All Chapters of The Calm After the Wreckage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Three days later, I went home as agreed to grab my documents before heading to the courthouse. When I pushed the door open, I was surprised to see Sarah, who rarely ever came home, standing in the living room.Hearing the noise, she immediately got up and said, her voice trembling with fear, “Where have you been? Benji said he rang the doorbell for half an hour, but no one answered… I was terrified something happened to you.”She was probably remembering the scene from two months ago, when I went mad and popped two whole bottles of sleeping pills. I didn’t answer. I just walked past her toward the study.She followed close behind me, her voice turning raspy. “I feel like you’ve changed. Where have you been this past month? Why didn’t you come home? Do you have any idea… how worried I was about you?”“Worried?”Holding my documents, I pushed away her outstretched hand.“Ms. York, we are no longer close enough for that.”Sarah was stunned. “Are you still angry?”Seeing that I r

I watched as she walked away and let out a self-deprecating smile. Then, I walked toward the trauma and emergency department myself.I signed the consent form and had the wound cleaned and sutured up. The process of the needle and thread pulling through flesh was agonizingly slow. Each of the forty-nine stitches felt like a blade carving straight into my heart.Finally, the doctor administered a rabies vaccine and told the nurse to help me over to a bed to rest. However, the moment I stepped into the ward, an intense wave of dizziness washed over me, and everything went dark.In my dream, there was no Joseph, no infidelity, and no death. There was only a scene of our family of four, living happily together.My grandmother and Sarah were gathered around a doll-like little girl, smiling as they called out to me, “Dan, come quickly! Look, our little daughter, Ella, is smiling at you!”I reached out my hand, but right as my fingertips were about to touch the child’s cheek, the dream s

“It’s not real! None of this is real!”Seeing all his misdeeds exposed online, Joseph’s first instinct was to smash his phone to pieces. Then, he rushed over to Sarah to explain.“Honey, trust me… You have to believe me! Those are all fake, generated to set me up!” He sobbed, clinging to Sarah, whose face was dark and menacing. His voice trembled as he said, “I didn’t bribe the doctor. It was Daniel! He’s jealous, and he’s trying to get revenge–”“Are you still trying to lie to me?”Sarah shoved him away and slapped the medical record right into his face.She said sarcastically, “You’re infertile. So tell me, how exactly could you get me pregnant? Besides, I just had a checkup. There is nothing in my belly.”Joseph suddenly stopped with his flimsy excuses, and his face drained of all color.“You bribed the doctor, faked the pregnancy report, drugged me, and put on this grand illusion…” Sarah let out a smile that was uglier than crying as she continued, “All just so I’d act l

After winding down and taking a breather, Clara accompanied me to my scheduled appointment at the clinic.The doctor completed the preliminary exam, pointed at the scans, and spoke with absolute confidence. “I can guarantee a one-hundred percent recovery for your right hand.”The crushing weight that had been weighing on my chest finally lifted.Over the following days, I diligently cooperated with every treatment session. Slowly but surely, the nerves in my right hand began to heal.Eventually, a month later, I could pick up a brush and paint once again.“We should celebrate!”Clara, who was genuinely happy for me, pulled out two tickets like a magic trick.“There’s an emerging artist exhibition at the art gallery tomorrow. I think you’ll be interested.”In a great mood, I smiled and took the tickets. However, the next day, Clara and I walked into the gallery only to run straight into a familiar face.“Daniel, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”Sarah walked over and grab