Ex-Husband’s Regret by Evelyn M.M

56. Baby Ava

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Rowan booms, his cold grey eyes shooting daggers at Ethan.

I was really not in the mood deal with his tantrums. Yes he was there for me yesterday, but that doesn’t mean he has a say on who is in my home.

Theo or should I say my dad clears his throat. It was going to take some time to get used to the idea of calling him dad.

The sound of his voice pulls everyone’s eyes to him.

Theo Howell?” Rowan says in surprise but he quickly hides it. “What are you doing here?”

Rowan looks between all of us. His eyes moving from Theo and Nora then back at me. Slowly connecting the dots.

“It’s been a while Rowan, though I can’t say that I am pleased with how you’ve treated my daughter Theo says with a dangerous smile on his lips.

“What he means to say is, we’re downright pissed off with the way you and your family has treated our daughter and we can’t see ourselves having such business partners” Nora adds. She doesn’t smile and for the first time since she came to my house, I feel hostility and hatred radiating off her.

“How’s this possible? Travis has shock written all over his face

Like I said, everyone in the country knows who the Howell’s are. They may like to keep their life private, but they’re still known.

“Oh, trust me darling anything in this world is possible” Nora says glaring at him. Fire burning behind her eyes.

I look at Emma and she too had a shocked expression. Her mouth hang open in disbelief. If she

wasn’t careful she would catch a fly

“Can we just get this over with so that you may all leave?” I ask looking directly at him.

He nods his head and pulls out his laptop. He sets it down and we gather around it. He doesn’t

waste any time skyping mother. Soon her face fills the screen.

“We’re all here mom” Emma tells her and she nods her head.

+15 BONUS

“How are you, Ava?” she asks slowly.

I don’t know why she all over sudden cared about me when she hasn’t for more than twenty years

of my life.

“Just say what you want to say, no need for the fake pleasantries”

She looks hurt, but at this point I just don’t care. I wasn’t going to play along to whatever it is she

was trying to do. She was too late to fix was what was broken.

She takes a calming breath before beginning. “You came to us when you were weeks old, but we

didn’t adapt you until you were about fifteen months old”

“What do you mean?”

1

housekeeper. She had worked for us for years. She

bearing another man’s child. You see, her husband died after seven

were planning to

that was taken away from her when

husband over” she explains.

but didn’t want to ever get married

About a month after she

told that the preacher of their church

if anyone wanted to adopt her”

at each other. Was it a coincidence? Was the preacher Winnie’s mother was

my grandfather? It was too much to

one week break and went back to her home town

she ended up taking two weeks, but finally she got

No one knew who the baby’s mother was and

was probably a scared teen that gave birth and left

social worker allowed Winnie to come back with the

adoption. The baby was a blessing to

baby she adopted was you” mother says looking at me before continuing “I had not

died. It’s like Ava breathed life back into her and Winnie

like she was her

digest what she just told

215

+15 BONUS

me like you say, why didn’t she raise

family?”

got you, she was diagnosed with stage

was too late for her and that she only had a few months to

We didn’t want to, we already had two children and

anymore”

must have happened because

me in if you didn’t want to?” I

answered. “When Travis was two years he managed to get out of

about to cross the road. There was

I screamed in

it, or where she was or how she moved. She saved Travis that day, but

up in a coma for two months. They amputated

a limp since then because of

deep breath before letting it out. “We accepted her

to compensate her it would never

went through. So when she died,

“I wish you hadn’t. You should

been kinder than the life

a good memory with

misery.

ungrateful woman. Do you know how many people

Emma ask,

Emma before I shut it up

of you stupid comments. I slept with your damn boyfriend, get the

a thirty year old woman throwing a hissy fight

behaves more mature than you

everyone. Emma looks down, her cheeks a

hold me, and realize that it’s Nora. I look up at her and

were sitting right next

”