Reborn From Regret: Audrey's Second Chance

Chapter 1: The Weight of Resentment

Audrey's POV

The alarm clock's beeping woke me up from sleep, and I threw my hand at it with a lot of force. It was the start of another day. Another morning of waking up beside the wrong man.

I looked at Damon, who was still asleep beside me, his dark hair scattered all over the pillow.

In the early morning light, from the window the resemblance that had once tricked me was not visible right now.

How could I have ever confused him with David? The thought made my stomach twist with nausea, a daily occurrence that has been happening every morning for the past seven years.

Seven years of living with a mistake that I had made when drunk. Seven years of watching my dreams and plans in life disappear under the guise of raising a child I'd never wanted with a man who was nothing more than a substitute of the man I wanted.

Damon seemed to be waking up, as he crunched his nose, a telltale sign that he was waking up, his eyes slowly opening.

"Morning," he said, voice still sounding hoarse and heavy with sleep.

He reached for me, but I got out of bed before he could touch me.

"I have to get ready. Parent-teacher conference today," I said, my voice cold as I headed straight to the point.

His expression seemed to have fallen slightly before he fixed it into a neutral one. As he nodded his head slowly.

"Right. I took the afternoon off so I could be there too for Ollie."

I stopped as I got to the bathroom door. "That won't be necessary. I can handle it."

"Audrey, it's Ollie's first official evaluation since they moved him to the advanced program. I'd like to be there."

I shrugged, not really concerned about it although I felt irritation that was growing underneath my skin. It had been barely five minutes and he was already making me mad.

"Suit yourself."

While bathing under the shower. I allowed the hot water to run though my body as I thought about my plans for today.

The parent-teacher conference wasn't what I was looking forward to. It was what I hoped to see. Or more precisely who

David Mitchell, my ex boyfriend and first love was back in town, with his son Charlie. After seven long years apart, my high school sweetheart had settled back in this town from abroad. He was recently divorced and had full custody of his son and from our brief conversations since his return last month-he was very interested in rekindling our old flame.

That thought made me very happy as I let myself mask in it feeling content for the moment.

When I finally came out from the bathroom, Damon was gone from our shared bedroom, and was already downstairs making breakfast.

I could hear his conversation with Ollie from where I was.

Damon was always the attentive father. The perfect husband. He was also the man who'd ruined my life by looking too much like someone else in a dark room all those years ago.

I wore my favourite dress trying to show off my figure for the one man that I wanted and trained to get rid of my pregnancy fat for- David.

When I got downstairs I saw that Ollie was already seated at the kitchen table, his fingers holding a glass of orange juice, reading a book that was placed against the cereal box.

At six, he was already reading at a fifth-grade level, his intelligence another reminder that he was indeed his father's son.

"Morning, Miss Shaw," he said without looking up from his book

I felt Damon stiffen up from where he was at the stove, but he said nothing to contradict Ollie this time.

We'd had this argument a lot in the past already. I'd always insisted that Ollie call me by my name, not "Mommy."

"Are you ready for your conference?" I asked, as I poured myself coffee.

Ollie nodded, still not looking at me. "Dad helped me prepare a case file of my projects to show Mrs. Henderson."

"That's nice," I said, not really interested in what he was saying. I checked my phone, my heart racing when I saw a text from David.

*Looking forward to seeing you this afternoon. Charlie's excited too.*

I smiled, as I hid my phone before Damon could see. I'd arranged to meet David and Charlie after Ollie's conference, under the guise of trying to help them get used to the town after a long time away.

In reality, it was an excuse to spend time with the man who was still the love of my life after all these years.

"I might be late getting home," I said looking up from my coffee. "I'm showing an old friend around town after the conference."

Damon gently placed a plate of eggs in front of Ollie before turning to me, his expression calm and collected as he nodded his head.

"Anyone I know?"

"David Mitchell," I said, watching his face for any reaction. "You remember him from high school?"

"I remember." He said stiffly as I continued speaking.

"He's back in town with his son. Divorced now." I sipped my coffee, still staring at him, maintaining eye contact silently daring him to object to this.

"That's nice of you to help them settle in after a long time away," he said finally, heading back to the stove.

"It's the least I can do for an old friend," I replied, emphasizing on the last word after my initial plan to provoke him didn't work out well.

Damon nodded his head still not looking at me.

"Do you want eggs?"

"No." I dropped my half drunk coffee cup in the sink. "I'm not hungry."

The parent-teacher conference was scheduled to begin at 2 PM.

I got to Millfield Elementary ten minutes early, parking my car next to Damon's in the visitor lot.

He'd come straight from work, arriving before me despite the fact that I had left the house first.

Inside the school hall, I found them already waiting outside Mrs. Henderson's classroom-Damon was in his work suit, Ollie beside him, also dressed in his school uniform, and holding onto a folder that seemed to maybe contain his portfolio.

"You're here," Ollie said, looking surprised and sounding it as well.

His surprise stung me although it was perfectly understandable as I had missed a lot of events before giving silly excuses for not participating in it.

"Of course I'm here," I said stiffly looking away.

"I said I would be."

Damon placed a hand on Ollie's shoulder, a smile present on his face as he spoke. "Mrs. Henderson is almost through with another family. It should take any more time before we are called in.

I nodded my head although I stood some distance away from the both of them as we waited.

Through the classroom window, I could see David sitting opposite Mrs. Henderson, his son Charlie beside him.

As if he noticed that I was staring at him, David looked up, as he saw me through the glass. He smiled, raising a hand in greeting. I smiled back, feeling happy that he saw me.

"Isn't that your friend?" Damon asked , following my eyes as he stared at who I was looking at. "David?"

"Yes," I said, not bothering to hide my happiness. "What a coincidence."

But it wasn't one at all. I'd known exactly when David's conference with Charlie was scheduled to take place as well just as how I had planned to leave with them instead of taking Ollie home with Damon.

It was cruel, maybe but life stopped being fair since that mistake that night ago. Why should I be the only one to suffer for that mistake?

The classroom door opened, and David came out with Charlie, his smile getting bigger when he saw me.

"Audrey," he said happily. "What a pleasant surprise."

I stepped forward, closer to him as I said. "David. How wonderful to see you."

Behind me, I knew without looking that Damon was watching, although he would mask his pain to pretend it didn't hurt. Deep down I wanted him to feel what I had felt everyday for the past seven years.