Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 99

DEMI

I was right to have made Anna give me her urine sample in case of an emergency. I nursed a suspicion that mother or someone else in the mansion might suspect my pregnancy and demand a test. I’m glad I was able to dispel their suspicions for now but I don’t know for how long.

In a few months, my pregnancy will start showing and there won’t be a way to hide it then from the people I live with. I just have to make sure that my plans are in full swing by then. If the Rollins family come to know about my real identity and true intentions to avenge my parents, my baby will be my insurance plan, hopefully.

I rap on the door in front of me. When the door swings open, the woman scrunches her nose in surprise.

"Hi, Mrs. Randall, I’m Demi. Is Josh home?"

"I know exactly who you are, Demi Rollins. I also know what your family did to MY son when he stopped by at the mansion recently based on Mr. Rollins’ invitation so you understand why seeing a member of that household isn’t thrilling."

"I understand, ma’am."

"I appreciate that you stood up for my son but it’s still too early to entertain anyone who reminds me of the embarrassment my son went through."

I can tell she is still very upset over everything that happened but I can’t leave without talking to her. I need evidence of Brett being Josh’s father. If I can work this woman, she’ll definitely give me everything I need.

"Please Mrs. Randall, I know your anger is beyond justified. Josh is such a sweet and kind man. Father loves him like a son and I honestly see why. I don’t get why the quads loathe him so much. He didn’t deserve the humiliation he got." I offer her the basket in my hand. "A little peace offering from me. I hope you, Josh and I can still be friendly towards each other. I don’t want to lose such kind people over the impulsive attitude of my husband and brothers-in-law."

I linger by the door, hoping she would look past everything and let me in. Kristy stands, contemplating.

"Josh has helped me a lot at work." I continue. "When I first joined the HQ, I heard stories about Josh, both good and bad. Everyone seemed to want me to form a negative opinion about him and for the first few weeks, I was wary of him. Then I realized that whenever he came around, he was always looking out for me and very friendly. I realized that I was holding onto the wrong notions about him based one what everyone had told me. I had to shed all of that and allow myself to form an objective opinion of Josh and I wasn’t wrong. He has been nothing but good to me. I have no reason to hate him and so I don’t. I won’t."

Kristy Randall hides her blurry eyes as she waves me into her beautiful home.

"What’s your poison, Demi?"

"Um, I’ll prefer a glass of water. I’m parched."

"Nonsense. This is your first time in my house and I am a better host than Barbara will ever be. You’re going to leave with a belly full of sumptuous food and expensive alcohol."

She goes into her kitchen to start rustling up some food. I can’t have alcohol and Kristy seems like the type to stubbornly insist so I try to think of something.

"I have a few errands to run today so I won’t be able to stay longer than an hour."

"I don’t need an hour to make a good pot of food for a special guest."

"Mrs. Randall..."

"Please, call me Kristy. Enough with the formality."

"Kristy, why don’t we just have a simple dish for now. I have every intention to visit your home regularly from now on, to see you and Josh. If you make an extremely fancy dish, I’d feel like you’re treating me to a farewell dish and don’t plan on seeing me back in your home anytime soon." Kristy pauses while slicing greens.

"Now, why would you say that, huh?" She asks, running the curved tip of her long, green-coated nails down my jawline. "You’re welcome here, Demi. You saw my son for who he truly is rather than the lies people made up of him. I appreciate such sensibility in young people as such is in heavy decline nowadays."

I smile at her. "Need help with anything?"

"Oh no. I have a system. You’ll only slow me down. Go get yourself a glass of water in the fridge. There’s good alcohol at the antique bar in the living room."

"I’m not much of a drinker, Kristy so I’ll settle for this can of juice right here." I wave the water and juice at her and she laughs and calls me lightweight. "I’ll be in the living room." I add.

When I get there, I text Liam to tell him I am at josh’s home and mean to find some evidence to prove Brett sired Josh. Then, I ask him about the drug I found in Asher’s drawer. He texts back to tell me he hasn’t heard back from his friend, a doctor, and would get back to me soon.

I turn on the television and crank up the volume so Kristy can believe I am just watching TV. When I peek at her, she’s swaying to the music from the TV. I take that as my cue and head upstairs to find the bedrooms.

