Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 75

ASHLEY

The moment mom utters her wish, the lights and camera wheel towards Demi and I. Demi staggers backwards until she slams right into my chest. I hug her from behind to hide the awkwardness from the sharp eyes of the journalists.

"Just smile. We’ll discuss it later. Everyone’s watching." I whisper through clenched teeth. She complies and relaxes into my embrace while pictures of us are taken from different angles.

I can feel her vibrating with tension. She hates cameras and being put on the spot like this is one of the worst things you can do to her. I am just going to assume mother isn’t aware of how badly Demi hates the spotlight.

I find mom’s eyes in the crowd. She’s smiling gaily at me. Next thing I know, she winks at me. Was this the help she was talking about? Is this the plan to get Demi and I to be closer to each other? A BABY? How did she think Demi would react to this?

"Mr. and Mrs. Rollins, how do you feel about your mother’s wish? Should she be expecting a grandchild anytime soon or is there already a bun in the oven?"

The enthusiastic journalist shoves the mic too close to Demi’s face. I cup the microphone and push it downward with a stern look at him.

"My mother’s birthday party is not over yet. Please, let’s not draw the spotlight away from her."

While most of them back away to refocus on mother, some nasty ones remain to capture every worry line on Demi’s face. I spin her to face me and she buries her face in my chest.

"Let’s go upstairs." I whisper before taking her hand. At the most subtle of signals, our personal security edge closer and block the paparazzi from following my wife and I till we safely make it across to the mansion.

I intentionally dismiss guests trying to congratulate us too early with a smile and apologies for my abruptness. I manage to whisk Demi all the way to her bedroom where she sinks on her bed looking pale.

"Here, some water." She takes the glass with trembling hands and sips a little.

"Thank you."

"Calm down. Take a deep breath." I stroke some strands of hair off her face.

"Why would mother do something like that?" she asks me with curious eyes. "And in front of all those people? How could she make such a wish knowing the circumstances of our marriage and without talking to us first?" I take the glass from her hands and carefully place it on the side drawer next to the bed.

"I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. It’s mom, remember? Our marriage might be contractual but mothers will always be mothers and try to convey their silent wishes for their children somehow. Though I don’t support her making it so public, I can understand where she’s coming from. Please don’t misconstrue it."

"It’s just that she was mad at me not long ago and now she goes and makes such a public wish that will definitely trend in the news for the next few days. It feels like she’s trying to punish me."

"No, Demi, she’s not."

"People are already speculating that I might be pregnant. It’s too much pressure on me, on us. A baby? That’s too much." I take her head and cradle it on my shoulder as she paces her breath. "I’m sorry Ash. I’m sure you’ll make a wonderful dad one day but this..."

"I know but you also have to remember that those people out there don’t know anything about our contract. We are a real couple to them. We still can be if you wish it." I take her face in my hands. "We can be more if you want it." Her eyes move uncertainly. "I’ll talk to mom. A baby is a giant leap from where we are right now. However, I want you to convey your reservations about her wish with tact. It’s still her birthday. We wouldn’t want to ruin her mood or anything."

"I understand."

I kiss the top of her hair. "You can rest if you want. Do you need me to get you anything? Should I call Anna?"

"Yes. Just Anna."

I nod before leaving her. While I make my way back to the festivities, I register with a hint of pain that she still didn’t confirm if she wants more out of her marriage to me. It’s taking forever and I know that if it’s taking her this long to give her consent, she probably hates the idea. I bump into Anna running up the stairs with her gown in her hands. I direct her to Demi’s room knowing fully well where she means to go.

I’m not surprised to find Asher coming behind Anna. They have been cozy all evening. He gestures me back up the stairs.

"What the hell was that? Did you know mom was going to do that?" He asks, vibrating with temper. I don’t get his full-blown hatred for Demi.

"Of course not. I am just as surprised as everyone else. She never said anything to me in that regard."

