Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 45

DEMI

"Are you sure you got the full name right? When I mentioned it, Ashton didn’t have much of a reaction. It almost felt like he had never heard of the name before. He carried on like I didn’t just drop a bomb on him."

Liam scoffs. "I guess he’s a sterling actor. It’s either that or he already knew Olivia had already tried to contact you so it was no shock to him." He quirks a brow at me. "Do you think Ashton might have gotten close enough to delete Olivia’s text and contact number from your phone at any point in time? I need you to think hard."

I don’t have to. Ashton has my passcode. He might have snuck in while I was asleep and used my fingerprint to unlock my phone. He seems like he can pull such a thing off. Yet, I keep my theory to myself. If Ashton did do it, I’ll find out myself.

"The only time I was completely knocked out and unaware of my surroundings was the night I passed out drunk in front of the quads. If anyone wanted to get into my phone, that was the perfect chance. However, I don’t recall much about that night after I conked out. I don’t even know who carried me to my room."

Liam sighs. "It could have been any one of them." Shaking his head, he waves his hand dismissively. "That’s not important right now. What’s important is that Olivia Dunn exists and she is the secret wife of Ashal Rollins. If she’s being hidden away at the penthouse, there has to be a big secret the Rollins family is trying to keep under wraps. Olivia is in the best position to tells us everything."

Memories of Ashal come to my mind. We had so much fun picking out our new cars. He’s the sweetest, easygoing guy I ever met. Hence, I am having a hard time reconciling that personality with the truth unfolding in front of me. Even worse is the fact that everyone in the family is privy to the secret about Olivia, even mom and Ashton!

"I casually mentioned visiting the penthouse and Ashal flipped. If Olivia was simply living there as a spouse he wasn’t proud of, I don’t think he would have considered my visit such a big deal. Based on his reaction, I’m certain there’s more to it, like domestic abuse or worse. He told me it’s his play pen for him and his brothers."

The minute I voice those words, my heat sinks. "Liam, what if Olivia is being abused by all four brothers? When I was dragged to the penthouse, they had also threated to sexually assault me as a group. If the penthouse is their play pen, such a sick act might be their idea of fun." Just thinking about it makes me want to retch.

"I wouldn’t put it past those quads." Liam’s lips curve distastefully.

I instantly regret my hypothesis. Would Ashton really agree to be a part of something like that? I recall that he had insinuated something similar in my ears when I had been trying to coax Ashal to let me visit the penthouse. He had whispered in my ear, and asked me, ’what do you think happens when you drop a cube of sugar in the midst of ants?’. Oh god, could Olivia really be the sugar in that analogy and the quads the ants? I feel sick to my stomach.

"Have you been to see Anna?" Liam asks, changing the topic on seeing my discomfort.

"Not yet. She called to inform me that she’s back in town now. I’ll stop by her place right after we’re done here." Hissing, I stare into my drink. "Do you know why she’s keeping it a secret from me? Do you think Asher might have threatened her to keep everything that happened a secret even from me?"

"I think you know the answer to your own question."

Poor Anna, I think. Why do my problems keeping rubbing off on her? The quads were never supposed to get too close to my loved ones but now they’ve infiltrated everything and everyone dear to me. One of them is even trying to permeate my heart.

"How long am I supposed to pretend I don’t know anything about her accident? What if she suspects that you might have gotten wind of it and told me?"

"Pay her a visit first and see if she still refrains from telling you. If she does and you suspect she’s doing so under duress, I’ll take it up from there."

"You’re going to run the story on Billion-Err?"

"Of course. Since we haven’t found any other solid evidence that can hit that family where it hurts, we’ll just have to settle for pricking their egos and making small dents in their reputation with mini stories every now and then."

He has a point. I look outside the window and follow the rattling journey of an old mini-van down the narrow street. The air inside the bookstore is cool and placid. Itching for a distraction as Liam refocuses on his laptop, I stroll towards the shelves and run my fingers through the stems of dusty paperbacks. The new sales boy at the counter isn’t doing Mr. Rahl’s business any justice. He is always too invested in his video games or music to bother about dusting books.

