Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 68

DEMI

My legs are shaking nervously as everyone fixates on me. Kira is so evil to do something like this. I try to catch my breath and think.

I can’t even glance at Ashton. I don’t want to give him a look that could easily be misconstrued at the table so I let my eyes droop to my sweaty hands. When father orders me to respond, my heart gallops. How am I supposed to get out of this now?

Anna’s hand reaches under the table to grab mine.

"I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Rollins, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Demi didn’t take the number for herself; she did it for me." She dips her eyes in shame. "Like most women in Danvarr, going on a date with the Rollins’ quads is a bucket list of mine that will never see the light of day. Most of us have nursed silly crushes for your sons since they became famous but it’s nothing obsessive like a stalker or crazy." She clarifies. While father’s frown only deepens, mother’s tensed face breaks into a small smile.

"I also heard of Mr. Fantasy but I could never get his number. I have mentioned it to Demi quite a few times so when Kira told her she actually had his number, Demi only took it for me. She brought it to me. I was the one that went out with Mr. Fantasy."

"You’re lying." Kira counters her. "Demi took the number for herself. That’s what she told me. Why wouldn’t she just tell me that she’s taking it for her friend if that was the case rather than letting me suspect that she’s planning on cheating on her husband?"

"Because she knows I wouldn’t appreciate it if she tells other people about my silly crush. She intentionally kept my name out of it but you wouldn’t understand that kind of loyalty. You hate your cousin. You’re also jealous of her. No one here is surprised by how shamelessly you are trying to put her down."

"What exactly is your problem with your cousin, Kira?" Ashton questions her angrily.

She turns to him and her flaring eyes simmer down to painful embarrassment at his chastisement.

"You appear to be all smiley and nice on the outside but getting to know you, I’ve realized you are a bully and a mean girl. Family should seek to protect each other not try to tear each down. If you weren’t sure of what your cousin’s intentions for the date were, you could have asked her or given her the benefit of the doubt. It’s the bare minimum." He turns to her mother. "Mrs. Collin, you will have to do a better job teaching your daughter some manners so she doesn’t embarrass herself and your family by coming off as crass in public."

"I will never understand what I have done to deserve your hatred, Kira. You’re family to me but you consider me some kind of threat. And aunt, you always choose to be silent when your daughter is being rude, disrespectful or unfair towards me. You never caution her even when she makes ridiculous accusations against me. What have I done to you two?" Tears roll down my eyes as I interrogate them further while Anna and mother try to console me.

"ENOUGH." Father is up on his feet now. "This was supposed to be a simple lunch but you all have ruined my appetite with your family drama. Don’t ever bring this feud in front of me again or I’ll have to rethink inviting you to our future events to save face."

While aunt tries to apologize, he storms away. Kira is beyond mortified now as mother sits with her head in her hands. freewёbnoνel.com

"Are you happy?" Ashal asks Kira, surging to his feet and dumping his napkin on the table. He goes over to help mom up and comforts her.

Father will blame mom partially for inviting my aunt and Kira over. If she had bothered to ask me first, we could have saved ourselves this embarrassment. Asher wipes his lips with his eyes trained on me before rising too.

"We’re very sorry." Aunt repeats for the umpteenth time but he only gives her a cold look and stalks off. Kira is crying now. "Please," Aunt begs mother, "We are deeply sorry. I’ll make sure Kira never repeats this behavior again."

"Mrs. Collin, if your daughter bears a grudge against Demi, I can’t possibly allow them to share the same space. You shouldn’t have let her carry on like that. She was going off the rails and you sat back and enjoyed the show. Didn’t you promise me that you would treat Demi better after her marriage was accepted? She is your niece for goodness’ sake. Should I have to tell you to treat her well?" Mother shakes her head and gestures for me. Anna helps me up.

"You are welcome to finish your meals. The security will show you out afterwards." I take mother’s hand and follow her after hugging Anna goodbye.

"Why exactly does your aunt and cousin treat you so badly?" She asks me after I’ve settled in her room with a glass of water in my hand. I sniffle and set the glass down.

"Frankly, I am at a loss as well. At first, I thought it was just a normal rivalry between relatives. Over time, it’s grown into pure hatred. Aunt used to take my side sometimes back when I newly moved in with them but she eventually stopped. It’s gotten worse now. They don’t care for me at all." I lift my eyes to stare at mother. "I’m sorry about the date thing. I just wanted to do something special for Anna. I don’t expect anyone to get it but she’s like a sister to me and the only true friend I’ve made since moving here. She has never asked me for a penny. I wanted to make her dream come true by helping her bag a date with Mr. Fantasy."

"About that," Mother leans forward. "Did you ever get to see this person or did Anna talk about her date? How similar is he to my sons?"

"Not very. He’s great at making impressions of them but it takes more than a blonde wig and a great accent to pull off the Rollins quads to perfection. Anna wasn’t too impressed but she was glad she had some fun with the make-believe."

