Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 123

DEMI

Father stares up from his computer screen as I walk into his study, unsummoned and unaccompanied by any of his sons. This is very unusual especially for me but he and I need to have a conversation outside of other family members.

I tried to talk myself out of it but the truth is that I need to figure out a way to get father’s DNA fast. Hence, I figured that I need to find reasons to get him alone. We can’t only meet at the dining table along with the rest of the family.

"Hello, father." I greet meekly.

"What do you want?" A deep frown creases his forehead. He hates me. I really don’t care at this point.

"I won’t waste your time." I take a deep breath. "I want to resume my job at the office. I can’t be cooped up at home for nine months. I am sick of being idle."

Father leans back in his chair with an air of surprise at my boldness. "Is that a plea or a demand?"

"It’s a demand voiced like a plea, father. I have done everything this family has required of me to despite my feelings on the matter. I have been wronged and hurt. Surely, I am not asking for too much. Pregnant women can still work. I don’t think I’ll be courting any risks by going to the HQ and sitting at my desk for a few hours every day."

"It’s not about what you think, Demi. It’s about what the world thinks. Can you imagine the ridiculous headlines when my pregnant daughter-in-law resumes work?"

"I honestly don’t care about headlines. There will always be headlines, father, whether I work or not. The media will never stop hounding us even when we don’t do anything. We can’t continue to live our lives on their whim."

My eyes skirt around his desk. He has a half-empty glass of scotch that definitely has his saliva on it. I could make a grab for it.

"I am going back to work. That’s what I came here to inform you."

"You’re in no position to make such demands."

"Actually, I am." I grab his glass and swirl the scotch to his chagrin. "Because I am not pregnant. I can down this drink in one gulp and you wouldn’t bat an eyelid in worry. There’s no baby in my womb."

"Set my glass down!" He growls lowly.

"Do you truly have no sympathy for me? Even after everything I’ve been through, father? I was going to bear your first grandchild but Asher killed my unborn baby." The memory causes hot tears to sting my eyes as I give him a burning look. "I still can’t figure out why you keep glossing over that fact and yet here you are, fighting to make sure arrangements to welcome Nicci’s baby go smoothly."

"It’s Ashley’s baby too!"

"SO WAS MINE!" I fire at him, spilling a bit of the drink in my anger. "MY BABY WAS ALSO ASHLEY’SA BUT NOBODY CARES ABOUT THAT, NOT EVEN ASHLEY." I add with a broken, weepy voice.

Father rises to his feet. "You won’t return to work unless I say so. Now, stop these theatrics and go back to your room this minute!"

I back away from him, shaking my head. "I will work and you won’t stop me. If you do, I won’t be signing those divorce papers." I smile when he reacts with widened pupils. "I know you would like nothing more than for me to be out of your son’s life. Ashley still has feelings for me and if I wanted, I could sway him to keep me by his side forever. Would you like that?"

"Are you threatening me?" He throws his head back and roars with laughter. "You have no idea, do you? You have no idea the lengths I can go to remove an obstacle from my path as well as the path I have carved out for my boys. I am warning you, Demi Branson, not to test me. I love my sons and would do whatever I deem best for them. Yours and Ashley’s marriage was a mere contract. You are not worthy to be my son’s wife or the mother of my grandchildren. You will never change that no matter how hard you try. I will make life so unbearable for you that you won’t have any other option but to pack up and run for your life."

Leering at me, he leans forward, his height imposing. "DON’T EVER DREAM OF THREATENING ME OR MY FAMILY AGAIN. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING!"

Tears blur my eyes. While he was speaking, a scary thought crossed my mind. I know how dangerous Brett Rollins can be but I never imagined he could take things that far simply because of his dislike for me.

"You weren’t p...pleased w-with my pregnancy. Tell me you d-didn’t know Asher was g-going to h-harm my baby."

A swath of dark cloud seems to cloak the room as father gives me a lopsided grin. "Like I said, you are not worthy to be the mother of my grandchildren, Demi. Interpret that statement as you wish. Chances are that you will end up with the right deduction anyway."

I stagger backwards, my fingers almost slipping from the glass cup.

He knew? He knew about Asher’s plan and didn’t stop him? I shouldn’t be surprised but somehow I am and it hurts me to have underestimated this man. My baby had to pay the price for it.

"Father?" A voice calls, entering the study. I crane my neck and lock eyes with Asher. "Demi, what are you doing in here?" He asks with a frown that nearly matches the one spreading across my face.

I can’t believe them. These two monsters probably connived together to kill my child. Before I can control myself, my rage bubbles hot to the surface. My fingers tighten around the glass cup in my hand. Father’s eyes dim with understanding and dilate with fright when I let out a loud feral cry moments before smashing the glass in Asher’s pretty face.

