All Chapters of There Won't Be a Next Time: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

My grip tightened around my phone until my knuckles went white. The sight of them together nearly shattered what little composure I had left.For a moment, their words rang inside my head so loudly that I couldn't think.Then, strangely, the pressure that had been sitting on my chest for years suddenly disappeared.I should have realized it long ago. From the day Julian and I got together, a path meant for two had always been shared by three.It never felt crowded, though. I was always the one left behind.Hotel staff mistook Julian and Nora for a couple. Restaurant servers did the same. After Nora's son, Charlie Hayes, was born, even our neighbors assumed the three of them were a family.Julian never corrected anyone. Later, when we were alone, he would pull me into his arms and reassure me with that gentle voice of his. "Lena, ignore what they say. You'll always be my only wife."His only wife? Then what was Nora? His true love?"Lena? What are you doing here? When did you get here?

Chapter 2

A hand caught my wrist almost immediately.Before Julian could speak, however, shouting broke out behind us. A child's frightened cry followed."Dr. Ashford, Ms. Hayes fainted!"Julian let go of me at once and rushed back to Nora and Charlie.I didn't turn around. There was no point. Even if I did, no one would be looking for me. It had always been that way. Whenever the four of us went somewhere together, all it took was a few seconds for me to fall behind. By the time I looked up again, the three of them were already walking together without me.Their world only had room for three people. So I was leaving it.After I left, I went to the OB-GYN department.On the way, I called my former supervisor, Dr. Patricia Wells. "Patricia, I've made up my mind. I'm accepting the fellowship."There was a stunned pause on the other end. Then Patricia practically shouted with excitement. "That's wonderful, Lena! You're so talented. When you quit, everyone thought it was such a waste. Now that you'v

Chapter 3

Nora looked startled for only a second. Then her expression relaxed. A smug smile slowly spread across her face. "Well, since you heard everything, I won't bother explaining. Tell me, if I win this bet, what should my next wish be?"My eyes widened. The betrayal hit me so hard I could barely breathe, as though an invisible hand had closed around my throat.I swallowed the metallic taste in my mouth and managed one trembling question. "Why?"I was the one who had helped her escape her gambling-addicted father and the old man he'd tried to force her to marry. My mother had scrimped and saved to help put her through school. After everything we'd done for her, how could she do this to me?"Elena, you actually have the nerve to ask me why?" Nora snapped. "Why do you get everything? A mother who loves you, a happy family, a successful husband—all when there's nothing special about you? Why should you have all that while I have nothing?" Her once-sweet face twisted with resentment. "I'm going

Chapter 4

"Elena, you've had two days to think about what you did. Thankfully, Nora and the baby are fine. Apologize to her, and we'll put this whole thing behind us." Julian's expression was as gentle as ever, but there was no warmth in his voice.Here we go again. No matter who was actually at fault, I was always the one expected to apologize.When I said nothing, Nora's eyes filled with tears. "Lena, I know you didn't mean to push me. You're just emotional because of the pregnancy. Even if I'd lost my baby, I wouldn't have blamed you."The argument had already drawn several neighbors into the hallway, and their whispers reached my ears."I heard she tried for years before she finally got pregnant. Maybe she's just jealous that Nora got pregnant so easily."Their little performance made me sick.I didn't want to waste another second on them. All I wanted was to get everything over with as quickly as possible and leave.But just as I was about to close the door, Julian stopped it with his hand.

Chapter 5

The bouquet of white chrysanthemums slipped from Julian's hand and fell to the ground. He frowned, staring at me in disbelief."That's none of your concern. You don't need to know."I turned and walked toward the car. Before I could get far, Julian grabbed my wrist. "Elena, I'm your husband. I have a right to know. Where are you going? Why didn't you tell me?"His voice rose, shattering the quiet of the cemetery.I gave a bitter laugh.So you finally remembered you're my husband. You do know what it felt like to be kept in the dark."Not for much longer." I tried to pull my wrist free, but his grip only tightened. When I looked up, his eyes were bloodshot.In seven years of marriage, I'd never seen Julian this worked up over me.Everyone thought he was the perfect husband—gentle, attentive, always ready to give me whatever I wanted.What no one knew was that beneath all that tenderness, there was almost nothing there. No matter what happened, he remained calm and detached.His carefull

Chapter 6

Before boarding the plane, I checked the trending headlines one last time and touched the necklace Mom had left me.Then I pulled the SIM card from my phone, snapped it in half, and dropped it in the trash.Patricia watched me with a look of quiet pride and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze."Elena, it's never too late to start over."She was right. As long as I knew when to walk away, I could always start again.During the seven-hour flight, I slept better than I had in years.I dreamed of Mom. She stood in front of me, smiling and waving. But when I reached for her, she dissolved into a beam of light and disappeared.I jolted awake with tears already streaming down my face.Somehow, I knew Mom had come to say goodbye.After I landed, the hospital helped me settle into my new apartment.It was small, but it was mine. I could finally choose the things I liked and cook whatever I wanted without worrying about anyone else's opinion.Julian and Nora had always made fun of my taste, callin

Chapter 7

"Lena... I finally found you." It was Julian.He looked terrible. Dark circles shadowed his bloodshot eyes, his cheeks were sunken, and the coat that had once fit him perfectly now hung loosely from his shoulders. In just six months, he seemed to have aged a decade.The moment he saw me, he took a hesitant step forward. Shock and relief flashed across his face.I had no intention of talking to him. I walked past as if he were a stranger, but before I could get away, he dropped to his knees and grabbed the hem of my coat."Let go." I didn't even look at him.But my words seemed to set him off. His composure shattered in an instant, and his whole body began to tremble. His voice broke with tears as he practically shouted, "No! I won't let go! I'm scared... I'm scared that the moment I do, I'll never see you again. Lena, do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? It took me six whole months to find you."Lena, I know I was wrong. It was all my fault. I lost my way back then.

Chapter 8

After that, Dorothy began leaving cookies and fruit pies at my door from time to time, and we gradually became friends.She never asked me what had happened with Julian. She simply looked out for me in her own quiet way.Julian stayed away for a few days before showing up again.This time, he didn't cry or beg. He simply stood outside my apartment building from morning until night, holding a bouquet of birds-of-paradise flowers.I ignored him and went about my life as usual.It wasn't long before the neighbors complained, and the police made him leave again.Still, Julian refused to give up. He contacted me from one number after another. I blocked each one, only for another to take its place. Eventually, he even managed to book an appointment with me at the hospital.When I walked into my office and found him sitting there, pale and exhausted, I took a breath and treated him like any other patient.His physical and mental condition had deteriorated badly enough that he needed to be adm

Chapter 9

Nora froze. The tears in her eyes disappeared almost instantly.When she realized her act wasn't working, her expression twisted with rage. "Elena, how can you be so heartless? You'd really stand there and watch two children suffer with no one to care for them? You're a cold-blooded monster! You're the one who ruined my life!"The irony almost made me laugh. Nora's life had already been falling apart when she was eighteen. I was the one who had pulled her out of that mess.But you can't save someone determined to destroy herself.Sooner or later, she would have ended up right back where she started.I didn't bother arguing with her. The moment I'd recognized her outside my apartment, I'd called the police.The officers arrived soon afterward and took Nora into custody, while social services arranged temporary care for the children.I later learned that Nora had entered the country illegally.I wasn't surprised. Someone buried under that much debt could never have gotten a visa.The yea

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