Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 160

DEMI

I wake up at the sound of the door opening. Soft footfalls enter and pick up the tray containing my untouched lunch. I blink awake.

"Halle."

She shakes her head. "You’re only making things worse for yourself, Demi. I don’t understand why you just don’t get it. THIS is bigger than you, always was. Why can’t you accept that? You’ve had a change of heart and don’t mind watching the family who murdered your parents thrive? Bless your heart but don’t Interfere in Liam’s plans. Don’t fuck up the revenge for the rest of us who had no voice to speak up about the wrongs committed against us until Liam showed up."

Her eyes are blazing with anger as she stares at me.

"Halle, I’m sorry for everything you must have gone through..."

The door swings open, startling her as she lurches to her feet. She bows her head to Ashal but before she can scurry out, he relieves her of the tray of untouched food and waits till we are alone before placing the tray by my hurting feet.

"You’re not eating. This won’t help, Demi. You’ll break down. Please," He tries to feed me. "You have to eat."

"No. I want to talk to Ashton."

"You will but eat first."

"Ashal, you all are in danger and I know you won’t believe what I am about to say next but I swear it’s the truth."

He drops the spoon. "I’m going to untie your hands now so you can eat. You MUST finish your food. Only then will I listen to you. If you don’t eat and proceed to talk instead, I’ll leave immediately."

"But Ashal..."

"Do we have a deal?"

I bob my head, stealing glances at the door but only because I am wondering how much time I have before one of his brothers burst in and ruin my chance to warn them about Skylar.

"Can we at least talk while I eat? It’ll save us time before Asher or someone else comes in and runs a duct tape over my mouth again."

His eyes mirror my fear so he nods.

I shovel the food into my mouth, chew as fast as I can while contemplating how not to sound crazy.

"What did you want to say?"

"That I am deeply sorry for everything your family is going through. I know I played a part in steamrolling it. I regret it now and I will do everything within my power to save you guys."

His brows furrow. "Just what exactly have you been up to with Liam? How much of our family secrets have you fed him? Mine and Olivia’s marriage? Josh’s paternity? Our adoption? Tobias’ death?" His eyes widen with surprise when I say nothing. "So, it’s all true then. You were behind it all."

"We can circle back to that later when we have time. Right now, you have to listen..."

He lurches to his feet. "Why should I believe any word that comes out of your mouth, Demi? How do you possibly expect me to believe you mean well for us? You’re still pining for revenge against us. There’s no need to pretend."

"I’m NOT pretending. Yes, I was consumed with rage for the better part of the last six years and being a part of this family only made things worse. You all didn’t mend your ways but continually gave me reasons to crave your destruction. Ashal, I am telling you right now that despite being so close to achieving the goal I set out for years ago, I tapped out."

"Why?"

My chest heaves with breath. "Because revenge isn’t all it’s cut out to be. It was consuming me. I couldn’t recognize the woman I was becoming just to avenge my folks. I told a lot of lies, betrayed the ones I claimed to love, hurt them but most importantly, I strayed so far from the woman my parents would have loved me to become. Happiness was elusive. All I felt constantly burning up in my chest was pain, anger, regret and hate. I couldn’t carry on like that so I chose to forgive."

I can tell he’s struggling to believe the sincerity of my words.

"Ashal, you don’t have to believe me so soon. I can understand why you wouldn’t but I really need you to believe this." I take a big gulp of air. "After I told Liam I wasn’t interested in pursuing my revenge anymore, he told me that I was never truly his partner in crime from the start; I was only a pawn in a much bigger game. Liam was working with someone else this whole time and I didn’t even know. Together, they’ve made wicked plans to take your family down and they’re using most of the information I gave them to do it. To punish me for developing cold feet, they plan to make me take the fall for everything."

"Who’s he working with?" Ashal asks with dim eyes.

Another gulp of air. "Her name is Skylar." I wait to see if it rings a bell.

"Skylar? Who’s that?"

"She’s your biological sister, Ashal and she holds a deep grudge against you and your brothers."

His eyes flare up. "What rubbish is this? Sister? I don’t have a sister, Demi."

"Yes, you do."

"You have it all wrong."

"No, Ashal. I don’t. I have my sources and they’ve never been wrong about the information I collected regarding this family. They can’t be wrong now."

"Well, they are! I DON’T HAVE A SISTER! And even if I did, I’m positive it can’t be this...Skylar person."

"Why?"

"For starters, why would my estranged sister be braying for the destruction of her brothers and not our reunion? What could she possibly have against my brothers and I?"

"Look, I don’t know the details but Skylar is out to get you all."

"ENOUGH." He rakes a hand through his hair. "You stopped eating. We had a deal."

"Ashal..."

"Finish your meal, okay? You need your strength." He starts for the door, then halts and turns to me. "Is this what you were going to tell Ashton? Ha. I’d advise you don’t say that to him. He’s trying his best to ignore everything you’ve done so far and stand by you despite how much it costs him but if you go apportioning the blame to some made up sister of ours, he’ll be disappointed in you. Own your truth, Demi. Don’t tell lies just to get out of being blamed."

He walks out. Sighing, I shove the tray aside and cradle my head in my hands. No one will believe me. If Ashal didn’t, then what hope do I have that Ashton will? What if he reacts the way his brother said? Is it too much for me to mention Skylar to them right now? Should I just keep my mouth shut and figure out a way to stop her and Liam?

At the sound of the door, I flick my eyes up.

"Ashal, I’m sorry..." My blood chills at the sight of Brett Rollins.

"You’ve got my boys wrapped around your finger, haven’t you?" He advances towards me slowly, menacingly. "You’ve managed to do something that even their mother could never seem to achieve."

