Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 126

ASHTON

"What do you mean by you’re not sure if you can ever forgive me?" Mila yells in my face in her home. "Did you already forget the part where I explained this was all Demi’s plot? I told you that she came up with it herself for goodness’ sake! You’ve always asked me to empathize with the woman and when I tried, she laid out a condition before she could trust me. Since she isn’t actually pregnant and stands no chance of getting hurt, I played along. Why can’t you let it go?"

"That’s not the point, Mila. Yes, Demi isn’t really pregnant. Yes, I asked you be kinder towards her, to empathize with her but I didn’t expect you to go along with such a silly plan knowing the ripple effect it will have on my family. I expected you to know better than to stir up another negative report about my family like we don’t already have enough to deal with lately. What happened to knowing more about families like mine compared to Demi? Would you have done the same if it was going to affect Spellman Group?"

"Don’t go that far. It was nothing malicious so don’t paint it like I have something against your family. I just wanted to get into Demi’s good graces, earn her trust somewhat so I can connect with her. If she knows she has a friend in the house, don’t you think her life would be easier? Don’t you think she would be less miserable in that mansion? I did all of that for you because I know you would be happy if she is happy."

"Don’t spin this on me."

"I’m sorry love but as long as it involves her, it will always come right back to you. You made certain of that." She paces around in only a sweater and white lingerie. "I have tried, Ashton. I have twisted myself in uncomfortable shapes just to please you. I am even on the verge of befriending the woman my fiancé is in love with. What more could you ask of me? How understanding can a woman be? Yet, you stand here and choose to point fingers at me alone. I bet you sympathized with Demi above all else. Did she cry on your shoulder?" She shakes her head. "She can never be wrong in your eyes, is that it? Or, you’re desperate for any kind of excuse to call off our engagement."

"Now you’re taking it too far!"

"Am I?" She sidles up to me and places both hands on my chest. Gradually, they slide down. "We’ve been engaged for weeks and I don’t even remember the last time you kissed me or made love to me. Why do I feel like this is peculiar to me? Are you really that uninterested in your future wife or is there someone else you jerk off to while alone?"

When I try to wrench her hands away, she slides them down and grabs my dick.

"Mila, you’re just evading the issue here. I don’t have time for this."

"Then make time. I have needs, Ashton and by this ring on our fingers, you’re meant to satisfy them. She yanks me down with her and captures my lips with hers.

***

"I take it I am forgiven?" She says with a seductive flutter of her eyelashes while I zip up my pants. I can’t even be mad at her. I feel so much limber and relaxed. I needed that to ease off the stress of the last couple of days. When she runs her hand over my bare chest and leaves a trail of wet kisses, my blood starts to hum with desire again. Gently, I push her back. I am really running late.

"I’ve got an appointment."

"Call me as soon as you’re done. Don’t even try to ghost me." Her hands wrap around my neck. "Promise me you’ll miss me. I wish I didn’t have to go for this stupid business meeting."

"That’s the price you have to pay for being Mila Spellman."

"Then I can’t wait to be Mila Rollins so we can have sessions like the last fifteen minutes whenever we damn please."

I didn’t mean to look indifferent or unexcited but Mila catches on and lets her hands slip from my neck.

"Wow, Ash, you can at least pretend to be gleeful."

"Hey, it’s not that." I assure her, snagging her waist with one hand. "I’m sorry. I wish I could be cheerful but things haven’t been going great with my family lately. We are always on the news for the wrong reasons. Internally, we are dealing with a lot of as you know. I just can’t allow myself think selfishly about my own happiness right now. My family needs me more right now. I’ll call you, okay?" I kiss her fully on the lips. "Thank you for helping with Demi. I hope you can sway her to stay in line in the meantime."

"I am no magician but I’ll give it a try." freēwēbnovel.com

"That’ll do." She winks at me before I leave.

I was being honest when I said I felt selfish thinking of my own happiness lately. Everything is going south in my family. My kid brothers are out of control. Cree called to tell me Ashal left his penthouse and definitely went to see Madeline. He hasn’t been taking my calls ever since, same with Ashley and Asher. Everyone seems to have gone haywire. To top it all, father is closing in on Adriana’s existence which I can’t have.

I take a breather and head for Keith’s farm house. He might have been ignoring me but I doubt he would be able to keep that up once he sees me at his house.

"You have some balls coming back here." He spits with venom when I park outside the gate. If looks could kill, I would have been dead. I check my own temper and try to be understanding of his. "TURN THE FUCK AROUND."

I get down from my car instead and circle towards him. "Keith, let me in. I can explain everything. It’s not what you think."

"Are you calling me blind and stupid?"

"No. I’m trying to tell you that I got an emergency just as I got to the meeting point. It was urgent. You know how desperate I have been to meet my sister. Do you really think I will bail on her without a good cause just when my dream is about to be fulfilled?"

"I don’t care what excuses you have. The deal is off."

