REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 24: REVENGE SHOULD BE SERVED AS A DISH

Ava sat quietly on her bed, not knowing how to feel after her grandfather stepped up for her. Once upon a time, no one had ever defended her before. But now, she was smiling at the beautiful feeling of knowing that someone now had her back. Regardless, she could not still outrule what her family had done to her, especially Jerome.

She was still annoyed. Very annoyed.

She pushed herself further into her bed before falling with her back. The past two days had been something else. Things were changing, and the fact that she had no control over it made her uneasy.

In her previous life, she never met a man like Maximus, let alone be abducted by him, and she certainly never had any feud like this with her family. This was why she’d been stunned all through the fight to even defend herself. Hopefully, she’d turned her old man’s heart towards her.

Ava wondered if Maximus was the reason for the sudden change, but she brushed the thought off as an idea suddenly came to her mind. She abruptly stood up from her bed and walked out of her room.

It was almost time for dinner when Ava walked out of her room. When she walked into living room, Matilda was there with a maid.

The moment Matilda noticed Ava’s presence in the room, her scornful eyes darted to her. The way she looked at Ava like she was about to murder her made Ava smile faintly. Twenty-five years she’d spent in this household, and William had never scolded her once or even raised his voice at her.

She had some mutual understanding with the old man, and they didn’t cross each others part no matter what. But all of these changed the moment Ava stepped her feet into this place. William had not just scolded her, he had discriminated her judgements, asked her to kneel before guests.

Ignoring Matilda, Ava walked into the kitchen instead, only to find Sasha dishing out the soup she’d made into a bowl, which widened Ava’s smile. She was planning on sabotaging dinner to make them pay for what they did to her, but who would have thought that Sasha would be the one making the dinner?

The kitchen had two exit, and Ava happened to come in through the exit Sasha backed, so Ava wasn’t noticed. Ava didn’t know whether it was luck or pure coincidence, but she watched as Sasha hurriedly left the kitchen, following the second exit.

Her small smile morphed into a sky grin as Sasha’s hurried footsteps faded down the hall. Walking unbothered into the kitchen, she scanned the countertops, noting the many dishes Sasha had prepared.

"They look good," Ava muttered to herself as she rolled up her sleeves. Ava hummed softly as she turned away from the dishes, and walked to the cupboard. She pulled out a bottle of cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt.

She kept humming even as she walked to the numerous dishes on the counter. Grudgingly, remembering the way she was dragged, she added the vinegar first, making sure half of the bottle went for the soup, and the other half for other dishes. She tossed the empty bottle into the trash bin.

Removing the lid from the salt, she sprinkled a dashful on the dishes, remembering the way she had felt like her scalp was going to be ruined by Jerome, and for the pepper, she didn’t know the quantity she used since she was too occupied with the thought of how Matilda had crossed over her like she was some filth.

As she stirred the soup, she chuckled softly, imagining their first bite when they would eventually eat it. And for her final touch, Ava sprinkled some pepper into the wine Sasha picked for dinner.

"That should do it," Ava whispered, stepping back to admire her handiwork after she got rid of the evidence.

Just as she turned to leave, Sasha reentered the kitchen. Her face lit up with surprise and suspicion when she saw Ava inside the kitchen.

"What are you doing here, Ava?" Sasha asked coldly.

Ava feigned innocence, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, nothing. Just passing through. I didn’t realize you were making dinner tonight."

Sasha’s eyes narrowed as she approached the dishes, inspecting them. Ava’s heart skipped a beat for a moment, but she kept her expression neutral. She folded her arms to her chest.

"Since you’re here," Ava started, distracting Sasha from the meal, "Let me make this clear. I don’t know when you started involving yourself in my business, but stop tattling to my family about me. I would no longer tolerate this."

At her warning, Sasha’s face dropped as she wondered where Ava got the guts to address her that way. She became enraged, and balled her fists to control her annoyance. "Tattling?" Sasha’s voice rose as she hissed. "I wouldn’t call that tattling, Ava. Someone has to keep this family informed about your reckless behavior. You left with a man and didn’t come home! What was I supposed to do? Pretend like it didn’t happen?"

"Yes," Ava took a step closer. "That’s exactly what you should’ve done, Sasha. You’re not even part of this family, so what point are you trying to prove?" Seeing the rage on Sasha’s face because of the question, Ava smirked. "Don’t tell me... You’re kissing everyone’s feet so they don’t send you out of this place?"

Sasha’s face twisted. Since her family found out she wasn’t their real daughter after her little accident, she’d been so scared, picturing what her life would look like outside the Whitlock’s household.

She couldn’t live with it, and she’d promised herself she’d do anything just to remain here. Her fists trembled and she picked up a knife from the counter. "I dare you to repeat yourself, you bitch!" She screeched.

Sasha’s loud voice attracted Caspian who was walking by. As he heard his little sister’s voice, he hurriedly walked into the kitchen, only to find Sasha pointing a knife toward Ava.