Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 86

ASHLEY

"Wait, what? You finally fucked little miss perfect?" Asher shakes his head and stares at me with incredulous eyes. "What did you do? Chain her to the bed? Threaten her? Ply her with alcohol?" His eyebrows slash up at the last bit. "Alcohol. It has to be. I still doubt she would give into you sober. Ashton maybe but not you."

"Wow, thanks bro." I recline on the sofa in our game room and swirl my glass of brandy.

"No offense but I can’t believe Demi somehow fell head over heels in love with you less than a month after you caught her smooching Ashton. Come on, she’s only playing nice. Face the facts. I bet she considers last night an accident between you two. The alcohol probably dulled her senses and she let loose. Try to make love to her again tonight and see if she’ll be willing."

"I don’t have to try. I know she wouldn’t let me anywhere near her but it’s for a completely different reason, not because last night was a mistake."

"Enlighten me."

I hate to share my business with Asher like this but I am dying to talk to someone about the challenge I am having in my relationship with Demi right now. Ashal was my first choice but he is yet to return home and hasn’t returned any of my calls. Ashton is occupied with his new house guest, Mila. They both stepped out for a date or something. Asher is the only one with time to spare so I figured, why not.

The twinkle in his eyes and some of the judgmental looks he shoots my way as I share what really happened and why I dispensed with the condom makes me regret not waiting for Ashal.

"You what? How could you do that, Ashley? Are you really trying to start a family with a woman whose love for you can’t be vouched for? A woman who has clearly expressed her feelings for your brother?" His eyes are sizzling with so much disappointment and anger as he scolds me.

"I didn’t come here to share this with you just to get yelled at, okay? I need some helpful advice so Demi doesn’t hate me."

"She already fucking hates you. Why don’t you get it? Even with the alcohol, she spread her legs for you only because she thought you were Ashton and you went ahead and fucked her without a condom? That’s pathetic, Ashley. I know you didn’t pull and pray. Don’t even try to deny it. How is having a baby with a woman who doesn’t love you payback? Can you even hear yourself?"

Now that he spells it out, I do feel foolish for what I did. I should have walked away when Demi called Ashton’s name. It was all the proof I needed. She’s still very much in love with him. Her feelings for me are no where close to letting me between her legs.

I admit she has every right to be pissed about the condom situation but I suspect she plans to use this to keep me as far away from her as possible.

I rake my hands through my hair and drain my glass of brandy in one gulp. Asher is still vibrating with anger.

"Alright. I fucked up big time. I admit it. You can spare me the lecture."

"Why exactly are you still with her, Ash?" Asher asks with a scowl on his face. "Is this really what you want to settle for? You can literally have any woman of your choice. Why is it so important to you to beat your chest and rub it in Ashton’s face that you got the plain jane he wasn’t allowed to keep?"

I shift uncomfortably. "You have it all wrong."

"No, I don’t." He counters firmly. "I know you guys. You’re my brothers and I have been in your lives for all twenty-five seasons of it. I know how he intimidates you and the lengths you will go just for a chance to say you bested him at something but isn’t your fashion business enough to do that? Does it really have to be Demi?" FYI, you can’t win at this game because she already gave her heart to him."

His words cut deep inside me. "You and my therapist should form a club." I reply, lurching to my feet."

"Ashley, do not ruin your life by choosing the wrong woman all over again. Demi isn’t the one. Stick to your fucking contract and be done with her."

With my back turned to him, I grit my teeth angrily and dig out my ringing phone.

"Finally, look who has time to return my calls." I snarl at Ashal to vent some of my frustration over Asher’s judgement at him. "What? Ashal...slow down, I can’t understand what you’re saying...Madeline? What happened?" Asher is already up and next to me, trying to ascertain the damage Ashal must have caused.

"WE’RE ON OUR WAY." I echo as Asher and I rush out.

On our way to the hospital, we keep praying that Olivia’s sister, Madeline, pulls through. Ashal didn’t make much sense on the phone. I can’t help but wonder why he was with Madeline in the first place and what must have triggered him to hit her. Isn’t he seeing Cree and married to Madeline’s sister? What other layers of sick and twisted is Ashal yet to exhibit?

When we get to the hospital, we burst through the door to find Ashal hunched over the hospital bed where Madeline sits with a bandage tied around her head. The doctor is muttering a few things to her to which she nods. When she sees us coming in, she frowns. We rush to Ashal first.

