All Chapters of The Meal Before Everything: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The 'rival' label suddenly made my adoptive parents see me in a new light.Janet, recalling my mad cooking skills, dabbed at her eyes."Mom and Dad, if it wasn't for Christina stealing my life for all these years, I wouldn't have had to quit middle school. Now, marrying the richest guy is my only shot at turning my life around. You've got to help me out here!"When my mother heard that, she shot me a fierce look and snapped. "Christina, your sister's got a point. Just drop out of this contest and let Janet have her chance!"I blurted out without thinking, "Why should I?"They were the ones who had pushed me into that bride contest, and then, they tried to push me out. Why did they get to pull the strings in my life again and again?My father, Matthew Cooper, with his quick temper, came at me and slapped me hard."You've been living off the Cooper family for years! Without us, you'd be out on the streets! You've hogged Janet's life for eighteen years. Don't you think you owe her?

After my revelation, Galarva's face froze in shock. He seemed not to grasp what I had said."What did you say?"However, Janet shot me a furious look. "Was that necessary? Don't think a few sweet words on my behalf will make me forget what you did before!"With that, she recklessly sought to earn brownie points with Galarva."Mr. Loris, I was just worried that the beef from the market might not be clean, so I asked my parents to take care of it right in your backyard! Don't worry, we picked out a strong, young calf, and its meat is both tender and tasty! It's definitely fit for someone as distinguished as you."Galarva's face went ghostly white."Are you saying your parents killed my Layden?""Layden? What Layden? We just took care of a cow!"Right after Janet's words landed, a servant dashed over, frantic."Mr. Loris, it's awful! Layden is missing, and it looks like... It looks like... He's been killed."Realizing that the meal he had just devoured was his cherished calf, Ga

Galarva tried to set the record straight, but there was not a shred of evidence to back us up that day.The mob had lost all sense of reason, and nothing Galarva said could change their minds.They were hell-bent on tying me up and tossing me into the Indoria Gangara River, believing it would cleanse my so-called sins.I scanned the sea of faces, and there they were, Janet, Fiona, and Matthew, standing out like rock stars with a throng of fans around them.Janet was holding up a tiny set of clothes, the ones the little calf Layden had worn, and she was sobbing up a storm."Layden wasn't even a year old when Christina took him from us! He was just a baby! We have to make things right for Layden!""Justice for Layden!""Justice for Layden!"The chant rippled through the crowd, firing everyone up all over again.I tried to speak up, but my voice was swallowed by the noise.Finally, I had to turn to Galarva for help and ask for a megaphone.Galarva looked ticked off but also apo

They were terrified.Jail was one thing, since survival was still possible. However, soaking in the Gangara River was something else altogether.The stats were grim. The river's bacteria levels were over 20,000 times above safe limits, claiming the lives of over 600,000 people each year.Janet and our parents had been in Indoria for two years, but they still stuck to bottled water from the grocery store and never once tried the local cuisine.Honestly, I wondered if their delicate stomachs could withstand the rough waters of the Gangara River.I watched from the riverbank, gazing in their direction.The Coopers had fled to Indoria to escape debts back home and start fresh, but the trio was too lazy to even look for jobs.If I had not been a whiz at flipping pancakes, we would probably be history.With me gone, they would have to truly mesh with the Indorians if they wanted to survive there.I saw them get tossed right into the murky Gangara River.A dead cow floated by, its s