Episode 990: Switch

Bas shook his head, more annoyed than he probably had a right to be at his niece taking Xavier’s side. Given how little effort Sebastian had made over the years to spend time with the kid, it made sense her basically adopting a replacement uncle, though it didn’t mean he had to like who she’d chosen. She was his family, she ought to at least show more loyalty than to buddy up with his wife’s ex. There was a lot of that going around, divided loyalty where there shouldn’t be any.

That was the whole point of this unpleasant face to face, to show Ava her husband was better than she thought, more deserving of her heart than Xavier was.

When Avalon looked between the two of them, he wanted her to see everything good in him. If that meant switching up how he went about things, publicly swallowing the jealousy, the insecurity and all the other toxic things Xavier made him feel while privately he fell apart, well, that’s what he would do.

“It’s not okay for my uncle to be a jerk to you,” Tansy said.

“That was never my intention,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth. “My sister was being kept in the dark. I thought she deserved to decide for herself who does and does not spend time with her kids.”

“You’re right.” Xavier’s voice sounded aggravatingly even, reasonable. “I should have told Justine right away. It was wrong.”

“Uncle Sebastian was the wrong one,” Tansy said. “He wasn’t trying to help my mom, he was hoping my mom would be as much of a jerk as he is. But guess what? My mom’s way nicer than that. Your plan backfired, Uncle Sebastian, now everybody, even Aunt Ava knows who you really are deep down, that you’re all about yourself.”

It was on the tip of Sebastian’s tongue to say who Xavier really was, point out his seedy past. But as he’d vowed he would, he managed to swallow it. Eyes to the floor, he composed his emotions and when he looked at them again, he said, “everyone sees things differently. I know I may never be able to change the perception of how I handled things lately, but I’d like to try.”

“Right, you’re here to ask Xavier to be your best friend,” Tansy said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

“Actually, you’re not all that far off the mark,” Sebastian replied, forcing a smile.

Episode 991: I'll Be There