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,

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

you, but I

sit down on the grass, feeling as small as I

with Ava.

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

noticed this. She started pushing, and when I

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

tough things were

so much bitterness and resentment towards

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

that I discovered she had been going through her own

became my anchor. My grades

Rowan every second.” I take

we went to the same Uni and he was

assignment partner.” 2

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

show any remnants of the

stayed out

wanted to stop, but now

things were going well for some time.

me to let me know that Ava had given birth to a baby

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

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

so fucking hard.

was in pain, and I was really angry. Angry at myself for turning down Rowan’s proposal, angry

for getting drunk and sleeping with Ava, angry at

loved and angry at

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

Noah because if everything had gone the

2/5

*15 BONUS

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

I was saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it to the

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

been wrong. I hadn’t planned for what was

ignoring 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

in my heart, I believed that one day Rowan and I would get back

of my mistake to always

emergency pill the morning after?” mom asks,

was new to me. To put it plainly, I was

the–the first time I’ve ever h–had s–sex so I

to get me pregnant.

get one, but like I

anyone to know.”

the years you dated Rowan, you never slept

a virgin?”

we started dating,

with anything that walked and had a vagina.

was ready. My biggest regret was holding

3/5

a groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk about this?

+15 BONUS

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

to get rid of it, but he wouldn’t

asks, her voice

couldn’t do anything, but nod my head. “Calvin threatened