All Chapters of Bed for Three: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

My uncle's voice came through the receiver, tinged with cautious joy. "Connor, have you really made up your mind?"Before your father passed, you were the one thing he couldn't stop worrying about. What happened back then left such a deep mark on you, and I've always been afraid you'd get trapped in your own head because of it. Now that you've finally come around, I really..."He paused to steady his voice. "I'll book the flights for you. Does tomorrow afternoon work?"I blinked my dry, aching eyes. "That works. I'll go back and pack. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow afternoon."After I hung up, I found a nearby hotel and checked in. The bed was clean. No one had ever lain in it, and there was no trace of anyone else's scent.That night, I slept unusually well.I slept straight through until the next afternoon, then headed home.I pushed open the door and found the living room empty. Jennifer wasn't there, and neither was Hunter.I went straight to the master bedroom to pac

A wave of absurdity rose in my chest.Apparently, when pain reached its limit, it started to feel almost funny.I smiled mockingly. "So now you want me to thank you for taking my girlfriend to abort your child?"Hunter's lips moved, but no words came out. He reached for my wrist, and that was when I noticed the silver ring on his ring finger. The metal had an unusual color, with a dull, grayish sheen.My entire body went rigid.I knew that ring.After my father died, I had mixed a small portion of his ashes into molten silver and forged that plain band with my own hands.The night after Jennifer and I first slept together, I had slipped it onto her finger myself.Back then, Jennifer had made me a gentle promise. "Connor, I'll always wear it. When we get married, I'll move it to your hand so your father can see with his own eyes that you've found where you belong."But now it was on Hunter's hand.My whole body began to shake. "Where did you get that ring?"Hunter's eyes dart

For the entire month that followed, Jennifer called Connor's number at the same times every morning, noon, and night. Each time, she heard the same cold, mechanical message telling her that his phone was switched off.She went through her entire contact list and messaged every mutual friend one by one to ask where he had gone. Not a single person knew where he was.Every day, right on schedule, Hunter showed up with an insulated lunch box.The moment he walked in, he would smile and say, "Jennifer, I made the soup you love. You've been sitting alone in this empty house these past few days, so you probably haven't been eating properly."At first, Jennifer would accept the lunch box and quietly thank him.As the days passed, however, the mere sight of Hunter began to irritate her. Often, she would give him nothing more than a flat nod, unwilling to say another word.One evening, Hunter brought dinner over as usual and rambled on about trivial, meaningless things.Annoyed, Jennifer

A year and a half slipped by before I knew it.One day, I received an email from the psychology department of a prestigious university back home.The university had invited me to return and give a lecture titled "Rebuilding the Self After Intimate Betrayal."I stared at the email and hesitated for an entire week. I genuinely couldn't decide whether I was ready to set foot in that city again, a place filled with old wounds.My uncle saw the conflict on my face. He sat beside me and gently patted the back of my hand. "Go back once. Put a period at the end of every regret you've carried from the past."I thought about it all night before I finally wrote back to the university and accepted the invitation.-Back home, Jennifer ran into an old classmate at a dinner party, someone she hadn't seen in years.The classmate casually mentioned, "Do you remember Connor Shefford from high school? He's coming back to give a psychology lecture."The glass slipped from Jennifer's hand, and wi