Out With the Old

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I just want a divorce so I can be with her.

I don't care if I leave with absolutely nothing.

Id just dragged myself through the front door after a brutal shift, only for my husband to drop the bomb that he was in love with someone else.

I stared at the divorce agreement laid out perfectly on the table.

A sudden wave of relief washed over me, instantly sweeping away the bone-deep exhaustion of grinding through back-to-back project proposals. Honestly, a laugh almost bubbled up in my throat.

"Fine. I agree."

Craving something new and tossing out the old is just human nature. I'm exactly the same.

Chapter 1

Warren stared at me, his jaw practically hitting the floor. "You're just agreeing to this?"

I let out a dry, breathy laugh. "What did you expect?" I tilted my head.

"Did you want me to go full psycho, screaming and demanding the name of the homewrecker? Maybe beg on my hands and knees, sobbing for you to stay?"

"You're practically tossing everything you own into the fire just to leave me, yet you secretly wanted me to grovel? Whats it gonna be, Warren? Are the two remaining brain cells in your head fighting for dominance?"

Warrens mouth clamped shut.

I didn't spare him another glance. Picking up the divorce papers, I skimmed through the clauses. Finding no hidden traps, I reached into the leather tote I hadn't even had the chance to hang up yet.

Id just walked through the door after pulling a double shift, my stomach running on empty. He hadn't even bothered to ask why I was so late. Just dropped the D-word the second I crossed the threshold. Frankly, I was suffocating in this icebox of a marriage anyway.

I pulled out my fountain pen and slashed my signature across both copies.

Click. I capped the pen, my eyes dropping to the chipped, faded barrel. Warren had bought this for our one-year anniversary with half a month's paycheck from his part-time gig. Two decades later, it was just a piece of cheap, peeling junk.

Time for an upgrade.

I hurled that faded piece of junk, along with his half-empty mug of cheap instant coffee, straight into the trash can. The brown sludge splattered violently across the entire liner.

"Let's file the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning."

I turned on my heel and walked out. I headed straight to Margots room.

She was curled up, her back facing the door, buried under her duvet.

I sank onto the edge of her mattress. "Stop pretending to sleep. I know you heard everything."

A heavy silence hung in the room before she finally rolled over and sat up, her eyes rimmed with red. "Mom is Dad abandoning us?"

I swallowed the tightness forming in my throat. Approaching forty, Id seen enough departures and betrayals to take this in stride. But Margot was only twelve. To her, we were her entire universe.

With Warren and me splitting, half her sky was caving in, regardless of who she ended up living with. Still, she was a part of this family. She deserved the truth.

I met her gaze head-on. "Yes. Your dad asked for a divorce, and I agreed.

But we just aren't going to be married anymore. We will always be your parents."

Margot just stared at me.

Then, the dam broke.

"Mom, I'm so sorry" She buried her face in her hands, hot tears spilling through her fingers.

My brow furrowed. Wasn't I the one supposed to be apologizing? I gently pried her hands away from her face, wiping her wet cheeks with my thumbs.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you apologizing to me?"

Margot's shoulders heaved with ragged sobs. "Last time last time Dad picked me up from school, he brought a woman with him. She took off her heels and rested her bare feet right on the dashboard. Her hand was creeping all over Dad's inner thigh the whole ride, and she kept calling him 'babe' in this gross, whiny voice."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't want to hide it from you, I just I really didn't know how to tell you."

My fingernails dug so hard into the bedsheets my knuckles turned stark white.

Chapter 2

My gaze turned to ice. How dared Warren? How dared he flaunt his trash right in front of Margot? I exhaled a harsh, ragged breath, pulling her tightly against my chest.

"Margot, this isn't your fault." I smoothed her hair. "Anyone would be torn about something like this. If I were in your shoes, I'd feel the exact same way."

Margot pulled back slightly. Her tear-filled eyes looked up at me, so fragile. "Mom, do you still want me?"

My breath caught.

I raised my hand, gently cupping the back of her head, and forced a warm smile. "I think the real question is: do you want to stay with me?"

Margot sniffled, nodding so hard her whole body shook.

I pinched her soft cheek. "Alright. You have school tomorrow. Go to sleep."

She obediently slid back under the covers. I stayed until her breathing evened out, then flicked off the light and stepped out of the room.

The next day, Warren and I finalized the divorce paperwork. He started packing up his things to move out. Neither Margot nor I offered to lift a finger to help. We treated him like a ghost haunting the hallways.

But when I got home from work that evening, Warren stopped me. "Your mom called me today."

My stomach dropped to the floor.