"You said she planned to help you out with Demi. Is that what she meant?"

"I need to speak to her to clarify." I brush past him on the landing to head back to the party but change my mind. "You know what? What if this is indeed her plan to help me out? I know it’s shocking and a little premature for where Demi and I are right now but it’s not unnatural for a husband and wife to have a baby if they so wish it, whether or not there’s a subsisting contract. Mom might have overstepped by not speaking to Demi and I first but she didn’t say anything wrong. We’re married after all. It’s up to Demi and I to decide what we do about mom’s wish. Don’t make this about you and your unproven assumptions about Demi’s motives for this family. I don’t want to hear it."

I turn to continue down the stairs and find Ashton at the bottom. My anger boils over. I haven’t spoken more than two words to him since he broke his word to me and kissed my wife like I didn’t exist. I don’t care what the circumstances were. He owed it to me as my brother to keep his word and remove himself from my marriage. It still hurts anytime I see him and remember the emotions he can stir up in my wife.

As I descend the stairs towards his impassioned face, I can’t help but wonder if Demi would have had a similar reaction had Ashton been in my place. We lock eyes as I reach him but before I can leave, he closes a hand over my wrist.

"Let go."

"You first."

I shoot him a burning look. "You betrayed me, Ash after making tall claims about your discipline and respect for boundaries. YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULD REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE PICTURE."

"Hey, hey" Ashal comes up and gently steers us upstairs. "Not here. We still have guests around."

I shove his hands away. "I don’t have anything to say to him. I am going downstairs to rejoin the celebrations. When I am done, my wife and I will discuss our future together. You had better stay the hell away from her." Every emotion I have been holding back with respect to Ashton starts seeping to the surface. Ashal pulls me away while Asher takes Ashton.

"I hate him."

"No, you don’t. If I put a gun in your hand, you won’t pull the trigger even if you saw him and Demi together. Wrong analogy. My bad." Ashal stops to look me in the eye. "You’re still hurting, I get it but sooner or later, you and Ashton will have to bury the hatchet. Remember the quad code; you can’t let a beef between brothers linger for longer than a week. You have roughly two days and a few hours to hash it out with him or Asher and I will step in and force a settlement."

I push back thoughts of Ashton to the recesses of my mind and go back to rejoin the celebrations.

That night, so many articles with speculations of Demi’s pregnancy start trending as she had feared. Anna even stays back to spend the night with Demi. She has been overcompensating for being MIA during Demi’s party. After having the maids deliver some juice and snacks to them, I bid them goodnight and shut the door. Hopefully, the movie should be enough distraction from the social media buzz.

My brothers are all in our usual spot. The sight of Ashton grates on my nerves and I turn to leave.

"Sit down, Ashley, this isn’t about us." Ashton calls out. "I have something important to share with you all."

Reluctantly, I drop into a seat farthest from him with a frown on my face.

"Make it quick."

Asher silently chides me with a look before facing Ashton. "Is this about what happened in father’s office?"

"It’s about why I went to father’s office and what’s been troubling me the past couple of days." He runs a hand through his hair and leaves his fingers interlocked behind his neck. "I have been making quite a few bad decisions lately."

"No kidding." I scoff, earning a searing look from the rest of my brothers except Ashton who ignores me and continues.

"You guys were right. I should have dropped the search for our biological parents. I should have left it at the cemetery. I should have stopped picking up strange numbers calling my phone but I am still hurting from the recent discoveries we made in relation to our paternity and father’s affair. I don’t even know if I only wanted to find our parents just to spite father but I kept following the trail and after we caught Cree Baxter, I got an anonymous phone call."

A hush falls over the room as we await his latest discovery.

"What the stranger had to say truly messed with my head. I even wanted to hit father had Demi not gotten in the way."

