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. When I went back

any of you, but I fell into

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

with Ava.

sleep, and I didn’t attend

She started pushing, and when I refused to get better,

know. I didn’t want you

out how tough things

I had so much bitterness and resentment

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

that I discovered she had been going

that. Molly became my anchor. My grades were

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

that I met Calvin again. It turns out we went

assignment partner.” 2

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

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

out of

to stop, but now more than ever, I knew they

well for some time. They

until the night m alled me to let me know that Ava had given birth to a baby

fell in love with his son at first sight. Everything around

to breathe through the

so fucking hard.

was really angry. Angry at myself for

with Ava,

angry

don’t need to turn to know that it

around Noah because if everything had gone the way

2/5

*15 BONUS

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

don’t tell them, but it’s also how I lost my virginity. I was saving it for Rowan and in the end

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.

for what was to come

each other 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 was

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 unwanted

to always be

pill the morning

everything was new to me. To put

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

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

would have aused me to get one, but

anyone to know.”

tell me that during all the

virgin?”

started dating, which was at seventeen, he’d previously

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

ready. My biggest

3/5

a groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk

+15 BONUS

answer your question, yes I was still a virgin. Anyway,” 1

didn’t want the child and I wanted to get

wanted an abortion?” Mom asks, her

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