All Chapters of His Other Priority: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The day Savannah Cox moved into our home, her belongings filled the entire living room as though she were staking her claim.Alex Stewart had an arm wrapped around her waist as he carefully draped a knit cardigan over her shoulders."She just got out of the hospital and can't handle the cold," he said. "Besides, she has nowhere else to go right now. Taking her in is the least we can do."She's had no one to rely on all these years. She's been through enough already."I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head."Alex, this is our home...""Autumn, since when did you become so unreasonable?" he cut in. "Savvy's only staying here temporarily. She just got divorced. This is when she needs support the most."He gently took Savannah's hand, his promise carrying the weight of an oath."Savvy, don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one is going to make you leave."After settling her in, he stood by and watched while Sa

Chapter 2

I looked at him as he rushed to defend himself, a bitter feeling welling up inside me."Alex, I never mentioned Savannah."Alex's expression froze. After a brief silence, embarrassment turned into anger."Autumn, you'd better not come crawling back and beg me to return."...Over the next few days, Alex stopped coming home at night. He had taken over Savannah's divorce case and spent all his time running around for her.Whenever her emotions spiraled, he'd jump into his car in the middle of the night and drive for hours to bring her best friend over to keep her company.When she wanted pastries from her favorite bakery, he'd speed through red lights all the way there just to make her happy.He said he owed Savannah a favor. What he didn't know was that the night she returned, the name he drunkenly called out over and over again had been hers.Men are experts at saying one thing and meaning another.The day Savannah's divorce was finalized, Alex drank himself into a stupor.W

Chapter 3

"Autumn didn't mean to push me."Savannah's performance was laughably unconvincing, yet Alex believed every word.Or maybe... he had simply never believed me.Holding Savannah in his arms, he turned to me with anger blazing in his eyes."Autumn, why can't you tolerate Savvy? Do you have any idea she's dealing with depression? Why would you deliberately upset her?"To give Savannah the explanation she deserved, he demanded that I retrieve her necklace. Ignoring the fact that I was pregnant, he shoved me into the swimming pool in front of everyone.Voices erupted from the shore. Their comments tangled together as they drifted into my ears."I told you Alex never got over Savannah. If Autumn hadn't chased after him back then, there's no way he would've agreed to be with her.""I know the real story. Alex only ever treated Autumn as a substitute. Now that the real thing is back, who cares about a stand-in?""Everyone knows Alex once swore he'd never marry anyone but Savannah."Po

Chapter 4

Alex pointed at the shredded divorce papers in the trash and let out a mocking laugh."You want a divorce? Autumn, what the hell is wrong with you? How many times do I have to explain that there's nothing going on between Savvy and me—"His phone rang at the worst possible moment.Alex frowned as he glanced at the screen. When he looked back at me, his eyes shifted uneasily."Mochi's gone missing."I searched every street in the neighborhood and checked every place she might have gone.In the end, I found her at the end of an alley. It was the same place where I'd found her three years ago. Now, it had become the place where she would rest forever.Numbly, I gathered her into my arms. She felt smaller somehow, smaller than the day I'd first brought her home.There was almost no weight to her at all. It felt as though she were only sleeping.The new ID tag I'd recently bought still hung around her neck. Now it was stained with blood, the lettering no longer visible.My eyes st

Chapter 5

My procedure was scheduled for the following month. The doctors always looked like they wanted to say something more, yet none of them would tell me the truth.I already knew why. Even if I underwent treatment, I probably didn't have much time left.I visited the Skyview Gondola where Alex and I had once pledged ourselves to each other. With my own hands, I removed the two plaques engraved with our names.Alex Stewart.Autumn Valencia.I deleted photo after photo from my albums until only a handful of pictures of myself remained.I booked the earliest flight to Westhaven.When Alex called, I was preparing to board."Autumn, where are you? Savvy said she wants lobster rolls from that place on West Street today. When you come back, pick some up—"I hung up before he could finish, then I boarded the plane to Westhaven.Grandma Beverly Valencia hadn't seen me in a long time. She cooked an entire table full of my favorite dishes. Then she dug out my old photo albums and sat with m

