All Chapters of The Stranger I Loved: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Passenger Seat Was Never Mine

The car stopped in front of my apartment building, and the rain still had not let up.Chester held an umbrella over me as he walked me to the entrance. I had just leaned against the wall to catch my breath when he suddenly stopped. "You go on upstairs. I need to grab something from the car."I turned around and watched him dash straight into the rain.He opened the passenger door, pressed the seat memory button twice, then checked the angle of the backrest with his hand.He even bent down to make sure the seat had slid back to the exact same position as before. Only when he was certain everything was perfectly unchanged did he close the door.Rain soaked one side of his shoulder, but he did not seem to care.Standing in the hallway, I felt my heart turn cold.It was not that he was incapable of being thoughtful. That thoughtfulness had just never been meant for me.The moment I collapsed onto the couch, my phone chimed with a notification that my car loan payment of 574 dollars

Chapter 2 The Third Wheel

Early the next morning, I went to the front door to pick up a package.The first thing I noticed was a pair of bunny slippers sitting on the shoe rack.The shoes I wore every day had been shoved all the way into the back corner.Chester came out of the kitchen. Seeing me staring at the shoe rack, he looked a little guilty as he explained, "Linnea came by yesterday before I left for work. Her back's been bothering her, and she gets tired if she stands too long."I only got her a pair because she's your best friend. Don't read too much into it."I nodded. I did not ask when the two of them had become so close. I did not ask why an outsider's things had been placed where mine belonged.I turned to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. The moment I opened the door, I found the iced Americanos I always kept stocked had been moved to the very bottom shelf.In their place were two neat rows of honey citron tea, Linnea's favorite.Chester walked over and casually handed me a bottle

Chapter 3 Left Behind

Linnea immediately turned around, her face full of guilt."This is all my fault. Flora, if you can't handle sitting in the back, we can switch. My back's fine. At worst, I'll just do a couple more physical therapy sessions when we get home. I can't let the two of you argue because of me."She reached for her seat belt, but Chester quickly pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Don't move. You just recovered a couple of days ago. What if you hurt yourself again?"Then, he turned to me, his voice tight with irritation. "Flora, stop pressuring her. You know what kind of shape she's in. Can't you just put up with it?""I can't. I get carsick." My vision had already started to blur, and nausea burned the back of my throat."Carsick?" He let out a mocking laugh, disbelief written all over his face. "You never used to get carsick. You're just trying to stir up trouble."…By the time we finally reached the entrance to the scenic area, I shoved the car door open and stumbled out.I grabbed o

Chapter 4 The Storm

A deafening clap of thunder cracked across the sky. Fierce winds swept through the mountain, driving the rain down in heavy sheets.Gritting my teeth, I hobbled forward on one foot.…By the time I limped to the tram station, I was soaked to the bone.The attendant shouted at the top of his lungs, "Last tram! Only one cabin left. Maximum two passengers!"My heart tightened. I grabbed Chester's sleeve, my voice hoarse. "Chester, help me. I can't walk anymore."Seeing that, Linnea quickly snuggled closer against his chest. "Chester, I'm terrified of thunder… and my back is killing me. If I have to hike down the mountain, I'm afraid I'll permanently damage it."She looked up at me, her eyes rimmed red. "Flora, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Why don't you and Chester go first? I'll be fine."Chester looked torn before turning to coax me. "Flora, wait here for half an hour. I'll take Linnea down and come right back for you. Her back injury is old. If she gets soaked in the rain, i

Chapter 5 We're Even Now

Chester called me again and again, almost like he had lost his mind. I did not answer. I silenced my phone and tossed it aside.Then, I started packing.I was only halfway through when Chester’s voice suddenly came from the front door, barely holding back his anger. "Flora! Open the door!"I pulled it open and found him standing outside, radiating hostility.Linnea cowered behind him, her eyes red."What gave you the right to sell the car?" Chester strode inside and demanded an answer. "We bought that car together! Did you even ask me first?"I leaned against the cabinet, my tone calm."I paid 70 percent of the down payment. The loan came out of my checking account, and I've been making the payments for almost a year. Altogether, you've transferred me 450 dollars. So why would I need your permission to sell the car I've been paying for?""It's all my fault," Linnea spoke up at just the right moment. "If I hadn’t always ridden in your car, none of this would have happened. Pleas