"And which of my sons was Anna trying to fake a date with?" Mother’s face is not exactly bursting into a smile right now but beyond the plain lines of her face, her curiosity in the matter shines through.

My mind wheels back to Anna’s words. She had lied so convincingly that I almost thought she meant every word. I know she has always fancied the quads. She doesn’t exactly have a particular favorite but I can’t tell mother that and make my friend look cheap to her.

"I’m so sorry mother but like Anna said, she doesn’t like her private business being discussed with others."

"I understand."

"I’ll go see if aunt and Kira have left."

"And if they haven’t? Don’t put yourself through that. Just let things die down. I’m sure they’ll come to their senses and offer you a deserving apology." I nod to her.

"Thank you for having my back, mother. I’m grateful to this family for filling the void that’s always plagued my life; a family to call my own." We share a hug before I leave her.

Downstairs, aunt and Kira are surprisingly lingering. One of the quads is talking to them in hush tones. When I draw closer and he whips his head, I stifle the urge to roll my eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" Asher asks me. I shrug lazily in response. Aunt and Kira step forward, their eyes mellow with meekness.

"Don’t." I say, stopping Kira as she cracks her lips to talk to me. "We both know this isn’t going to be the last time you verbally attack me. We also know that your feelings towards me are set in stone. Henceforth, I am not going to delude myself into thinking things can ever be fine between us. We just have to tolerate each other whenever we find ourselves in the same room. Save the false appearances for my in-laws."

Mother and daughter excuse themselves and exit the mansion with their tails between their legs.

Asher continues to watch me out of the corner of my eye. I recall his visit to my aunt’s and Kira’s exact words about how he wanted their help to get rid of me.

"If you’ve got something to say to me, just say it."

"Mr. Fantasy, have you still got the dude’s number?" I am not surprised he’s asking.

"Why? Didn’t Kira give it to you? If she has lost it, I’m sure she’ll be more than glad to ask around for it again. She’ll do anything to please her crush, just like she and aunt tried to talk me into divorcing Ashley to help you get rid of me as you kindly requested of them. They’re your lackeys so put them to work." While my eyes are burning with anger, he maintains his smirk. I watch it grow cockier on his face.

"Tone it down, Demi Branson. You’re being crass, just like the rest of your family."

"Get a girlfriend, Asher, a real one that you would be proud kiss in front of the camera and have babies with. You clearly still have too much time on your hands despite work. Do some good for yourself. I’m sure there’s a woman out there who wouldn’t be put off by your black heart because of the golden cage around it."

His smirk is totally gone now and in its place is a look of pure shock. He didn’t expect me to know about Nessa or the pregnancy. I hate that I had to let it out in other to win a stupid pissing contest. Hopefully, he won’t take it out on Nessa.

***

Ashely calls me every lunch break to remind me to have lunch.

"How’s it going?

"It’s been silent so far. Ashton’s been to your office twice this week but there’s been no sign from the blackmailer. Mother wants to believe it’s over but it’s too soon to celebrate. How are you? Mother mentioned you were having nightmares."

"I’m fine. The nightmares are nothing serious. I want to come home. I am sick of feeling like a coward who ran away from his own problems. I’ll call this off and return tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Ashton and I are thinking of scheduling a date to hopefully lure the blackmailer to us. I want to see how that goes even if it’s shameless of me. Beyond that, Liam is working on a piece to get to the bottom of Tobias’ murder. I can’t let Ashley return so soon.

"You are not a coward, Ash. You are being smart. If you don’t take care of your health, you won’t be able to take down this woman. Let Ashton figure it out. I was truly scared after you opened that box. Nobody deserves to suffer like that over something they didn’t do. We’ll get to the bottom of it, just have some faith in your brother." He pauses briefly.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Ashton mentioned that there were two cards in the box." My heart gallops at his words. "I never knew."

Why would Ashton bring it up with Ashley? Does he doubt me?

"He shouldn’t have brought that up with you."

"Yeah, you should have. I would have preferred you told me, especially before I came over here. I’m not so weak, okay? It might be a little tough at first but I would have been able to handle it. I don’t want you treating me like I’m a weakling."

"I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way." He accepts my apology, reminds me to have a great day and tells me how much he misses me before hanging up.

"I’m sorry, Ashley but your secret isn’t safe with me. I’ll have to use it to weaken the link and push closer to uncovering the truth about my parents’ death. I hope you can forgive me one day." I mutter under my breath.

"What did you say to him?" Nessa asks, accosting me next to the coffee maker in the staff kitchen.

"What?"

Her eyes are red at the rims and she looks forlorn. She sniffles and fusses with her hair when one of our colleagues enter. I watch Nessa’s eyes twitch the whole time till we are finally left alone again.

"What did you say to Asher? Why is he being so mean to me today?" I don’t have to think about it.

"I’m sorry Nessa, it just slipped out of anger. I don’t mean to put you in a bad spot with our boss."