"NO!!!" Father screams as Asher goes down with a heavy thud. His left temple is bruised and gurgling blood. Father rushes to his son and cradles him limp body in his hands. My vision starts to become clear.

"You wretch. What have you done?" He croaks while shaking his boy but Asher fails to open his eyes. In seconds, the study is filled with men in black. One quick appraisal of the situation, from the unconscious son bleeding from the head to my teary face and bloody hands, they draw the conclusion and snag my wrists behind my back.

"ASHTON, WAKE UP!" Father rouses him to no avail. "SOMEBODY CALL THE DOCTOR!"

Ashton? Did I hear correctly? I blink severally and assess the unconscious man on the floor. No! No!! God, please no!!! It can’t be.

I drop to my knees. "Ashton? That can’t be him. That’s Asher!" Tears stream down my face. "That’s the son who killed my baby."

"GET THIS WITCH OUT OF HERE!" Father orders. I struggle against the men as they pull me away into the living room. The entrance door swings open and horror fills me.

"What’s going on?" Asher asks, putting his phone in his pocket.

"ASHER, HELP! ASHTON’S HURT!" Father calls from his study.

"WHAT???" Asher replies, bolting across the room. I fall listlessly to the floor as more tears run down my face. What have I done? How could I have made such an egregious mistake? I have never failed to distinguish Ashton from the rest so how I could miss it now? I watch hopelessly as Asher carries his brother over his shoulder and rushes for the door.

"I’m so sorry, Ashton." I mutter under my breath as tears wrack my body. "I didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear. I’m so sorry."

"Are you deaf?"

I blink my eyes at the man yelling in my face. It’s definitely Asher. Phew, that was all an imagination? Thank goodness.

Asher’s glare and annoying question irks me. With great restraint, I ignore the urge to bash his skull in with the glass in my hand as I remember what he did to my baby. I decide against letting my anger lead. My fear might just come true and I’ll end up hurting Ashton in my blind haze.

I give father and son one last sizzling look before turning and leaving.

In my room, I silently hope father is too distracted to notice I had left with his glass cup or even if he does, I am praying he doesn’t make a big deal of it and goes ahead to fetch himself another. I stow the cup away in a zip lock bag to pass to Liam soon. Since my decision to work didn’t go well with father, I text Anna to stop by the mansion later so she can take the glass and give it to Liam.

My hands are shaking as I type the text not just because of the dread of being caught but also because of what father had revealed to me. Did he and Asher truly work together to hurt my child? I guess I am just starting to realize how meaningless my life is in the mansion and how father can make me disappear whenever he wants, just as soon as he is able to offer the public a good excuse and fend off suspicions.

Does Ashley know this? I can’t help but wonder. He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. He wouldn’t do anything about it now. If he could forgive his brother so quickly, then why can’t he forgive his father? Tears roll down my face as I mourn my dead child afresh.

An hour later, someone rings my doorbell and my eyes flutter open. My body aches from sleeping in a bad posture on the floor. I stretch my arms and wince in pain while the doorbell chimes again.

"Go away!"

A moment of silence stretches on until I hear his voice.

"Demi, it’s me."

Ashton? Is it really him or am I hearing things because I spent the last hour reliving the horror of my imagination in father’s study. Slowly, I open the door and surely, he is standing outside my room. His face is mired with a vague expression I am unable to discern. He doesn’t come in like I expect him to. That is how I know he is pissed even though his face hardly shows it.

"What is it?"

He grits his teeth before answering. "I’m going to ask you one more time, Demi. Did you slip down the stairs or were you pushed?"

Something about the way he phrases the question and stresses the words tells me he knows the truth now. I briefly recall Mila standing outside my room just like he is now, days ago. She offered to help me get out of my predicament if I truly wish it. She hinted at a public accident that will give the Rollins family a hard time in convincing the populace that my pregnancy wasn’t lost.

Though it was everything I wanted to hear, I was still very suspicious of Mila. If I have learnt one thing, it is that she dislikes me and considers me a threat to her happiness. She can never be my ally so if she was offering me help, what that was in truth was a ploy to trap me or get me in trouble with the family.

"Are you in?" She had asked again that day. I took my sweet time to study her beautiful manicured fingers.

"How do I know this isn’t a scheme to get me in trouble with my in-laws? You would like nothing better, wouldn’t you?"

She laughed. "You’ll just have to trust me. Ashton isn’t in a hurry to wed me and that stings. I have a feeling that our wedding might be rushed to distract people from the dreariness of your miscarriage."

"I can’t trust you blindly. You’ll have to earn it."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

My eyes twinkled deviously. "You want me to stage a public accident? How about accidentally slipping down a flight of stairs and bleeding heavily while the paparazzi watches?"

