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,

exploded, and 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

with Ava.

fading away. I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, and I

when I refused to get

you to know

how tough things were for

in memory. I had so much bitterness and

she would have been ecstatic. It was probably a

that I discovered she had been going

Molly became my

about Rowan every second.” I take a deep breath

turns out we went to the same Uni and he was

assignment partner.” 2

all, we weren’t friends.

didn’t show any remnants of the obsession he had

out of my

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

were going well for some

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

Rowan fell in love with his son at first sight. Everything around me crumbled, and all

been hiding came to the surface.” I try to breathe through the

so fucking hard.

Angry at myself

sleeping with Ava, angry at Ava for getting

I loved and angry at the

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

around Noah because if everything had gone the way

2/5

*15 BONUS

would probably get back to Rowan, and that would have hurt

saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it to the guy who kept fighting for me to

foolish of me to sleep with a 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 end

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

that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and later, a doctor’s appointment

day Rowan and I would get

of my mistake to

pill the morning after?” mom asks, making me

to

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

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

me to get one, but

anyone to know.”

want to tell me that during all the years you dated

a virgin?”

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

walked and had a vagina. When

planned to wait till I was ready. My biggest

3/5

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

+15 BONUS

a virgin.

want the child and I wanted to get rid of it, but he wouldn’t

wanted an abortion?” Mom asks, her voice ringing with

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