It's usually one of two things: either I've just shocked you or otherwise dumped a cliffhanger on you; or the central conflict of the chapter has just been resolved. (For bonus points, its resolution introduces a still bigger conflict, or at least poses more story questions.)

Illustration:

• "Lasrua is the ghost of a girl" -- the central conflict is Lasrua working her way up to realizing and then admitting she's well and truly married to Malcolm, and finally looking that fact in the face. The chapter ends because she has determined how she feels, so her inner conflict is over, and we leave on the question of "But what will Aengus do?"
• "Saeward gets the grateful wife" -- the central conflict is Saeward freaking out about both Eadie's presence and the arrival of Jorunn in his life, and the resolution is him deciding to accept Eadie's help. Continuing the chapter would have just meant pages of anticlimactic blah blah blah.
• "The doctor gets closer to his patient" -- the central conflict is Gaethine struggling with his attraction to the doctor (and Aed) and his feelings about dying (and Aed, and other things). It ends when Gaethine throws all of his magnificent crotchetiness at the doctor, expecting to sabotage that relationship, and meanwhile also attempts to convince Yusuf he wants to die. And boom, he fails on both counts and is left stunned. End of chapter.
• "Saeward sticks to a life-altering scheme" -- This one is easy. After much ado he gets Jorunn and OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE??? End of chapter.
• "Finn gets some unwelcome privacy" -- Well this one is obvious insofar as Egelric LEAVES right after Finn fails to work up the courage to be nice to him, and afterwards there is no one left for Finn to make conflict with. (Another "POV character left stunned and blinking" chapter.)

I have to go make dinner, but I could go on.

Even the cliffhanger chapters usually have some conflict going on up till you get to the very end, and the cliffhangery thing makes the original conflict moot or silly. For instance, Dunstan and Alred squabbling over telling Malcolm the truth about Lasrua, until Father Matthew says, "Um, guys? I married them last night." So the conflict still gets resolved. It just leads to a massively bigger conflict.