Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 151

ASHER

I wasn’t prepared for that. I didn’t expect Ashton to make that move or pose the question about our biological parents without running it by the rest of us first. My mouth dries up as the deafening silence in the room wears on.

Father is a rare image of shock and terror as his chest heaves with breath.

"What did you say?" He rasps.

Before Ashton can say anything in reply, we hear a slight whimper and tip our heads to find mother atop the staircase. She looks pale and disheveled in her night clothes. Pain radiates from her bloodshot eyes. Her grip tightens on the railing as she watches us, her lips hanging open. Her eyes rake us, a withering look blanketing her face.

"Mom?" Ashal whispers. Did she hear Ashton’s question too? Is that why it appears like her soul has ditched her body?

She takes one step, misses and trips.

"MOM!" Ashal skips over the couch and reaches her before the rest of us. Thankfully, her firm grip on the rail didn’t break. She hangs on for dear life until Ashal convinces her to let him help her up.

"It’s okay, mom. I’ve got you. You’re okay." He pulls her to his chest where she sobs softly. My heart clenches tightly in my chest, as I am sure everyone else’s does.

"You’re b-back." She skims his face with her hands

Father tries to go for her hand but she tucks it away from him, clinging to her son instead. Her walls have been up since Josh’s paternity was exposed. I don’t think she’s spoken a word to father ever since we saw the news. We haven’t eaten collectively as a family since then. Everything has changed.

Ashal helps mother to her room. Father turns to Ashton, mirroring the devastation in mother’s face.

"Who fed you with such egregious lies and how long ago was this?"

"That doesn’t answer my question!"

Father’s face clouds over with ripened rage. "I scold you for slipping up like every other parent out there would and you start to question the legality of your adoption?" His eyes skim mine and Ashley’s faces. "Are you also two nursing the same doubts? Were the adoption papers not enough proof for you? What else could you possibly be insinuating that I did to have you boys as my sons beside adopting you through the proper channels?" He turns to pin Ashton with a disappointed glare. "What are you insinuating your mother and I did to get our hands on you guys?"

The moment he throws in mother to topple our emotions, I feel the claw of doubt scrape down my gut at his deliberate ploy to emotionally manipulate us. If he resorted to that cheap trick, then there’s a chance he’s got something to hide and that scares the shit out of me.

I have been actively avoiding this subject matter and denying the clues around me because the subject is a rather personal and sore one. I’ve lived my life justifying the wrongs my family metes out as being a necessary evil to protect ourselves.

As long as it’s done to protect my parents and brothers, the world can go fuck themselves and their moral code. I couldn’t care less but this? If the accusations are true and father and mother conspired to rip us from our biological family unjustly, what family am I supposed to fight for in good conscience?

Should it be enough that I was snatched from the slimy grip of poverty and plunged into generational wealth? Should that be viewed as luck? Does it make me ungrateful and selfish to demand to be loved as much as Josh, the real Rollins’ heir? While my head fills up with conflicting thoughts, father and Ashton keep going off on each other.

"I know we don’t see eye to eye on a LOT of things, Ashton. I know I can be ruthless when it comes to stomping out fires that threaten to raze down our lovely family’s reputation and that of the business but it hurts to realize that you all think me a monster and mindless freak because of it. At the core of everything I have ever done is the relentless pursuit of the betterment of my family which revolves around you boys!" His eyes actually get misty as he continues. "Your adoption has never made you less than my own blood. THIS FAMILY AND THE BUSINESS CAN’T EXIST WITHOUT MY QUADS. I don’t know how else to ram that into your skulls."

He steps up to me. "If Josh had grown up under my care, his childhood wouldn’t have been any different from yours. I still believe in molding children to be the image of strength, resilience and competence in striving to be the best in life. You might not be a mirror image of me but Brett Rollins certainly comes to people’s minds when they encounter you." He taps my shoulder reassuringly before moving to Ashley.

