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All Chapters of Zero Minutes: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

“Riley, this grief isn’t normal. This doesn’t align with what psychology says about recovering from a seven-year grief.” Julian Stewart tilted the black umbrella forward slightly to shield my shoulders from the rain. He raised his left wrist, his gaze lingering on his custom watch for two seconds.“What you just said lacks logic. Feudal superstitious concepts like hell shouldn’t appear in your emotional expressions.”I looked at his cold, rational face, my fingers digging tightly into my palms. He didn’t understand my sarcasm at all, or rather, he didn’t care. To him, I was merely a bug that had to be fixed for grieving on my sister’s death anniversary.“Is that so? Maybe I’ve just been too tired lately.”I uncurled my fingers, letting the rain wash away the pale marks left by my fingernails on my palms.“Since you’re tired, you should strictly follow the schedule I set for you.”Julian naturally wrapped an arm around my shoulders. His grip was neither too firm nor too light—

Chapter 2

The heater in the car was running high, filling the space with his signature cedarwood fragrance. I leaned against the passenger window, watching the city streetscape rapidly recede outside.Julian kept both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed straight ahead. “You stayed for an extra forty-two seconds back there,” he said. “To make up for the schedule delay caused by those forty-two seconds, tonight’s quality time together will have to be shortened accordingly.” I didn’t even bother to look up as I replied, “Whatever you want.”As if dissatisfied with my attitude, he reached over with one hand to turn up the air conditioner.“Riley, rules are rules. Time is a constant. If you overspend here, you must pay it back elsewhere. This is the foundation that keeps our marriage operating efficiently.”I found it hilarious listening to him rattle off all his technical jargon.An efficiently operating marriage? Did he mean his strict routine of allocating two hours of his so-call

Chapter 3

The gates of the Southside residence were half-open. A carpet of yellow leaves littered the courtyard.Using the pretext of organizing Chloe’s old belongings, I pushed open the front door. Cheerful children’s songs were playing softly in the living room.“Riley, you’re finally here.” Chloe, who was wearing a silk lounge suit, walked out of the open-plan kitchen with two cups of tea and said, “I’ve waited seven years for this day.”Her face, which bore a seventy percent resemblance to my own, wore a gentle smile. There was no trace of the weathered hardships of someone who had cheated death—only the glow of someone who had been pampered and pampered well for a long time.“Saying my name sure rolled off your tongue easily enough.”I didn’t take the tea she offered. Instead, my gaze swept over the children’s toys scattered across the sofa.At that moment, Julian walked down from the study on the second floor with a file in his hand.“Riley, you’re too emotional to be out and about

Chapter 4

When I got home, Julian actually came out of his study to greet me—which was rare.“I’ve reserved forty-five minutes for our seventh anniversary. You just need to show up and stay composed.”He pushed a printed document in front of me. It was his meticulously designed schedule for our seventh wedding anniversary.“Enter at 6 p.m., present the gift at 6:05 p.m., exchange a hug at 6:10 p.m., and begin dinner at 6:15 p.m.” His long, slender fingers tapped on the paper as he added, “To handle any potential emotional outbursts from you, I’ve prepared two contingency plans. If you cry, I will offer a tissue and add three minutes of soothing time. If you stay silent, I will play your favorite white noise.”Looking at that densely packed schedule felt like reading a terminal diagnosis. He had turned our marriage into a precise surgical operation.“Julian, I don’t want to live according to your schedule anymore.” I pushed the document back to him, my voice calm. “I want to take a few day

Chapter 5

“Riley, your fifteen-minute cooling-off period is up. Open the door.”Julian stood outside the bathroom door, lifting his wrist to glance at his watch with a tight frown.“You’re already three minutes over your allotted shower time. This is going to disrupt your sleep structure tonight.”Inside, there was only the steady sound of rushing water. No reply came. He knocked on the door twice before finally realizing something was wrong.“Riley?”He pushed the door open. The showerhead was still on, but the bathroom was empty. Only a soaked jacket lay discarded on the floor.Julian’s breath hitched for a second, and he immediately pulled out his phone to check the smart home monitoring network. On the screen, the green dot representing my real-time location and heart rate had vanished.“A system glitch?” he muttered to himself, his fingers rapidly refreshing the page. However, the interface displayed: [User Not Found].For the first time, a blind spot had appeared in the monitorin

