Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 106

ASHER

I thought I would find him brimming with murderous rage and trying to wreck a car on the race track but to my surprise, Ashton is sitting quietly on the bleachers, watching the race with dark shades on. He looks pretty calm to anyone else watching him but as his brother, I can tell from the way his jaw is set in a tight line that he is anything but calm. I join him on the bleacher but he barely acknowledges my presence.

"You okay, bro?"

"I’m terrific."

I smile at his response. He’s definitely not okay if Ashton is using words like terrific to describe his mood. If he cusses more, my heart will be at rest.

"Look, you’re the big brother. You know Ashley doesn’t have the best handle on his emotions. He can be very immature, unnecessarily paranoid and very insecure. It all stems from his trauma. We need to remember that and constantly forgive his excesses such as the rubbish he vomited at breakfast today."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about being accused and silently judged by my loved ones as the brother who is responsible for Ashley’s marriage woes?" He turns to look at me and despite the dark shades, I somehow feel the pain behind his eyes. "Are you here to deliver this perfunctory speech on mother’s behalf because she’s tending to her golden boy?"

"Ashton, you know why she’s with him. It’s the same reason she pampers Ashal too. She tends to gravitate towards the most broken of her sons, not the stronger ones like you and I. Don’t be a wuss about it. It doesn’t suit you." I exhale deeply and stare at the race. "I am not here because I silently judge you. You keep forgetting that I was in a similar position with Olivia and Ashal. I know how it feels, how much it sucks when no one believes you’ve moved on and wish your brother the best with his girl. I couldn’t have gone to Ashley if mother had wanted to trade places because I relate more to your pain. I am here to tell you that it gets better..." I stare at him again, "...once you fully let go."

"You don’t think I have?"

"I don’t think you have." I affirm. "You’re not like me, Ash. You care deeply. I can completely ignore my feelings for my bigger goals without caring how the woman I once loved is faring. You can’t watch Demi suffer. You can’t go back to being the icy cold brother that once scared the shit out of her. She won’t buy it for a second. Still, you can’t stop shutting her out of your life even if it makes her hate you."

"Is this about the church thing? It was purely a coincidence."

"Maybe but Ashley doesn’t think so and that’s where your problem stems from."

"What the heck am I supposed to do? He will only believe what he wants to believe. I am done pandering to his every whim and walking on eggshells around him." When he tries to get up, I pull him back down on his seat. "I need to get behind a wheel."

"Not with that look in your eye. You’re going to hurt someone on those tracks if you insist."

"Get your hands off me!"

"I will, just as soon as we’re done talking."

It was really hard to get through to Ashton. I had to endure his anger, death stares and even him taking out his frustrations on me. Just as I am enjoying myself watching him race after calming him down, Demi’s text comes in.

[I need you to talk Ashley out of this crazy idea of moving out. I know you can convince him so please do. I’d hate to drop another bombshell on the family at breakfast tomorrow on your account, if you get my drift]

The bitch. Is she really threatening me? When did she get so bold? I almost chuck my phone in anger. Why did she have to find my pills? Is this what she’s going to be doing now? No way! I won’t be her little errand boy. I have to deal with this before she gets out of hand.

When I finish my meeting with Demi at the Honey Pot hours later, I am not convinced that she is done exploiting my secret so I beam at Anna who slides into the seat Demi just left. All I can think of as I look at her is how useful she is going to be to me in putting Demi in her place. I have to find something on Demi. I don’t want Ashley to leave the mansion but I can’t wait six months for Demi to be out of our lives.

Since Anna was oozing a lot of sexual tension back at the restaurant, I decide to pay her a surprise visit at night to relieve some tension myself. The sight of Demi’s car still parked in front of Anna’s place makes me steam with annoyance. What is she still doing here so late? She should be home by now. Is she still having a fight with Ashley?

I quickly dial Ashley’s number. We already spoke earlier where I managed to change his mind about moving out. Why hasn’t he made up with his wife yet? I urge him to call Demi and make her come home. I need time with Anna to relieve the stress of the day since micromanaging my brothers can be exhausting.