"You wouldn’t be the best at your craft if I didn’t lock you in your closet many nights to face your demons. You learnt to distract yourself by playing with fabrics and imagining designs. Call it tough love but I don’t know a father who will coddle his son’s weaknesses which have the power to overwhelm him in future. I SAVED YOUR LIFE."

Ashton’s eyes are fired up when father gets to him. "You haven’t been the only one striving for acceptance since your childhood. I could never measure up to you no matter what I did. You challenged everything and constantly made me feel unaccepted as a father. I let you get away with a lot of things to prove my love for you but all this time, your doubts and rejection remained. I am highly disappointed in you for believing a stranger over the man who raised you. You want to know about your biological parents? We’ll chat about that and you’ll get the answers to all your questions but after I make you realize how dead wrong you are for distrusting me today, we’ll part ways!"

"FATHER!"

"SILENCE!" He shuts Ashley and I. "I’ve given him enough chances. I can’t have an enemy within my walls." He leers at Ashton. "I’m done walking on eggshells around this one. You don’t want to be associated with a monster like me? You want to fly solo? Have at it, Ashton. You’re welcome to remain in your brothers’ lives but you and I will have zero ties as far as my last name, goodwill and wealth goes. You go back to being your biological father’s son!" He pats Ashton’s cheeks. "Ler’s just wait till your mother can handle the shock."

Ashley goes after him while I remain to query Ashton.

"You had no right to bring that up without our collective consent!"

"I’m sorry."

"No, you’re not! You are stupid! You are stupidly in love with a woman who is set to ruin our lives. Demi is already making concerted efforts to destroy the only family we’ve ever known. What do you hope to gain by pitting father against us?"

"Asher, don’t act like you don’t feel it in your marrows that there’s some truth to what Cree said. Do you realize what that means? That we’ve been lied to our whole lives! That’s not something we can just turn a blind eye to especially if our biological parents were..."

"This is hardly the time to tackle that is all I’m saying. Your timing sucks. Josh and his mom are trying their best to have our lives. They’ve shamelessly been holding interviews, adding fuel to the fire on our asses. Mother’s heart is shattered and her spirit, broken. Demi has been uncovered as a sworn enemy of this household. Everything is falling apart. The last thing we need is to fight amongst ourselves! This is the time to band together against the forces trying to tear our family apart and fight for the life we’ve always known! Don’t you get that?"

I cut off his protest with my hands on his shoulders. "We’ll circle back to that uncomfortable issue, I promise and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Please, trust me. We have bigger fish to fry right now."

I can see he’s struggling to put it behind him for now and I totally understand why. I am scared to think of it myself, the reality that father might have murdered our biological parents to have us.

What is more astounding to me however, is the fact that Ashton isn’t perturbed at all by father’s threat. The idea of being stripped bare of everything tied to Brett Rollins didn’t even stir a sliver of worry or anxiety in him. It’ll be the opposite reaction in my case.

As I watch him retreat to his room, I silently wonder what that life, devoid of fear of losing out, would be and if the day will ever come when I can freely walk away from the life father affords me without regrets.

Ashley returns. "Father’s royally pissed at Ashton. He won’t budge."

Of course, he won’t. I think to myself. That’s the only way he can keep everyone else from broaching that dicey topic again. Father didn’t just threaten to cut Ashton off; it was a message to the rest of us of the consequences that would follow if we dare to bite the finger that feeds us.

"Have you contacted Demi?"

Ashley sighs. "She’s still not taking my calls." He tries one more time. "It’s switched off. She probably won’t speak to me anyway. Why don’t you work your charm with Anna and get her to tell you where Demi is? I could go see her, beg her forgiveness, whatever she wants. Heck, I’m ready to do anything she asks as long as it’ll satiate her quest for our destruction."

I’ve not been on good terms with Anna. Demi’s actions have kicked us back a few steps as usual. I have been busying Anna’s calls all day and pretending to be engrossed with liberating my family from the dark times we’re in when the truth is that I’m just pissed at Anna for always siding with Demi’s ill intents.