"She said Cody lost his job. She wanted me to help him out, get him a position at my firm." He leaned against the counter.

"It's no big deal for me, so I agreed. But I figured I should still let you know."

The words barely left his mouth before I had my phone out, dialing her number. I slapped it on speaker.

She picked up almost immediately.

"Mom, Cody needs to figure out his own job situation." I stared dead at Warren. "Warren and I are divorced. Do not call him again."

"Divorced? Since when? Why?" Her voice spiked.

"Meredith, you"

I knew exactly what was coming next. She was going to talk me out of it. After all, she loved her shiny son-in-law a hell of a lot more than she loved me. So I cut her off.

"Warren is sleeping with someone else. We are divorced. We are done. Do you understand?"

Dead silence hung on the line. I took the opportunity to end the call.

I looked up. Warren's face was flushed a deep, ugly red. He clearly hadn't expected me to air his dirty laundry to my mother so bluntly.

My phone buzzed in my hand. Mom calling back.

I hit ignore, turned, and headed for the hallway. If I was going to have a screaming match with her, I sure as hell wasn't doing it in front of him.

His hand clamped down on my wrist. "Meredith, it's just a job for Cody. It's nothing. You don't need to reject my help and pick a fight with your mother over this."

My relationship with my mother was already toxic, and I hated fighting with her. But Id rather swallow glass than owe Warren a favor. Before, he was my husband.

He was family. Now? We were divorced.

In my eyes, he was nothing but a sperm donor who happened to co-parent my child. Beyond that, he was a total stranger.

I ripped my arm out of his grip. "I'll handle it myself. Stay out of it."

He stepped into my path, blocking me. A flash of humiliated anger tightened his jaw. "You'd rather go to war with your mom than let me help? Why?"

I let out a slow breath. A sharp, cynical laugh slipped past my lips. "Do I need to remind you that we are divorced?"

The color drained from Warren's face, leaving him a sickening shade of pale. "Yes, we're divorced, but we were together for twenty years. If we can't be husband and wife, can't we at least be friends?"

"Save your cheap pity and go play savior for that little secretary of yours who doesn't even know basic passenger-seat etiquette. My family and I don't need charity from a man who can't keep it in his pants."

Warrens pale face shattered inch by inch.

He froze, rooted to the spot.

Chapter 3

My phone was still buzzing. Ignoring Warren, I stepped out into the stairwell to take the call. The second I swiped answer, my mothers shrill voice nearly punctured my eardrum.

"Meredith, tell me right now. Did you really divorce Warren?"

"Yes. We're divorced."

Her voice cracked with panic. "How could you divorce him? He's the boss of a massive company! You're almost forty and divorcedwhere are you ever going to find another man with his kind of money?"

"Besides, all men step out! You just grit your teeth and get through it! Look at me, I survived it, didn't I? Listen to your mother.

Don't get a divorce. If you leave him, you'll have nothing."

A sharp burning sensation crawled up the back of my throat. The ghost of my serial-cheater father seemed to materialize right in front of me, staring coldly down at my mother as she begged on her knees for him to stay. I used to beg her to leave him. But she hadn't worked a day since she got married.

If she left, she couldn't even feed herself, let alone me and Cody. So, even if it meant begging my father for scraps like a stray dog, she refused to sign the papers and let the other women win. She ground her entire life into dust inside that rotting marriage, right up until the day he died.

A dark, cynical laugh ripped its way up my throat. "So what? You expect me to just swallow it and suffer for the rest of my life like you did?"

Dead silence on the other end. When she finally spoke again, her tone was frantic. "What else are you supposed to do?

That's just how life is! And if you divorce Warren, what's going to happen to your brother?"

There it was. It always came back to Cody. Warren was her trophy son-in-law, the guy who gave her bragging rights and pulled strings for her precious son. Of course she couldn't bear to lose that golden goose.

"Then why don't you have Cody marry Warren? I'm stepping down, so the position of Mrs. Warren is wide open. Tell Cody to shoot his shot."

"You"

I didn't have the patience to listen to her nag, let alone engage in a screaming match. I cut her off cold. "I am not you. I don't need to suffer.

I can afford to feed myself and my daughter just fine. And I'm calling to inform you about the divorce, not to ask for your permission."

"Since your heart aches so much for your precious son-in-law and your golden boy, you can go beg them for your allowance from now on. I'm canceling the supplementary credit card I gave you. As of today, you won't get another red cent out of me."

I hung up.

Leaning back against the cold concrete wall, I tilted my head up and let out a long, shaky exhale. Still, a single tear slipped free. I wiped it away savagely before pushing the stairwell door open.

