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,

my world had exploded, and I’d been left with nothing. When I

of you, but I fell into

the grass, feeling as small as I did back then

with Ava.

didn’t sleep, and

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

didn’t want you

tough things were for

so much bitterness and resentment towards Ava back

found out how far I’d fallen, she would have been

been going through her

after that. Molly became my

cry or think about Rowan every second.”

It turns out we

assignment partner.” 2

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

show any remnants of the

of him. We co–existed. He stayed out of my way and

stop, but now more

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

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

first sight.

to the surface.” I try to breathe through the pain

so fucking hard.

Angry at myself for turning down Rowan’s proposal, angry

and sleeping with Ava, angry at Ava

angry

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

everything had gone the way I

2/5

*15 BONUS

the way 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 would have been so hurt, I would have gotten my revenge, and maybe

tell 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

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

hadn’t planned for what was

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

day Rowan and I would get back together. I didn’t want an unwanted baby to hinder that. I didn’t

my mistake to always be

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

new to me. To put it plainly,

so I didn’t really know that I should have. It was

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

would have aused me to get one, but like I said,

anyone to know.”

me that during all the years you dated

virgin?” Travis asks

dating,

had a vagina. When I’d

to wait till I was ready. My

3/5

uncomfortably “Can we not talk about this?

+15 BONUS

I was still a virgin. Anyway,”

and I wanted to get rid

wanted an abortion?” Mom asks, her voice

head. “Calvin threatened to tell you and dad