"That sounds good." Mila concurs.

"You will have to push me though."

"What?" She shrieked.

"That’s the only way I will know that you don’t plan to stab me in the back. If you join me to test this out with a small push at my next public sighting, I’ll trust you and handle the real accident myself. C’mon, you wouldn’t trust me either if the roles were reversed. I have been hurt and betrayed more times than I can count by people I consider my family. Can you really blame me for having trust issues?"

Mila let the thought simmer in her head for a few seconds. "A test. Fine but this better not come back to haunt me or I will be your worst nightmare. And, if I do this, you have a week to lose that fake pregnancy."

"Three weeks. If I lose the pregnancy too soon, everyone here will grow very suspicious of me. I can’t have that."

"That depends on how well you stage the accident. Two weeks then. Do we have a deal?"

I stare up at Ashton’s face before walking back to my closet. Like I hoped, he follows me and slams the door shut.

"You didn’t answer me!" This time, his voice is clipped and cold.

"I don’t have to. You already know the answer to that question." I pause from picking out a night shirt to turn and stare at him. "I guess you’ve confronted Mila already."

He grits his teeth. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn’t thinking, Ash. Nobody does that in this house anymore so why should I? I am learning a lot just by watching everyone, you see. Nobody cares about me or my feelings so why should I stop to think how my actions will affect your precious family, huh? As long as no one in your family is getting physically hurt and I can untangle myself from this unpleasant situation, why shouldn’t I take the chance?"

"Demi..."

"DON’T." Anger surges within me. "Did you know about Asher’s plans to hurt my baby before he carried it out?" I glare at him as he instantly denies such knowledge. "Ok then. Do you know why your father has refused to punish him for murdering the first grandchild of this family? Do you know why Asher got away with it?"

His silence breaks me.

I wipe my eyes. "So, everyone is in on it."

"Demi, I know you’re hurting because of my family but the path you’re going down to free yourself is a dangerous one."

"Tell me about it." I chuckle. "Your father filled me in earlier on how dangerous he can be. He threatened my life. Do you think I care? I’ve lost everything to this family, even my identity. All I want to do is to be done with this charade and go back to my simple life if I can still have one. I don’t care what the consequences will be but I won’t put up with this anymore."

Ashton sighs. "You’re right. I would do the same if I were you. However, I beg you to be smart about this. There are better ways to handle this than ruffling father’s feathers."

"What will you have me do, Ashton? Father denied my request to return to work. He wants me to remain in this house till Ashley’s child is born. My movements are restricted. My routine is mundane. I feel like a fucking prisoner." I sniffle as a memory flit across my mind. "My fears are coming true. This was exactly part of my worry when I was pregnant. I dreaded this lifestyle and now, despite not being pregnant, I am being subjected to this. I am losing my mind. I need a distraction but no one will let me live or give me my freedom back. Why? Haven’t I been punished enough?"

"I’ll talk to father. I’ll try to get him to adjust his rules but you must promise me that you won’t try something that reckless with Mila again. Promise me that while you’re after your freedom, you won’t put yourself or my family in peril."

"I’m sorry but I am too desperate to promise not to do all I can to be rid of this marriage."

His face hardens as he takes in my words.

"Will you refuse to help me now?"

"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to lessen this burden for you, the same way I will be doing everything in my power to protect my family, Demi."

"I understand." I reply and watch him exit my room.

Mila will soon be calling to scream obscenities at me for the stunt I pulled by blaming her for my accident in front of everyone. If she hasn’t called already, then she plans to do it in person which sounds more like her.

I whip put my phone as it starts to ring. Surprise blooms on my face at the shock of seeing Nicola’s call. What could she possibly want from me?

"This better be good." I voice the second I answer.

"Demi? I...I need your help."

"I can’t believe you. You’ve practically destroyed my marriage and ruined my life. Still, you’re calling to ask for my help? It’s the audacity for me."

"Please, this isn’t the time to rehash the past. I can’t be in the bathroom for long or the guards will start knocking."

"What’s going on?"

She exhales. "I can’t do this, Demi. I’m really sorry for everything. If I knew this was how things will pan out, I wouldn’t have insisted on marrying Ashley before having our baby. I just wanted him for myself and I thought the pregnancy would make him mine for good. Instead, I only became his prisoner. I can’t continue like this."

"You’re talking to the wrong person. I can’t help you. You brought this on yourself."

"Please don’t hang up. I don’t know who else to confide in. I know I hurt you badly and you have every reason to wish my downfall. I couldn’t call anyone else but you. I trust that a woman who has lost a baby would at least be sympathetic to my plight."

My heartrate slows down. "Nicci, what are you saying? Did you lose the baby?" A deafening silence follows. "Hello? Nicci, are you there??? Nicola!"

She hangs up on me.