REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 23: THE WHITLOCK’S WHORE

Ava barely had time to register what was happening before she was yanked forward, her scalp stinging painfully as Jerome pulled on her hair. She stumbled into the mansion, losing her footing every time she was pulled further into the mansion. Her bag fell to the ground, along with the materials from the professor, and her heart raced as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She was furious, so angry that she bit her lips so hard to control her rage.

"Jerome!" she hissed as she twisted his hand to break free, but with the way he dragged her and her unsteady feet, there wasn’t much she could do. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Jerome’s jaw clenched so tightly it looked like it might snap, but he didn’t utter a word. He just kept walking until he got to the living room where Matilda sat gracefully, wrapped up in her husband’s arms.

The noise attracted every available person in the household - Noah, Caspian, and Sasha, including some maids who hid in corners to witness what was going on.

Jerome pulled Ava’s hair even more, so hard, that when he finally tossed her to the floor, some strands of her hair remained on his palm.

Ava yelped in pain, massaging her scalp from the pain. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

On seeing this, Sasha was barely able to hold in her smile.

Matilda stood to her feet. Walking to where Jerome stood, she crossed over Ava that sat on the floor, moaning in pain. She picked up his hand that had Ava’s hair. "Did you hurt your hand, son?" She asked, examining the hand. "Did she break it?"

Jerome shook his head. "No, mother. I’m fine," he said, still gritting his teeth.

Ava laughed. Hard, so hard that tears fell from her eyes, stunning everyone, including the maids who wondered if she was suddenly going mad from the hard pull.

She was the one dragged around, but her mother was asking Jerome if his hands were fine. Ava could barely hold in another wave of laughter as she tried to control her burning rage. Instead, she smiled hysterically, drying her tears with the back of her hand. She picked herself from the floor and arranged her dress. At this point, her family was too stunned by her behavior to speak.

Gaulin cleared his throat. "Where have you been, Ava. Where are you coming from?!"

Ava turned to her father. It took all the self control she could muster to hold back an outburst, and stop herself from glaring too. At this point, she knew she was at fault for giving them this opportunity that they’d been seeking for a long time, so she had to play her cards well.

Fidgeting to keep her anger in check, she decided not to utter a word in this state.

Greatly enraged, Matilda walked up to her and grabbed her elbow so hard, earning another moan from her. "Are you suddenly deaf or mute? Your father just asked you a question and you refuse to answer?!"

Despite the pain, Ava didn’t say a word.

Matilda’s grip tightened, and her nails dug into Ava’s skin. "I’m talking to you, Ava!" she snapped, shaking her roughly.

"You better speak up while we’re being nice with you, Ava," Noah joined in, already agitated by her insolent behavior.

Seeing that Ava wasn’t speaking up, Sasha got angry. She decided to chime in. "Mother, I told you I saw Ava leaving with a man yesterday. She probably passed the night at his place," she said softly.

This enraged Matilda even more. "You little whore!" She was about to hit Ava when William walked in.

"What’s going on here?" His question stopped Matilda’s hand mid-air.

Matilda gritted her teeth at her Father-in-law’s intervention.

William’s cold eyes swept over the room, taking in Ava’s disheveled state, Matilda’s raised hand, and the bitter expressions on the faces of the rest of his family. He didn’t need to ask to know that they were ganging up against Ava again. It annoyed him.

"Matilda," William said sharply. "Put your hand down. Now."

Matilda hesitated but eventually lowered her arm, stepping back reluctantly. "Father, you don’t understand—"

"Oh, I understand perfectly," William interrupted, "What I don’t understand is why you think you have the right to raise your hand against my granddaughter under my roof."

Gaulin’s jaw tightened. "You don’t even know what Ava did, Father, and you’re already taking her side. This is why the child continues with her wrongdoings," he said sorely.

"Take a good look at your daughter, Gaulin. What could she possibly have done to deserve being maltreated like this by her family?!" William raged.

Noticing the glare on Gaulin, Matilda decided to speak up for her husband. "Father, your precious granddaughter didn’t come home yesterday and is just returning. Sasha said she saw her leave school yesterday with a man. We were just trying to discipline her before you inter-"

"This is no way to discipline your child, Matilda! Why do you all keep treating Ava like she isn’t a part of the family?" He asked, turning to Gaulin. "You said I’m taking her side. Why wouldn’t I when you keep maltreating her this way? Have you ever raised a hand to Sasha despite all her wrongdoings?"

Caspian couldn’t stop himself. He yelled out a, "Don’t compare Sasha to Ava, grandfather," before he could control himself. He was too blinded by the rage of his grandfather comparing the Whitlock’s whore to his sweet, little sister.

Everyone turned in surprise to look at Caspian.

William frowned at the little outburst. "You’re now speaking back to me?!"

Caspian held his tongue, immediately regretting his action as he looked to the floor.

William laughed hysterically. "Your son is now talking back to me, Gaulin, yet you can’t even say a thing! If this was Ava, it would have been a different story, right?!" When no one answered, he yelled, "Answer me!"

Everyone flinched, including the maids who hid at the corner. They’d never seen the old man so mad before.

"No, father," Gaulin said with gritted teeth. He turned to Caspian immediately. "Apologize to your grandfather! Now!"

Caspian bent his head. "I’m sorry, grandfather."

But William was far too enraged to listen to his apology. He looked at Ava instead. "Go to your room, Ava." Pointing to Caspian, "And you... Your punishment is coming," he said.