Ex-Husband's Regret

Her side of the story
Mom collapses in the chair after my admission. The heartbroken look in her eyes was undoing

me. The disappointed look she gave me nearly made me crumble on the spot.
Travis, who had been holding me, lets go as if I had burned him. He backs away from me slowly

until he’s a few feet away.

I know the rest had varying degrees of shock, but they didn’t matter to me right now. Not when

my family was looking at me like they didn’t know me. Like I was a stranger.

“Please tell me you’re playing a sick joke on me,” Mom pleads. “Tell me you didn’t have a child and

kept him hidden from us all these years.”

I want to lie to them just so the heartbroken and disappointed look in their eyes will disappear. I

know that I can no longer do that. There was no hiding from this. There was no more running from

the truth.

“I’m sorry. So sorry,” I cry as I stumble towards her. “I wanted to tell you, but I was so ashamed.”

I go to take her hand, but she flinches and pulls it away.

This is what I’ve been so afraid of. Ava was right. I was the perfect daughter. The one who never

made any mistakes.

The one that thought things through before, except for that one time. Now their image of me is

tarnished. Now they know that I am just like them. Human. The Ace card I had over Ava was gone. 2

I was in the same boat as Ava. I made mistakes that are now hunting me. Sleeping with Calvin

remains the greatest mistak

y life.

“H–How did this happen? When did it happen…did dad now?” Travis asks as he paces, frustration

clear in his steps.

“Dad didn’t know. No one except Calvin and Molly knew.” I look at the ground, unable to face the

look on my mom’s face.

“Start from the beginning and don’t leave a single thing out. I want to know why the hell you’ve

kept my grandson a secret from his family,” Mom growls, her eyes turning fierce.

I didn’t want to rehash the past, but at this point, I don’t think I had any choice. If I didn’t want

them to be even madder than they were right now, then I had to spill it.

1/5

+15 BONUS

“When Rowan married Ava, I was broken I tried not to let it show. Tried to make you, dad, and

Travis believe I was okay because you were all so worried about me. I felt like I was drowning,

world had exploded, and I’d been left with nothing. When I went

any of you, but I fell into

on the grass, feeling as small as I did back then when I learned that

with Ava.

sleep, and I didn’t attend classes. In fact, I rarely

started pushing, and when

I didn’t want you to know how I was struggling. I didn’t want

tough things were

was lost in memory. I had so much bitterness and resentment towards Ava back then.

far I’d fallen, she would have been ecstatic. It was probably a year and

I discovered she had been going through her own kind of

going well after that. Molly became my anchor. My grades were improving,

Rowan every second.” I take a deep breath “It

Calvin again. It turns out we went to the same Uni

assignment partner.” 2

didn’t really talk to him. After all, we

of the obsession he had for me

stayed out of my way and I stayed out

stop, but now more than ever, I knew

said, things were going well for some time. They

m alled me to let me know that Ava had given birth to a

at first sight.

to breathe through the pain

so fucking hard.

pain, and I was really angry. Angry at

and sleeping with Ava, angry

loved and angry at

a sharp intake of air. I don’t need to turn to know that it is from Rowan.

the way I wanted it

2/5

*15 BONUS

always disliked Calvin for the way he crushed on me, so that night I approached Calvin and seduced him I knew word would probably get back to Rowan, and that would have hurt him. That’s why I slept with Calvin that night, because I counted on Rowan’s friend telling him. He would have been

my virginity. I was saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it to the guy who kept fighting for

was a mistake and that he should forget about what happened between us.

wrong. I hadn’t planned for what

my period was late. A cheap test. and later, a

my heart, I believed that one day Rowan and I would

of my mistake to

emergency pill the morning after?”

complete mess, everything was new to me. To

h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know

to get me pregnant. Looking back,

me to get one, but

anyone to know.”

tell me that during all the years you

a virgin?” Travis asks in

dating, which was at seventeen, he’d

walked and had a vagina. When I’d told

I was ready. My biggest regret was holding

3/5

groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk

+15 BONUS

question, yes I was still a virgin. Anyway,” 1 paused. “I told Calvin

child and I wanted to get rid of it,

wanted an abortion?” Mom asks, her voice ringing

head. “Calvin threatened to tell you and dad if