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 with nothing. When I went back

any of you, but I fell

grass, feeling as small as I did back then when I learned that Rowan had

with Ava.

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

noticed this. She started pushing, and when I refused

you to know how I was struggling.

out how tough things were

I had so much bitterness and resentment towards

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

discovered she had been going through her own kind of

were going well after that. Molly became my anchor. My

cry or think about Rowan every second.”

met Calvin again. It turns out we

assignment partner.” 2

we weren’t friends. I

of the obsession

co–existed. He stayed out of my way and I stayed

stop, but now more than ever,

I said, things were going well for some time. They

me know that Ava had given birth to a

at first sight. Everything around me

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

so fucking hard.

really angry. Angry at myself for turning down

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

I loved and angry at the baby

turn to know that it is

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

2/5

*15 BONUS

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

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

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

for what was to come next.

exist, that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and later,

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 baby to hinder

of my mistake to always be

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

complete mess, everything was new to me. To put

h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know

to get

me to get one, but

anyone to know.”

tell me that during all the years you

a virgin?” Travis asks in

we started dating, which was

with anything that walked and had a vagina. When I’d told him I wasn’t ready,

planned to wait till I was ready. My

3/5

a groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk about this?

+15 BONUS

still a virgin. Anyway,” 1 paused.

want the child and I wanted to get rid of it,

an abortion?” Mom asks, her voice

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