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All Chapters of Strangers When We Meet Again: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1 You'll Get Your Wish Soon Enough

As I sat across from Aleena, I noticed her instinctively shielding Neil Sheppard, as if afraid I might attack him.The sight made me pause, but instead of feeling angry, I smiled.I slid the divorce papers across the table, then looked more closely at Neil. He looked almost uncannily like Aleena's first love, Quinn Cowan."You really do look like him," I said with a faint smile. "I hope you two will be happy together. I genuinely mean that."It was the first time in three years that I'd spoken to Aleena without any anger or resentment. She looked surprised for a moment, but she immediately felt suspicious."Josiah Brown, I'm warning you right now. If you so much as lay a finger on Neil, I'll break your other leg."I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. After so many years of fighting, she'd come to expect the worst from me. Now that I was willing to walk away peacefully, she probably thought I was plotting something even worse.As I looked at Neil again, the familiar pain

Chapter 2 Don't You Dare Die Before the Divorce

Aleena stared at me with undisguised disgust, clearly convinced I was putting on another act. "Seriously, Josiah? This again? Have you run out of ways to get back at me? Is that why you're pretending to be dying, just to make me feel guilty?"I shook my head and tried to explain, but she grabbed my neck."Listen to me, Josiah! I'm not falling for your bullshit! If you want to die so badly, go do it somewhere else. Don't you dare drop dead in front of me!"Her fingers tightened around my neck as another thought crossed her mind."And you'd better stay alive until our divorce is finalized! I don't want to be tied to you even in death!"I stared at her, struggling to breathe as her words sank in.I'd always known how much Aleena loved Quinn, and after everything that had happened between us, I hadn't expected her to show me any kindness. Still, hearing her say she couldn't wait to be rid of me—even in death—hurt more than I wanted to admit.Unable to bear looking at her, I turned m

Chapter 3 The Love We Lost

"Not really," I replied with a weak smile. "Why don't you just put me out of my misery? At least I wouldn't have to deal with all this pain anymore.""Josiah!" Jeremy snapped, his voice rising in frustration. "Do you realize how hard we're working on a surgical treatment plan that could buy you more time? We're doing everything we can to keep you alive, and here you are, talking as though none of it matters!"Jeremy wasn't just my main doctor. He was a year ahead of me in college, and we skied together on the university team. I became a professional skier, while he chose to become a doctor. We'd known each other for years, so he cared about me more personally than most doctors do about their patients.When I didn't respond, he rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh. He seemed to realize he'd been too harsh, and his expression softened."I'm sorry, Josiah. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that," he said before looking me straight in the eye. "But please, don't give up on

Chapter 4 One Last Christmas

"Keep pretending, Josiah. I'd love to see how far you're willing to take this little act without actually dying!"Aleena's mocking words still echoed in my ears when Jeremy finally managed to calm me down. He could see how badly I wanted to go to my parents' house, and after watching me struggle for so long, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.Against his better judgment, he got me a wheelchair and took me there himself.But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when we arrived.The house I grew up in was gone. All that remained was a pile of broken concrete, shattered wood, and debris scattered across the ground.I stared at the wreckage in disbelief, then pulled myself out of the wheelchair and stumbled toward the remains of the house. My injured leg barely held me up, but I didn't care. I dropped to my knees and started digging through the rubble with my bare hands."Josiah, are you crazy? You're going to hurt yourself!" Jeremy shouted, hurrying after me.He tried to

Chapter 5 The Words She Never Sent

The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds before Aleena let out a scornful laugh. "Lily, do you seriously expect me to believe that? Josiah put you up to this, didn't he? You think I'll rush to the hospital to see him, just so he can pull another stunt? Tell him it's not going to work!""I'm not lying!" Lily cried into the phone. "Josiah's been unconscious ever since we brought him back from his parents' home. He's had terminal cancer for months! The doctor said he could've lived a little longer if he hadn't been under so much emotional stress!""Enough!" Aleena snapped, her voice turning ice-cold. "Lily, if you lie to me one more time, you're out of the Brown Residence! If Josiah wants to fake his own death, tell him to call me himself!"With that, she hung up.Lily gazed at the screen, tears streaming down her face.I'd known this would happen. Aleena would never believe that someone as awful as me could die so easily.I watched the staff pull a white sheet over m

Chapter 6 The Things She Never Appreciated

I'd slip out of bed as quietly as possible and head to the kitchen to make her favorite eggs, making sure the yolks were perfectly runny. Then, I'd make her a hot vanilla latte, using a sound-dampening cover over the machine so I wouldn't wake her.By the time she got out of bed, breakfast would be waiting, with everything at just the right temperature.With Neil, however, the roles had reversed. Aleena, who had always been cared for, was now trying hard to please Neil, just because he looked so much like Quinn.She had even taken on household chores she had always left to someone else. I could see how tired she was, but by then, I had already given up on her. Part of me even wished she'd stay stuck in that unhappy routine, tiring herself out for someone who didn't seem to value her efforts."I'm sorry," Aleena murmured as she sat up in bed, unable to meet Neil's eyes.She clearly didn't know how to explain why she called him by my name, so saying sorry was all she could do.Ne

Chapter 7 When Regret Came Too Late

As Aleena stood at the familiar ski resort, memories of what had happened three years ago flooded back.Back then, I'd given up my chance to win a Grand Slam title so I could stay home and care for her when her fever was so high she could barely think straight. Yet, after Quinn's accident, she blamed me for everything. Even after my leg was broken, she kept punishing me, as though nothing I suffered could ever make up for what had happened to him.I could not know exactly what she remembered, but I had never forgotten the look she gave me when she broke my leg, or the despair she must have seen in my eyes.Aleena stood frozen in the snow, her breathing growing shallow. She pressed a hand against her heart, struggling to catch her breath."Aleena? Why aren't you skiing?" Neil reached for her hand and gently pulled her closer. "Are you cold? Want me to get you some hot coffee?"However, the moment he touched her, she recoiled as though she'd been electrocuted.Neil stared at her in

Chapter 8 No Second Chance at Love

After returning home, Aleena began going through everything I'd left behind.She looked through drawers and closets, carefully checking things she had hardly noticed when I was alive. Eventually, she found a small metal box hidden in a closet compartment.Inside were an old diary, a faded photograph, two small LEGO pieces, and a sealed envelope addressed to Lily.Most of the items were worth little, but when Aleena saw the LEGO pieces, she recognized them immediately.They were the same two pieces I'd secretly hidden years earlier.She looked at them for a long moment, then put them aside and opened my diary. Its pages held scattered memories of our life together, from the early days of our marriage to the day I was told I had cancer. Some entries recalled happy times; others described the fights and disappointments that slowly pulled us apart.As she read, one passage caught her attention."I never want to hurt Aleena. All I want is for us to be happy together. But whenever s

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