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,

Like my world had exploded, and I’d been left with nothing. When I went back to school,

of you, but I fell into

sit down on the grass, feeling as small as I did

with Ava.

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

this. She started pushing, and when I refused to get better, she threatened

to let you know. I didn’t want you to know how

tough things were

had so much bitterness

fallen, she would

later that I discovered she had been going through her

well after that. Molly became my

think about Rowan every second.” I

met Calvin again. It turns out we

assignment partner.” 2

all, we weren’t friends. I tolerated him because

he didn’t show any remnants of the obsession he had for me in high

He stayed out of my way

This was hard. I wanted to stop, but now more

I said, things were going well for some time. They weren’t perfect, but they

alled me to let me

fell in love with his son at first sight. Everything around me crumbled, and

the surface.” I try to breathe through the

so fucking hard.

and I was really angry. Angry at myself for turning down

and sleeping with Ava, angry at

loved and angry at the baby

to turn to know that it is from Rowan. I still

the way I wanted it to, then he

2/5

*15 BONUS

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

it for Rowan and in the end I

me to sleep with a guy I didn’t even like just to get back at the man I loved. I told Calvin that it was a mistake and that he should forget about what happened between us. I snuck out of his room, and I thought that was that. That it was a terrible one–night stand and that

I hadn’t planned for what was to come next. What destiny

exist, that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and later, a

Deep in my heart, I believed that one day Rowan and I would get back together. I didn’t want an unwanted

of my mistake to always be

pill the morning after?” mom

everything was new to me. To put

so I didn’t really know that I should have. It

so I assumed tha‘ n’t really enough to get me pregnant. Looking

one, but like

anyone to know.”

during all the

virgin?” Travis asks in

knew Rowan wasn’t. Before we started dating, which was at

with anything that walked and had a vagina. When I’d told

wait till I was ready. My biggest regret was holding out

3/5

releases a groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk about this?

+15 BONUS

I was still a virgin. Anyway,” 1

wanted to get

abortion?” Mom asks, her voice ringing with horror and

anything, but nod my head. “Calvin threatened to tell