Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 141

DEMI

"What?" Liam gaped at me. "Spellman Group is working with the Rollins Group to unmask me?" The worry etched on his face makes me panic as well. I have never seen him this frazzled over a piece of news in a hot minute and seeing him draining his glass of wine and sweating bullets tells me one thing.

"Liam? You said your system was full-proof. Why are you suddenly uneasy?" He spares me a glance, his lips poised to respond but no words spill out. "Liam?"

He expels a frustrated breath. "What’s not clicking, Demi? I am a top graduate from my father’s tech company. Obviously, my ’invincible’ hacking system is spun from the knowledge garnered at Spellman technologies. If there’s one company that can break my code..." He allows the ugly truth to hang thickly in the air while my head spins.

"It’s Spellman Group." I finish. "Shit, Liam, what are we going to do?" I reach for my glass of water and empty it down my throat. "Wait, do you think Ashton knows about you too? He was very particular about informing me of this deal. Do you think he suspects you’re behind Billion-Err too, like an accomplice?"

Liam shakes his head. "I can’t say. If that were the case, wouldn’t he have thrown a punch at me given all the mud I have managed to pile on his family’s reputation? Why was he so cool about everything, especially after seeing us together the last time he was here? I have no idea what’s going through that man’s mind but the one thing I am certain of is that he does give a rat’s ass about me."

I instantly backtrack to him breaking off his engagement to Mila and wonder if Ashton’s dealing with a broken heart. Why would he? He always knew he and I were never going to be endgame so it would be a bit silly of him to take such a drastic decision if the goal was to win me over, unless...

"Oh my gosh."

"What?" Liam questions when I close a hand over my mouth.

I can’t believe it. I don’t want to believe it. "Ashton b-broke off his engagement with Mila." I sputter.

Liam rolls his eyes. "That’s not news anymore, Demi."

"No, he did it all of a sudden, remember? What do you think happened to the deal between Rollins Group and Spellman?" Now, I have his attention. "It makes complete sense. Ashton hasn’t been able to give his family a satisfactory reason for publicly humiliating Mila and your family by calling off the engagement. I might be crazy and delusional but I think he did to stop the deal or buy time for Billion-Err."

Liam scowls as he gets the point I am too shaken up to specify. "He was trying to protect you."

I nod at that, taking it all in. Ashton did break up with Mia because of me. Chills crawl up my arms as I recall his words back on the island, his soulful gaze when he vehemently asked me to trust him with my secret and his unwavering promise to protect me from his family’s wrath. Did he really go as far as risking his family’s ire just to keep the lid on my secret intact? I feel something warm blossom in my chest before I can stop it.

"Demi!" Liam calls, snapping his fingers in front of my glazed eyes. "You can’t lose your shit right now because of his action. I’m sure dumping my sister wasn’t exactly a tough call on his part since he was clearly never in love with her." He shushes me when I proceed to defend Ashton and shoves his phone in my face. "I guess Loverboy still has some doubts of his own that he means to clear up."

I shake my head in disbelief after seeing pictures of me and Liam whose face isn’t clear, anonymously leaked to Billion-Err. Rather than wondering who could have taken the pictures, I defend Ashton.

"There’s no proof that these are from him. He couldn’t have taken our pictures that day."

"How are you so certain? We were the only ones in here and he was the only one who walked in on us."

"I know that but...."

"DEMI, SNAP OUT OF IT. You’re already denying the plain truth for this man simply because he ended the deal with Spellman. Ashton just found out everything about you and your motive to take revenge on his family. Do you really think every move he’s made ever since is truly about you? What if he saved Billion-Err because he has personal plans for our blog? What if he means to take you down using the same weapon you used to hurt his family? Have you thought along those lines?"

"Liam..."

"HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD HAVE TAKEN THIS PHOTO OF US. CONVENIENTLY, YOUR FACE IS VERY CLEAR. I have two assumptions; it’s either he means to confirm that you’re affiliated with Billion-Err by checking to see if you’d post this damaging photo of yourself kissing a stranger while ostensibly pregnant with Ashley’s child."

"And the second assumption?" My heart is already thumping.

"If he didn’t take this photo, then someone else took it and that’s even worse. We have no idea who this person is and what they hope to gain from this. Either way, if I don’t post it, you’ll come under a microscope as to why Billion-Err is partial towards you or maybe they’ll just leak it to another blog or the news."

My mind tracks back. Trevor had found me shortly after Ashton’s arrival. Could Trevor be behind this? Why would he take such pictures of me? Who instructed him?

I grind my teeth as I recall my conversation with Ashley. It all makes sense now. His line of questioning and his unhealthy support for my new relationship seemed a bit uncharacteristic of him. Did he already buy off my bodyguard to keep tabs on me? Was this his plan to humiliate me before I dump him? Pathetic.

"Ashely is behind this. I am certain of it."

Liam sighs. "It’s your call, Demi. What do you want to do?"

I inhale deeply. "Post the damn photos."

"Demi, the people of Danvarr will tear your soul..."

"Let them. The Rollins family haven’t been any different. Let them bray for my blood. The sooner I cut my ties with that bastard Ashley, the better for me. I don’t care anymore. I am sick and tired of being used by them."