"Are you okay?"

He nods grimly, then glances at Maddie with remorse.

"What happened?" Asher asks him.

"I think you both know." Madeline spits with fire in her eyes. We all turn to her. The hatred burning inside her is no surprise to any of us. She’s just like her sister; she’s trouble. Why did Ashal go after her when he was livid over the role she played in leaking his affair and secret marriage in one move? He knew exactly what his condition could make him do. It was foolish of him to hurt the younger, crazier sister of Olivia while we still have Olivia to deal with. Didn’t we all agree to handle the issue together? Why did he go behind our backs?

Asher is clearly displeased at Ashal but he reins in his anger and walks over to doctor Ezra.

"How is she?"

"The blow to the head only caused a minor concussion. She’ll be fine with a little rest." He pats Madeline’s shoulder.

"Thank you doctor." She says before he leaves.

Alone with us, she leaps off the bed and grabs her things. Asher blocks her path when she tries to leave the room.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

But Asher doesn’t budge. With hands jammed in his pocket most likely because he doesn’t want to give in to the temptation of smacking her face, he leers down at her.

"Madeline Dunn. Hmm. I guess foolishness does run in the family." He yanks her arm and pulls her back when she stubbornly tries to brush past him. I also cage her in by standing by the end of bed with a look of pure murder on my face. Though anger shimmers above all else, I start to see the first traces of fear in Madeline’s eyes.

She glances at Ashal whose face is still marred by guilt. "Are you just going to stand there and watch them harass me like this? I already got hurt in the head. I just want to go home so tell your lackeys to back the fuck off!"

"Snap out of it, Ash" I yell at Ashal. "I don’t care what she must have said to you but don’t let it get into your head. You had every right to hit this one. She deserves it since her mother clearly didn’t whoop her ass as a child, or her sister’s. They’re both rude with half-baked brains."

Madeline’s brows furrow in anger. "And you four? Did your mother leave your upbringing to your ass licking nannies who let you do and say whatever you wanted? Or, is there a better reason why you all are morally bankrupt and pretentious assholes?"

When Asher lunges forward to deal with her for the insult, Ashal grabs his elbow and shakes his head. His eyes are bereft of emotion now and his face is set hard as a rock. He pulls Asher away and steps up to Madeline.

The look on his face must scare her too as she backs away from him. He reaches her and cradles her face in his hands.

"I’m glad you’re fine. Tonight was purely an accident but I know you won’t settle for that truth. You deem me a monster. You’re free to have your own opinions of me, my brothers and my family. However, I’ll have you know that you won’t go free after what you did to my family with respect to the post on Billion-Err. I warned you not to cross the line despite how much you hate us but you didn’t listen. I’ll have to teach you a lesson for this."

Madeline wriggles away from his hold. "You would do the same if you were in my shoes. You would do worse to protect the people you love." There are tears in her eyes. They dilate in shock when her parents come rushing into the room.

"Maddie?" Her mum croaks in fear as she sees her daughter with a bandage on. While mother and daughter hug it out, her father stands still, eyes apologetic as he glances at us. I am certain he knows what Madeline has done.

"I believe you know what your daughter here did." I begin. "Didn’t you promise to put this one on a leash?"

He clasps his hands in plea. "I apologize on behalf of Maddie. She acted without thinking. Please forgive her. She’s still a child."

Asher scoffs. "God, don’t you ever come up with better lines? Madeline is NOT a child. She’s a grown up who knows about actions and consequences. She knew exactly what she was doing when she leaked sensitive information to Billion-Err. She wanted and clearly still wants to bring my family into disrepute. That will not go unpunished even after she is forced to remedy the situation."

Mr. Dunn turns to his daughter with angry eyes.

"Dad, he is cheating on Olivia. I saw him out on a date. I got mad."

"Shut up! Have you learnt nothing from your sister’s mistake? You don’t mess with..." he trails off with heavy eyes. I can tell what he couldn’t bring himself to say; you don’t mess with people you can’t fight. "I’ll deal with you later."

"I am revoking her scholarship!" Asher blurts out. The family turns to him in shock. I bet there is no way they can afford to shell out eighty-five grand in a year for her tuition fees. Madeline’s eyes blur with tears as her mother cries. Her father battles to stay composed.