"Your boys?" I scoff at him. "I knew there was no way in hell you birthed the quads. Despite your best efforts to turn them into monsters like yourself, they still have a LOT of good inside them. They’ll never fully become YOU."

He laughs. "You women and your delusions. You’ve managed to convince yourself that you can change four men after claiming that I was unsuccessful in changing four children? How stupid are you, really? It’s beyond embarrassing at this point." He settles down on the sofa facing the bed and crosses his legs.

"You want to believe that Ashton is good, don’t you? You even went as far as forgiving him for killing your parents that fateful night. Wow, Demi, wow. Love is truly blind as they say."

"He didn’t kill them. It was an accident. I know the truth."

He leans forward. "No! You don’t."

"You can’t manipulate me, Brett Rollins."

"Did you ever stopped to wonder why Ashton was called the CRAZY ONE among his brothers? A lot of people have it all wrong. That nickname has got nothing to do with his temper. He earned it in a different way. Growing up, he was the most difficult child among his siblings, always alone and never really spoke much."

"I’m not interested in your tale."

"Are you uninterested or you’re afraid the truth I am about to spill will crumble the walls you’ve built around yourself to blind you from the ugly truth about the man you love." He smirks. "You don’t have to believe me but I will make my point."

"What point exactly?"

"That you may be right. I was unsuccessful in changing the quads because everything they are right now is exactly who they’ve always been innately. They’ve just learnt to mask it better with my teaching." He leans back in his chair. "Ashton wasn’t just a quiet child; he always had a disturbing trait and I confirmed this when he slit my best friend’s throat while he slept. Imagine a little boy severing a grown man’s windpipe. Scary."

"That’s a lie."

"And like that wasn’t enough, he lied that Ashley had done it. Ashton convinced himself he was doing good for his brother by making him appear strong in front of me. Since then, poor Ashley continues to suffer from nightmares, PTSD and constantly gets blamed for Tobias’ death. Ashton, as usual, shows up and tries to help Ashley out whenever issues arise from it. Somewhere in his head, he thinks he’s doing right by his brother but he caused the problem in the first place. Don’t you get it? Even now, Ashley has been accused yet again of Tobias’ death and withheld at the station. Guess who’s gone there to save the day? Your knight in shining armor."

"You’re despicable. You want to throw Ashton under the bus because he defied your orders, right? You are pissed at him and that’s the reason you’re saying such things about him."

"All I am doing is reiterating the same concern I’ve had regarding him for the longest time and I am telling you because my wife refuses to believe it. If anyone is going to listen to me gripe about that troubled young man, it might as well be the traitor locked up in my home." He narrows his eyes. "It gives me no pleasure to say such things about the child I raised but I can’t ignore the fact that there’s nothing more dangerous than a sick man who is convinced he isn’t sick. Ashton needs as much help as Ashal."

"What rubbish are you spouting?"

"Did he tell you he didn’t know the elevator at the mall was under repair?"

My blood freezes in my joints.

"I bet he did. He told us the same story when we arrived at the scene after we heard your parents crash to the ground. Guess what? The elevator might not have been taped across but there was a sign beneath the door that said Out of Bounds and In Need of Repair. That sign was always kept in front of a faulty elevator and that night, there was one too. Ashton shoved it aside and urged your parents to get in, knowing the elevator was faulty. He urged them on despite the risk."

Tears shimmer in my eyes. "YOU’RE LYING."

"Do you even know why he married you in the first place, Demi? It wasn’t just because he was drunk. He went to the Blue Cove pretending to be his brother, Asher. He was so mad at Asher he planned to frame him for bad behavior and sully his reputation in my eyes. He was prepared to ruin a stranger’s life just to get back at his brother and when that didn’t go as well as he planned, he denied you. Then when his mother convinced Ashley to accept you, Ashton suddenly wanted to keep you. He went after you the more I resisted it just to spite me. Is that what you call love?"

I looked away, refusing to believe his words. He would say anything to hurt me. It’s no surprise.

He lunges to his feet. "Call me a liar or whatever. Maybe I am lying or maybe I am not but are you prepared for the consequence of not knowing for sure? I cut Ashton off to teach him a hard lesson as any father in my position would. He will always be my son and I fully intend to save him from himself but he has to be willing to admit he needs help first. He has to get rid of the delusion that he is the good brother in the mix when in fact, he does vile things under the guise of having good intentions. The rest of his brothers don’t claim to be saints and admit they need help but Ashton, he believes in his core that he is good. He isn’t."

"What exactly am I to do with this information, Brett? Are you stoking the flames of my rage over the role Ashton played in my parents’ death? How is aggravating me going to help your family out of this mess?"

"My family will survive one way or another but if I’ve discovered anything about your presence in this household, it’s the power you have over Ashton. You fuel his sick behaviors. You’re toxic for him and the longer you remain tethered to my family, the worse Ashton will become. It’s like they say; the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That’s Ashton for you. I am warning you, Demi. Your revenge doesn’t scare me. It’s the monster you’re slowly creating by being around Ashton."

I stand up and grab him by the lapels of his shirt.

"Nice try, Brett but there will never be a bigger monster than the one standing in front of me. Ashton isn’t sick. YOU ARE. He isn’t pretending to be good; he is good. You are the sick man who believes he isn’t sick and that’s why you go around justifying your evil ways, even trying to pit the quads against each other. Now, you want to make Ashton your scapegoat? It won’t work on me."

He shoves me away so hard I bump my head on the bedpost.

With a sneer, he walks to the door. "Your divorce papers are ready. You will sign them immediately. And you’re going to keep your mouth shut and stop helping Liam. I have already lost a lot at this point so don’t be so confident that I am afraid of hurting you. You’d be making a big mistake underestimating me, Demi."

"Let me go!"

He only walks away. When the door is finally shut, I slide out Brett’s phone which I took off him while we made contact.