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 nothing.

tell any of you, but I

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

with Ava.

was fading away. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, and I didn’t attend classes. In fact,

pushing, and when I refused to

you to know how

tough

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

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

she had been going through

after that. Molly became

think about Rowan every second.” I take

again. It turns out we went to the same Uni and he was also

assignment partner.” 2

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

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

He stayed out of my way and

was hard. I wanted to stop, but now more than ever, I knew they wouldn’t let

well for some time. They weren’t perfect, but

night m alled me to let me

with his son at first sight. Everything around me crumbled, and all

the surface.” I try to breathe through the pain

so fucking hard.

Angry at myself

drunk and sleeping with Ava, angry at Ava for

I loved and angry at

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

Noah because if everything had gone the way I wanted it to, then he would

2/5

*15 BONUS

and seduced him I knew word would probably get back to Rowan, and that would have hurt him. That’s

them, but it’s also how I lost my virginity. I was saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it to the guy who kept fighting for

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 would be the

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

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

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

didn’t you get an emergency pill the morning after?” mom asks, making me blush

new to me. To put it plainly, I was

first time I’ve ever h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know that I

assumed tha‘ n’t really enough to get me

get one, but like

anyone to know.”

to tell me that during all the years you dated Rowan, you never slept

still a virgin?” Travis asks

started dating, which was at seventeen, he’d

and had a vagina. When I’d

till I was ready. My biggest regret

3/5

“Can we not talk about this? It was

+15 BONUS

still a virgin. Anyway,” 1 paused. “I

the child and I wanted to get

Mom asks, her voice ringing with horror

my head. “Calvin threatened to tell you