Chapter 280 Not Brother Material
He snorted dismissively, “These sentences, did you not send them?”
Victoria grimaced, offering an awkward smile, “Brother, indeed, I sent them, but I had reasons for all of it. I did it for you.”
“Calling me petty and a jerk was for me?”
William clenched his phone, advancing step by step towards her. “Now tell me, should I throw you down the stairs or just wring your neck?”
William cornered Victoria against the wall.
Nervously, she said, “Brother, look again carefully, I did it on purpose. See how much Ava cares about you. I was testing the waters, just read her reply.”
William glanced again at the phone screen, his iciness thawing slightly.
He had been preoccupied with the off-putting words sent by Victoria, but now he saw the gentleness in Ava’s response.
The storm clouds on his face cleared.
Seeing the change in William’s demeanor, Victoria hastened, “See? How much she cares about you? I said those things on purpose, and right away she spoke up for you. She didn’t even take the chance to pry about you. It shows she doesn’t think of you like that at all.”
William instantly felt a wave of relief wash over him, grateful that Ava hadn't been led astray by that girl.
Many people believe whatever they hear from others and form biases. Luckily, Ava wasn't one of those impressionable folks who would take the girl's words for gospel.
This small exchange deepened his understanding of Ava.
"Bro, you get it, right? I was just testing the waters with her. You're the most perfect brother ever; I can hardly find enough time to express how much I love you, let alone smear your reputation," Victoria said with a pitiful tone.
"Don't play innocent," William grumbled.
"Play innocent? She said you must dote on me a lot. Do you think she's right?" Victoria's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled prettily, yet a hint of slyness flickered past.
William eyed her sternly, "The nerve of you to bring that up. No one has thicker skin than you."
"Hey, are you saying you don't dote on me? Then Ava must be wrong. Looks like she doesn't know you well enough, huh?"
William scoffed, "Siblings... all this doting talk is cheesy."
Victoria shot back, "Why can't siblings dote on each other? Husbands dote on wives, fathers dote on daughters, brothers dote on sisters."
"Dote on you? In your dreams," William said flatly.
He reread their chat history.
"Hmph, fine. If you won't dote on me, forget it," Victoria continued. "Oh, by the way, she mentioned she doesn't have a brother. I mentioned giving you to her—how about you become her honorary brother? Since you don't dote on me, maybe you're just waiting to dote on her."
Her voice was laden with jealousy as she spoke.
William lifted his hand and flicked her forehead sharply, "Shut it, I don't want to be her brother."
Seeing his reluctance, Victoria grew curious, "What's with that reaction? What's so bad about being her brother? You'd get a chance to see your new little sister."
"You don't understand," he said as he stuffed the phone back into her arms. "Don't talk like that again. She wasn't keen on me being her brother."
"She didn't mind," Victoria insisted. "Maybe she was just too shy because you're my brother. Maybe I should talk to her again, get her to consider you as a brother. Then she'd have one and you could rightfully dote on her..."
"Victoria Bennett," William cut her off firmly, his tone serious, "I do not want to be her brother!"