I grab his shoulder roughly and pull him back. "No, it isn’t. I don’t get your desperation to keep Adriana away from my brothers and I but I am telling you now that I will meet with her one way or the other. Everyone makes mistakes. You are not perfect yourself. You drew a picture of her even when she warned you not to. Does she know about the portrait? How do you think she’ll feel?"

He shoves at me. "FUCK YOU. SHE’LL NEVER BELIEVE YOUR WORD OVER MINE."

"Maybe not. That’s not my point. If you’re allowed to hurt her feelings for reasons you deem noble as her big brother, why don’t I get the same chance? Why do I have to lose her at the slightest infraction? That’s not how family works, Keith. People fuck up all the time but family remains. It’ll take a whole lot more than your threats to scare me away from my sister because I am not going anywhere."

Keith and I exchange hot glares while standing nose to nose.

"She is no longer interested in meeting you." He lies.

"Bullshit. She agreed to a meeting faster than I expected. That tells me it’s sort of a dream of hers. She wants her family back. Dreams are not that easy to discard, Keith. I know she’ll still be interested in meeting me."

"You know nothing about her!"

"We’ll see about that." When he turns around to return inside, I yell after him. "Don’t stand in my way Keith. I don’t want to have to resort to extreme measures to smoke my sister out."

He only glares at me.

When he’s a long way ahead, I open my palm to find the phone I had pilfered from his pocket when I grabbed him. With a few tricks, I override his security key and scroll through his contacts. With the lock on his phone, I’m certain he wouldn’t mind saving Adriana’s number with her name as he is convinced very few people can beat his security key. I copy Adriana’s contact details but before I can scroll through their chats, Keith starts to frisk himself for his phone. I toss the phone on the grass for Keith to find when he returns and climb back into my car to leave.

[Where the fuck is everybody?] I text in the quad group chat after putting a reasonable distance between me and Keith. Am I missing something? Did we have an arrangement and I forgot all about it?

When I don’t get a response, I shelve my worries and immediately dial Adriana’s number with bated breath. She doesn’t pick up at first and I immediately understand why. Of course she would be wary of answering calls from unknown numbers.

I try one more time and plan to send a text to clarify my identity if she fails to pick up again. Before the ring tone can elapse, she picks up.

"Hello?" she voices softly. I am temporarily astounded to follow back with a quick reply. "Hello?"

"Adriana, it’s your big brother, Ashton Rollins. Please don’t hang up." I wait a beat to make sure and continue. "I’m so sorry about the last time. I had an unavoidable emergency. I didn’t mean to stand you up. I’m deeply sorry for hurting your feelings."

"How did you get my number?" She asks nervously.

"Oh, I got it off Keith. Look, before you call him, I just wanted to know if you’re still interested in meeting me and eventually, your other three older brothers. We have so much to catch up on. Please, Keith isn’t letting me talk to you so I had to get your number off his phone while he was distracted. Adriana, we are also your family. I am asking for one last chance. I promise to make it worth your while and if you don’t want anything to do with us after our meeting, I won’t bother you again, I give you my word."

She remains eerily quiet. Is she shy or contemplating. I wish she could speak more so I can get an inkling of what she’s thinking in her head.

"I have to speak to my brother first."

"Ok. I totally understand."

The reference to Keith as her brother makes me feel weird. Maybe I am starting to feel how Keith feels because four rich and handsome strangers have appeared to claim his little sister as their own.

"Can I keep this number though? Just in case?"

"You can." That response brightens my face.

"Thank you, Adriana. I’ll be waiting for your call."

Well, that didn’t go so badly, I thought until Keith starts blowing up my phone barely five minutes later. The big bad wolf must now be aware of the little pickpocket game I pulled on him.

"Look, I wouldn’t have resorted to that if you had just..."

"You’ve got one more chance. Consider it your last."

"What?"

"Adriana still wants to meet. I don’t know what you said to her but she wants to get this over and done with."

My chest explodes with happiness. Finally, today is going right for once.

"Um, wow, I am flustered. Thank you or thank her? I don’t know." I run a hand over my hair. "When can we meet?" An incoming call buzzes. I ignore Ashley’s call and continue with Keith. I have to wrap this up. Little bro can wait.

"Apparently, you are busier than everyone else, not so? Too bad. Clear your schedule and be back at my place in an hour. Adriana won’t be staying long."

"Ok." He hangs up before I can get another word in. Never mind, I am beyond thrilled to share everything with the quads. Asher will feel less guilty about ruining our first shot. This might take Ashley and Ashal’s minds off the women in their heads. Another call comes in from Ashal.

"Oh now, you all want to talk?" I laugh as each brother jostles for my attention. When Mila’s call comes through, I ignore the rest to reply to her because I said I would.

"Hey."

"That’s a surprise. I expected to get ignored as usual. You must have been really impressed with me earlier today." I smile as I set off for Keith’s. I am not waiting an hour. I’ll be at his place when Adriana arrives.

"I’m in high spirits, yes."

"Will I see you again today?"

"That depends on how fast I can finish my work for the day. Right now, you’re kind of distracting me."

