Ex-Husband's Regret (Ava and Rowan) novel Chapter 247

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Ethan.

When I got the news from one of the inmates that Ava had been shot, I felt like my heart had been split wide open by a sledgehammer. Everything in me died when he told me that there was no further news, but the grapevine believed that she was dead because no one could survive that shooting. That, and the fact that her family kept quiet about it and there was no official report that was released,

I love Ava, and I love my baby even more. Knowing that they both hadn’t made it almost drove me to insanity.

I waited the whole time with my heart in my throat. I waited for my parents to reach out and give me the bad news. When night arrived without a word from them, I was convinced that the rumors must be true somehow. Otherwise, why would they take so long to make contact?

I barely slept an inch the whole night. Worry and anxiety were constant companions, driving me to the edge of insanity and filling my head with painful thoughts.

At one point, I cried to God. Praying that he could somehow do a fucking miracle. I didn’t believe in any deity, but at that point, I was willing to believe in anyone who would tell me that they were both alive and okay.

My cellmate, the guards, and other inmates gave me pitying looks. I felt horrible, I looked horrible, and I was pretty sure that I was fucking dying inside.

When morning came, I could barely keep my breakfast down. The images of one adult-size casket and another tiny one kept wreaking havoc inside my head. It’s all I could think about. It’s all I saw.

My heart skipped a beat when I was called into the warden’s office. I didn’t say anything when I saw my parent’s lawyer.

When he told me that I had been pardoned for a few hours, a ray of hope started rising inside me. On our way to the hospital, that small ray bloomed into something bigger when Christopher, the family lawyer, told me that Ava and the baby were alive but in the ICU.

I thanked whatever power that had done it. They were alive, and that’s what mattered the most.

“Ethan, are you okay?” Mom’s voice brings me back to the present.

I stare at her, wondering how the fuck I got so lucky. Most women in her position would have kicked me out of their lives, but she didn’t. Neither did my father.

My eyes search for him. They finally land on him. He was a few feet away from me, and he had his hand clamped on Rowan’s shoulder.

Rowan looked ready to kill me as his eyes seared me with hate. I didn’t mind at all. The feeling was fucking mutual, given how he treated Ava in the past.

I watch as he turns around with Noah, and they follow a nurse.

“I’m just relieved, Mom,” I tell her as my eyes tear up.

I was so happy. I hadn’t lost them. There was still hope for them.

“I love you, Ethan,” she says as tears fall down her face.

I hate watching her cry. I hate seeing her heart break. I can see it in her eyes. The possibility of losing Ava was killing her.

I pull her into my arms since they had removed my cuffs.

“I love you too, mom,” I breathe. “And don’t worry. Ava and the baby are going to be just fine. You’ll see”

“You have a daughter,” dad says, and mom and I let each other go.

“What?” I stammer.

They both give me a radiant smile. “You have a baby girl. Her name is Iris.”

The tears I was holding back? Yeah, I couldn’t hold them back any more, so they fell freely down my face.

“Who named her?” It was a beautiful name, but I was afraid Ava would be pissed that they named our baby without consent.

"Noah,” mom answers. “Apparently they were discussing names one day and they settled on Iris if she was a girl and Kaden if he was a boy.”

My breath gets caught in my lungs, and my parents notice this.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy with the name?” dad asks.

“It’s not that. Iris is a beautiful name. It’s just that I once mentioned to her that I loved the name Kaden.”

Mom gives me a watery smile, and Dad gives me a side hug.

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