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 went back to

of you,

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

with Ava.

sleep, and

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

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

how tough

lost in memory. I had so much bitterness

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

been going through

became my anchor.

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

met Calvin again. It turns out we went to the same

assignment partner.” 2

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

any remnants of the obsession he had for me in high school,

out of my way and

now

well for some time. They weren’t perfect,

to let me know that Ava

with his son at first sight. Everything around

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

and sleeping with Ava,

loved and angry at the baby

don’t need to turn to know that it is from Rowan. I

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

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*15 BONUS

hurt me I knew he always disliked Calvin for 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

also how I lost my virginity. I was saving it for Rowan and in the end I gave it to the guy who kept fighting for

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

hadn’t planned for what was to come next.

until my period was late. A cheap test.

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

of my mistake to always be in

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

a complete mess, everything was new to me.

the–the first time I’ve ever h–had s–sex so I didn’t really know that I should have.

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

aused me to get one, but like I said, I was so ashamed, I didn’t

anyone to know.”

during all the years you dated Rowan,

a virgin?” Travis asks

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

with anything that walked and had a vagina. When I’d

till I was ready. My biggest regret

3/5

“Can we not talk about this? It

+15 BONUS

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

I wanted to get rid of it,

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

threatened to tell you and dad