"This is no distraction. You should wait until you see the pics I am sending to your phone."

I gulp when the photos arrive. "Mila, I’m driving. This isn’t safe." I reply breathlessly. My brothers continue to call and it pisses me off a bit. Why can’t they leave a damn message so I know if it’s urgent? "I have to go now. My brothers are calling me. It seems urgent."

"Ok. Talk later."

I hang up and return Ashal’s call because I need to know if he has fucked up with Madeline once more.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BAD THIS CAN GO IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO ME? TELL ME YOU DIDN’T RUN OFF TO SEE MADELINE FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE."

"Ash, Maddie knows." He voices, tensed.

I refuse to panic. "What? She knows what, Ashal?"

"She knows I have something to do with her boyfriend’s death. She figured out that I had been present at her dorm, watching them on his last day alive."

I peel the phone off my ear and pound my steering wheel with both hands.

"I told you to stay put. What have you done now, Ashal? Alfie’s older brother is in the fucking police force and digging thoroughly about his brother’s death because he knows Alfie was no druggie. Do you think Madeline would keep quiet about this while her dead boyfriend’s brother haunts her for questions? Why do you have to complicate things all the time?"

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have listened to Cree, to you."

Ashley’s call comes in again and I get even more furious.

"You all like to call me only when shit huts the fan but not before. Darn it Ashal!" I yell angrily at him.

"Ashley’s calling. I’m hanging up now. Get back to the mansion and STAY THERE. I have business to attend to. I’ll sort this all out when I get back."

Can my day get any worse? Because I know Ashley is probably calling for some other reason that will mess me up, I ignore it and continue to Keith’s house. I need my head straight for when I meet my sister.

Keith doesn’t look surprised when I arrive earlier than instructed."

"You couldn’t wait, could you?"

"And give you a chance to make her change her mind? Hell no!" I scan the area. It’s always so peaceful here except for the occasional cries of the animals. "I don’t see your parents."

"They went out of town for a bit."

I laugh at that. "If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you are hiding them from me."

"Well, good thing you know better."

We go inside and he offers me what he considers the best wine in his home. I appreciate the thought but at the same time, I don’t want the gap between our financial standing to be the focus of my visit today. We engage in idle talk to kill time while Adriana is on her way.

"So, you’re still not going to tell me what emergency that was?"

"It’s a private matter." I reply.

"I bet it is when Brett Rollins himself is involved." I crane my neck sharply at his comment. "You don’t think I am stupid, do you?" He drops his glass. "I saw him. I know his damn customized plate number. Did you bring your dad for a drive through to see Adriana or was that purely an accident? Are you conniving with him to find and hurt her?"

My fingers tighten around the stem of my glass. If he considers my father a threat to Adriana, then Keith knows a lot more about Adriana’s past than he lets on. I am guessing my sister didn’t exactly share with him so he must have had other means to uncover the truth.

As I look at him, I wonder if he is Cree’s source. Did he lure me here using Cree? Is this all an act to expose my family?

"You consider my father a threat to my sister’s safety? Why would he want to hurt his daughter, Keith?" His face falls as he didn’t mean to let that out. I give a small smile. "Like I said, I had an emergency. I don’t know what’s going on in your head but you should share with me if you want me to understand." Swirling my wine, I sip some more. Right now, it tastes like shit.

When Ashley’s text comes in, I drop my glass on the new carpet. Keith yelps to his feet, yelling cusses at me for ruining his mother’s new carpet but I am too distracted to acknowledge his insults. I leap to my feet, my eyes red and misty.

[Asher’s been hospitalized. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Doctor Ezra and other specialists are performing surgery on him right now in the ICU. Please hurry here. It’s not looking good, Ashton. We were asked to prepare for the worst. We could lose him.]

Keith takes one look at me. "What now? Another emergency? Hey, Ashton, don’t even think about bailing. This is your last chance, I swear it."

I glance at him as my eyes sting.

"I need to go. One of my brothers’ is battling for his life."

"How convenient. Go on. You had your chance. Don’t come back."

I ignore him and dash for the door. When I pull the knob, Adriana’s hand is poised to knock. We lock eyes for seconds. My little sister. She’s everything I pictured. Nervously, she drops her hand down and backs away, a wee bit shy. Keith comes up behind me.

"He’s got to run, Ana. Another emergency apparently. He’s got more important business to attend to."

Something akin to sadness washes over Adriana’s eyes as she turns to me. Her disappointment hits my already aching heart. I hate to do this but I have a difficult choice to make here; stay and catch up with my long-lost sister or run off to see my brother who’s battling for his life.

Adriana continues to stare at me with hope filled eyes that will gradually fade to pain the longer I take.

"Is that true?" Her soft voice asks. I nod grimly. She dips her eyes but not before I see the tears in them, then steps to the side to let me through, avoiding my eyes. My heart is pounding furiously as I struggle against this dilemma.

I inhale deeply and make my choice. I hope I will be forgiven.