All Chapters of Time Goes On: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I walked into the hotel. The lobby was empty.Standing at the front desk, I asked the staff member, “The man and woman who just walked in—what room are they in?”The young man looked up at me, his eyes filled with wariness. “Sir, we can’t disclose guest information.”I didn’t press any further. Instead, I walked over to the lounge area, sat down, and sent a message to Stella Wood’s assistant, Emma Benson. [Did Stella not go into quarantine as soon as she landed?]The reply came back instantly. [Connor, Ms. Wood hasn’t been on a trip recently. She’s been in the country the entire time.]As I read the message, tears welled up in my eyes.[I saw her with Finn Allen.]The other end fell silent for a few seconds before a long paragraph popped up.[Connor, there are things I’ve been holding back for three years. Every time Ms. Wood went on a ‘business trip,’ it was to see Finn. He returned to the country seven days ago, and Ms. Wood has been with him the whole time. This time, sh

Chapter 2

Instantly snapping back to her senses, she shoved me away, looking wary and withdrawn.“No! Absolutely not! Go and get some protection right now! I don’t want a baby right now.”Back then, she had firmly refused for fear of getting pregnant with my child. Yet right now, she was begging to carry another man’s child.Finn’s mood instantly lifted, and he kissed her passionately again. “Doesn’t your husband question you? Won’t he check up on you if you don’t go home for seven days?”Stella snorted smugly and dismissed it. “He believes whatever I say. Right now, he’s probably at home waiting for my ’quarantine’ to end so I can go back.”Finn looked down at her, his eyes filled with admiration and satisfaction. “Stella, you’re so mean. You’re playing him like a fool.”Stella paused in her tracks and gently kissed Finn on the chin. “Either way, no matter how much he throws a fit this time, I won’t send you away again.”She stood on her tiptoes, resting her forehead against his. “I’ve h

Chapter 3

When Stella woke up and saw me, along with the mess around her, her face turned pale. She explained incoherently, saying Finn had drugged her and that she hadn’t known what she was doing.I wanted to break up, once and for all, and with no room for compromise. With bloodshot eyes, she begged me, but I refused to listen. So, she bolted out the door and ran straight into oncoming traffic.After a deafening screech of brakes, she lay several feet away, a pool of blood spreading out beneath her. Three of her ribs were broken.At the hospital, holding my hand, her breath was faint. “Connor… don’t go… Without you, I can’t live…”She swore she would send Finn away, far across the ocean, and never see him again. So, I relented and forgave her. Just then, my stomach churned, bringing me back to reality. I rushed into the bathroom and bent over the toilet, but nothing came up. Only stomach acid burned my throat, making me tear up. Finding it all so disgusting, I grabbed my phone, found S

Chapter 4

“What is it?”“A ring.”A few seconds of silence followed.Then, the doctor’s voice turned solemn. “A wedding ring?”“Yes.”The doctor snapped, “This is absurd! This is absolute foolishness!”Rustling sounds came from the other side of the curtain.Stella whimpered softly, “It hurts… It’s all your fault…”Finn reassured her in a low voice, “It’s my fault. Hang in there. It’ll be over in just a second.”I lay on the other side of the curtain, completely motionless. That wedding ring took me three months to design and another three months of monitoring the crafting process.The day Stella put it on, she had held up her hand and stared at it for a long time, saying, “I’ll wear this ring for the rest of my life. Even if I lose everything else, I will never lose this.”Now, it was stuck inside her body—proof of her reckless fun with another man.After about ten minutes, I heard the doctor sigh with relief. “Alright, it’s out. You young people should know your limits, even when h