I appreciate her loyalty as a friend and would expect nothing less from her. Still, I had hoped that she would deign to give me a little heads up knowing what her friend was planning with Billion-Err. I don’t necessarily expect her to stop Demi. I just wish she had clued me in especially about josh’s paternity being exposed so I could have been better prepared for the aftermath.

She could have saved us a lot of loss.

Reluctantly, I call Anna to get some information. Just as I expected, she’s not very helpful.

"She said Demi isn’t at her place and that was all she could tell me because she made a promise."

"Where could she possibly be?" Ashley wonders. Gradually, we crane our neck as Ashton heads towards the door.

"Going somewhere?" I ask him.

If Demi would be open to speaking with anyone in the mansion, it has to be him. He must know her whereabout. I walk up to him with Ashley in tow and explain the situation.

"If you know where she is, you have to tell us, Ash. Billion-Err plans to cover the story of her parents’ death next. If they claim to have proof, don’t you think they got it from Demi? If we can intercept that post by convincing Demi to debunk the allegations, that might save our face in the meantime. She’ll listen to you so I am thinking you should probably go to her. If you handle this, father will not only let her be but he just might rescind his threat against you."

I can already tell from Ashton’s expression that he is totally disgusted by my words.

"Who exactly are you worried about here; me or father? You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not scared to start afresh. As for Demi, If she has proof and wants to put it out there, I’ll take the fall for it as I rightly should but the decision to hold back must be hers to make. No coaxing. No manipulation and certainly no threats! I killed her parents, Asher, and her life was ruined forever. It’s unconscionable that you are still trivializing her pain and that you expect me to manipulate her for your selfish ends. We can restore the business to great heights, make money and regain the trust and love of the people of this country again. We can survive this like we always do but for our victims, like Demi, they can NEVER get their old lives back. She can never get her parents back!"

"So, for her satisfaction, you’re prepared to watch us crash and burn as penance?"

"You still don’t get it, Asher? Demi is NOT responsible for what we’re going through right now! She didn’t force father to have an affair and sire another son. She didn’t kill her parents, Tobias, Samuel or any other victim that’s lost their lives at our hands! WE DID ALL THAT OURSELVES. Our penchant for running afoul of the law and covering our tracks has left a trail of enemies in our wake. Our actions as a family have led up to this moment of reckoning. If we don’t break the cycle of manipulating our way out of facing the consequences of our actions, days like this will always be a part of our lives."

"He’s right."

I turn and find Ashal taking shambling steps towards us.

"I’m disgusted at the kind of men we have become. It took me awhile before I could face the harsh truth; we aren’t good men, brothers, not by a long shot. We can cast a slur on father’s character all day but I know we all can see it too, that per his training we’ve become no different from him, if not worse. I’ve personally lost a lot because of it." He expels a deep breath. "I don’t know about you guys but I’m sick of the cycle. I want to do better for myself, to live a worthy life, one that our little sister would be proud of, not terrified of."

Ashley and I trade glances as I wonder if he also has some upbeat line to drop.

"I’m out of here." Ashton walks away. Soon, I hear his car pulling out of the driveway. Is he going to Demi?

"I’ll be with mom. She needs a familiar face." Ashal says and retreats to the elevator.

Left alone, I lock eyes with Ashley.

"Do they realize that they’ll go to jail if we do nothing but watch our secrets spill out one at a time?" I ask him.

"I don’t think they care. That’s crazy!"

"I’m off to Anna’s. We have to beat him to Demi’s location before he ends up muddling things even more." Ashley dials Demi’s number again while I rush to my car. I am almost out of the gate when he calls me back, waving a hand at me.

"What?"

"Someone just called back with her phone. He claimed to be her uncle."

"She has an uncle?" It baffles me like everything else about that woman.

"That’s beside the point." Ashley clarifies with a smile that’s acre wide. "I KNOW WHERE SHE IS."