I move fast, opening and closing doors. I find the first one but it appears no one sleeps in it. There are so many empty rooms here. Finally, I find Josh’s. I go through his drawers filled with unfolded fresh laundry. Ashley would freak at such a disorganized room.

I find photo albums of him and his mother with what appears to be his late father. As I flick through, the father ceases to feature in the photos as Josh gets older. When Josh becomes a man, Brett comes into the picture.

The last few photos are of Josh and father in different locations bonding as father and son. I never knew they met up outside of soul foods. There are photos of them scuba diving, ziplining, wall climbing and so on, things I am certain father has never done with the quads. I wonder how the quads would react to these photos.

I whip out my phone and take snapshots of the photos. I also take pictures of Brett and Kristy in what appears to be their dates. Some appear more recent too.

I find Josh’s hairbrush in his bathroom and take some strands. There’s a weird stash of used lingerie in one of his cabinets. I gently close it because I don’t even want to imagine why he stores such things as a keepsake.

Armed with enough samples for a DNA run, I step out of the bathroom only to find Josh in his room. He is in the process of changing his gym clothes and stands butt naked in front of his drawer.

"Oh my gosh." I panic, turning away with a hand over my eyes. Josh drops his phone accidentally and rushes to cover his dick with a cloth.

"Jeez, Demi, what are you doing in my room?"

My heart pounds heavily in my chest. How did I not hear him come in? How did he not hear me in the bathroom?

"I’m so sorry. I was looking for the bathroom and when I came in here, I realized it must be yours and wanted to leave."

"There are tons of empty guest rooms on this floor. Why didn’t you use the first one you found?" He snaps a bit rudely. I continue to stand with my back to him, my chest heaving with deep breaths. I hear some sounds behind me like he is quickly putting on some clothes.

"It’s fine. You can turn around now."

Slowly, I turn to look at him. A huge blush colors my cheek as I dip my eyes. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude on your privacy like that. I should have just asked your mom what bathroom to use but she didn’t want to be disturbed while cooking. She’s on a time crunch, you see. I thought I could figure it out myself."

"She didn’t hear me come in, either. Perhaps she would have warned me that we have company. I just came for a quick change of clothes before meeting up with some work friends." His awkward face breaks into a small smile. "Are you here to apologize on behalf of your family? You know you don’t have to do that, right? I don’t want you here if you’re coming to plead on their behalf but you’re welcome here to just hang with my mom and I as Demi herself."

I smile back. "Good. I’m done with the apologies, then." I head for the door.

"Hey, Demi?"

"Yes?"

"Didn’t you have to pee or something?"

Crap, I already forgot. "Oh, I got so startled I don’t feel pressed anymore. However, I’ll just try to use one of the guest bathrooms as you suggested. I’ll be a few minutes though since my body needs time to loosen up again." Josh laughs with me.

"The bathrooms are down that way." He points.

I battle the urge to find Kristy’s room and get my hands on some evidence but eventually decide against it. Josh already found me in his room and with some luck, he barely suspects me but if he happens to find me in his mother’s room instead of one of the guest bathrooms, the excuse of getting the rooms mixed up again won’t cut it. Hence, I make my way down after two minutes to find Kristy setting the table. Josh also comes down and joins us in the meal.

The Randalls seem like normal people who are fun to be around. After I leave their home with promises to return, I drive to Anna’s place to drop off the things I just picked up from Josh’s place. Liam will get them from Anna’s later.

"They made you take the test? Oh my god. What if you didn’t have my sample of urine?"

"Don’t even go there, Anna. That thought scares the hell out of me." I press a hand to my eyes. "His father was disgusted at the mere thought of me carrying his grandchild. He scolded Ashley and called me a mistake. His mom, she tried to be kind and defended me. Ashley stood there and said nothing. I could tell that there were a lot of questions in his eyes but he never uttered his thoughts. I don’t know if he wants a baby to please his mom or because he wants a family with me. Whatever the case, I am fairly certain that a lot of people won’t appreciate the bun in my oven."

"What are you going to do?"

