The cliche outburst from Ava's second brother made her lips twitch into a bitter smile. It was the same old script, the same predictable scene, that she was used to.
Whenever she'd do something worth praising, the scolding came. She'd heard it so many times that it had become a background noise that reminded her of her place in the family, or rather, her lack of one.
On days when the outbursts didn't come, she found herself wondering if something was wrong. After all, in this household, they couldn't live a day without throwing jabs at her.
She glanced back at her second brother. His face was contorted with anger, frustration maybe. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him look at her without one of those expressions; at this point, she wasn't sure he even knew how to. None of her brothers know.
"What family traditions, Noah?" Ava asked with an innocence that only made Noah's face darken even more.
"You know that birthdays in this family are celebrated precisely. The gifts come later at the party," Noah said coldly.
"I wasn't aware of this," Ava lied. She was acutely aware of everything, but decided not to care. As long as she was concerned, she was no longer part of this household, so the rules didn't apply to her. "I wasn't aware we needed tradition to show a little kindness on someone's birthday."
"Even so, Ava," Matilda said gruffly, "How could you see the need to make some... spectacles when none of us did? What point are you trying to prove?"
"Mother is right, Ava," Sasha chimed in. "I know you bear good intentions, but how could you give grandfather a gift when none of us did? You're making it look like we don't care about him and only you do."
Ava fought the urge to roll her eyes. The hypocrisy in his family was laughable. They could pretend all they wanted, but she remembered too well how little any of them cared about the old man.
Not even William's own son had shed a tear when he passed. No one visited his grave, no one bothered with flowers. The only arrangement they made was calling the lawyer before the old man's body had even gone cold.
"Oh I see," Ava said mockingly, "So it's not the gift that's the problem. The problem is that none of you thought of offering one to grandfather and now you all feel guilty?" She chuckled, stunning everyone. "But isn't it a good thing that I was able to prepare something like this on his birthday, something no one thought of?"
"How can you say something like this, Ava?" Sasha asked innocently, "How can you openly try to paint us black by saying we don't have grandfather's interest by heart when everyone except you had put in a lot of effort in preparing for his party this evening?"
"When did I ever say that, Sasha? Why are you twisting my words?" Ava gruffed.
Sasha feigned ignorance. "When did I ever twist your words, Ava? I simply repeated what you implied," she said smoothly, tilting her head like she truly couldn't fathom why Ava would accuse her.
"Do you no longer think like a sane person that you're now misinterpreting what I said?" She asked innocently.
Sasha's face dropped.
"Shut up, Ava!" Noah hissed, practically spitting each word. "It's one thing that we brought you back into this house, but you cannot speak to Sasha like that in her home."
Not fazed by Noah's warning, Ava said innocently. "I'm trying to help her, Noah, by detecting early issues. If you want to help your little sister, take her to the psychiatric hospital and get her treated before this little symptom grows into full madness."
That was all it took to throw the room into chaos. Everyone around the table stopped eating.
"What did you say, Ava?!" Jerome screeched. "Did you just call Sasha mad?!" He pushed back on his chair and stood to his feet in anger.
Ava fought back the urge to laugh. "Why is everybody misinterpreting my words? Is this issue passed from one person to another after living in the same house for so long?"
Gaulin's face twisted. "Ava Whitlock!" He yelled. "I will not tolerate this insolent behavior in this house."
"Who even gave you the right to speak when you're spoken to?!" Matilda raged.
"Do you want us to remind you of your place here?!" Jerome asked further, taking a step toward Ava.
But before he could get closer, William pushed back his seat, earning everyone's attention. "That's enough!" He said coldly. "No one is permitted to behave like an animal in this house," he said, looking at Jerome whose face was twisted in rage.
"Take a seat, boy!" He ordered. Jerome's gaze lingered on Ava more than necessary, before he hesitantly sat down. "On no circumstances will you lay a hand on Ava. Have I made myself clear?" William spat.
Jerome paused before saying between gritted teeth, "Yes, grandfather."
"Good." William turned to Ava. "Granddaughter," he called out and both Ava's and Sasha's eyes snapped to him, but his warm eyes were on Ava. "Thank you for the flowers. They mean a great deal to me," he continued.
Ava's eyes naturally warmed up to his with a smile on her face. "Once again, happy birthday, Grandfather," she said softly, earning a curt nod from him.
His eyes flickered to Sasha before he walked out of the room.
As Ava took her seat on the table and started serving dishes on her plate, the rest of her family left one after the other in annoyance. Apparently, she had ruined their appetite for the morning, while hers burned like never before. She even made yummy sounds occasionally to show that she enjoyed her meal.
Sasha was the most furious one. She paced around her room, chewing angrily on her nails. Ava had called her a mad person in front of everyone, and somehow managed to get away with it because of her grandfather. She couldn't understand why the old man was suddenly interested in her, and that annoyed her even more.
Just when she thought she might explode from the anger, a thought came to her mind and she hurriedly dashed out of her room in search of Ava.
When she finally found Ava, she smiled innocently as she approached her with a box in her hand. "Ava," she called out sweetly. "Here," she stretched the box containing a beautiful diamond necklace to her. "A gift... For you."