[Call her home, Ash. She’s still at Anna’s]

[Ok. I’ll do that]

I give Ashley three minutes before walking down to Anna’s door. Demi should be on her way out by now. It sounds eerily quiet so I pin my ear to the door. I hear Demi wrapping up her call with Ashley. Then she starts for the door. Oh good, I think but before I can knock, I hear something very shocking that makes me freeze up.

Hell no. The pregnancy test strips in Anna’s bathroom. The non-existent work colleague called Sheila whom Anna lied about. How did I miss this? Demi is Anna’s only friend and spends a lot of time at her place. How did I not put it together?

My breath clogs in my throat as realization dawns with everything I hear Demi saying. She is actually pregnant and has been lying to our faces? She also lied to Ashley about the test results? My heart palpitates. Fuck no. A baby is too permanent. How is she supposed to be out of our lives if she bears Ashley’s child? How could Ashley let this happen?

"Asher?" Both girls chime at the sight of me when the door swings open. They appear horrified given the secret they just uttered, the secret they’ve been keeping from my family and I. It takes me a millisecond to adjust my face. I can’t let them know I heard it all.

"Hey."

They exchange scared looks.

"I wasn’t expecting you." Anna utters.

"Yeah, sorry. I thought I’d surprise you. Is this a bad time? I could leave."

"How long have you been standing here?" Demi butts in.

"I just got here. Why? Is something wrong?" There’s something in her eyes. She’s scared. I turn to Anna who feigns a smile and pats Demi’s shoulder.

"Have a good night, Demi. I’ll call you later."

Demi snaps out of her frozen stare and staggers to her car. I note the tremor in her hands as she opens the door. She continues to stare at me while I maintain my signature smug face to dispel whatever suspicion she still has. Inside me, my mind is on fire. This can’t be real. Demi shouldn’t be having my brother’s child. That was not part of the contract.

"Wanna come in?" Anna winks at me. I am no longer feeling horny but if I leave now, she’ll only grow suspicious and tell Demi. I pretend all is well and go in with her.

"What can I get you?"

"Um, whiskey’s fine."

She laughs. "I don’t have whiskey, Asher. I have canned beer though."

My phone starts ringing. Ashal. I am too disoriented to hear the rest of Anna’s suggestions.

"Hold on one second, love. Yes Ashal? What?" I grit my teeth as he talks to me. I guess I am not done micromanaging my brothers after all. Ashal has got a new mess for me to fix.

Anna looks sad when I finish my call and jump to my feet. I go over to kiss her lips.

"I’m so sorry. My brother needs me. It’s urgent. Why don’t we raincheck?"

She shrugs weakly with a dull look on her face before I leave.

***

I listen quietly while Ashal explains everything to me in detail. What the hell was he thinking?

"What exactly is going on with you and Madeline? I thought you had a thing for Cree outside of Olivia?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? There’s nothing going on, okay? Cree is stale news, you know that. Maddie just got caught up in a mess I created and I am trying to fix it before Olivia finds out." His voice breaks. "Olivia is in the hospital. She’s not doing too good. She could lose our baby if anything happens to her sister because of me."

"Wait, what? Rewind. Liv is also pregnant?" I kick my car tire in anger. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL? WHY ARE YOU IMPREGNATING WOMEN YOU SHOULDN’T BE HAVING KIDS WITH?"

Ashal stares at me, confused. "What are you yapping about? Liv is MY wife. Who else is having a baby?"

I run a hand over my hair and exhale. I should control my temper. "No one." I move to digress. "So, this Hunter guy, he threatened to kill Madeline?"

"He’s bluffing. He doesn’t have to spunk to draw blood. He’s only after the money. He won’t lay a hand on her. He knows he can’t get away with it. I know what he looks like. His pictures will be up on the news by now if I wasn’t worried about revealing Maddie’s condition to her family and ours. That’s the only reason I called you in to help me deal with this quietly. I don’t even want to involve Duncan or any of our men so father doesn’t find out."

"Where do you think he is keeping her?"

"I think it’s the new apartment he just got for their marriage. I did some research and found out he signed the lease today, an hour before Maddie called him to cancel the wedding. He has no other place to take her. I could go in alone but I need someone to get Maddie out while I restrain Hunter."

Though he is trying very hard to appear calm, again, I can tell my brother is on the verge of losing it which makes me question what’s been going on between him and Madeline. He seems really worried about her, almost as worried as he gets for Olivia. I don’t like this.

