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

tell any of you, but I fell into

the grass, feeling as small as I did back then when

with Ava.

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

and when I refused to get

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

how tough things were

much bitterness and resentment towards

fallen, she would

I discovered she had been going through

after that. Molly became

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

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

assignment partner.” 2

talk to him. After all, we weren’t

any remnants of the obsession he had for me in high school,

out of

hard. I wanted to stop, but now

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

is, until the night m alled me to let me

with his son at first sight. Everything

I try to breathe through the pain of the memories, but

so fucking hard.

Angry at myself for turning down Rowan’s proposal, angry

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

and angry at the baby

air. I don’t need to turn to know that it is from

had gone the way I wanted

2/5

*15 BONUS

Rowan To hurt him like he hurt me I knew he 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 so hurt, I would have gotten my revenge, and maybe then it

how I lost my virginity. I was saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it

at the man I loved. I told Calvin that it was a mistake and that he should forget

planned for what

like the other didn’t exist, that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and

been the worst news I’ve ever received. Deep in my heart, I believed that one day Rowan and I would get back together. I didn’t want an

my mistake to always

you get an emergency pill the morning after?” mom asks,

being a complete mess, everything was new to me. To put it plainly, I was

ever h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know that I should have. It was

enough to get me pregnant. Looking back, maybe if I’d

me to get one, but like I said, I was so

anyone to know.”

during all the years you dated Rowan, you

a virgin?” Travis

started dating, which was at seventeen,

that walked and had a vagina. When

ready. My biggest regret was holding out on

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

+15 BONUS

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

and I wanted to get rid of it,

Mom asks, her voice ringing

anything, but nod my head. “Calvin threatened to tell you and dad if I