Ex-Husband’s Regret by Evelyn M.M

114. The wait

I stare at the doctor as if I’m a damn idiot who can’t comprehend what he just said. In my defense, his words didn’t register wholly with me. He was asking me to choose between Ava and her baby. Does he know how difficult that is?

“Mr. Woods, time is of the essence. We need to know your decision,” he all but begs.

I open my mouth, but no words come out. I try again, and the same thing fucking happens.

“Mr. Woods?” the nurse calls, concern in her voice.

“The baby,” Letty’s soft voice suddenly says, breaking the silence. “Save the baby, if it comes down to it.”

The doctor and nurse nod their heads before rushing back to the ER. I turn to face Letty with mixed feelings waging war inside me.

My look must have communicated something because she hardens her eyes in defiance before speaking.

“Don’t look at me like that, Rowan. This is what Ava would have wanted,” she says through gritted teeth.

Corrine comes to the defense of her friend.

“She’s right. Ava would have picked her baby over herself any day, any time. If we picked her over the child, she would have hated us.

I deflate after she voices what I was thinking just a few minutes ago. I know she’s right, but that doesn’t take away the heaviness I feel in my heart.

I would never wish her baby harm. All I pray right now is that it doesn’t come down to that. I hope that

both of them make it. Ava deserves to know happiness, and her baby deserves to live.

I resume my seat and wait. It killed me to wait, but what choice do I have? I’m not a doctor, so I can’t

really help her. All I can do is continue praying.

I don’t remember the last time I prayed. Probably when I was still a kid in Sunday school. Right now, I’m willing to pray to anyone who’ll listen and answer my request. If it was possible to trade places with her,

gladly done so, even if it

I have right now just to see her scowling or glaring

“It’s my fault.”

turn towards the voice to find Letty silently

1/3

but I was unreachable. When I got her missed call, I told myself I’d call her after i got out of work. I should have just called her

her into his arms as

your fault, Letty. You couldn’t have predicted

be me. I picked up her call. She wanted us to go shopping, but I was busy, so I asked her if we could postpone. If only I’d gone with her. Maybe

their friend shining through their

predicted something like this happening, so don’t blame yourself. The only one

game right now won’t help. We need to focus on Ava and the baby.

for them,” my

say anything. I just focus on the emergency

killing me. The waiting. The worrying. The uncertainty. I just need someone

she is going to be okay. That she and the

lining. For

stay away. Their souls weren’t his to claim. Not now. It wasn’t their time

when they’ve both

when we went to the mall and she didn’t see the

smile.

chuckles. “Yeah. She hit it right in the face before

couldn’t stop laughing about it because it was

chuckled. There was just something about it

gritted my teeth and

the time the hot waiter caught her talking about how cute

her, but she didn’t get it, not until the

on her face.

leave because she couldn’t face him after

2/3

place

+15 BONUS

Everyone was probably lost in memory lane. For the others, there probably weren’t any good memories. After all, they’d treated Ava like shit, but Letty and Corrine

of them.