The entire room fell silent as Ava stood there, gripping Gaulin's hand in mid-air. No one had ever dared to challenge Gaulin Whitlock like this. Not his children, not his close allies, not even those who feared his wrath. But here was Ava, defying the feared Whitlock with nothing more than annoyance flashing in her eyes.
She could feel the familiar anger rise within her, but it wasn't fear this time. It was a cold, seething frustration. She had expected this. She knew Gaulin was going to try to hit her, but somehow, watching everything play out again just pushed her to the edge.
In the past, after her mother had slapped her, and her brothers and the fake heiress joined in with their sneers and insults, she had crumbled, fallen on her feet and begged for their forgiveness, hoping they'd show her a shard of mercy, but her father had been so annoyed. He did hit her even after her pleading.
The memory of it still burned in her mind. She could still remember how his hand came down at her face, still remembered the pain.
This time, she was never going to beg for anyone's forgiveness. Not from her father who had tossed her aside on her death bed. Not from her mother who cussed at her at her final moments. And certainly not from her brothers.
Gaulin's jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed as he tried to pull away, but Ava wasn't moving.
After watching the scene in front of him for a while, Jerome dashed toward Ava with surprising speed and yanked his father's hand from her. "What insolence, Ava!" He spat. "How dare you hold father's hand?!"
Ava simply shrugged. "Didn't you see? He was about to abuse me. I just stopped him before he could."
"What's all this nonsense?!"
Everyone turned sharply toward the direction the gruff voice came from, which was the entrance.
"Can't an old man get some peace in his own damn house?!" William asked, infuriated by everything he witnessed.
On seeing him, Ava almost stumbled to the floor. Her eyes grew damp. She could barely stop her emotions from consuming her. "Grandfather," she said his name in utmost disbelief.
He's alive...
Her legs grew weak, but that thought rang over and over again in her mind. Her feet dashed toward him before she could stop herself, and she threw herself on him, holding him.
It was like hell broke loose on the contact, and Ava could no longer hold her tears from pouring down. Never in her current life did she imagine she was going to see his face, or hold him like this ever again.
This grumpy old man was the only one in this damned family that cared about her. In her past life, because of his aloof personality, she had always thought he was the one that despised her the most, but she discovered he was the only one that loved her when it was too late. After he died.
He willed all of his shares in the Whitlock's empire to her, making her the largest shareholder, and in his biography, he had specifically requested nothing more from her than for her to live a good life and meet someone who would cherish her for the loveable person that she was. Those words had broken Ava. She never got over his death. She couldn't.
Ava's actions stunned everyone, rendering them speechless, including William who didn't know how to react to his current situation. None of his children had held him like this, it was inconceivable to think his grandchildren would.
He was acutely aware of his strictness, and he knew no child or grandchild would ever get close to a strict parent, but this was the only way to raise heirs for a conglomerate.
"I- I missed you, Grandpa," she sobbed even more. "Don't you ever leave me again. I'll kill you if you do," she threatened weakly.
William almost grinned. His grand daughter was surely bold, this he couldn't deny. If she wasn't, how could she threaten the mighty William Whitlock after saying she missed him?
Her actions riled Matilda so much more that she quickly approached the duo and yanked Ava's left arm off William's neck, breaking the hug. "What are you doing, Ava?!" She barked. "How dare you hug your grandfather in a situation like this?!"
Ava sniffed, drying her tears with the back of her hand. She was a little perplexed by her actions as well. She never wanted to hold the old man like this on impulse, but she couldn't help herself after not seeing him for two years.
Sasha who hadn't spoken since she walked in, who had only been watching, sneakily crossed to where her mother was standing, linking arms with her. "Mother," she said in a sweet voice that almost made Ava's ears bleed. "Please do not get riled up by Ava. She probably missed grandpa so much and only wanted to hold him," she said, before turning to Ava.
"And Ava, don't get me wrong. I know you missed grandpa, but you shouldn't have held him like that. Grandpa is not as strong as he was before. What if you had fractured his weak bones?" She asked innocently.
Ava felt her blood boil. This wench! How could she not have seen all of these in the past? How could she not have seen that whenever Sasha had always stood up for her in the past, she was only adding more fuel to the already existing fire?
William cleared his throat. "I am not so weak, Sasha. I can definitely stand my grand daughter's weight."
That was right...
William was the only one that considered her the granddaughter of the family.
Like he had made an abominable sentence, everybody fumed, especially Sasha who hadn't expected the old man to stand up for Ava. He had never been one to pick anyone in the family's side before, even in heated arguments, so why did he stand up for the wretch that was trying to to steal her place? This made her angry.
William's gaze shifted to Gaulin who was still speechless in front of him. "What's going on here?" His question was directed at his son.
Gaulin's face hardened as his eyes darted between Ava and his father. "We were only trying to scold Ava for the embarrassment she brought on the family's name, but instead of feeling remorseful for her actions, Ava said she did nothing wrong."
"She even had the audacity to hold Father's hand when he tried to discipline her," Jerome interrupted.
When William's cold eyes came to Ava's face, she tried to explain, "Grandfather, I did nothing wrong," but her mother cut her off in annoyance.
"Can you see this, Father?!" She pointed to Ava in disgust. "Can you see the attitude of a person that soiled the Whitlock's name?! I know she grew up in the outskirts of the city, but how can someone be so ill-mannered?!" She barked even more.