abetted that betrayal. She had helped them deceive a pitiful fool like me.When her husband had abandoned her years ago, I was the only one in the family who stood firmly by her side. I helped her fight for the assets that were rightfully hers.Looking back, it all felt like a cruel joke played at my expense.A

Chapter 7

When Joan was released, she looked noticeably thinner.Exhausted and hollow-eyed, she returned to our house.She rummaged through my belongings for any trace of how I had met my end. She refused to believe that I had simply ended my own life. Like a madwoman, she screamed into the empty rooms, “Steven, come out! Come out right now! If you’re really that mad that I played a prank on you, come out and hit me yourself then!”In her rage, she smashed my favorite teacup, tore my most beloved shirt to shreds, and resorted to the most shameless provocations to draw me out. However, it was all in vain.I was gone.Two weeks after my death, Joan finally accepted it.Her eyes were bloodshot. When she drank with other people, there was often a mocking smile on her lips.“He brought it upon himself. He abandoned me and our son. Why should I miss him? Jimmy is so young, and I need him so badly. But what did he do?”She never once mentioned the terrible things she had done. Instead, sh

Chapter 8

Randy’s photo spread across major comment sections. [This is the guy. He and the wife had been involved for a long time. Apparently, she got pregnant, had an abortion, and then held a grudge against the husband for it.][Scum like them will go to hell.][Guys, we can’t let these two get away with it.][I know where this woman works. Guys, let’s go after her together.]Just like that, Joan’s company was surrounded by people.The entire wall was covered with papers that called them “Murderer,” “Monster,” and “Scum.”Some people even poured filthy liquid all over her car.Her company’s stock price plummeted. Her business suffered heavily as well.Randy rarely left the house. On the few occasions he did, people chased him down the street and hurled insults at him.He grew paranoid. Even the slightest disturbance was enough to make him jump.Everyone at the company urged Joan to handle the public relations crisis.However, she remained completely indifferent.Joan even felt th

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