REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 31: MALL DISASTER II

Ava froze mid-step. Her grip tightened around the handles of the shopping bags. She inhaled slowly, turning around with a calmness that betrayed none of the frustration bubbling beneath her skin. "Upstairs," she simply said.

Sasha let out a mocking laugh from her spot on the couch. Standing up to get a better view of Ava, "Why are you going upstairs? I thought we were strangers to you."

"What nonsense are you spouting out now, Sasha?" Ava asked lazily. "Did you mishear me again? Maybe it’s not just your brain you should check, try your ears too."

Sasha gasped. This little maggot had really gotten bolder, but her sharp tongue wasn’t going to get her off the hook. She gritted her teeth. "Mother also heard the same thing. Are you trying to say mother also has hearing problems?"

Ava paused. She was tempted to say yes, but she held her tongue.

"Come here, Ava," Matilda ordered.

With the heavy bags, Ava hesitated for a while, before she sluggishly began to set down the bags at the foot of the stairs.

"Come with the bags,"Matilda added.

Ava felt it in her guts that something nasty was going to happen, regardless, she walked over lazily. Standing in front of Matilda, she dropped the bags on the floor, feeling pain from the heaviness of the bag.

Sasha stared at the numerous bags grudgingly. "Is this what you humiliated me and mother for? You’re really shameless, Ava. Just wait until everyone hears about this."

"I didn’t humiliate you and mother, Sasha," Ava retorted. "All I did was watch how you and mother did a fine job with that."

Sasha bristled, and her face flushed with anger. "How dare you speak to me and mother like that?! Mother, are you going to let her disrespect us like this after the humiliation at the mall?!"

Matilda stood to her feet and struck Ava on her cheek. Ava’s jaw clenched as she felt the stinging pain. Her fingers dug into her palm to the point where her hand felt numb as she constantly reminded herself that she wasn’t supposed to get physical with her family, at least not now.

She acutely remembered her promise at her grandfather’s party about how that was going to be the last time Matilda raised her hand on her again, but she swallowed down her anger.

"You humiliated me at the mall! Come back to my house, and still have the effontery to speak to us like that?! Just who do you think you are, Ava?!" Matilda spat the words one after the other, barely controlling her fury.

Sasha smiled, nodding in approval to every word Matilda said. Securing the opportunity, she walked to the bags Ava dropped on the floor and threw the items inside each bag to the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she kicked the items on the floor, but she suddenly stopped when her eyes fell on the familiar emerald dress and the diamond necklaces.

She’d seen this collection only yesterday on a fashion blog. There was only one piece of this dress made by the most famous fashion designer in Lebron. How did Ava get this? She gritted her teeth. There was no way it was real. She bent down and picked the dress.

Sasha lifted the dress higher as she examined it. Her fingers trembled slightly as they traced the fabric. The craftsmanship was unmistakable. She had spent hours drooling over this very piece on her favorite blog and only went shopping with her mother for this dress. "This can’t be real. There’s no way someone like you could afford this," she muttered.

She looked at Ava angrily, before she picked up the scissors from the couch and started ripping the dress apart.

Too stunned to move, Ava finally regained herself and dashed forward, snatching the torn dress from Sasha. Her fingers shook as she held it, not from weakness, but from the anger that was rising inside her. "What is wrong with you?!" Ava snapped, but Sasha didn’t care.

Like a possessed person, Sasha hurriedly picked up the jewelries from the floor and tried to break them, throwing each piece away.

"Stop it!" Ava screamed, grabbing her arm to stop the madness, but Sasha yanked herself free. One by one, the diamond necklaces clattered against the floor with echoing sounds as Sasha hurled them away.

Ava lost all her rational senses when Sasha destroyed the piece specially picked out by Evelyn for her. Instead of stopping Sasha with words, Ava yanked Sasha’s hair with enough force to pull her away from her stuffs. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Her voice trembled with anger. "You’ve crossed the line, Sasha!"

Sasha cried out, flailing as she tried to pull herself free. "Let go of me, you psycho!" She screamed as she held Ava’s hand from pulling her hair any harder.

"Since you want to act like a rabid animal and destroy things that aren’t yours, I’ll treat you like one!" Ava spat.

"Ava! Unhand my daughter this instant!" Matilda yelled, but as she tried to approach them, Ava dragged Sasha in a such a way that Sasha was facing Matilda, to avoid unnecessary intervention that’ll put her at the losing side.

In her attempt to stop Matilda from involving herself, Sasha spun and held Ava’s hair too. The two of them dragged and pulled on each other’s hair.

.

.

Noah had only just returned from the company since he finished his work earlier than usual. From the entrance of the mansion, he could already hear the faint voices of women screaming. Hurrying into the living room, the sight that befell him froze him in place.

While his mother stood there, screaming Ava’s name, both Ava and Sasha pulled on each other’s hair. Some maids gathered around, but they didn’t dare involve themselves.

Matilda suddenly noticed Noah standing frozen by the entrance, and her anger shifted to him. "Noah!" She barked. "Are you just going to stand there while Ava attacks Sasha like a wild animal?! Do something!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Immediately Sasha heard Noah’s name, she stopped pulling Ava’s hair. Instead, she screamed in pain, tripping on purpose and falling on the couch, so that Ava was on top of her. Ava was too blinded by her rage to see what was going on.

At that sight, Noah blinked. His shock dissolved into a frown as he processed the scene in front of him. Ava was hurting his little sister. His eyes darkened and rage consumed him as he rushed toward them.

Pulling Ava’s hair with enough force to make her let go of his sister, he dragged Ava away from Sasha and tossed her to the floor.

Ava screamed immediately her body landed on the floor. A piece of the diamond necklace pierced into her elbow, and her ribs hit the sharp edge of the glass table. She fought back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes as she looked at her injured elbow. Instead, she clutched her elbow that blood slowly trickled from.

Her chest heaved with pain as she tried to process what just happened, but as she looked up at Noah, more tears from anger, filled her eyes. "You... How dare you?!" She gasped with a trembling voice.

Breathing heavily, Noah glared down at her. His jaw clenched at Ava’s question. "Why the hell are you attacking Sasha like a lunatic in her home?!"

Sasha moaned pitifully as she cradled her head dramatically on the couch. "Noah, she’s out of control! I was only trying to calm her down, but she snapped and started attacking me!" She looked at Matilda who smiled at her, clearly pleased with what she said, and she smiled back.

Ava’s hand trembled as she pushed herself up, wincing at the pain that shot through her ribs. Her eyes darted between Noah and Sasha, before it landed on Sasha permanently. "You... You ripped my dress and destroyed the jewelry Evelyn gave me. Do you think you’ll get away with this?!"

Sasha’s eyes widened. "Stop lying, Ava!" She yelled. "You’ve always been jealous of me, and now you’re trying to cover up for what you did."

Noah turned his glare back to Ava. "Did you fight with my sister because of jealousy?!"

Ava stared at Noah nonchalantly. Instead of answering him, she limped past him, walking away, until he caught her wrist. "I’m asking a question you little wretch!" He barked furiously, clearly agitated by Ava’s behavior.

"So what?!" Ava shot back. "Are you going to hit me if I refuse to answer?!" She paused, trying to catch her breath. "Because I wouldn’t waste a minute in throwing your woman-beater ass into jail. Do you hear me?!"

Noah froze at Ava’s words, and she yanked her wrist free from him.

Seeing this, Matilda stepped forward. "Don’t you dare raise your voice at Noah, Ava. If it weren’t for--"

Before she could finish speaking, Ava had already limped out of the room.