"That’s fair. I planned to pull her out of school anyway."

"Daddy!"

"Shut up Maddie. You brought this on yourself."

Madeline streams across the room and grabs Ashal’s hand. Her knees hit the floor. "Please, I am sorry. I will do anything to fix the mess I caused. You can punish me however else you deem fit but please don’t revoke my scholarship. School is the only thing that keeps me sane."

Tears flow heavily down her face which only infuriates me. I am certain she’s putting on an act.

"Apparently, it’s not doing a very good job since you entertained the insane idea that you could poke holes in my family’s sterling reputation and get away with it." I snap at her. "The scholarship revocation is only Asher’s punishment." I turn to her parents. "I am cutting your monthly allowance by seventy-five percent. You’ll have to foot the rest of your bills."

Now Mr. Dunn’s face crumples with pain. I guess a monthly stipend of thirty grand was heaven to them. They’ll surely have to move into a smaller apartment now.

"No! Please, I am sorry. Don’t punish them like this. Punish me." Madeline continues to beg Ashal, hoping to reach through the murk to find a redeemable quality inside him.

"Ashal, what’s your punishment for her?" Asher asks him. Madeline’s eyes stay on Ashal, thick with emotion and plea.

"Olivia will have to pay for her sister’s wrongs!"

A smile creeps into my face as Madeline’s shoulders sag in defeat. That’ll teach you, I echo in my head. She continues to cry on the floor while her parents scold her till her head starts hurting again and doctor Ezra rushes in to attend to her. Wordlessly, my brothers and I leave from there.

***

Anna smiles when she finds me parked outside her work place just as she’s done with her shift. She skips towards me, throws her arms around my neck and hugs me passionately.

"I missed you."

Shocked and silent, I don’t hug her back. Instead, I gently nudge her away but she slams her body back on mine. "Woah, Anna..." Her lips capture mine in a hurried kiss. Instantly, I shove her away from me and wipe my lips. "What the hell? It’s Ashley, not Asher! Jeez, woman."

The surprise and disappointment that colored her face at my rejection fades to shock and embarrassment after my explanation.

"Oh my god. Oh gosh, I am so sorry." Her eyes wheel to my car which is only similar to Asher’s in color; white. "Oh goodness, I wasn’t thinking. I am deeply sorry sir." Dying of embarrassment, she starts trotting away when I pull her back.

"Hey, it was an accident. It’s fine. I actually came to talk to you. Can I give you a ride home and we can talk on the way?"

I can tell she’s not comfortable with the idea. Nervously, she gets into the car with me and we begin the ride to her house. I feel her discomfort around me with every toss of her head, every flick of her gaze. I bet she’s worried about kissing her best friend’s husband.

"Calm down Anna. You didn’t betray your best friend by kissing her husband. It was purely accidental. You thought I was Asher, whom you’ve recently become close to, and you did what you did. Don’t overthink it." Anna exhales deeply.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Demi. I’m sure she’s told you everything."

She glances out the window. "Of course she has. What you did...it was wicked."

"Is that how she feels?"

"No, that’s how I feel. Why would you not use protection knowing fully well that Demi doesn’t want to have a baby right now? It just seems rather convenient that you did it while she was inebriated despite knowing that she would never have let you inside her without one if she was sober."

I hiss out a breath. "I messed up. I admit that. I have begged and groveled but she still won’t look at me."

"You betrayed her trust, Ashley. She is afraid of being vulnerable around you again given what you did. Can you blame her?"

I can see why Demi won’t let this go. Anna hasn’t been helping at all. She’s been fueling the fire. How can I expect her to talk to Demi on my behalf when she clearly can’t stand me.

"I was hoping you could talk to her on my behalf, make her give me a chance to redeem myself. Anna please, she’ll listen to you. Demi and I just fixed our relationship. We can’t be fighting already."

"You set that in motion. It’s all your fault. That’s my stop." She gestures to the side of the road. I pull the car over but don’t unlock the door. A frown creases my passenger’s brow as she tries the door to leave but it doesn’t budge.

"Open the door."

"You are her best friend." I begin, sliding Anna a deep gaze. "You know everything about her. You also know all about her little crush for my brother." Anna doesn’t deny it. She stares back, her face firm. "I bet you prefer he was in my place. You don’t like me very much, do you Anna Preston?"