"I’m going to hide my pregnancy and focus on my mission to achieve as mete out as much punishment as I can until I can’t hide my baby anymore. With some luck and a sprinkle of a miracle, my in-laws won’t bray for my blood when they unmask me, at least until I give birth. I know," I add when Anna fails to look convinced. "It’s not a solid plan."

"It’s no plan at all." She corrects me. "Luck? Miracle? Since when did you start leaving things to chance and fate? Demi, you have to have a solid backup plan for when shit hits the fence. These people killed your family. You think they’ll think twice about punishing you simply because you’re carrying Ashley’s baby? Ashley doesn’t even know if he wants the baby or not. He doesn’t seem like the type to insist that no harm come to you because of his baby. Ashton might have done that but not Ashley. I don’t want anyone harming you and covering it up like they did with Tobias’ death."

"You’re right. I can’t get sloppy. I’ll think of something but for now, I am starving."

"Didn’t you have some food at Josh’s place?"

"I did but now I am hungry again. Please make me some pasta. Please." Anna rolls her eyes and drags herself up to go to the kitchen. "Hurry up before I start craving something else."

While she is making the food, someone knocks on the door. Is Anna expecting anyone? I go to answer it. I frown at the sight of Asher holding some flowers.

"Demi." He utters quietly, shocked to see me. I shut the door behind me so Anna can’t hear us and glare at him.

"What are you doing here holding flowers? Do you think Anna is so gullible and stupid you can juggle her with Nessa? How heartless can you be, Asher? I won’t let you do this to either Anna or Nessa so get the hell away from here!"

"Anna can speak for herself. You don’t get to decide who she hangs out with simply because you’re her best friend!"

"No, I am not just her best friend, I am like a sister to her and vice versa. Get out of here Asher unless you want me to tell Anna all about your affair with Nessa, especially how you were grunting while cumming into Nessa in your office bathroom." His eyes darken as he chucks the flowers on the ground.

"So, you did spy on us that day." He scoffs at me. "You’ve got some nerve."

"You shouldn’t have been doing that in the first place, boss, not at work! Does father know you’re still sleeping with Nessa? Does Nessa know Anna is now in the picture? Does Anna, the woman who literally saved your life, know that you’re fucking your secretary during weekdays and bringing her flowers during weekends? Would you like to see how she reacts to this truth?"

Asher closes a hand over my neck but before he can apply too much pressure, Anna opens the door.

"Asher! You’re here?" His hand drops from my neck and I make a show of coughing loudly. "What were you doing to her?" Annas asks, rushing to hold me. "Demi, are you okay? Asher, did you try to strangle my friend?"

"No, it’s not what it looks like."

"It’s exactly what it looks like." I counter him. "Anna, I’m not stupid. I know he doesn’t just come here to check on you. There’s something going on between the two of you. If he was half the decent man he claims to be, I would have overlooked my reservations towards your relationship but Asher here is a scumbag. He is still fucking Nessa at the office. I bumped into them in his bathroom days ago." My heart breaks as Anna’s eyes dilate in shock. Asher clenches his fist and grits his teeth while I continue.

"Anna." I say, taking her hand. "You deserve better. This man is not the one for you. He is only interested in warming your bed. He can’t have a life with you. His father will never allow it nor can Asher change his promiscuous ways. He just gets girls to sleep with and keeps them on rotation. You are not special to him. Go ahead, ask him."

Anna’s teary eyes wheel towards Asher.

"You’re always going to believe her over me so there’s no point in defending myself. I’ll save you the trouble. I still see Nessa. I don’t believe in being exclusive to a woman who still keeps her options open."

"What are you talking about?" Anna asks him.

"You lied to me about your colleague at work who took a pregnancy test in your apartment. Turns out there’s no waitress called Sheila at the Honey Pot where you work. I didn’t go asking. I checked for you and was told you called in sick. I asked if Sheila could help serve me because I wanted her opinion on some flowers but the manager didn’t know anyone by that name. YOU LIED, Anna. That only tells me that you’ve been sleeping with another man, might be pregnant with his child and lied to my face about it."

I can’t believe it. Asher found my test strips and thinks they belong to Anna? Anna cries when he turns to leave. I grab her before she can go after him.

"Asher! You’re mistaken." She shouts while he leaves. Then, she turns to me, begging frantically. "Please Demi, help convince him. I am not pregnant. I love him. I love Asher."