That's the reality of adulthood. Even when you break, you have to do it in the shadows.

My mother blew up my phone a few more times over the next couple of days, constantly hinting that I needed to secure Cody a job. He was a grown man with two working hands. He wasn't going to starve.

I refused to lift a finger. Realizing she was hitting a brick wall, she finally gave up.

Warren moved out.

The night he packed up his boxes, I heard muffled sobs coming from Margot's room. I didn't go in. Kids have their own worlds. Sometimes they just need the space to grieve in secret.

The mandatory cooling-off period for the divorce ticked by day by day. Warren and I went no-contact.

Until one afternoon, I walked out of a long meeting, only to find my phone screen lit up with dozens of missed calls. All from Warren. Plus a text message.

[I'm downstairs at your office building. Come down as soon as you see this.]

For Warren to panic enough to show up at my workplace it had to be serious. I hurried down to the lobby. Through the glass doors, I spotted him pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. I pushed through the revolving doors and walked straight toward him.

Chapter 4

"What is it?" I asked.

Before he could even open his mouth, a colleague walking through the glass doors waved at me. "Good afternoon, Director."

Warren froze. His eyes bulged as he stared at me. "When when did you get promoted to Director?"

I tilted my chin up, my voice deadpan but dripping with contempt. "I got my own corner office last year. But you were too busy obsessing over your fresh little secretary to even notice my salary had doubled."

"Why didn't you ever mention it?"

I dropped my gaze. A few years ago, when I made Manager, I practically sprinted home to tell him. His reaction?

A flat "congratulations" without even looking up from his phone. I remembered when I made Assistant Team Lead back in the day. He was even more thrilled than I was.

Warren, a guy who used to agonize over spending more than twenty bucks on a meal, dragged me out and blew hundreds on a massive seafood feast just to celebrate.

But when did it all stop? Promotions went uncelebrated. Anniversaries turned into obligatory, generic bouquets.

Even our birthdays passed without a simple "Happy Birthday." We stopped going out on weekends.

Dinners together turned into deafening silences. We stopped asking about each other's days. Aside from our daughter, we had absolutely nothing left to talk about. Under those circumstances, what was the point of telling him anything?

A heavy, suffocating wave of exhaustion crashed over me.

I didn't have the energy to argue with him. I cut straight to the chase. "Why are you in such a rush to see me?"

Warren hesitated, his Adam's apple bobbing sharply. "My mom just called," he finally said. "It's her birthday this weekend. She wants to have a family dinner."

I raised an eyebrow. He sprinted all the way to my office building just because his mother wanted to have dinner? I had no idea what kind of game he was playing, and frankly, I didn't care.

"Fine. I'll let Margot know. You can swing by and pick her up then." I turned to leave.

Warren grabbed my arm.

I stopped. I looked at him, then dropped my stare to his hand wrapped tightly around my sleeve.

He snatched his hand back, a flush creeping up his neck. "I meant I want you to come too."

My brows slammed together. "What are you talking about? Haven't you told her we're getting a divorce?"

Warren shifted his weight, looking cornered. "Well" His voice dropped to a pathetic, pleading mumble. "Could we maybe keep the divorce a secret from her for now? She has high blood pressure, and I'm terrified the shock will"

"Then why the hell didn't you think about her blood pressure when you handed me the papers?"

Warren choked on his words, his chin dropping to his chest in humiliation.

I let out a sharp exhale. Years ago, right after Margot was born, I was drowning trying to claw my way back up the corporate ladder. Warren was obsessed with getting his startup off the ground. It was my mother-in-law who stepped up, taking over childcare and keeping our heads above water.

A couple of years ago, her health started rapidly declining. Terrified of being a burden, she insisted on moving into an upscale assisted living facility.

She had always treated me incredibly well. I respected her, and I definitely didn't want to be the cause of a medical emergency.

"I am only agreeing to this one time," I warned him. "You better find a good time to come clean to her before we get the final divorce decree."

Warren let out a massive sigh of relief. "Thank you, Meredith."

I didn't say another word. I gave him a curt nod and walked straight back into the building.

That weekend, I took Margot to the assisted living facility. Warren was already waiting in the lobby. We walked in together.

His mother was absolutely thrilled. One second she was stuffing a birthday envelope filled with cash into Margot's hands, and the next, she had her arm looped through mine, checking to see if I was eating enough. The room was practically radiating picture-perfect family warmth.

Until a sickeningly sweet voice sliced through the air.

Chapter 5

"Mom, Happy Birthday!"

We all turned toward the door. A young woman stood in the threshold. Early twenties, maybe fresh out of college. Young, pretty, and radiating an irritating amount of energy.

