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All Chapters of Out With the Old, In With the New: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

I was taken aback when I saw Morgan Holt. He was accompanying a young woman as she had her blood taken.That morning, I'd asked him whether he could accompany me to the hospital while holding onto a pregnancy test. He'd looked at me with unconcealed disgust and irritation. "Don't you know I hate hospitals, Willow?"I knew that, but this was my first time asking him for something like this. Couldn't he go along with me just once? We'd been looking forward to this child for five years."I want—" I wanted to tell him it was a surprise, but he glanced at his watch and hurried off. He didn't even take the breakfast I'd prepared for him. Maybe he was in a rush for class…I'd always been good at making excuses for him. It was like a reflex action. Now, however, seeing him carefully hold a piece of cotton wool to the young woman's arm, I felt like I didn't need to find excuses for him anymore.I forced a smile and approached them, greeting, "Hi! What a coincidence!"Nobody responded. The

Chapter 2

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

I could only comfort myself and tell myself Morgan was just unromantic and didn’t understand these things. He didn't like replying to messages when he was at home, too.But a year ago, he'd changed. The moment his phone pinged, he would drop everything to reply immediately. I'd been filled with jealousy at this sight. "Who's that? Why are they texting you so late?"He would frown, impatient at my question. He wouldn't even bother looking up. "She's a junior who wants to get a job at my college. I need to reply to her quickly so she doesn't get anxious."My heart sank at those words. So, he knew the other party wouldn't feel good if their messages weren't replied to. He just didn't care whether I, Willow Grant, would feel bad.I'd always immediately replied to Morgan's messages. This time, however, I hadn't checked my phone at all. I shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I was busy. I didn't look at my phone."It was what he always said to brush me off. Now, it was my turn to use it on

Chapter 3

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

A brief silence descended upon the car. Then, Morgan looked at me oddly. "Aren't you going to ask me anything?"Oh, I used to love asking him these things. The slightest thing out of the ordinary would put me on the edge of my seat. Things were different now, though. I was already prepared for a divorce. What was there to ask?All I asked was, "How long will it take to get to the hospital?""Soon enough," he forced through gritted teeth. Seemingly trying to upset me, he put the pedal to the metal. I gripped the edges of my seat tightly, telling myself we would arrive soon.However, Morgan's phone rang when we were at the final traffic light before arriving at the hospital. He glanced at me oddly before answering it through the car's Bluetooth. When the call connected, I heard Iris weep and say she'd fallen while cleaning the house. She couldn't get up.He evidently didn't think she was being pretentious after falling. He turned the car around when the light turned green. This piss

Chapter 4

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

I didn't respond to Morgan's words. After a while, he asked, "Why didn't you call me when I didn't go home?"In the past, he was always cooped up in the lab because he needed something to show to get promoted. I would always call him at 10:00 pm to urge him to return out of concern for his health.He would impatiently tell me off each time and say that I was interrupting him. I'd finally stopped asking now, but he wasn't used to it.I shut my eyes stoically. I was sleepy. "I'm hanging up."Just then, the doctor on the night shift came to check on me. He lowered his voice and asked, "Are you okay sleeping in my territory?"He was half-teasing and half-serious. I looked up at him. His face was familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen him. I forgot to hang up amidst my daze, so Morgan heard him. He snapped, "Where are you, Willow? Where the heck are you?"He was so noisy. I hung up and blocked his number.The doctor checked my temperature. "You have a low fever."He ad

Chapter 5

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

In the past, I would've been desperate to listen to Morgan's explanation, especially when he absent-mindedly watched TV with me while focusing on his phone. However, certain things carried different meanings once the time had passed.I said bluntly, "There's no need to explain anything. You can take better care of Iris once I'm out of the picture, whether as her brother-in-law or husband.""We've been together for so long, Willow. Don't you trust me?" Morgan grabbed my hand, trying to stop me from leaving.I looked at his hands, feeling disgusted. These were the same hands that had held Iris. A wave of nausea washed over me. I didn't want dirtied things.I thought about how he'd turned and left when I'd asked him to stay and accompany me to the hospital. I did what he did that day—I shook him off and left without another look back.He wasn't as sensible as I was, though. He grabbed my wrist again and held on tight, dragging me back into the house without a word.Fortunately, Dami

Chapter 6

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

To drive home the point and make Morgan feel worse, I took a leaf out of Iris' book and tucked my arm into Damien's. "Let's just part amicably and lead separate lives from now on."I'd loved Morgan since my school days. Even when he'd swayed between Isabel and me and favored Isabel, I'd never thought about giving up on him. I would always be his girlfriend if he didn't ask for a breakup.I'd thought my love would get to him over time, but there was just so much disappointment a person could handle."Don't act rashly!" Morgan cried. Until now, he still thought I was just throwing a tantrum.He said, "When you were 23 years old, you wanted to further your studies abroad but decided to stay and marry me just because I said I wanted to settle down. At 24 years old, you burned yourself time and time again while learning to cook. Despite that, you still wanted to cook all my meals. "When you were 25—"His gaze softened. He was seemingly reminiscing about the past and everything I'd do

Chapter 7

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

Morgan used different phone numbers to text me. The content of his messages was about the same each time."I've cooked your favorite dish today. Only now do I know how much it hurts to get hot oil on your hands. I'm sorry."The weather's really dry. I've made something to drink, but it isn't as good as the one you used to make."I've gotten into the habit of heading home at 10:00 pm to sleep. You've always told me to head home on time, remember?"I'm leaving now. Can you… Can you come home with me?"He got on my nerves. I was contemplating moving when Iris appeared. Her eyes were red from crying, and she kept questioning Morgan."Why won't you get a divorce? I know you love me! Why are you doing these things to get her back? You didn't care about her before this! If… If it's because of her child, I can bear your children, too!"Her screams attracted the attention of passersby. I'd signed a year-long lease on this place, and I didn't want to be humiliated by them.I put on my sh

Chapter 8

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

I felt a little embarrassed. Upon learning that I was affiliated with the law firm and taking on cases, Damien had enthusiastically introduced a client to me. It wouldn't be nice to keep a client waiting, right?I pried Morgan's fingers off my sleeve and looked at him calmly. "You have a job, so you should understand I can't be late for my appointment. Also, you're the one who bought the house and car, so I don't want any of it. As for the furniture and electrical appliances, think of them as my donation to you."If you insist on pestering me and making it impossible for me to continue living here, I'll buy a flight ticket and leave this place tomorrow."After that, I turned and left with Damien, not giving Morgan the chance to speak. This time, he didn't come after me. I heard the sound of something falling to the ground and Iris crying out in shock. I faltered but didn't turn around.…From that day on, Morgan didn't show up anymore. Thanks to Damien, I kept busy after accepti

Chapter 9

Out With the Old, In With the New/Azure Meadow

Morgan stiffened. After a long silence, tears started flowing down his face. He looked at me woefully. "A lifetime is a long time. Can you be sure that Damien won't lose his way? I've already changed. Could you give me another shot, please?"He was making himself out to be very lowly, but I was unmoved. When one loved another, one couldn't bear to see them hurt and sad. But when one no longer loved that person, it didn't matter how hurt they were.I shook my head. Then, I saw a familiar face out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at me with a silly smile on his face.I'd almost forgotten that Damien was practically best friends with this café's manager. He had spies working for him at all my regular haunts. It came in handy sometimes.Once, I'd been in a hurry to meet a client and had skipped breakfast, so I'd been starving after the meeting. One of my regular breakfast stores was near where I'd met my client, so I headed there.My head started spinning as soon as I sat down.