Chapter 6

“Mr. Stewart, this isn’t your boardroom. Please mind your volume.”Holding an iced Americano, Summer Davis stood blocking the entrance to my studio. She looked at him like he was an uninvited trespasser.Julian was wearing the custom haute couture suit tailored specifically for our seventh anniversary, though his tie was now crooked. He looked completely out of place in this artistic, cluttered, yet vibrant studio.“Get out of the way. I need to see Riley.” Julian’s voice carried an unquestionable authority, but his bloodshot eyes betrayed his anxiety.“Riley doesn't have time to see you right now. Her schedule doesn't include meeting with her ex-husband.” Summer raised an eyebrow, deliberately emphasizing the word ex-husband.Meanwhile, I sat in front of my easel, holding a slice of pizza and taking a big bite. The cheese burst in my mouth. This was pure junk food—something strictly forbidden on Julian’s healthy diet plan.“Riley!”Julian pushed past Summer and strode over to s

Chapter 7

“Your behavior is irrational, and you should stop immediately.”At two o’clock in the morning, as I stepped out the front door of my studio, Julian’s voice echoed out from the darkness. He was leaning against his black Maybach, the cigarette between his fingers burned to the end.For the past seven days, he had been like a ghost, appearing right on schedule everywhere I went. He didn’t make a scene or cause a fuss. He simply stared at me intently with bloodshot eyes.“Tracking someone is illegal, Mr. Stewart,” I said, pulling my shawl tighter around my shoulders. I didn’t even glance at him as I walked straight toward the cab waiting at the curb.“You’ve stayed up late for three nights in a row, and your daily caloric intake is double the recommended limit,” Julian said as he strode over in front of the car. “Your body is deteriorating rapidly. You need to go to sleep immediately.”He was trying to use his twisted logic to control me again, and there was a trace of panic in his

Chapter 8

“Riley, haven’t you made enough of a scene? Julian’s stomach condition is acting up again because of you!”Seeing that I remained completely unmoved, Chloe suddenly raised her voice, trying to attract the attention of passersby outside the studio.“You can’t even get pregnant! Why can’t you just let your husband go? And now you’re trying to kill my son and me?”Standing beside me, Summer sneered, pulled out her phone, and started recording.“Go on, speak up. Let’s show everyone how the Miss Chloe Hudson came back from the dead and became the mistress in her sister’s marriage.” Chloe turned pale. Just as she was about to pounce over and grab the phone, the door to the studio swung open.“Chloe, what are you doing?”Julian strode inside, grabbed Chloe by the arm, and shoved her harshly to the side. He wasn’t wearing a suit today. He wore only a crumpled dress shirt, and the dark circles under his eyes were much darker than they were a few days ago.Chloe clutched her sore arm wh

Chapter 9

Julian didn’t leave. He sat on the bench outside the studio all night, like a statue stripped of its soul.Early the next morning, I opened the door to grab some breakfast and stumbled over a pile of scrap metal at my feet. Looking down, I saw dozens of luxury watches smashed into pieces. From Patek Philippe to Vacheron Constantin and Rolex, every one of them had once been an instrument of torture he used to measure my life.“I smashed them all.”Julian stepped out from the shadows in the corner, his voice hoarse. He was still holding a hammer, his fingers covered in dried blood.“I had someone shut down the smart home monitoring network, and I sold off the Southside residence overnight at a loss.”He walked over to me, looking like a child eager to win an adult’s approval yet terrified of being punished.“Riley, look… the tools I used to control you are gone. I’ll never use time to dictate your life ever again.”As I looked at the shattered glass and warped watch faces on the g

Chapter 10

Half a month later, I was dragging my luggage behind me at the airport, ready to board a flight to Lumiere City with Summer for my solo art exhibition.The divorce proceedings were finalized. Julian was left with next to nothing as he transferred virtually all assets under his name to me, but I didn’t keep a single cent. I donated everything to the aviation casualty victims’ family assistance fund.“Riley!” A familiar voice called out from beyond the security checkpoint. I stopped in my tracks and turned around. Julian cut through the crowd and ran up to me, completely out of breath. He had grown dangerously gaunt. His casual clothes, which used to fit him perfectly, now hung loosely off his hollow frame.“You’re leaving?” He looked at the boarding pass in my hand, his eyes filled with desperation.“Yes, heading off for my art exhibition,” I replied calmly, as though I were making small talk with an acquaintance I wasn’t particularly close to.With trembling hands, he pulled a

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