Warren froze, all the color instantly draining from his face. He lunged forward to block her from stepping inside. "Brianna, what are you doing here!"

Margot yanked hard on my sleeve. Her face had gone deathly pale. She leaned in, her voice dropping to a harsh, trembling whisper.

"Mom, that's her. That's the secretary from Dad's car."

Before the shock could even fully register, Brianna shoved past Warren's arm and strutted into the room. She marched right up to my mother-in-law, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, Mom! Let me introduce myself. I'm Brianna, Warren's girlfriend."

My mother-in-law froze.

Warren's jaw locked, his face turning a sickly shade of gray. He grabbed Brianna's wrist, trying to drag her back out into the hallway. "Brianna, we're leaving! Right now!"

Brianna wasn't having it. She ripped her arm out of his grip with a sharp scowl. "What the hell?

It's your mother's birthday, and you bring your ex-wife instead of me? And now you're trying to kick me out?"

She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing at me. "I don't care. I'm staying right here."

The warmth vanished from my mother-in-law's face. She wasn't an idiot. The implications hung heavy in the air.

She turned a glacial stare on her son. "Warren. Explain yourself. Did you and Meredith get a divorce?"

Warren floundered. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, his voice dropping to a pathetic mumble. "Mom, I I'll explain everything to you later"

Brianna cut him off immediately. "Why wait? Just tell her now." She turned back to the older woman.

"Mom, they've already filed the paperwork. As soon as the cooling-off period is over, the divorce is final."

My mother-in-law's chest began to heave. She kept her eyes locked on Warren, a trembling finger lifting to point dead at Brianna.

"Is this the trash you've been keeping on the side?"

Warren pressed his lips into a thin, bloodless line, mute.

Brianna scowled, her pout deepening in exaggerated annoyance. "Mom, don't be so nasty. 'Trash on the side'? Warren is divorced.

I'm his actual girlfriend now. Plus, Warren already promised to leave that old house to her and move me into a luxury high-rise downtown. I'm the lady of the house now!"

Smack.

A sharp, vicious slap echoed through the room. Warren's head snapped to the side.

Brianna shrieked. She threw her hands over Warren's rapidly reddening cheek, her voice dripping with whiny grievance. "Mom, why would you hit him!"

But my mother-in-law didn't even acknowledge her existence. She kept her eyes locked on Warren, her gaze brimming with absolute devastation and hatred.

"You bastard! Of all the things to learn, you learned from your deadbeat father!"

Decades ago, Warren's father had cheated, abandoning them for a mistress without leaving a single dime of child support. She had scraped by, bleeding herself dry to raise Warren into a successful man. The one thing she despised more than anything on this earth was a homewrecker and a cheating husband. To see the son she raised turn into the very monster that destroyed her life

It was too much. Her eyes rolled back.

She collapsed backward, hitting the floor like a dead weight.

The next hour was a blur of pure chaos. A massive heart attack triggered by a severe spike in blood pressure. Thankfully, the paramedics arrived in time. Once the doctors stabilized her in the ER and confirmed she was out of the woods, I grabbed Margot and headed straight home.

I didn't step foot in that hospital again.

After Brianna's little performance, everything finally clicked into place. Warren's sudden eagerness to divorce me, happily walking away with nothing It was all because Brianna was holding a knife to his throat, aggressively demanding the official title.

I just never realized Warren's taste in women was so utterly pathetic.

Chapter 6

Thanks to his mess, I was dragged right into the crossfire. I wanted nothing more than to stay the hell away. But Warren had pissed his mother off so much she refused to eat and had actually kicked him out of her room.

Left with no leverage, he came crawling to me, begging me to go talk some sense into her. I couldn't stomach the thought of the old woman suffering, so I caved.

My mother-in-law gripped my hands, her eyes swimming with tears. "Meredith, you are so good, yet Warren did something so vile to hurt you. I'm sorry I'm so, so sorry."

A sharp, acidic sting hit the back of my throat. She had treated me like her own flesh and blood. Through her, I'd felt a mother's love that I had never even received from my own mom.

She hadn't done a single thing wrong. So why was she the one apologizing?

She wiped her tears away with a trembling hand. "Meredith, I won't stop you from divorcing him. Warren doesn't deserve you anymore.

Don't look back. Go find someone who is truly worthy of you."

I was stunned. I genuinely didn't expect her to say that. The warmth of her words was just settling into my chest when

Bam. The hospital door crashed open. Brianna marched in, grabbing my arm and yanking me roughly away from the bed.