Chapter 6

"Autumn, with your condition... if you actively pursue treatment, there's still a chance.""Robbie, did you forget that I'm a doctor too?"I knew he was trying to comfort me, and I knew the truth. My condition was beyond saving. I probably didn't even have a year left.Alex came at Robbie without warning. His fist slammed into Robbie's jaw hard enough to draw blood...."Autumn, have you been planning to leave me all along? Was this your plan from the beginning? Is he the reason you insist on divorcing me?"I looked at Alex standing in front of me and felt nothing but unfamiliarity.He hid behind the guise of friendship while carrying on an inappropriate relationship with Savannah, yet somehow he was convinced our marriage had failed because I'd fallen for someone else.Maybe it was my love that had covered him in a golden glow, but now that glow was gone. All that remained was disgust."Alex, Robbie and I are just friends. Have you finished making a scene yet? You really thin

Chapter 7

The day Grandma Beverly was discharged from the hospital, I ran into Robbie. He took me in for a follow-up examination.That's when we happened to cross paths with Alex and Savannah, who were there for a prenatal appointment."Autumn, what exactly is your relationship with him? Why is he with you?"If Alex had cared about me even a little, he would've noticed that something was wrong, but he didn't. Instead, all he cared about was questioning why I was there."Alex, we're already divorced."A muscle jumped in Alex's jaw. Still, he refused to let it go.…On Savannah's birthday, Alex had been drinking. He ran three red lights just to make it in time to wish her a happy birthday.It was drizzling that day, and he hit me with his car.My head felt heavy. The world blurred around me, and I couldn't piece together a complete picture of what was happening. Warm blood spread beneath me.Then, I saw Robbie rushing over from the ambulance with bloodshot eyes. The moment he reached Ale

Chapter 8

Alex stood outside my hospital room for an entire day and night.One of the new nurses asked what our relationship was, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember."The man outside has been standing there all night. He says he's your husband. I asked him to prove it, but he couldn't say a word."I shook my head. "I don't remember."The nurse kept talking. She told me that the day of the accident, Alex had collapsed after donating blood.…Alex showed up the next day with an enormous bouquet of bellflowers and knelt outside my hospital room, begging for forgiveness.Robbie chased him away. Every day, he came by to check on me.Meanwhile, my condition continued to worsen. Pain tore through my body, and I slept more and more.Sometimes I'd close my eyes and wake up to find evening had already fallen.Alex came to the hospital every day. Once, I agreed to see him. His collar was wrinkled, and his hair was hastily combed back. The confident, polished man I'd once known wa

Chapter 9

"I was worried sick about you. I should've taken better care of you."Grandma knew everything, but she hid it well, only allowing herself to cry when I wasn't looking.A few days later, Alex showed up at my hospital room, looking filthy. There was a wound on his forehead, and he limped as he walked."Autumn, I got this for you. You'll be okay."Carefully, he pulled a protection charm from inside his coat and held it out to me. Hope filled his eyes as he wanted me to accept it.'But, Alex, I don't want to forgive you at all.'"Alex, go home. I'm tired. I don't want to see you anymore.""Autumn, I'm sorry." He dropped to his knees in front of me, begging for forgiveness.Nevertheless, I didn't want to talk to him anymore. I didn't want to spend what little time I had left trapped in a hospital bed.…For my final month, I took Grandma Beverly around the world. Together, we visited all the places we'd never had the chance to see.I wanted to stay by her side and take care of he

Chapter 10

I kept telling myself Savannah was just a friend, yet I allowed her to cross every boundary that should have existed between friends.She was exactly the way I remembered her from school. Even after all those years apart, she seemed just as beautiful as ever.Without realizing it, I found myself favoring her more and more. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that Autumn was my wife.When Savannah said she had nowhere to go, I brought her into our home, but Autumn grew increasingly upset.Savannah had already been through so much. Why couldn't Autumn be a little more understanding?I stubbornly convinced myself that Autumn was the unreasonable one who wanted everything her way.I knew Autumn loved me and would never leave me so easily. That belief worked every time, so I kept taking her love for granted.Bit by bit, I wore it away. Every time she pushed back, I dismissed it as another attempt to get my attention.The night I got drunk, I slept with Savannah.After that, when Sava

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