The last three words undo me. What? How long has this been going on? How could she be in love with a man like Asher? The moment my grip weakens, Anna breaks free from me and runs after Asher. I stand outside her door and slide to the floor, next to the flowers.

How could Asher entrap my friend like this when he knows he’s got no intention of giving her the life she wants? It’s just cruel. Anna has been through a lot and doesn’t deserve the heartbreak coming her way. Tears roll down my cheek when I watch her desperately begging Asher. He strokes her hair and kisses her on the lips. While he ravishes her lips, his right eye strays to me and unbelievably, he winks at me.

Oh god.

***

"I don’t know what to do, Liam. Anna is in love with Asher, ASHER. She wasn’t even ready to listen to anything I had to say. She even asked me to give them some space. I had to pack my things and leave. What if she opens up and tells him everything about our plans? How can she reasonably sit by and allow our plans unfold when it will hurt the man she claims to love? Can’t you see the problem here?"

"How could I not?" I hear him knock something over. "I really don’t know what it is with you women. How do you tend to fall in love so easily with those crappy brothers? I warned you about the dangers of entering their lives through marriage. We could have found a different way to get through to them. Now, you’re in love with one brother, married to another and Anna is also sleeping with your biggest threat in that house." He smashes something again. "How could she be so daft? He clearly doesn’t love her. She should know better than to settle for that loser."

I get that he is angry but something about the way his voice was laced with annoyance at the mention of Anna and Asher gets to me. Does Liam have a thing for Anna? I banish the thought.

"We don’t have time to fixate on all the things that already went wrong. Let’s focus on you getting josh’s samples from me. You can start reaching out to Kristy Randall about helping her son get the acknowledgment he deserves. I can’t think of a bigger scandal than irrefutable evidence that Josh is Brett’s son right now. I’ll find a way to get father’s hair sample. It won’t be easy but I’ll try."

"Don’t get yourself killed too early. You owe it to me to last at least the next six months." Before I can hang up, he mentions that his doctor friend just messaged him with the result of the pill.

"What’s it for?"

"Damn. Demi, it’s a brand of drug that helps alleviate severe headaches and migraines. It’s mostly issued for patients with cancer."

I don’t know what to feel. Asher has cancer? How? He looks very healthy. Does Anna know? Does his family? My guess is that they don’t given the way he hides the pills. Why is he keeping it a secret from them though? Is there a big reason behind it?

On my way home, I try to imagine why Asher wouldn’t want to share this with his family or get admitted into a hospital to start treatment as early as possible. Is there a gem here I could use against him for the way he has brainwashed my friend?

An hour after I get home, Asher returns too. He has a satisfied smile on his face as he walks with a spring in his step. I wait for him to get into his room before calling him on phone.

"What sick twisted game are you playing with Anna? How could you toy with her emotions like this after everything she’s done for you?"

"Why are you so worried, Demi? Are you afraid I just might be able to completely fill your friend’s head with thoughts of me and make her fall so deeply in love with me that she’ll share everything with me, even your secrets?" He laughs at my silence. "Don’t worry. You’ve got nothing to hide, right? Anna and I just enjoy each other’s company. Don’t condemn our relationship because I can’t be bothered to put a label to it."

"Speaking about secrets and things to hide, don’t you have something to share with your family? Say, a life threatening, medical emergency?" This time, I laugh at his silence. "Stay away from Anna or I’ll go straight to father and tell him about your medical condition as well as your illicit affair with Nessa and Anna. Let’s see what he thinks of you then." I hang up and sink down on my bed. Hopefully, that deters him.

Someone raps loudly on my door. What the heck? How did he get here so fast.

"Go away!" I yell at him.

"It’s Ashley. Open up."

I unlock the door and Ashley comes inside. I don’t know what he wants now.

"What can I do for you, Ashley?" I ask, crossing my arms on my chest. I haven’t gotten over the fact that at the slightest disagreement between us, he ran back into Nicci’s arms despite everything she’s done to him. He can keep her for all I care.

He narrows his eyes at me and shoves his phone in my face. I gasp in shock at the picture taken of me.

"What were you doing at Josh Randall’s house earlier today?"