While we drive off to Hunter’s apartment, I try to keep Ashal talking on the phone.

"What about her parents? Do they know what has happened to their daughter?"

"Her father keeps calling me to ask her whereabout. I was there to visit earlier and he suspects I convinced Maddie to ditch the wedding tomorrow. I haven’t been able to give him any concrete reply. I just want to get her back before I can tell him the truth about Hunter and what he has done."

What’s with him calling Madeline Maddie?

We get to the apartment and take the elevator up to the second floor.

"How much did you pay this guy again?"

"Five hundred grand."

I give him a look he chooses to ignore as he strides purposefully towards Hunter’s door. Why would he give Hunter so much money to keep him from marrying Madeline? Is he stupid? That bum, Hunter, would have licked Ashal’s shoes if he had been given ten grand. Why so much? I need to get to the bottom of this Madeline saga.

"Open up, Hunter!" Ashal yells while banging on the door. "I know you’re in there. Saw your little new car. If you want to keep your life and your freedom, you’ll open this door right now and release Maddie. If you don’t or you harm a single hair on her head, the police will raid this place in the next ten minutes and haul your bony ass to jail. The choice is yours!"

He heaves a breath as he waits for Hunter to respond. I hate the way his eyes are narrowed to slits and dark. Thank God this floor is only occupied by Hunter or we would have had neighbors making noise complaints. There’s some shuffling sound inside. Ashal’s phone starts to ring but he declines Hunter’s call and continues to bang on the door.

"You’re down to three minutes, Hunter Cummings. You’ll either be a dead man or a convict soon once your time is up. I am dialing the cops now."

The latch unlocks and Hunter cracks his door open. He has a full head of hair with big, round eyes.

"You promise to pay up what I spent on her family and we can forget this ever happened."

Ashal jams his foot hard at the door and it bursts open, sending Hunter flying backwards till he crashes on the floor.

"WHERE IS SHE?" He barks, picking the man by the lapels of his shirt and shaking him violently. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER? WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"

"Ashal, you’re choking him." When I try to intervene, he glares darkly at me. Oh no. He is letting his anger get the best of him. "Madeline should be inside. I’ll go get her. Let him go, Ash. Please."

"GET HER." He replies.

I race inside and swing doors open till I find Madeline passed out on a bed with a white cloth tied to her mouth. I rush to her and remove the gag and untie her hands and legs. I forcefully rouse her. She stirs awake, coughing. Her red eyes stare adoringly into mine.

"You came." She mutters in a weak voice before her weak arms wraps around my neck. What the fuck is going on between her and my brother? I gently pry her arms away from my neck.

"I’m Asher. Ashal is in the living room with your captor. Can you stand? We have to get you to the hospital for examination." She nods weakly and manages to stand on her feet. Her head spins, sending her collapsing into my chest. Fuck it. I carry her in my arms all the way to the living room. My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach at the sight of the blood-stained carpet where Ashal straddles Hunter and pummels blows repeatedly into his face.

Dropping Madeline on the couch, I rush to pull my brother off the defenseless man before he kills him.

"Get a grip on yourself! You’re going to kill him!"

Ashal redirects his rage at me but thankfully, I match his blows and knock him off me. He looks like a murderous psychopath. Hunter coughs up blood weakly on the floor. Before Ashal can lunge at him, I swing my elbow and knock him out. When I turn, Hunter has fainted but Maddie is propped up on the couch, staring wide-eyed at Ashal who lays immobile on the floor. When she looks at me, I know she’s afraid for her life.

"It’s okay, Madeline. He was pissed at Hunter for hurting you. He’ll be fine."

Tears roll down her eyes.

"Let’s get you out of here."

"No, he isn’t awake yet." She gestures to Ashal. I ignore the discomfort I feel over the intense look in her eyes and go to rouse my brother. He wakes up, holding his head. The sight before him is confusing. Before he can panic, Madeline crawls over. "It’s okay, Mr. Ashal. Hunter isn’t dead. He’ll be fine. Oh, you’re bleeding."

Ashal frames her face with his hands. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I’m fine. He only tied me up. I’m fine."