"You knew? Demi, even if you did, I hoped you’d exercise some discretion as a fellow woman. You know how hard that period was for me. I’ve put everything behind me to face my duties because I really need this job. As my friend who lives with my boss, how could you have put my job at risk like that? He thinks I told you. You know how he gets when he’s mad. I don’t’..." She buries her face in her palms and moves away when I try to console her.

"I’ll go clarify everything and apologize to him right now."

"Forget it." Nessa stops me with teary yet steely eyes. "It’ll only convince him that I report everything to you. I’ll fix this mess myself. For now, please mind your business and let me mind mine." She dries her eyes and storms away.

Shit. I can’t lose her. Our friendship has only just begun.

Nessa ignores me for the greater part of the day, even while we share a desk at a meeting with all team leaders on our floor.

After the hour-long briefing, I follow her to the snack table. She samples the treats displayed and settles for a slice of pizza and some chamomile tea.

"Nessa? Please don’t be mad at me. I literally have no friends here. Who am I supposed to talk to?"

"I’ve managed by myself just fine for years before you showed up. You were also doing alright before we became close. I’m sure we’ll both survive."

"C’mon Nessa...

"Demi Rollins?" A stranger interrupts us. She’s an older lady in her fifties with hair cropped short around her ears and a nicely fitted skirt suit on her body. "I am Amanda Regan. I supervise the facilities management team."

I take her hand and shake it firmly though unsure why she’s making this introduction with deep eyes that seem to be searching my soul.

"I’m not sure I recognize you."

"You don’t. I’m sorry for staring it’s just, you remind me so much of a colleague of mine that passed years back. The resemblance isn’t at the level that it is uncanny but it’s there quite alright." My heart thuds in my chest as I flick a glance at Nessa. "You two have to be related somehow. Do you know Camille Branson? She’s a colleague of mine that passed some years ago in a work-related accident. Does that name ring a bell?"

Mom. She knows my mom? I strap down the tears threatening to spill as Asher makes his way towards us. Nessa is also staring at me curiously.

"No, doesn’t sound familiar except for the last name. I don’t know her." I turn my face to hide the pain in my eyes for denying my own mother. I hope she can forgive me but it’s too risky for our relationship to come out right now. I grab the same thing Nessa is having and beam up at her.

"I’ll just leave you be." The lady walks back to rejoin her group of friends. She mutters something to them and they shake their heads sadly while stealing surreptitious glances at me. Do they all know my mom?

Asher reaches us and brushes past me to grab a bar of chocolate. Nessa tries to protest over his choice but he shuts her down with a stern look. I feel awkward standing between them. When Nessa retreats, I turn to Asher.

"You shouldn’t blame her unfairly. She has never said a word to me about anything. I found out all on my own and no other person will hear it from my lips, but that’s only because Nessa is my friend now and I respect her privacy. It wasn’t my place to judge and I am sorry for speaking to you the way I did. Please..." I emphasize with sad eyes, "Punish me if you want someone to blame, not her."

I locate Nessa in the crowded room looking forlorn. Asher follows my gaze too and Nessa dips her head. "I can tell she’s still fragile from everything that happened. Don’t make things worse by giving her the cold shoulder. Poor girl needs this job and your kindness."

Without waiting for him to speak, I walk away. The older ladies continue to watch me from all the way across the room. Sometimes, they’d whisper to themselves. I was glad the meeting finally came to an end and we all dispersed to our various departments and offices.

After work, it starts raining heavily. I sit in my car and cry a bit in front of St. Lucy church where I had wedded Asher. My plan had been to go in and pray for forgiveness for denying my late mom.

I feel so guilty about it, especially given the way the ladies had been staring at me. Do they suspect I lied? Did mom ever mention me to her friends? I continue to cry as the rain pours down heavily.

"I’m so sorry." I croak in tears. I would never deny her. I have every plan to reveal my identity at a later date but I never envisaged that I would run into anyone who would ask me about mom here. I mostly look like my dad with sparse features of my mom. My heart continues to break as I recall my old life.

The next thing I hear is someone tapping my glass. I jerk awake. The rainfall has ebbed. Outside, a familiar face stands with an umbrella in his hand. He is the same man that chaired my wedding with Asher. He gestures for me to roll down my window.

"Are you okay, Miss?"

"Yes." I wipe my face and fake a laugh. I’m glad he doesn’t recognize me. "I’m so sorry. I pulled over to rest while it was raining. I must have dozed off. I’ll just be on my way."

"Are you sure you don’t want to come in to offer supplication? I can tell your heart is heavy." The offer is tempting. No matter how long I cried, I still don’t feel like I have satiated my guilt. My eyes stray to the door.

"Don’t overthink it, Demi, just come in. It wouldn’t be the first time." He smiles warmly at me.

"You remember me?" I ask in surprise.

"I remember a lot of the people I join in this church. I am not as old and forgetful as I look." He chuckles a bit. "Besides, the Rollins family is special to me. I consider myself fortunate to have chaired two weddings in your household, even if the first remains our little secret." He winks at me.

Two weddings huh?