Her Brother.

6. Him Or Him?

Avis and I visited his brother's house and were stunned by the news we heard.

"I'm planning to go to America to visit her," he announced. "WHAT?!?!" Avis exclaimed. "Who...?" I inquired. "HIS EX WIFE!!!" Avis shouted. My mind was reeling, my heart racing, and my vision blurred.

"Oh," I responded. "Why...?" I questioned him. "To see my child. And it's also a good opportunity for a vacation. You can come, I have a beach house there," he said with a smile. "Oh, I'm not sure..." I hesitated. "It's fine. You're welcome to join," he assured me.

"I'll come, but I'll make my own plans and cover my own travel expenses. Is it okay if I bring someone with me?" I asked. "Of course! Is it Xavier?" Avis teased. "Xavier? Who's that?" he inquired. "Aace's boyfriend!" Avis laughed.

"No, he's not...! It's only been two months. We're not officially together," I clarified. "Aace, he's showing all the signs of being a good guy. You should respond to his confession," she said.

"I don't like to rush into things," I replied. "But he seems to be well-endowed," Avis teased. "Stop it. I'm not interested in him that way," I insisted. "Why, is he lacking in size?" Avis chuckled.

"It's not about that. I just don't want our relationship to be solely physical," I explained. "Are you still hung up on your ex? It's time to move on," Avis remarked. "If only I had communicated better with him, things might have turned out differently," I lamented. "But you're okay now, right?" Avis inquired.

I hesitated before responding, "Not really." "No, we're not going down that road again. Go upstairs, take a bath, and relax. It'll help you feel better," Avis insisted, pushing me to my feet. "But-" I started to protest. "No excuses, do it now," she urged, pushing me towards the stairs.

Sebastian's POV:

I turned to Avis and inquired, "Is he seeing someone?" Avis responded, "No, he made it clear he doesn't want to be with Xavier at the moment. Perhaps he just needs some time to himself and move forward." Curious, I asked, "Who is his ex?" Avis questioned my interest, to which I quickly replied, "Oh, nothing." She then revealed, "His ex is actually a guy."

According to Avis, Aace had been in a relationship with his ex since high school, but they split up when his father passed away. I expressed my disbelief, commenting on the unfortunate timing of the breakup. Avis disclosed that Aace's ex's name was Miles, and added that their relationship ended because Aace was dealing with emotional pain and failed to communicate with Miles.

Curious about Aace's feelings towards his ex, I asked Avis if Aace still had feelings for Miles. Avis confirmed, "Oh, he definitely still loves him, not just likes." Surprised by this revelation, I responded, "Wow."

2 months later..

After booking first class tickets to America for Avis and me, Aace opted for business class. I wondered how he managed to pay for it, so I asked Xavier. It turns out Xavier covered the cost of Aace's flight. Throughout the journey, I focused on my work on the laptop while enjoying some 1980s music.

Suddenly, Avis interrupted me with a nudge. Annoyed, I asked her not to disturb me. She then whispered about Luna's intentions, questioning if Luna really wanted me there.

I assured her that Luna wanted me to see August. Avis then teased me about the possibility of Luna and I hooking up, to which I responded with a dismissive "shut up" before returning to my music on the laptop.

...

Upon our arrival in America, Avis instructed me to contact Luna and ask her to bring August to the airport. I complied and made the call. Luna agreed to come, so we waited for her at the airport.

Aace sat down next to me and inquired, "Who are you waiting for?" he glanced at me.

"I'm waiting for my child and ex-wife," I replied. "Oh, so you still keep in touch with your ex-wife?" he questioned. "Yes, only for the sake of our child," I clarified. "Just for the child?" he teased, smirking. "No, actually, I still hold out hope. I still love... her," I confessed.

"She's fortunate," Aace remarked with a soft smile. "I'm fortunate too, because she agreed to maintain contact even after our divorce," I added. "And also—" I began, but was interrupted by a voice calling out, "DADDY!!!" I turned quickly and saw August running towards me with Luna.

"Baby!!" I exclaimed, embracing him tightly. "Daddy, I missed you," August said, returning the hug. "I missed you too, baby," I laughed, ruffling his hair. "Welcome back, did you have a good flight?" Luna asked with a gentle smile. "No, but it's much better now that you're here. I mean, now that August is here," I said.

I smiled as Luna asked if I had eaten yet. "No, but I had a little bit on the flight," I replied, picking up August. Luna suggested we go to the house so she could cook.

"Oh, wait, I brought Avis and Aace with me," I said, turning to Aace. "Hello," Aace greeted with a smile. Luna complimented Aace, saying he was cute. "I'm with Xavier, my friend, is that okay?" Aace asked.

"Of course, you're welcome to have friends," Luna replied with a giggle. Avis ran to hug Luna, calling her "vivi." "I missed you so much, you have no idea," Avis giggled. "Let's head out now," I suggested.

...

While we were eating, Avis played with August while I observed them.

"He's grown so much," I remarked, turning to Luna. "Yes, he has. You haven't visited in nearly a year," she sighed. "I apologize, work kept me busy. I also had a new assistant to train," I explained.

"It's okay, it's good to have you back," Luna smiled. "Are you two married?" Xavier inquired. "Xavier, you can't just ask that," Aace interjected, embarrassed. "It's okay, we're actually divorced," I revealed. "Why do you two act like you're still together?" Xavier pressed.

"It's a platonic relationship," I replied curtly. "I'm going to get some alcohol, you all can wait here," I announced. While selecting the alcohol, Aace suddenly appeared and asked, "Do you still love her?" I turned to him and confessed, "Yes, very much. I hurt her, I messed up."

I discussed our divorce with Luna, and she believes it is the best decision, even though she still loves me. We have realized that we do not communicate well during arguments and tend to raise our voices, which I dislike because it upsets August.

Avis suggested, "August is sleeping, want to have a drink?" I replied, "Sure, have a seat," as I opened the bottle of alcohol. Turning to Xavier, I asked, "Do you enjoy drinking?" He chuckled and replied, "Sort of." I responded, "We'll find out."