My eyes stray to him through a curtain of books and sure enough, he is on his phone. However, he seems to be on call with someone, whispering and craning his neck to peer in the direction of the table where Liam and I are currently occupying. It’s a bit suspicious. Why is he whispering into the phone and looking at us? Who could he be talking to?

I pop out from the corner and startle him. His phone almost slips out of his fingers but his good reflexes save the day.

"I d-didn’t see you t-there." He feigns a smile to distract me from his deft attempt to hide his phone under the counter. It finally disappears into his back pocket.

"You’re a little jumpy today...."

"It’s Lucas."

"Lucas." I repeat with a nod. This isn’t the first time he’s been stealing glances at Liam and I. "I hope everything is fine. That phone call seemed quite...secretive."

Lucas’s face hardens a bit. "It was just personal, that’s all." His eyes stray once more towards Liam who joins us in the front. "Handsome boyfriend you’ve got here."

This time his smile is definitely cocky and rife with mischief. I instantly know Lucas has been up to no good. He must know who I am now and for him to make such a statement about Liam and I confirms his ill-intentions.

"Let’s go." Liam preempts me, grabbing my hand. Just as he pulls the door open, we bump into three ladies coincidentally entering the store. When I scan their faces and recognize one, Lucas’ broad smile tells me we’ve been set up.

"Well, well, well, look who we’ve got here; Demi Branson in the flesh." Nicola tuts her tongue as she stares at Liam’s hand over mine. Liam leaves my hand and scowls at her.

"What do you think you’re doing, get out of my way or I’ll be forced to use reasonable force on you all." True to his word, he elbows his way through them and exits the store. Outside, he gives me a quick glance before getting into his car and driving away. Nicola turns from watching Liam leave to face me.

"He’s a fine specimen. Too bad he’s not much of a gentleman. He left you and took off. Is that the tenor of your affair? He can’t hold your hands in public?" She slaps her forehead as though she just recalled something. "Silly me. Of course it is. That’s the whole point of a secret affair, is it not?" Her friends bob their heads to answer her question.

"Are you done embarrassing yourself, Nicola Grey?"

She struggles not to lose her marbles over the mention of her full name. "You’re one greedy bitch, Demi Branson. Who the hell do you think you are to cheat on Ashely? You come here frequently, hiding away in this bookstore with your little boyfriend at the back doing heaven knows what. Does Ashley know about this?"

"Why wouldn’t he? He’s seen my friend Liam and he knows how attached I am to this bookstore." I round up on her now and whisper in her ear. "You’re very shameless for a mere booty call."

When our eyes meet, hers are flaming torches. "I’ll try not to spike my husband’s anger by telling him the stunt his side piece tried to pull today. I’m feeling rather generous today, you see. My mother-in-law just gifted me that beautiful car outside so I am in a good mood. You should have the sense to keep your face hidden knowing what you are, Nicola, not just for your own self-respect or to please my husband but for the success of your own father’s political aspiration. I wonder how he’ll manage to rear his head in public ever again if it leaks that you’ve reduced yourself from a top model to a sneaky link."

Shame flickers in her eyes.

"Don’t you dare talk to her like that, you..." The big mouthed lady falls silent at the raise of Nicola’s hand.

"Take care ladies." I shoot Lucas a steely look that will surely make him worry about losing his job before exiting the store. Through the glass doors, Nicola and her lackeys watch me settle into my car and drive off.

What they see is an overly confident woman whom they have just failed to intimidate. What they don’t see is my trembling hands on the steering. My heart is beating wildly too. That was so close.

I stop by an eatery to get Anna’s favorite takeout before heading to her place. By the time I arrive, I am feeling more relaxed and steadier. I grab the goodies and head over to the entrance. I’m certain Anna would be shocked by my new ride. We can talk about the car before segueing into her accident. That should be a nice, smooth transition.

At the door, my fingers are poised to knock when I hear muffled sounds of an argument. I can’t make out much of the details of the argument but I recognize Anna’s voice. The second speaker appears to be a man. When he raises his voice an octave higher, the paper bags slip from my hands. I wrench open the door and run inside with a clack of heels.