Chapter 5

“Oh, by the way, Emma is working for me too. How else do you think you suddenly found out the truth?”I closed the door and stared at him coldly. “What are you actually trying to get at?”Finn toyed with the hem of his shirt and said nonchalantly, “Nothing much. I just came over to have a little chat. Oh, right. I saw the message you sent Stella. She was taking a shower at the time, so I went ahead and deleted it for you.”He looked up at me, his smile innocent yet malicious. “No need to thank me. After all, it’s not like she cares whether you’re sick or not anyway.”My heart sank. I clenched my fists tightly as the dull ache in my stomach flared up again.“What do you mean?”Finn stood up and approached me. He was slightly shorter than me, yet he looked at me like I was nothing more than an ant under his boot.“I came here to tell you to pack up and get lost. Right now, she only has eyes for me. If you fall ill, she’ll end up distracted having to take care of you, and I can’t r

Chapter 6

A dead, heavy silence filled the other end of the line.I could hear Stella’s breathing grow heavier, followed by her panicked voice. “Connor, where are you? Are you home? I’m coming right now! Don’t move!”“Don’t,” I said and hung up.The wail of ambulance sirens grew louder as they approached from the distance. I lay on the cold floor, staring blankly at the lights on the ceiling. The excruciating pain continued to throb, and sweat had soaked through my clothes. For the past three years, my love, trust, and hopes had been slipping away, bit by bit. However, today, I finally saw the truth.By the time the paramedics forced the door open, I no longer had the strength to speak. The moment I was lifted onto the stretcher, I caught sight of a figure by the doorway.Stella stood there, her face as pale as paper. She tried to rush toward me, but the paramedics pushed her back.“Ma’am, please step aside!”Her lips trembled, but no sound came out.I looked at her face and suddenly f

Chapter 7

“I’ve also fired Emma. I know about everything that happened now. Connor, I know anything I say right now sounds like bullshit. But I’m begging you, please give me one more chance.”I waited for her to finish and said, “Move.”She froze.“I said, move.”When she didn’t move, I walked around her and kept going forward.She shouted behind me, “Connor! You can hate me and be angry at me, but please don’t do this!”However, I didn’t look back.When I got home, I started packing up. We had bought this house after we got married, and I spent half a year overseeing the renovations. I even picked out every single piece of furniture myself. Our wedding photo was still hanging on the wall, so I took it down and leaned it against the corner of the wall. Then, I opened the closet, took out my clothes one by one, and packed them into the suitcase.Just then, my phone rang with a call from an unknown number. The moment I answered it, Finn’s voice came through the speaker.“Connor, I heard

Chapter 8

She took the papers and stared at them for a long time. Then, she looked up at me, her eyes red.“Connor, I–”“Don’t say another word,” I cut her off. “I’ve signed the papers. You can leave now.”She stood there, completely still.The other woman walked over and said softly, “Ms. Wood, let’s go.”With that, she turned around and walked out.I, too, packed the divorce papers into my bag and stepped out of the VIP room. Outside, the sunlight was blinding. I squinted as I watched people come and go inside the mall. Some were laughing, some were arguing, some were holding hands, and some were quarreling. Those were other people’s lives, but mine had just come to an end.…Six months later, I got promoted to manager and was transferred to the flagship mall. My salary doubled, and I was in charge of over a dozen staff members.My colleagues all said I was a workaholic because I was always first to arrive in the morning and last to leave at night. However, only I knew it wasn’t bec

Chapter 9

The sound of the wheelchair grew closer and closer.“It really is you.”I turned around to see her sitting in a wheelchair and looking up at me. Her eyes were bloodshot, her lips were chapped, and tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away; she just kept staring at me.“How did you… How did you lose so much weight?” Her voice trembled.When I didn’t answer, she lowered her head and looked down at her hands.“Did you come… just to laugh at me?”“No.”She looked up.“Emma told me, so I came to take a look.”She froze for a moment and then smiled. As she smiled, tears streamed down her face again.“You’re still so kind, even to someone like me.”Seeing me silent, she wiped her face with her hands. “You should leave. Stop looking. I look hideous like this.”I didn’t move.She lowered her head again, her shoulders beginning to shake.After a long pause, she said, “Connor, I’m not asking for your forgiveness. Truly. I just want to let you know that the bi

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