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,

left with nothing. When

you, but I

small as I did back then when I learned

with Ava.

didn’t sleep, and I

started pushing, and when I refused to

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

out how tough things

memory. I had so much bitterness and resentment towards Ava

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

I discovered she had been going through her own kind

well after that. Molly became my anchor.

cry or think about Rowan every second.” I take a deep

met Calvin again. It turns out we went to the same Uni and he was

assignment partner.” 2

we weren’t friends. I tolerated him because he

he didn’t show any remnants of the obsession he had for me in high school,

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

hard. I wanted to stop, but now more than ever, I knew they wouldn’t

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

let me know that Ava had given birth to a

with his son at first sight. Everything around

try to breathe through

so fucking hard.

in pain, and I was really angry. Angry at myself for turning down Rowan’s proposal, angry

Ava, angry at Ava

I loved and angry at the baby for

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

gone the way I wanted it to,

2/5

*15 BONUS

probably get back to Rowan, and that would have hurt him. That’s why I slept

don’t 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 who kept fighting for

a mistake and that

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

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

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

to always be

you get an emergency pill the morning after?”

complete mess, everything was new to me. To put it

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

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

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

anyone to know.”

want to tell me that during all the years you dated Rowan, you never

still a virgin?” Travis asks

knew Rowan wasn’t. Before we started dating, which was

that walked and had a vagina. When

planned to wait till I was ready. My biggest regret was

3/5

groan uncomfortably “Can we not talk about this?

+15 BONUS

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

wanted to

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

“Calvin threatened to tell you and dad if