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,

I’d been left with

any of you,

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

with Ava.

I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, and I didn’t attend classes.

started pushing, and when

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

tough things were

in memory. I had so much bitterness and resentment

she ever found out how far I’d fallen, she would have been ecstatic.

discovered she had been

Molly became my anchor. My grades were

constantly cry or think about Rowan every second.” I take a deep breath

It turns out we went to the same Uni

assignment partner.” 2

really talk to him. After all, we

he didn’t show any remnants of the obsession he

co–existed. He stayed out of my way and I

was hard. I wanted to stop, but now more than ever, I knew they

some time.

me know that Ava had given

at first sight. Everything around me crumbled,

came to the surface.” I try to breathe through the pain of

so fucking hard.

pain, and I was really angry. Angry at myself for

drunk and sleeping with Ava, angry at Ava for getting pregnant

man I loved and angry at the baby for being

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

had gone the way I

2/5

*15 BONUS

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 so hurt, I would have gotten my revenge, and maybe then it

was saving it for Rowan and in the

loved. I told Calvin that it was a mistake and that he should forget about what happened between us.

what

like the other didn’t exist, that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and later, a doctor’s appointment confirmed that I

day Rowan

my mistake to always be in

pill the morning after?” mom asks, making me blush a

complete mess, everything was new to

h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know that I

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

me to get one, but like I said, I was so ashamed, I didn’t

anyone to know.”

during all the years you dated Rowan, you never slept together?

a virgin?” Travis

wasn’t. Before we started dating, which was at seventeen, he’d previously

and had a vagina. When

ready. My biggest regret was holding out on

3/5

groan uncomfortably “Can we not

+15 BONUS

a

to get rid of it, but he wouldn’t let

asks, her

head. “Calvin threatened to tell