Ex-Husband’s Regret by Evelyn M.M

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything right now. Her situation is delicate, so as of now we

aren’t sure how things will turn out.” He doesn’t give us time to process anything before

he walks back into the room.

I stand numbly as his words hit me like sharp shards of glass. They pierce my heart and

soul and cause a load of pain.

Minutes later, a nurse comes to let us know that Ava is now in surgery. I thought I would

see her before they took her to surgery, but she told me that they used a different door.

She said that her wounds, especially the one on her head, wasn’t pretty. They couldn’t

allow her family to see her like that.

After she leaves, I take my seat and continue praying to a God I have lost touch with. I

bargain with him, I threaten him, and finally, I fucking beg him. Beg him to listen to my

prayers. Beg him to save the woman I love.

“Can I get you something to eat, Ro?” My mom asks me.

I shake my head. I couldn’t even stomach the thought of food right now, let alone eat it. I

was a nervous fucking wreck. Food was the last thing on my mind.

Gabe takes the seat next to me when mom vacates it. With dad sitting on my other side. I

don’t like admitting weakness, but in this moment, I am. I am weak and helpless, and I

didn’t know how to stop feeling that way.

Time passes with no word from the doctors. Before I know it, the waiting room door opens,

and Noah comes running to me. His body collides with mine and I take time to just breathe

his scent in. It calms

me, but not by much.

I spot Calvin entering with Gunner. I give him a nod to say thank you, which he

reciprocates. Emma

freezes upon seeing them, but Kate’s eyes fill with tears when her eyes land on her

grandson.

“Dad, where is mom? I asked Cal why he was picking me up instead of mom, but he said,

You’ll explain

everything,” he says, a mask of concern firmly on his face.

Damn this was hard. I had time to come up with a way of delivering the news, but words

fail me.

“Is she having the baby? Is that why we are at the hospital?” he pushes.

I take a calming breath before opening my mouth to speak.

“Your mom was hurt really badly, Buddy. The doctors are with her right now and they’re

doing everything

to make sure that she’ll be fine.”

2/4

15 BONUS

My heart breaks at seeing the tears that fill his eyes. He shouldn’t be going through this.

He shouldn’t be

here worrying about his beloved mother.

“What about the baby?” His voice is hoarse when she asks that

I smile at him. “You have a baby sister, Noah. Just like you wanted ”

His eyes widen, and wonder fills his face, right before a smile takes over his features.

“Can I see her?”

“Not yet. Not until the doctors are done checking her out to make sure she’s fine”

The smile stays in place for a while until it starts slowly slipping. The tears that he had

controlled, start

falling down his cheek. He doesn’t make a sound though. He silently cries.

“Will she die like grandpa? I don’t want her to leave me, dad.” His voices catches at the

end and I pull him

into my arms.

I hug him to my chest while fighting my emotions and trying to be strong for him.

That is a question he shouldn’t have to wonder. A possibility he shouldn’t have to consider.

Whoever did this to Ava was going to pay dearly. He or she messed with the wrong person.

For the pain

they have caused they are going to feel it tenfold.

“No, she won’t. Your mom is strong. I’m very sure that she’ll pull through” I murmur in his

ear.

We stay like that for a while before he lets me go and climbs on my thigh. He then lays his

head on my

chest and holds me tightly. Noah is a strong boy, and the fact that he’s behaving this way

shows just how

vulnerable he is.

We continue waiting. I stand up, pace, and then sit down over and over again. Noah never

leaves my side,

even for a moment. Every minute that passed without a word, I slowly die inside. I was

afraid that the

delay meant that things weren’t going as was expected 1

It was hours after Ava had been taken in for surgery when her parents arrived.

“Where is my daughter?” Nora rushes in. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

This is the first time that I have seen Nora and Theo disheveled. They’ve always been put

together. Even

when Ethan was sentenced. Yet today they looked like hell had frozen over.

It’s understandable, though. They lost more than twenty–five years with their daughter,

and now they face

the risk of losing her for good.

3/4

+15 BONUS

Before anyone can answer, the door opens, and a doctor comes out. The look on his face

tells me everything I need to know. He didn’t have good news.

I turn to my mom “Could you take Noah and Gunner to get some snacks, I’m sure they’re

hungry.”

She nods her head and calls the boys to her. Noah gives me a look, but I assure him that

everything will

be okay.

I know I fucking lied, but I can’t have him here in case the doctor delivers terrible news.

“Mr. Woods…” he begins, but stops.

I grit my teeth and force my jaw to work.

“Fucking say it,” I snarl as I brace myself against what might be an announcement of a

death.

“She’s alive, but she slipped into a coma during surgery,” he says calmly, delivering one

more blow that

none of us were expecting.

4/4

+15 BONUS