REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 86: EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT

Oh shut up! I don’t know whatever lies you fed your grandfather, but we’ll deal with this when we get back home. For now..." Matilda shrugged away the guards hand that lingered on her arm. She pointed to the counter. "You’ll go there. State that you’re the legal guardian of your grandfather and grant us permission to see him."

Ava became confused. "Why do I have to grant permission for you to see grandfather?"

"Aren’t you supposed to be smart?" Sasha scoffed. "We’re being escorted out of the room because there’s a new hospital policy that only the legal guardian of a patient can visit. And to visit, we need permission from you."

Ava turned to Maximus, and when he nodded curtly, she turned back to her family. She didn’t know what to feel about this information, but a smile appeared on her face. "Is that so?"

"What is that stupid smile on your face? Hurry up and do what your mother asked." Gaulin was getting impatient.

But Ava simply arranged the hand of her bag. "I’m sorry, father, mother. But you’ve both been watching over grandfather for a while. I’ll be glad to take that responsibility off your shoulders. I’ll see you at home."

She would’ve loved to wait to see their reaction, but she held Maximus’s hand and took him inside the elevator.

.

Gaulin, Matilda, and Sasha stared at Ava speechlessly. "She can’t be serious!" Sasha burst out, "Did she just... walk away like that? Like we’re nothing?"

Matilda clenched her fists. "That ungrateful little—she’s testing me! That girl is testing my patience."

Gaulin was eerily quiet. His jaw tightened as he stared at the elevator doors that had closed behind Ava and Maximus.

"What are we going to do now, Dad? Are they going to throw us out since she has refused to give her permission?"

Gaulin took a deep breath. He’d had enough embarrassment for the day. "Let’s go home. We’ll settle this at home," he strained before walking away.

Both Matilda and Sasha were shocked. "That’s it?! You’re going to let her get away with everything she just did, Dad?!" When Gaulin said nothing and just kept walking, Sasha and Matilda were compelled to follow behind him, but they both frowned as they walked out of the hospital.

.

Inside the elevator, Ava smiled as she turned to face Maximus. "Did you do this?"

Maximus shrugged before holding Ava in his arms. "I told you to trust me, didn’t I?" Ava smiled even more as she raised her head to look at his face. "Does this happen more frequently?"

Her smile vanished. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, little one."

"No." Ava noticed the frown on Maximus face but she’d rather say this than expose how unfair she’s been treated. "How did you know about all of these anyway?"

"It’s very unlikely that someone gets kidnapped in a hospital, so I had Ethan do a little research, and well... He happened to come across this little information about you not being allowed to see your grandfather."

Ava’s smile faltered for a second before she chuckled softly to cover up. Did he also find out about Matilda being involved? "And did he get information on who the mastermind behind the kidnap is?"

"Not yet." Maximus held her tighter. "But he’s still on it. I promise you, whoever was involved will pay dearly."

Ava nodded curtly. She didn’t know if she was happy about the information or not. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Maximus to find out about Matilda’s involvement, but with the care he’s been showing her, she knew he wouldn’t just sit by.

In her previous life, she would have enjoyed this. Her life would’ve been a beautiful fairytale where she was saved by a hot billionaire. But life wasn’t a bed of roses. She’d learnt this the hard way. Now, she wanted her revenge herself, and she was going to make Matilda and any member of her family involved in her past sufferings pay dearly.

"Thank you, Maximus," Ava said with a small smile.

Maximus tilted his head slightly as he studied her face. "This is new."

"What is new?"

"You’ve never said this to me before."

Ava pouted. He was right. She’d never really thanked him for anything he’d done for her up to this point. And she knew it made her look like an ingrate, but while he did those things for her, she never appreciated any of them because she thought there was a hidden agenda to it. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

With everything she’d gone through, thanking someone with an evil agenda was equivalent to being killed again.

Now she was sure that Maximus didn’t have any bad intention towards her, she felt embarrassed for not showing gratitude for those things. "I’m sorry for being such an ingrate."

Maximus pinched the bridge of her nose, not enough to hurt. "I already got used to being engaged to one."

She laughed.

The elevator door opened to Ethan, and on seeing him, Maximus hesitantly let Ava go even if he placed his hand on her lower back as he led her out.

Clearing his throat, "It’s so nice to see you again, Miss Ava. I’m sorry about what happened yesterday."

"Thank you," Ava said with a small smile before turning to Maximus who led her to her grandfather’s room door. Ethan followed behind them.

"Wesley has been waiting for you. You just missed him," he informed Maximus.

"Why?"

"Something about getting your legal team ready in case the Whitlock’s decides to sue the hospital."

"That can be easily discussed over the phone or email. Tell Wesley not to waste his time worrying about things that don’t concern him. I told him I was going to take care of it, didn’t I?"

Ethan nodded curtly. "I can understand his concern. Gaulin looked really mad when he was thrown out of the hospital. The last time he was this mad, well, we both know what happened."

Maximus chuckled dryly, and he released Ava’s waist when they got to the door. All while they were having a conversation, Ava was lost in her little world, thinking about her grandfather. They both watched as she took in a deep breath before pushing open the door.

When she entered the room, "Let him be mad. It’s about time he’s reminded that he can’t mess with someone who’s dear to me," Maximus said dryly as he watched his little wife.

Both men stood at the door, giving Ava a moment with her grandfather.

Ava quickly rushed to her grandfather lying on the bed. Her heart tightened as she watched his unconscious face but she held herself from breaking into tears. "Grandfather, I’m here." She sat beside him and held his hand. "I’m so sorry for not fighting enough to come sooner."

Instead of entering the room, Maximus signalled for Ethan to close the door behind him. "Have your men guard the room. I may as well have a little chat with Wesley."

"Consider it done," Ethan murmured before disappearing down the hall.

Maximus took one last glance at the closed door before he walked away.

~~~~~~

The steady beep from the holster machine was the only sound inside the room. Ava still sat frozen in place beside her grandfather, holding his frail hand as she watched him. It’d been over three hours she’d spent with him, but she’d done nothing other than this.

It broke her heart to see him in this condition, but she was scared that letting go even for one bit would have this disastrous effect.

The room door opened after a slight knock and a set of people brought trays of different meals into the room. Even if Ava could perceive the sweet aroma of the meals, she didn’t look away from her grandfather. Not until she felt Maximus’s hand on her bare arms, gently stroking them.

"I had some special chefs prepare something for you. You should come eat."

Ava looked up at him. "I’m not hungry."

Maximus sighed as he crouched beside her chair so they were at eye level. "I know you’re worried about him, but starving yourself won’t help." He saw the hesitation in her eyes and decided to push. "You don’t have to decline. We’re not leaving the room. We’ll be watching him from the couch over there."

Ava stared at the dishes arranged on the table and her stomach growled softly at the sight. "See? Even the little guy agrees with me."

Ava hesitated, but she eventually followed Maximus to the table where the dishes were served. Picking up a fork, she looked around the table before her eyes fell on Maximus who took his place beside her.

"I asked them to prepare this much cause I couldn’t guess what you’ll want to have. I hope you’re craving something on this table."

"The pork looks nice." Maximus smiled. "Thank you." She stared at him gratefully.

"My pleasure. Go ahead. Eat as much as you want."

She nodded and started eating. The warmth of the food melted some of the tension in her shoulders, and before she knew it, she was eating more than she had planned.

When she was done,