Chapter 6 The Recording

I crossed my arms and looked at Chester.He stood frozen in place, his chest heaving. It was obvious I had pushed him past his limit.When Linnea noticed me looking at her, she hurried even closer to Chester. "Chester… maybe… maybe I should give Flora the money. This is all because of me—"Before she even finished speaking, her knees suddenly buckled, and she pitched toward the floor.Chester reacted on instinct and caught her in his arms. Then, he turned to glare at me like he wanted to tear me apart. "Flora, look what you've driven her to!"He practically shouted, "It was just a stupid seat memory setting. You sold the car and canceled the engagement. What more do you want?"When I stayed silent, he took it as a sign that I was feeling guilty and backing down. "I'm giving you a way out, so take it. Call the dealership right now and cancel the sale. Then, put the engagement party back the way it was. After that, apologize to Linnea, and we'll put this behind us. I won't hold i

Chapter 7 Her Lies Fell Apart

"Once she backs down and calls off the engagement, I can move in without any trouble. Then, the car, the apartment—it'll all be mine to decide…"The moment the recording ended, all the color drained from Chester's face. He slowly lowered his head and stared at the woman in his arms.Linnea lunged for my phone. "You're lying! You faked that recording! You're trying to frame me!"I stepped aside, avoiding her hand, and looked at her coldly. "Should we have the police verify whether it's real? You've been faking that back injury for over six months. Aren't you exhausted?""Chester, you have to believe me! It isn't like that!" Linnea burst into tears, desperately tugging at Chester's clothes. "She hates me. She made all of this up just to ruin me!"Even then, Chester instinctively shielded Linnea behind him. "Flora, delete the recording right now and apologize to Linnea. Then we can still talk this through.""There's nothing left to talk about." I put my phone away, my voice calm. "I

Chapter 8 The Truth

The conference room fell silent.Chester froze. The color drained from his face before anger rushed in to replace it. After two stunned seconds, he forced himself to speak. "They're fake. You edited them! You'll do anything to smear her!"Linnea panicked even more, frantically shaking her head. "It wasn't me. It really wasn't me… Someone set me up…"I put my phone away and stood. "Whether it was a setup or not, we'll know once the police investigate.""Stop right there!" Seeing me leave, he panicked. "You're not leaving!"I did not look back. I walked straight out of the conference room.…That night, I had just gotten home when someone started pounding on my door.The moment I opened it, Chester barged in with a dark expression. He glanced around the living room, then stormed straight into my bedroom.When he came back out, he was holding a men's dress shirt. He threw it onto the coffee table with a slap. "Flora, what do you have to say for yourself now?"His chest rose and

Chapter 9 The Trap Backfires

Linnea cried as she fumbled for her phone with trembling hands."Look… these are the pictures I took. And here's the 7,600 dollars she transferred last week. The money went straight to that guy's account."She was planning to run away with him… I couldn't bear the thought of you being kept in the dark. I panicked and came up with this stupid plan. I just wanted to force her into admitting it herself…"Chester stared at the screen, his face turning ashen."I was going to keep this from you forever…" Linnea lowered her head, her voice humble enough to sound pitiful."You've been together for six years. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it… I left that shirt there just to test her. If she didn't have anything to hide, she would've explained everything to you."I just didn't expect she'd already installed cameras and was waiting for me. She turned everything around and made me look like the bad one."Watching her fragile, wounded act, the last bit of doubt in Chester's hea

Chapter 10 Taking the Wheel

"It's not like that, Chester!" Tears streamed down Linnea's face as she dropped to her knees."I only did it because I love you too much. I was afraid Flora would take you away from me, so I made a terrible mistake. Please don't leave me!"She sobbed uncontrollably and reached for his leg, but Chester kicked her away in disgust. "Get away from me!"Chester closed his eyes wearily. "I don't ever want to see you again."He turned and walked toward the door, his steps unsteady. When he reached me, he stopped and looked up.I'd already looked away and turned to leave.Just like I had told myself before, I had gotten off the ride named Chester Young a long time ago.…It was just after dusk when I left the office.As soon as I walked outside, I saw Chester leaning against his car. The moment he spotted me, his eyes lit up.He hurried over and reached for my bag, but I stepped aside."Flora, look." He opened the passenger door. The seat slowly slid backward before stopping at a pe

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