All Chapters of Thanks for Taking Out the Trash: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Moira, Risa's family was pressuring her like crazy. She had no choice but to ask me to pretend to be her boyfriend. We just needed to get through Thanksgiving, it's not like we're actually dating. "But then you had to leave that passive-aggressive comment on her post. Who else did you think she was gonna take it out on?"Elmer Fuller had called me not long after I commented, trying to explain why he had ditched me at the hotel.But I couldn't calm down."I'm not joking, Elmer. You gave her the scarf my mom left me before she died. I want a divorce."Then I heard Larissa Marrow crying on the other end of the line."Moira, I'm sorry. It was thoughtless of me. I'll replace the scarf. I didn't mean to upset you. Please don't fight with Elmer."Every time Larissa cried, Elmer forgot everything else. And sure enough, his voice turned sharp with impatience."Moira Stephenson! It's just a stupid scarf. Are you gonna keep harping on this? You've ruined Thanksgiving for everyone. Are y

Chapter 2

"Risa's mom has a heart condition, and her biggest wish is to see her daughter get married before she passes on. Why can't you just understand that? "You're always accusing me of something! I married you, Moira. How's that betrayal? What more do you want from me?" Elmer said."You already betrayed me," I said, looking at him coldly."It's not just sleeping with someone else that counts as betrayal. The moment you left me at that hotel without a word, we were done. And then you gave her the scarf my mom made me.""I didn't tell you because I knew you'd overreact. That's the only reason I left like that. Risa gets cold easily, so what if I brought a scarf for her?""And what about next time?"He blinked. "What?"I let out a bitter laugh. "Her mom's still alive. Her wish was to see her daughter get married, not just bring a boyfriend home for the holidays.""Moira!"His voice snapped sharply, cutting through the air. "Don't you dare curse her mom like that!"I laughed through m

Chapter 3

When I woke up in the hospital and heard the doctor talking, I still felt a little dazed."It was caused by emotional distress. Have you been going through something lately? Ma'am, are you listening?"The nurse's voice sounded far away, like it was drifting from above the clouds.I closed my eyes, and tears flowed silently down my cheeks.My baby had left me before I even had the chance to feel him.Suddenly, I remembered the night Elmer and I got married. He held me tightly and said, "Let's have a baby. I know you've always wanted one."He was right.Before my mom passed, her last wish was to see me settled down, with a family of my own. But she was in too much of a hurry.She finished knitting the scarf, and then she left.All these years, I kept blaming myself. If only I had brought Elmer to meet her sooner… If only we had gotten married earlier… Maybe she could've seen her grandchild before she died.Maybe it would've made it a little easier for her to go.My phone buzze

Chapter 4

I steadied myself on the table, pointing at the papers in Elmer's hand. "If you hadn't left me for her, the baby could've been saved!"Elmer froze. The anger drained from his face."Moira, this is such a bad fake, it's laughable."Before I could react, Larissa snatched the paperwork from his hands. She glanced at it, then immediately tore it to shreds."Moira, you're unbelievable. As if it wasn't enough to turn Elmer's parents against me, now you're trying to emotionally manipulate him too?"Elmer hesitated. "Is it fake?"Larissa looked completely confident."Of course it is. At first glance, it looks like something from a hospital, but my department sometimes makes props for film crews. This is clearly a fake."Then she turned to me, all self-righteous."Moira, some things aren't meant to be joked about. You guys might want kids someday, and we're adults. How can you use a baby to make Elmer feel guilty?"My hand flew across her face with a loud slap. Larissa gasped and stum

Chapter 5

We all knew it was already impossible.…After two days of recovery, I finally got out of bed.The moment my foot touched the ground, the door slammed open.Elmer stormed in, face twisted with rage, and slapped me hard across the face. "What the hell did you tell my parents this time?"The side of my face burned. I stumbled back a few steps and caught myself on the table. "What are you talking about?"He sneered, his mouth curled with disgust. "Don't play dumb. You're the one who pushed my parents to go after Risa, right? You're the reason she got dragged to the hospital for a forced prenatal checkup, aren't you?""What?"I froze, stunned.I hadn't expected my in-laws to make another move.Elmer kept coming at me. "My parents acted like that because they didn't want the baby! Risa's a wreck, and she cries every day because of what you did. I'm telling you right now, if anything happens to her, I'll make you pay."He grabbed my wrist, squeezing painfully. "Get up. You're

Chapter 6

"Moey, why are your hands so cold?"Elmer lowered his head, bringing my hand to his lips, trying to warm it with his breath.I didn't have much strength, but I still managed to pull my hand away from him, my voice weak. "Let's get divorced.""Moey…"His voice trembled."I was just messing around… that pregnancy report… it was fake. I just saw you getting jealous for no reason, and I wanted to mess with you a little.""Mess with me?"Tears stung my eyes."So in your eyes, was everything just me being jealous? Passing out from the pain, needing you to take me to the hospital, losing my baby, asking for a divorce… all just ways for me to compete for your attention?" I retorted. I didn't even know when I had managed to sit up. My mother-in-law rushed over to support me, carefully placing a pillow behind my back.I leaned against the wall, trying to steady my breathing. "Elmer, I'm not Larissa. Your so-called love means absolutely nothing to me."His hand clenched, veins bulging

Chapter 7

I pulled out my phone and called Elmer.He picked up almost immediately. "Moey, did you change your mind? Are we not getting divorced?""Come pick up your first love and her baby."My voice was cold.He hesitated, then asked, "Baby?""Yeah. Larissa's pregnancy report was real."Silence on the other end.I said "Hello?" twice, but he hung up without a word.…Not long after, Elmer's car pulled up in front of the building. He came straight inside, helped Larissa up from the floor, and didn't even spare me a glance."Elmer."I called out to him just as he was about to leave.He turned back, and I glared at him. "Everyone here thinks I'm the homewrecker. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"He paused, finally noticing the crowd gathered around us, whispering and watching.He looked down at Larissa, who clung to him with red-rimmed eyes. "Elmer… I never said it like that. I don't know why everyone misunderstood…""Oh, really?"I laughed coldly."If you hadn't been

Chapter 8

I cut Elmer off. "You couldn't even defend me in front of everyone. Instead, you left with her. Is that what a husband is supposed to do?""It's not like that, Moey. After that fight with my parents, she lost her job."Elmer spoke seriously, trying to reason with me. "She's just a girl. If I had stood there and cleared your name, it would've confirmed that she was the other woman. After that, how would she ever—""Isn't that exactly what she is?" I interrupted him again.He froze.I let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I don't get it. What's there to protect? You keep saying you don't want a divorce, but the one moment you needed to prove it, you were too busy playing the savior.""It's not like that, Moey. Risa's just young and naive. She's not what you think—""Why should I care what she is?"I shoved the divorce papers back into his arms. "This is your last day. Sign it or I'll see you in court."With that, I swung the door open, got out of the car, and didn't even look back.…

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