"Guys, we have to leave now." I cut off their weird and misplaced sense of care. "I’m calling the medic for Hunter. I’ll stay back and make sure he doesn’t incriminate us. Ash, take Madeline to the hospital and make sure she’s examined for internal injuries and concussion before taking her home."

I’ll talk to him about whatever the fuck is going on between him and Liv’s sister later.

He nods at me and helps Madeline out while I stay back to handle Hunter.

***

I can’t believe the crazy day I’ve had, the things I’ve seen and heard. I can’t even rank them on a scale of one to ten. My brothers are going off the rails. Ashley, unknown to him, is about to be a dad to Demi’s unborn child. Demi, the same woman who is in love with Ashton and whom I have never liked for my family. In addition to this madness, Ashley is still seeing his toxic ex, Nicola, who tormented our family and him for weeks as Shay.

Ashal is having a baby with his wife who doesn’t love him and developing a weird fondness for his sister-in-law, Madeline whom he formerly couldn’t stand. Ashton is burying his feelings for Demi and pretending to be cool with marrying Mila, a woman he has never fancied more than a friend. I know if I dig deeper, I will find something crazy that Ashton is getting himself in too, like my other brothers.

I honestly need to call a meeting. These guys need a factory reset as sisters-in-law and toxic exes are quite the rage for them now but when I eventually reach home, I am too tired to do anything other than sleep.

The next day at breakfast, mother says a simple prayer, thanking God that Ashley and Demi won’t be leaving us. From the corner of my eyes, I can sense Demi watching me. She must still be uncertain about how much I overheard last night. Mother offers a toast and everyone clinks their glasses. I stare at Demi. She doesn’t touch her drink.

At work, I find it hard to concentrate. If I don’t step in, my brothers are going to ruin their lives and take me down with them. They’re too busy chasing clouds and love from women that either don’t want them or women they can’t have while father is trying to make it up to Josh for the embarrassment he faced at the mansion. Father is still pissed at my brothers and I for everything that happened. The last thing we need right now is to give him more reasons to drift towards his biological son.

Like my day can’t get any worse, Josh comes over to escort Demi to lunch. I have no idea when they started being so friendly with each other. Didn’t Ashley warn her to steer clear from Josh?

I put a call to one of our men and have him follow Demi and Josh and report back to me. He calls an hour later to inform me about the location of the restaurant where Demi and Josh went for their lunch. The shock comes when I check the photo he took of them.

Demi is having lunch with Josh and his mother???

Immediately, I forward the picture to Ashley.

"Let me guess, you already warned her but she didn’t listen? I honestly don’t know why you bother with this woman, Ashley. She doesn’t love or respect you. Even if you spend the next five years with her, none of that will change, don’t you see? She makes you question yourself and your worth as a man. She makes you doubt your own brother who she clearly seduced. She’s caused a rift between us all. Tell me, why is she worth all the suffering she puts you through?"

"Asher, I can’t do this right now."

"You might use mother as an excuse but from the picture I just sent, it’s very clear she doesn’t care about mother’s feelings. Mother clearly sided with us about Josh. I am sure she doesn’t know what Demi has been up to. And father? He is too busy trying to please his son that he would look the other way as long as Demi is keeping Josh company around the office. What will stop Josh and Kristy from revealing the truth to Demi? Why can’t you see that Demi doesn’t mean well for our family or you? You have to do the right thing, Ash. You have to choose between our family and the wife who doesn’t give a shit about you. She’s not worth sacrificing the next six months of your life. She has to go."

Ashley hangs up. I will make him divorce her earlier than planned. I’ll plant stories in his head if I have to. Demi has to go before her pregnancy is discovered. I don’t mind being the devil here. I have a lot of messes to clean up around my brothers. I have worked too hard to let them screw this family and let the Randalls win.

Because the devil needs demons to do his dirty work, I put a call across to three of mine.

"I have a job for you guys. You can’t fail me or it’ll cost you your lives."

"We won’t fail you, boss."

"Your predecessor always made the same empty promises right before he messed up every job. I won’t give room for second chances this time around."

"Understood."

I forward Demi’s photo to them and give the instructions. After that is done, I place one more call. If I need to get into Ashley’s head and make him hate Demi so much, he desires to ditch her, there’s one surefire way to get in there, even if I don’t particularly like it.

"Nicola, it’s Asher. We need to talk."