When Ashton glances at me to gauge my reaction for the mention of Demi, I keep a straight face. Reassured, he continues. "I won’t saddle you with the details of the nonsense this person had to say. Trust me, I wish I didn’t take that call. I just called you all here to tell you essentially that I wouldn’t be looking into our parents anymore. We have father and mother and I have accepted that they’re more than enough. There are no perfect parents out there or perfect children. I’m done with that."

Everyone remains quiet after he finishes.

"Did you really have to call us here to pique our interest in the revelation you got only to burst our bubble by refusing to tell us what you actually found out? If you had made the decision not to pursue that matter anymore, you could have just said that and left it at that? Why the buildup of interest?"

"Ashley’s right." Asher adds. "Now, I want to know more than ever. I saw you, Ashton. You weren’t yourself. No offense to Ashal but you looked like you were in one of those rage moments just before Ashal blacks out. It was spine-chilling and if you had lifted a finger to father, I’m not sure we would still have one by now."

"You have to tell us." Ashal hammers. "I’m sure we can handle it."

Ashton looks from one brother to the next. "We’ve had too many crises going on all at once. I can’t burden you all with this too. Trust me, it’s best if you don’t know..."

"JUST FUCKING SAY IT, ASH. WE’RE NOT KIDS. WE DIDN’T DIE WHEN WE LEARNT WE WERE ADOPTED AND HAVE A STEPBROTHER. WHAT COULD BE WORSE THAN THAT???" I snap impatiently at him.

My fingers are clenched at my sides. I don’t know if I would be able to keep to the quad codes and quash this beef with Ashton. It will definitely take longer than a week to have us laughing to each other’s unfunny jokes again.

Ashton’s red eyes settle on me. "What could be worse is if our parents never gave us up willingly."

My heartrate slows down as I try to make sense of the rubbish he just spewed. Asher quickly leaps to his feet and scratches his head.

"You’re right. Let’s drop this now. We can’t fill our heads with that rubbish."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ashal barks, standing to his feet. "We were adopted. How can you believe that crap from a faceless stranger on the phone?" I continue to watch in silence as Ashal goes off on Ashton. "We were adopted, right Asher? Tell him." Ashton tries to say something and gets shut down by Asher.

"Yes, Ashal, we were. I’ve seen the papers myself. Ashton is just saying that the stranger was trying to mess with his head. That’s why he’s not pursuing that shadow again. Calm down. You can’t fall for that cheap lie."

Asher manages to calm Ashal down. I pace my breath. There’s something off about Asher’s damage control. I know for a fact that there’s more to this. Ashton wouldn’t have bought into the lie and even ransacked father’s office if he hadn’t been given proof. Didn’t he find what he was looking for? Could there be a sliver of truth to this?

When I look up, Ashton is watching me. Tears glisten in his eyes but they don’t fall. I sniffle and look away. I refuse to be tormented by anything more than I am already dealing with.

"BULLSHIT. You all are so gullible. I’m off to bed."

The next day, the blogs continue to rage with mom’s spectacular birthday party celebration and her birthday wish. Demi eats very little at breakfast. I have to nudge her every two minutes to remember to put the food she ladled on her spoon into her mouth.

"Demi, are you okay?" Mother asks.

"She’s still a bit exhausted from last night. You know your parties can be quite draining, mom."

Mom smiles. "I’m sorry if I upset you yesterday with my birthday wish. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that but I didn’t lie. Nothing will give me greater pleasure than to see you and Ashley start your own family. You two are good for each other."

"Mom, please" I call her attention to other members of the family at the table. Ashton continues to eat quietly like he didn’t hear mom’s words. Asher and Ashal focus on their phones.

Father wipes his mouth and gets on his feet. I know he isn’t thrilled about mom’s latest stunt. He signals to Asher and Demi joins them too. She barely remembers to kiss me goodbye but I don’t blame her. She’s got a lot on her mind right now. Alone with mom and I on the table, Ashal rises too.

"I’m heading out as well." He gives mom a kiss on her hair. I follow suit and mom’s face crumples at being left alone at the table.