"Sounds like YOU are quite insecure in your marriage, Mr. Ashley Rollins."

"I am not, but I see where my wife’s been getting her doubts from."

She laughs at me. "What are you going to do? Demand that she cut ties with her best friend. Way to win brownie points with your new wife who’s currently mad at you, Mr. Ashley. Be a man. Go home and beg for your wife’s forgiveness. Be patient for as long as it takes her to stand the sight of you again."

I unlock the door. "Get out."

She gets down and slams the door. "FYI, I do wish Ashton was in your place. I prefer him for my friend. He makes her truly happy and unlike some people, at least with him Demi won’t worry about him sticking it on other women while they’re still married."

"You’re very bold for a woman who literally just kissed her best friend’s husband." The worry line on her face gives me sterling pleasure.

"That was an accident."

"Was it? You know there are four of us that look exactly like this, don’t you? You also know that one of us is married to your best friend. If you plan on having a secret affair with Asher, shouldn’t you be more prudent to avoid such mistakes? My car is clearly different. My fashion style too. I have a fucking gold stud on my right ear. I say it was no accident and you meant to taste my lips. There are different ways our kiss could be interpreted and it will prove it was no accident. Demi might buy into the accident crap for our kiss but what about your secret affair with her least favorite brother-in-law" I restart the car. "Talk to her, Anna. You’d be smart to do so."

She remains on the same spot, speechless, while I drive off.

When I get home, I still have a head of steam going from my conversation with Anna. If anything was clear, it was the fact that Demi is still very much in love with my brother and her friend is rooting for them. Am I a joke to all of them? How far back does this thing with Ashton go? Do Demi and Anna talk smack about me while doing pedicures?

My ego keeps taking a hit every time I hear about Ashton and Demi’s love. Seriously, when did they even start growing feelings for each other behind my back?

"Sir." A maid calls, offering me a tray of brandy and a snifter. I remember her name. She has an uncommonly pretty face and pride herself in mastering the favorites drinks of every brother, our cars, our demeanors. She rarely gets us wrong.

"Thank you, Hailey."

"It’s Halle, sir."

"Halle." I correct myself, taking the drink from her hand and pouring a little in the snifter. "Is my wife home?"

"Yes sir. She’s in her room."

"And my brothers?"

"Upstairs. Game room. Just two of them. I think one of them, Mr. Ashton, is in the gym with his girlfriend."

"Thank you." I gulp my drink before sprinting up the stairs. When I get to Demi’s door, I try her passcode which she shared with me after upholding her promise to give me a chance. I am not surprised to realize she has changed it as the door doesn’t budge. She’s locking me out now? I knock on the door twice but she doesn’t open. It’s like that, huh?

Too tired for drama, I continue to go chat with my brothers. I am already close to the door when I hear something that makes my spine stiffen.

"Why would he do that?" Ashal asks.

"I don’t know what he was thinking." Asher responds. "I honestly worry about him. He’s messed up in the head with everything that’s been unfolding; father’s affair, his forbidden love with his sister-in-law, our adoption. I’ve tried to get him to talk or go to therapy but you know he’s as stubborn as a mule. He’ll only race himself to death."

"And Mila?"

"She did a bad job of pretending to be shocked. I can tell she knew about it the whole time. I wonder if that’s how they met, through his alter ego, Mr. Fantasy or Will. I can’t believe she knows about his dark hair. Who knows what else she knows about his secrets or ours. Damn it, Ashton slipped up."

I lever a hand on the wall. Ashton is Mr. Fantasy? My heart thunders in my chest as I recall Kira accusing Demi of going on a date with said Mr. Fantasy. Anna’s response seems like a cover up for Demi in hindsight.

Did Demi really go out on a date with Ashton as Mr. Fantasy? Is that how they started their affair? How much is Demi not telling me? What other secret is Ashton keeping from me? I ball my hands into fists and grit my teeth. This is the last straw.

Father looks up from his files when I barge into his office. His glasses are perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Can I help you, boy?"

My eyes are thick with emotion. I trudge forward to stare deeply into father’s eyes. He’s the only one that can help me turn my situation around so all the parties involved are reminded that I am not to be trifled with.

"I need your help, dad. Please."

Addressing him as dad for the first time in my entire life and as the first quad to utter that word disarms father momentarily. He takes off his glasses and stares at me.

"Talk to me."