All Chapters of The Lone Swallow Cannot Fly: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The noise outside the operating room still had not stopped.My wife, Florence Jipson, had even specially invited her friends to come and watch the spectacle.They gathered around my hospital bed, and some of them even curiously tried to lift the bandage tied over my right eye.“Whoa, he’s actually blind! But wait, he’s still got one eye left? I thought he gouged both of them out.“Flo, your husband is seriously devoted to you and your kid. The man literally gave his own eye for Bart.”After the anesthesia wore off, the stinging pain in my eye made me tear up involuntarily.Florence saw this, but she only looked on with amusement.“Benedict, what are you even crying about? It’s just one eye, okay? You’ve still got the other one working just fine.“Bart and I were only messing with you. It was supposed to be a joke. We never thought you’d actually fall for it.”She did not look remorseful at all. As if to soothe me, she just casually patted my hand.The people crowded around my

Chapter 2

I said nothing. I could hear every whisper in the room.“Solomon sure knows what he’s doing. Florence spoils him rotten. It looks like Benedict is just going to have to accept what’s going on behind his back.”“He’s already lost one eye. What makes him think that Florence would ever accept him now? “Florence did not want to prolong the scene either. She pushed Bart forward.“There’s no fixing what’s done. Bart’s birthday is coming up, so why don’t you just come home with me for now?”At her urging, Bart reluctantly took my hand.The moment his little hand slipped into mine, I finally felt grounded again.I kept telling myself that Bart was still young. Once I took him away, he would go back to the way he used to be. Long before the surgery, I had already prepared everything for Bart’s birthday.The house was filled with balloons and toys, and a cake was already set out on the dining table.I was about to cut the cake for Bart, just as I had always done. But Florence immed

Chapter 3

“We were just joking around. Why do you have to be so uptight about it? It’s Bart’s birthday today.“Why don’t you make this about someone else for once?” Florence sighed as she spoke, as if I were the one being unreasonable.“Is this really about making Bart happy on his birthday, or is it about keeping your little boyfriend entertained?”Florence felt the intensity of my gaze. She quickly looked away and stammered out an explanation.“S-Solomon is my assistant, and Bart likes having him around. If that’s what’s bothering you so much today, I can send him back to the office right now.”She then shot Solomon a meaningful glance.The guests who had come for Bart’s birthday party also dispersed uncomfortably.The lively birthday celebration fell silent.When the blood from my eye soaked through my collar, Florence finally looked rattled.She grabbed some tissues and dabbed at my shirt, then turned to Bart and said, “Come over here and say sorry to your father. How could you po

Chapter 4

“That’s one more dad than any other kid has!” Florence said, attempting to comfort Bart.Bart still did not seem very happy after hearing that. He hung his head low.“But I want Solomon to live with us.“If Dad says no, then just tell people he’s abusive. Say he hurts me and get him thrown in jail.“That way, Mom, Solomon, and I can be together forever!”Both of them chattered excitedly about their plan. They had no idea that I had been standing outside the door for a very long time.When Florence turned around and saw me, the smile on her face froze. She shot to her feet.“What’s wrong? Is your eye bothering you? Let me call the family doctor.”I slowly unclenched my fist behind my back. Whatever hope I had left died right there.I pulled away when she reached for me, and I felt sick to my stomach. Florence noticed and said carefully, “Are you still mad?“Bart’s parent-teacher meeting is the day after tomorrow. Come with me. He didn’t mean any harm.”She changed the s

Chapter 5

Everyone was stunned.They looked at me and gossiped curiously among themselves.Bart’s eyes turned teary, and he could not help but burst into loud sobs.Florence hurried over to him. She frowned in disbelief.“Benedict, are you out of your mind? This is Bart’s parent-teacher meeting!”She then turned to the surrounding parents with an apologetic look.“I’m so sorry, everyone. My husband’s just joking,” she said while pulling me away by the arm. She gritted her teeth and whispered a warning in my ear, “Don’t you dare embarrass me like this! “This is an international school. Half these parents could be business partners with the Jipson family. Do you really have to make a scene here?”I was amused as I looked at her and asked, “So, this embarrasses you? When you were sneaking around with your assistant, did that not embarrass you at all?”Florence’s lips twitched slightly. She wanted to say something, but she could not get the words out.Solomon, who was standing nearby, f

Chapter 6

I did not bother to comfort him. I just stood there and indifferently watched him throw his fit.For the first time ever, the child I had raised from birth felt like a complete stranger to me. Honestly, I could not stand him.Solomon hurried over, pulled Bart to his feet, and kept trying to calm him down. Then, he turned to me with a deep frown and started lecturing me.“Ben, what kind of father are you? Don’t you know you’re supposed to protect your kid?Compared to him, I, the biological father, looked like the villain.Florence massaged the knot between her eyebrows in frustration.She stepped in and pulled Solomon to the side and said sharply, “If you hadn’t just randomly stood up back there, none of this would’ve happened today!”Bart, however, forcefully shook off Solomon’s hand and did not even look at him.Seeing the sudden shift in attitude from both Florence and Bart, Solomon’s gaze darkened. He turned back to me and said, “Ben, just forgive Bart. At the end of th

Chapter 7

I admitted myself to the hospital and booked the surgery for a week from then.The doctor was in the middle of molding my eye socket when Florence finally called me out of the blue. She had not contacted me for two weeks.The moment I picked up the call, I could hear her bawling and shrieking on the phone, “Benedict, something happened to Bart!“He got bullied at school. The kids pushed him down the stairs, and glass shards got stuck in his eye,” she stammered. I listened to her ramble on without interrupting, completely detached.When she was done, I responded flatly, “So?”Perhaps my response was so cold that she was speechless for a long time.“Benedict, I swear I’m not lying to you this time. Bart is bleeding so much. Can you please just come over—”I cut her off. “No.“Florence, watch your mouth. Bart ended up like this because of you, and you alone.“I’ve already lost one eye, and the other one will soon go blind as well. Don’t bother scheming against me anymore.“I

Chapter 8

When I saw her come home, I tossed the prepared divorce agreement in front of her.“You get custody of Bart. The property gets split the way the lawyer lays it out. You had an affair while we were married, so by all rights, you should be leaving with nothing.“But since you’re still raising a child—”Before I could finish speaking, Florence interrupted me. Her voice sounded heavy with exhaustion.“Bart is losing both of his eyes. The doctor can’t save them.”I paused for a moment and then continued, “Even so, the property still gets split fifty-fifty.”Her eyes were red and swollen from crying so much as she looked at me with disappointment.“Benedict, that’s our son! His whole life is over after what happened to him!“You don’t even care! The first thing you do is hit me with divorce papers the moment I walk in! Have I ever not given you enough money?“Are you happy now? Bart treated you like garbage before, and now he’s finally getting what he deserves, right?“You’re just

Chapter 9

Florence kept rambling on and on, hoping that I would change my mind.I stopped in my tracks and turned back to look at her with a blank expression.I showed her the prosthetic eye.“Do you want me to walk you through exactly how much I’ve suffered?“Bart filled that water gun with hot sauce. My eye had just been operated on, and every single nerve got destroyed.“The doctor said that because of the nerve damage, my other eye is going to go blind eventually as well. It could be a year, two years, or three years. Nobody knows.“Florence, how did we even get here? Don’t tell me none of this is your fault.”Her face turned pale when I asked her that question. Her lips trembled, but she was speechless. “Solomon is young and good-looking. You couldn’t keep your hands off him, could you? “Since you’re the one who cheated, what gives you the right to stand here and beg for my forgiveness?“What about Bart? Do you really think you have no part in what he’s become?”She thought t

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