Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom novel Chapter 31

The atmosphere in the dining room suddenly plummeted to freezing point, as if someone had pressed the pause button on everyone’s actions.

Nathan furrowed his brow slightly but chose to remain silent.

Adah’s face showed a flicker of discomfort, unable to come up with a way to ease the tension.

Only Ethan reacted, slamming his knife and fork onto the table with a loud "bang," startling the maid.

"What’s going on here?" he demanded.

The maid shrank back, murmuring with her head down, "Young Master, the meals have always been prepared for four, so..."

Her explanation was feeble, doing nothing to quell Ethan's anger. Instead, it only fanned the flames.

"So what? Are you blind and didn't see my sister back at home? Or did you see her and deliberately not prepare her portion?"

"Sir, I..." the maid attempted to explain, but Ethan impatiently cut her off, "You're fired."

The maid looked terrified, glancing towards Vanessa for help, but Vanessa kept her head down, lost in thought.

Nathan cleared his throat, "May, prepare another serving."

"Right away!" May responded with relief, hastily retreating to the kitchen.

Vanessa's eyes shifted, and she quickly put on a concerned expression, pushing her own breakfast towards Claire.

Claire didn’t look at her or speak, but she didn’t refuse the "kindness" either. She was genuinely hungry and began to eat without hesitation.

Her movements were calm and steady, as if the awkwardness and conflict around her were irrelevant.

Vanessa watched expectantly, seemingly waiting for Claire to say something to her, but Claire didn’t even spare her a glance. Vanessa's hopeful expression slowly turned into one of disappointment, looking as if she had been wronged.

Nathan tapped the table to remind Claire, but she continued eating her breakfast, not even lifting her head.

He coughed loudly.