Chapter 327
327
When Marshall heard that, he got uneasy. ‘How can Louise being sick be a small thing?’ Marshall thought. He rushed over and took Louise’s hand. “What’s up, Louise? If you’re feeling off, you gotta tell Daddy.” Ava shot Louise a glare. I gotta admit, when this woman puts on an act, especially playing the victim, she was Oscar-worthy,’ Ava thought.
Right now, Louise was giving Ava the sad puppy eyes, no anger, just pure ‘woe is me,’ looking quite pitiful.
Seeing her gaze fixed on Ava, Marshall asked, “What’s the matter?”
Louise bit her lip, tears welling up. “Today. Ah, forget it. Just ask Ava!”
She was on the brink of accusing Ava of bullying. In Ava’s mind, she’d cursed Louise out a million times already.
This shameless bitch. I’m no match for her, Ava thought.
Marshall turned to Ava. “Ava, spill. Where were you today? What went down?”
Shannon saw all the good impressions she’d built up slipping away again. She was ready to stand up for Ava, but Marshall shut her down with a glare.
“Zip it! Let her talk!”
Ava bit her lip, took a moment, then spilled it. “I heard she was sick, so I went over to the Francis residence to check on her. No ill will, seriously. But I accidentally spilled coffee on her.”
As soon as Ava finished, Louise chimed in, acting all wronged. “Accident? Dad, do you buy that I accidentally got coffee in my face?”
Ava clenched her fists tight.
“Cut the crap! Tell the truth!” Marshall snapped.
Ava could only admit they had a spat, and Ava’s short fuse led to the coffee incident.
Ava added, “But she started it! Dad, you know how it is, right? If she hadn’t pushed my buttons, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Marshall looked at Ava sternly. Then, he remembered her earlier talk about wanting to work at the company. He kept his temper as he chastised Ava.
“Louise is your sister. Show some respect. And don’t fly off the handle like that again. Apologize to your
sister.”
Ava took a deep breath. She saw Louise smirking smugly.
Shannon jabbed Ava discreetly. Reluctantly, Ava muttered, “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”
At dinner, Marshall brought up Brian.
Louise thought back to their recent tiff. They’d patched things up, but she was itching for that marriage certificate.
Of course, she couldn’t tell Marshall that, especially not in front of Ava.
“Dad, we’re good, as always”
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She whipped out her phone with a grin. “See, when I was sick in the hospital, Brian was there taking care of me till I got discharged.” Marshall nodded. “That’s nice.”
Seeing Louise’s smug face, Ava lost her appetite. Shannon, worried she’d start up again, kept nudging Ava under the table to rein it in. Ava barely touched her food, excused herself, and headed upstairs.
Louise glanced at her. “This pawn isn’t worth much anymore. Might be time to let it go, Louise thought.