"Have you got no shame at all? You're already divorced, yet you're still hovering around like a ghost! Are you using 'visiting Mom' as a pathetic excuse to rekindle things with Warren?

Let me spell it out for you: Warren doesn't love you anymore. He hasn't loved you for a long time. Got it?"

A vicious headache began to throb at my temples. Ah, the sheer ignorance of youth. Her entire brain was consumed by her desperate little romance.

Didn't Warren swear he'd keep Brianna on a tight leash and far away from the hospital? He was as useless as ever.

My mother-in-law was a patient. I wasn't about to get into a screaming match in front of her. I leaned down and patted her shoulder gently.

"Mom, I'm heading out. Please make sure you eat, and take care of yourself."

I spun on my heel and walked briskly out of the room.

But Brianna wasn't done. She trailed right behind me, yapping relentlessly down the hallway. I ignored her completely.

Until she barked out: "Youd better go look in a mirror and check those crows feet around your eyes. Warren feels sick to his stomach the second he touches your sagging skin.

I'm younger and prettier than you. What do you even have to fight me with?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.

I turned around, looking at her like she was a complete idiot. I looked her up and down, a scoff slipping past my lips.

"Youth is definitely your only asset. But that cheap knockoff dress covered in loose threads and your stiff, Botox-filled chin can't hide the reek of desperation in your bones. You actually think he loves you? He just loves that you're a cheap, free giveaway."

Brianna turned a splotchy, furious red. She raised her hand, aiming a vicious slap right at my face.

"Stop!"

A voice barked from down the hall. Warren sprinted over, grabbing Brianna's arm and yanking her back. "What are you doing?"

Brianna immediately switched into victim mode, giant crocodile tears spilling down her cheeks on cue. "She called me cheap and fake!"

Warren smoothly stepped in front of Brianna, shielding her with his body. The message was crystal clear. He believed his little secretary. But I wasn't about to stand there and take it.

"Keep your pet on a leash," I said coolly. "She started it. She barged into the hospital room running her mouth, and I bit my tongue out of respect for your sick mother.

But then she chased me out here to insult my looks. I simply returned the favor."

Warrens face went paper-white in sheer panic. "You you went to see Mom again?"

Brianna glared fiercely at his back. "What, am I forbidden from seeing her? Get it through your head, Warren!

I am your girlfriend now! Am I that embarrassing? Am I not even allowed to show my face to your family?"

Chapter 7

Warren let out a heavy sigh. "That's not what I meant"

Seeing that the two of them were about to start a new screaming match, I simply walked away.

I had barely reached the hospital entrance when Warren actually chased me down. He jogged up, panting. "Look Brianna is just she's blunt.

Don't take her words to heart. I apologize on her behalf."

Too bad for him. I was pretty blunt myself.

"You know damn well the difference between being 'blunt' and being utterly classless."

Warren's lips parted, but he couldn't form a single word in defense.

I locked eyes with him. "The cooling-off period is almost up. Don't forget to show up and sign the final papers."

I brushed past him and walked out of the hospital.

The mandatory waiting period vanished in a blink.

Warren and I agreed to meet outside the courthouse. I stood there for what felt like hours before he finally dragged himself over.

I actually flinched when I saw him. Deep, bruised bags hung under his eyes, his jaw was covered in unkempt scruff, and his skin had a sickening gray pallor. I didn't give it much thought, assuming he'd just wrecked himself taking care of his mother.

But as I turned to walk through the glass doors, Warren reached out and grabbed my arm. "Meredith can we not get divorced?"

My brow furrowed in utter disbelief. He was the one who practically begged for this divorce. His mother wasn't fighting it anymore.

He had Brianna plastered to his side. Why the sudden backtrack?

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped. "You demanded this divorce. Now you're backing out?

What do you think marriage is, Warren? Are you just screwing with me?"

Panic seized his features. He stumbled over his words. "N-no, I that's not what I mean"

His bloodshot eyes welled up. "All these years, I felt like I was losing myself. I'd open my eyes every morning, and it was just the firm, the house, the kid. I felt like I didn't even have a life anymore."

"And then Brianna showed up at the office. She was so vibrant, so unfiltered, with this endless, chaotic energy. I watched her go hiking, surfing, scuba diving she didn't care what anyone thought. She was just unapologetically herself."

"Being around her made me feel like I was finally breathing again. I couldn't resist the temptation. I caved.

But Meredith I regret it. I realized the person I truly love is you. I don't want to lose you."

He reached out, gripping my shoulders. His red-rimmed eyes begged for a second chance.

I slapped his hands away without a second thought, winding up and delivering a vicious, ringing slap right across his selfish face