"ANNA? ANNA!"

It’s just as I feared. Iman stands in her small apartment, looming like a tidal wave. Anna’s frightened eyes skirt towards me by the door.

"Anna, are you alright?"

She straightens her shoulders and feigns a smile. "Demi, I-we didn’t hear you come in." Iman watches me under the dome of his bushy eyebrows. I glare icily at him. What could he possibly want with my best friend? Why won’t he just leave me alone?

"What is he doing here?" I ask, jerking a chin towards Iman. My face is flushed with anger. I can’t even bear to share the same space as him.

Iman tips his head in a fit of helpless laughter and finishes off with a clap. "Wow, little Demi now has guts." He ignores Anna’s pleas and approaches me menacingly. I refuse to budge from my place at the door till Iman’s breath fans my face. He sniffs the nape of my neck and licks his lips, then shifts back to take in my designer clothes, shoes and bag. "So, you think you can raise your voice and talk to me in third person because you’re wearing brands now?"

"Stay the hell away from Anna."

"Or what? Huh? What is little Demi going to do? Bring the quads over here?" He laughs boisterously. "Do you control those brothers now? Do they come running at the snap of your fingers? I know they don’t like you so how exactly are you going to make them do your bidding? Will you blow all four brothers?"

I smack him hard across his cheek. The deafening slap makes him stagger a bit. Behind him, Anna goes pale. In one leap, she streams across the room to stand between Iman and I.

"Please forgive her, Iman. She didn’t mean to. She’s sorry."

The look in Iman’s bloodshot eyes smokes away the cold fury in mine. He shoves Anna to the floor to get to me.

"ANNA." I scream but before I can reach her, Iman closes a hand over my neck and slams my back against the wall. My legs dangle mid-air. Slowly, my vision starts to become spotty as I choke for breath. Anna’s weak voice continues to plead on my behalf but Iman chooses to unleash his fury like a wild animal.

"HOW DARE YOU? I’LL KILL YOU, BITCH."

With the last ounce of strength in me, I plow my knee into his groin. He buckles as the slice of pain shoots up his body. Coughing, I manage to crawl blindly away from him only to be yanked back by the tail of my hair.

"IMAN!" Anna screams at the top of her lungs, holding up her phone. "I just texted Asher Rollins and he is five minutes out too. He’s coming here with the police. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be in prison by nightfall, assuming Asher doesn’t kill you first. Get your hands off Demi right now!"

The pain in my scalp eases as Iman releases the clump of my hair in his grip and hustles out of the house. Anna rushes to hug me as we sob together.

"Are you alright, Demi? Oh my God, I’m so sorry he hurt you."

I shake my head numbly, streaking my hands over her face to make certain she’s fine. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Anna, are you sure you’re not hurt? You took a fall."

Anna smiles through her tears. "He almost strangled you to death and you’re worried about me?" She clasps her hands behind my back and holds me tightly.

"I promise he won’t be back. I’ll make sure he goes away for good this time." I say, hugging her too. We remain like that for a long time, sobbing on each other’s shoulders.

***

While I drive back home, I can’t stop that scene from replaying in my head. If Anna hadn’t been smart enough to lie about the police and Asher being on their way, would I still be here?

She eventually had to open up to me about everything regarding her accident. Iman had stopped by her place to apologize for accidentally hitting her instead of Asher. He didn’t explain why he wanted to hurt Asher in the first place and got pissed off when Anna tried to wheedle the information out of him which was the scene I had walked into. Iman must have been triggered by the sight of me and the slap to his face to have become a monster in a flash.

Though it all makes sense, I still can’t help but feel my best friend is still holding out on me. As I ride the elevator to my room with my shoes in my hands, I try not to think too much about how worried Anna had seemed over Asher.

It’s Asher for goodness’ sake. Why would she feel sympathetic over a man who is an asshole and probably deserved whatever his enemies have planned for him. I stroll across the drawing room where the lull of music drifts out from the open door. Two brothers turn to me and the one on the piano gasps.

