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

any of you, but I

on the grass, feeling as small as I did back then when

with Ava.

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

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

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

tough things were

in memory. I had so much

fallen, she would have been ecstatic. It was probably a year and

discovered she had been

became my anchor. My grades

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

that I met Calvin again. It turns out we

assignment partner.” 2

didn’t really talk to him. After all, we

and when he didn’t show any remnants of the obsession he had for me

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

hard. I wanted to stop, but now

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

m alled me to let me know that Ava had given birth to

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

came to the surface.” I try to breathe through the pain of the memories, but

so fucking hard.

I was really angry. Angry

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

man I loved and angry at the baby for being

need to turn to know that it is from

if everything had gone the way I wanted

2/5

*15 BONUS

like he 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

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

the next morning. It had been 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

planned for what was to come next.

didn’t exist, that is, until my period was late. A cheap test. and later, a doctor’s appointment confirmed that

in my heart, I believed that one day Rowan and I would get back together. I didn’t want an unwanted baby to hinder that. I

mistake to

didn’t you get an emergency pill the morning

new to

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

n’t really enough to get me pregnant.

but like I said, I was so ashamed, I didn’t

anyone to know.”

that during all the years you

virgin?” Travis

Before we started dating, which

and had a vagina. When I’d told him

till I was ready. My biggest regret was holding out on

3/5

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

+15 BONUS

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

to get rid of it, but he

asks, her voice ringing

nod my head. “Calvin threatened to