HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 249

**Shadows of the Past – By Emma Clarke**
**Chapter 249**

His voice sliced through the air, laced with a barely contained rage. “If only you hadn’t treated her so cruelly. Not just you—me too. Especially me, as her husband back then.”

Daven’s fists were balled tightly, the knuckles gleaming white under the harsh fluorescent lights of the room.

“If only I had been kinder to her. Even if love was absent, I should have at least stood by her side during her pregnancy. I should never have allowed her to walk away from our home. And you, as her mother-in-law—you should never have felt relieved to see her leave. Isn’t that the truth? But what did we do instead?”

His words landed on Kate like heavy stones, each syllable a reminder of their shared failures. Her mouth opened as if to respond, but no sound emerged. The carefully constructed arguments she had prepared to confront Daven with evaporated, leaving behind a suffocating silence filled only by the weight of undeniable truth. He was right.

Deep within her heart, Kate recalled the day Althea had walked away, the memory sharp and vivid. She had felt a sense of relief wash over her, a feeling that now twisted painfully in her gut.

“But at the very least… she could have told you there was a child growing inside her—”

“How could she have made that choice back then?” Daven’s laughter was bitter, a hollow sound that echoed in the tense space between them. “What would she have gained, other than humiliation and rejection?”

Kate fell silent, the gravity of his words settling heavily around them.

“Instead of returning to Mighatan to reveal the truth—that she was carrying my child—Althea chose to raise him on her own. Alone. They lived quietly, just the two of them, with no intention of ever letting me know I had a son. To her, I was a ghost of the past—someone she had no need for in her present.” His voice thickened, his gaze dropping to the floor, shadowed by regret and sorrow.

“Perhaps this is God’s punishment for how I treated her,” he continued, his tone heavy with despair. “Now that I finally know the truth, all I can do is stand by my son’s side as a stranger. And if I dare to challenge that role, Althea has made it painfully clear—she won’t let me see Josh again.” His voice faded into a whisper, filled with anguish.

“She wouldn’t dare, Daven! No one could be so cruel as to tear a child away from his father.”

“She would, Mom.” The smile that flickered on his lips was brittle, fragile like glass. “And I can’t take that risk. That’s why I’m begging you… please.” His tone shifted, softening into a desperate plea. “Keep this secret until the time is right.”

“Until when?” Kate’s impatience spilled into her voice, sharp and demanding. “He’s my grandson, Daven. He deserves to know that he still has a grandmother.”

“I know.” Daven’s smile was faint, weighed down by sorrow. “But please… just be patient. Can you do that for me?”

“She has no right to do that to us—especially to you, Daven!” Kate’s voice rose, laced with outrage. “I’ll talk to her myself. She can’t just make decisions like that! Josh is my grandson! The whole world should know it!”

“And what then, Mom?” Daven’s voice sharpened, frustration bubbling to the surface. “You’d make Josh the one who suffers the most because of your actions? Do you think I enjoy holding myself back like this? Do you think I don’t ache to shout to the world that Josh is my son? I want that more than anything—but for now, I’m choosing what’s best for him.”

“Who would dare hurt my grandson, huh?” Kate’s eyes blazed with fury, each word dripping with protective instinct.

“There’s only one reason that makes sense to me,” Daven said, his voice low and taut. “Vanessa’s games. If everyone knew Josh was mine, what do you think they’d say? That I cheated on her with Althea. But that’s not the truth. I had no idea how Althea lived all these years. I was focused on Vanessa, on my work—you of all people know that. So tell me, Mom—who would be hurt the most if the truth that should bring me joy ends up only breaking her heart?”

Kate’s fists tightened on the table, her body trembling with barely contained anger.

“You already know the answer, don’t you, Mom?” Daven exhaled heavily, his own frustration simmering just beneath the surface. “I don’t want to delay this any longer than necessary, but this… this is the only way I can protect Josh. I can’t let him get hurt, Mom. I mean it.”

Kate pressed her lips together, fighting back the storm of emotions threatening to spill over. Deep down, she knew Daven was right. Yet, another thought crept in, unwelcome and persistent: if only she hadn’t treated Althea so poorly back then, would their family’s story have unfolded differently?