"Woah, what happened? Your outfit is almost ruined."

Only one person would be able to tell that my clothes have been through hell despite how well I tried to look okay after the incident with Iman.

"Ruined?" I ask Ashley. "Of course not, it’s totally fine. It held up nicely today." Ashely runs a hand through my hair and clucks his tongue. Before he can gripe about that too, I stop him with a warning look.

My eyes drift to the other brother and instantly, I know from his eyes that it’s Ashton. His eyes are fixated on my neck. Absently, I tug my collar closer to hide whatever signs might be left.

"Mom missed you at dinner." Ashley says, stepping out of the drawing room and following behind me. Seconds later, Ashton takes over the piano and a beautiful tune waft out.

"How was your day?" His question gives me unnecessary chills. I wonder if Nicola has managed to talk to him yet.

"Crazy. I went to see a friend." I intentionally omit the name to gauge his reaction.

"Who? Anna?"

"Anna isn’t the only friend I have." I touch his cheek. "I have made a new one recently. Her name’s Olivia." His rosy cheeks go white as a sheet. There it is. All the proof I need. To further buttress my point, Ashley stutters in shock.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure. I’m glad you’re making friends." He clears his throat as we get to my door. "Um, where did you meet this Olivia?"

"I’ll tell you all about it some other time. Right now, I am tired." I smother a yawn behind my palm to emphasize my point.

"Oh, right. Sorry. I’ll let you rest." He leans close and kisses my forehead. "Good night."

I watch him take the stairs leading to the game room. Run. Go tell your brothers about me and Olivia. My smile deepens as I am glad my plan is working. Ashley has confirmed that Olivia Dunn exists. I guess not every brother is a good actor when they aren’t prepared for it.

Tearing my eyes off the direction Ashley just sprinted across, I turn back to my door and notice that the music has stopped. When I lift my head towards the drawing room, I almost clutch my heart in shock on seeing Ashton by the door, watching me intently. After a long minute of just staring at each other, I unlock my door and go inside.

Pressed against the door, I wonder what that look was about. Could Ashton be suspicious of me now? Darn it. I should have surveyed my surroundings before smiling malevolently.

Before I can collect my thoughts and steady my racing heart, I hear my code being entered. I shriek away from the door when it unlocks. Ashton boldly struts into my room and shuts the door.

"ASHTON! What the hell do you think you’re doing in my room?" Hand on my chest, I stagger backwards.

"Why are you so flustered to see me? If you wanted to keep me out, you would have changed your passcode already." Both hands behind his back, he walks in, sampling my room.

"What do you want?" Normally, I’d be elated to have him here. Maybe the spike of my pulse lends credence to that fact but I’ve got too much to process right now and I need to be alone for a moment. He shouldn’t be in here.

He reaches me, grabs my chin with one hand. With the other, he takes my collar and tugs it down. Like a cranky child, I jerk my chin free as his eyes darken.

"Who did that to you?"

"It’s none of your business. Please leave. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea, again." I leave him and stride into my closet to get my night dress and prepare for bed. Unsurprisingly, Ashton walks in after me like he owns the damn place.

"Ashton, you’re overstepping."

"Am I?" He runs his hands through my new clothes arranged in a color-coded manner by Ashley. Then he turns to me again. "You can either tell me his name and I’ll let you do the honors of choosing how I make him pay for touching you or I could go on a spree and deal with every man in your life whom I reasonably suspect can muster the guts to put hands on you, excluding my brothers of course. They were with me the entire day." He shoots me a sick twisted smile that makes me get chills.

I want to be mad at him but I can’t. My body pulses with the rhythm of his words. The fire in his eyes as he brays for the blood of the man who hurt me makes my thighs sing with damp and lust. Suddenly, the flames in those eyes go off. Ashton’s tensed shoulders sag as he focuses on a particular point behind me. I follow the shock in his eyes to my wardrobe and spot the very item that has stunned him to silence.

The red jacket I wore on my fake date with Will. The red furry jacket that any smart person would remember even from a dark night!

"That red jacket." Ashton whispers in a low growl. "Is that yours?"