Bethany has been quiet since the visit from her mother at the hideaway. The conversation shook her and made her rethink. I don’t think she’s sure how she wants to move forward. Greyson and I kept her company Sunday night. Greyson was never far from her, offering his own special type of comfort. She spent some time on Monday talking to Rosemary, to Clara, and to her father. She called her mother later that evening to make plans for coffee and some more talk.

She needed this. They both did. The past was done, and death was final. They didn’t need for loss to be the defining moment in their relationship. I found a way to come to terms with all the bitter words that Anna hurled at me and at my relationship with her daughter. It’s up to them now to try to make their way past anger, disappointment, and misunderstanding. 

But tonight, I have to tell Aveline that our relationship is done. I know she isn’t going to take this easily. Still, I can’t string her along either, not when my heart is with Bethany.

I hated this. For so many reasons. Aveline was a lifeline for me, and she will be heartbroken when I tell her that I’m ending our time together. She’s going to be wonderful for some guy, but my wonderful was back at the hideaway with my son.

The door to Magnolia’s opened and I could smell Aveline even before she headed my way. Her perfume reminded me of roses and vanilla. I turned to smile at her, and the glow on her face just gutted me.

“Gideon!” she said with a smile before throwing her arms around me, but I made no move to hug her back. It just felt so wrong now to do so. I could feel her stiffen and she pulled back with concern showing on her face.

“Gideon? What’s wrong?”

“Come on, Aveline. Let’s talk, okay?”

We headed back to a booth in a far corner. The waitress came by and Aveline ordered a glass of white wine while I stuck with the bottle of beer I had been drinking, waiting for her to arrive.

“Gideon, what’s going on? Why wouldn’t you hug me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Aveline, you didn’t do anything wrong at all. But I should have been honest with you from the beginning of our relationship about where my head was. I was… I am in love with someone else. And now we have the chance to make things right. I can’t keep giving you mixed signals. I have to be honest.”

Her face was a mask of disbelief and shock. “So, what have I been to you for the last year, Gideon? Because when we were together, it didn’t feel like you were in love with someone else. Who is she?”

“Aveline, you are an amazing friend and you stepped in when I had no one. I can’t deny that I would not have made it through Galen and Maxi dying, and then Greyson, without you. And I wasn’t trying to use you. I wanted to try. I wanted to move on. But I love Bethany, and I’m not going to live without her anymore.”

“Oh, I should have known it was her. Bethany Thorne has always been between us. In and out of bed. You called for her in your sleep a few times, you know. You even called me Bitty when you pulled me close. But I thought, in the last few months, we were building something. I thought you were feeling something for me.”

Damn, I was such an asshole. I called her another woman’s name in bed. I dropped my head and ran my fingers over my forehead with a pained exhale. The headache coming was going to be huge.

“Aveline, I’m sorry.”

The guilt I felt because I was destroying a really good person clawed at my throat, and I found that I couldn't even look her in the eye.

“Tell that to my broken heart, Gideon. I wanted a family with you and Greyson,” she said with despair, and moved out of the booth.

“Aveline…”

“Good luck, Gideon,” she said, her back to me as she walked away.

Well. Fuck.