"And Ashton? Is the sentiment the same towards him?"

I lurch to my feet and grab my bag because I don’t want to broach that topic. "Nicci has been blowing up my phone. I have to see to her. I’ll call you later."

On my way home, I call Nicola.

"What’s the plan here, Demi? I am supposed to start showing soon."

"Don’t fret. I have made some tough decisions that will speed up my divorce from Ashley. Once that’s done, I’ll fake a miscarriage or go off the grid if my father-in-law proves a challenge. Then, you can fake an accident of your own and claim you lost the baby. Ashley would be more susceptible to leave the chaos here and go spend time with you while you recover from the shock. It’s up to you how you ensnare him after that."

She remains unusually quiet.

"Have I lost you?"

"No. I’m just shell shocked. I can’t decide if I should thank you or be wary of you, Demi Branson. Your criminal mindedness is a far cry from the innocence you exude."

"When you’ve been pushed around, used, abused and about to be dumped like me, you’d be lucky to have a shred of humanity left. Maybe I still do, seeing as I am about to deliver the love of your life to you on a silver platter. Watch your mouth, Nicola, or this criminal mind will just scrounge up another plan to take you down with me."

I sense her recoiling in fear.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DEMI. I WON’T FORGET YOUR KINDNESS."

"You better not!" I hang up on her, fuming. She’s one to talk. The very woman that has been a bane to my life as Ashley’s wife? Ugh. I wish I was close enough to smack her cheek for that self-righteous comment. People who live in glass houses don’t have the prerogative to throw stones at others. A home wrecker will not pull the pious card on me. NEVER.

***

I make a detour to Anna’s restaurant after hearing Asher’s engagement announcement on the radio. That’s how fucked up my in-laws are; I, a family member, have to hear of my brother-in-law’s engagement the same time as the public.

Once Anna sees me, she feigns a smile and excuses herself to come meet me. We sit inside my car for a few minutes. The second she gets into the car and shuts the door, I pull her in a hug.

"Shut up." I say to her.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You don’t have to use your words." I explain before releasing her from my hug. "You must have heard of Asher’s engagement. I know you feel something for him in spite of everything that has happened and the promise you made to help me. This is me saying it’s okay to let yourself feel. Cry a bit if you have to get it out of your system. It’s okay. You don’t have to act brave in front of me."

She nods. "I know that but honestly, it stung for a minute or two after I saw the news. I am fine. I guess I’ve always known he and I were simply sneaking around. Nothing was ever meant to come out of it. Nessa knows that. I know that. We are just there to help him pass time until his father finally handpicked a bride for him."

"It must still hurt. I’ve been there with Ashton, you know that."

"It does every time I am reminded of his engagement or the pretty, classy bitch he’s marrying but then I remember he wasn’t the only one using me and my day brightens up." Her phone beeps and she smiles down at it before wiggling it in my face. "I am still using him by the way. I promised I’d get you some dirt on his family from him. He clearly won’t leave me alone so I’m guessing our fling will carry on discreetly."

"Anna, I’m good. I can figure this out with Liam. I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire because of me. Promise me you’d be extremely careful."

"I promise." She says, closing a hand over mine. "I have to get back."

"One more thing..." I begin but she beats me to it.

"Liam already filled me in. Are you ready for the media storm?"

I shrug my shoulders lazily. "Nothing prepares you for that kind of shit except marrying into a shitty family like mine. I’ll be fine."

We hug again, this time Anna clinging for dear life. "I hope everything pans out the way you envision. No more rude shocks."

"No more rude shocks." I reiterate before she leaves.

I am seated in my car on an empty street, under a pouring rain when the post on Billion-Err drops. My phone continues to ring off the hook and buzz with messages, notifications of cyber bullies raining curses and death threats on me, parodies, humiliating memes and gifs of me as a cheap whore that was never worthy to be the daughter-in-law of the noble Rollins family.

The paternity of my unborn child is called into question. There are photoshopped images of me hooking up with other men and having clandestine affairs before and during my marriage with multiple men including Iman. Their creativity equally baffles and scares me but one fact keeps the smile on my face from fading.

The mean comments, threads, tweets, blog articles and news headlines all have a common theme:

They all call for my divorce from Ashley Rollins.

I get down from my car and lift my face to the grey skies, enjoying the salty shower. My body sways to the breeze, dancing to a tune only I can hear in my head. The taste of freedom being so close feels better than I thought. I dance like an unhinged toddler, stomping my feet on poodles of water and twirling, laughing and somewhere in there, crying.

"Is that her?"

"It’s definitely her!"

I whip my head as two strange men edge close to me. I was so distracted I didn’t hear them pull up on a motor bike. I don’t even know how long they’ve been watching me.

"Demi Branson?" One laughs hysterically. "Are you seriously celebrating your infidelity and impending divorce so brazenly in the open?"

"She’s very shameless." His friend with a crooked tooth adds, shooting me a disgusted look. Almost immediately, the look fades to a lecherous one. "There’s only one use for a shameless woman around here."

They exchange wicked glances before closing in on me. My heart explodes with fear.