"Bye. I love you." I mutter before leaving too.

***

"What exactly is your mom trying to do? Why wouldn’t she ask you first before putting on a show like that? She totally embarrassed me, Ashley. How could she ask you for a grandchild with Demi while I was right there? I thought she cared about me."

"Are you being serious right now, Nicci? Demi and I are married if you already forgot. She’s MY WIFE and my mom doesn’t need my permission to convey her wish to see me have kids. Don’t make this about you."

Nicci’s eyes glaze over with fear. "Ashley, you can’t seriously be considering making her wish come true. You know very well that Finn and I are not really a couple, right? My father needs all the support he can get to retain his senatorial position and I am just helping him out. I promise I didn’t betray you. You’re the only man that I love."

"Oh yeah? So, you haven’t slept with Finn?" Her eyes dip to the floor and bile tickles the back of my throat.

"Ashley, it meant nothing. I thought about you the whole time."

"Don’t make it gross. I’m disgusted enough as it is."

She rushes to my side and takes my hand. "I never let him touch me without protection and it’s only been three times. I swear it, Ash. It won’t happen again. He’s traveling for the next couple of weeks and will only be back a night before the election. I’ll find a way to avoid rejoining him in his private suite at Voyage hotel. I promise there’s no other man in my heart but you. You know Demi can’t say the same."

I wrench my hand from hers and glare at her. "Don’t mention Demi’s name. At least she’s not hopping in and out of another man’s bed."

"How can you be so sure with all the men she entertains."

"NICOLA" I yell with a threatening look. "Watch that mouth of yours."

She remains unfazed by my anger. "Can you swear for a fact that she’s a virgin or that she hasn’t been with any man ever since you got married to her? She has to be getting it from somewhere, Ashley. Open your eyes. You’re smarter than this." She grabs her bag and heads for the door only to find mother staring at her. Coyly, she slouches her shoulders.

"Hello, Nicci."

"Hi, Mrs. Rollins."

"Your father’s reelection is just by the corner. You should be spending your free time assisting him to rack up votes and support, especially with your fans. I don’t think it will do him any good if your current boyfriend gets wind of the fact that you’re going in and out of your ex’s company even for unofficial reasons. If he pulls back now, your father’s political aspiration will be as good as over."

Nicci’s eyes droop to the floor in embarrassment.

"Why don’t you worry about that instead of my son and his wife."

Wordlessly, Nicci walks out of my office less confident than she normally does.

"Why do you indulge her? You can’t let Demi continue to see Nicci around like this? How is she supposed to believe that you are a changed man and she can have you all to herself?"

"I have been the one making all the sacrifices to my time and lifestyle and yet, Demi is nowhere close to seeing me in that light, mom. I can’t control the narrative in her head. Besides, Nicci is my business partner too, remember? She has a right to come to this office occasionally for our work."

She rolls her eyes. "I came to discuss Ashton. Why are you still not talking to your brother? Ashley, I can tell you miss him. You have to try and forgive him. You forgave Demi."

"It’s different, mom. ASH IS MY BROTHER! BROS BEFORE BABES. Besides, Demi might have felt the need to because of the terms of our contract or to get back at me for my affairs with Nicci, I don’t know. Ash has no excuse. He shouldn’t have entertained her feelings and broken my trust."

"You need more time to heal. I get that. Take all the time you need. Ashton is also not doing well either. he has his own battles to fight. You two can take as much time as required as long as you find your way back to each other and sort this out. I won’t have a repeat of your eighteenth birthdays in my house. Got it?"

This wouldn’t be the first time Ashton and I are fighting over the same girl.

"Got it."

"I’m off to see Ashton too. Take care."

"Mom?" I call when she gets to the door. She turns to stare at me.

"Yes, son?

"Am I a horrible person?"

"Of course not."

I smile thinly at her. "Thank you again mom, for doing exactly as I asked and making my wish your birthday wish."

"Anything for you, son."