Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 121

ASHER

When father said he wanted to get out of the house for some fresh air, I shouldn’t have expected him to be content with having just one son around him. I should have been mentally prepared for his call to Josh Randall to join us on a private jet to visit Nicola on the family island.

"Josh’s coming?" I ask in bewilderment. "You know how sensitive this time is. Are you really going to fill him in on everything that’s been happening in our family?"

"You mean, his family too, right?"

I let out a loud oath of disgust. "The fewer people know about this, the better chance we have at keeping it a secret. Don’t you get that? You don’t owe your other son every ounce of truth." frёewebηovel.cѳm

"Would you feel the same way if I told Josh things and kept them from you?"

I roll my eyes at him and huff out a breath as we await Josh’s arrival on the jet. I know father has been trying to balance out his parental obligations towards his many sons but I can’t help but feel some type of way each time he brings Josh into the mix.

There will always be a constant nagging feeling that Josh is the preferred son because he was sired by father while my brothers and I are nothing more than pawns in father’s grand plans.

We are only important to him as far as we are useful. The second we stop being instrumental to his business growth and longevity, we will be out of the door for good but Josh, he will never cease to be important in father’s eyes. He doesn’t even have to make a cent in the company or advance its growth. Father will always love him just for having Rollins blood in his veins.

When I had walked into my office to find Josh sampling my pill with a satisfied smirk on his face, I had quickly settled for evasion from the topic of my drug. Josh had been so certain that the white pill was no ordinary drug for migraine but thankfully, that was all he could decipher. I had agreed with him. The pill could easily be used to treat a number of pain related discomforts.

Before we could delve any further into the particular reason why I was taking the pill, I had insulted his paternity as usual just to rile him up. He dumped the pill and faced me, vibrating with temper.

That was when he vomited all that rubbish about how much more important he was to father than my brothers and I ever will be. He had gone ahead to mock us, showing me pictures on his phone of him and father bonding outside work.

Father rarely hangs out with my brothers and I if it isn’t work related but from the pictures Josh flashed in my face, I could clearly see father in a different light. He even went fishing with Josh. He wore plain clothes instead of a suit. According to Josh, father never mentioned work once. All they did was crack jokes, laugh and talk about everything else under the sun except stock prices or the visions and goals of the Rollins business chain.

I can’t even put into words how I had felt. I just know the look on my face had given Josh immense satisfaction before he walked out of my office feeling like he had had the last laugh. I never told my brothers. If that little truth could crush me, then I can’t imagine what it will do to them.

Father reaches for my hand but I pull it away.

"Asher, I thought we were past this. Are you still feeling insecure around your half-brother? I have told you numerous times that you don’t have to. You all mean the world to me."

I quirk a brow at him for the lies he is spouting. Does he really take me for a fool? I bet if I hadn’t insisted on coming along with him, then this would have been another father and son trip with Josh. How many have they been on? I am so fucking jealous right now.

"You don’t have to use that line with me to soften the blow. I know where your heart lies." My eyes track to the panoramic window view. "If you want to ask me questions about my brothers, just go right ahead. Don’t pretend to be interested in bonding with me. That fatherly side of you is the exclusive preserve of your biological son, apparently."

Father’s face crumples with something akin to despair. "You’re still mad about the last time, about how I handled the information you gave me regarding Demi’s pregnancy?" He sighs. "It’s not that I didn’t trust you could handle it, Asher. It’s just that I wanted it handled quicker and I didn’t have the time to go back and forth with you on how things should be done."

"And making me take the blame for murdering my brother’s unborn child while you hid behind me like a coward?" I fire at him. "I bet you would never expose Josh to that kind of hatred and backlash from his own family."

"I’ll make it up to you, I promise, son."

I lean back in my chair and ignore him. As my vision blurs, I run a finger over my eyes and wince.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

"That headache..."

"I’m stressed, okay?" I snap, suddenly irritated.

"We never finished that conversation." Father persists, "the one where you cried over the phone about dying?" My eyes flutter open to find him studying me over the rim of his glasses. "What exactly was that about? What did you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounded like. I felt like I was dying from all the pressure you put on me, from the hate my brothers felt towards me when they considered me a mini version of you, from the lies I kept telling everyone just to protect my father who barely gives a shit about me. I was certain I wasn’t going to survive all of it."

"And yet here you are."

"That’s not the fucking point, father! When I felt like driving my car off the edge of a fucking cliff, I CALLED YOU! You! Not my mother or my brothers but you! I’m not sure if I would have called someone else in the family had they not been so pissed at me and wouldn’t take my calls. I called you but all you could say to me was to snap out of it and come home. That’s what you do. You always disparage our feelings and act like we aren’t humans at the end of the day. You never allow yourself to treat us like your sons and not your mini soldiers and employees." I lean forward while my eyes burn with a migraine.

"You’re never that way with Josh. I’ve seen the photos. You’ve gone fishing with him. You even lied to us about going for a business trip and went camping in the woods with your son. My brothers and I have never witnessed that side of you for twenty-five long years. How could you expect us to believe we mean something to you in light of all these? It’s perfectly clear who your true son is. The rest of us are just your pawns as Josh rightly puts it."

"Dad!"

We both look up as Josh makes his way into the jet, beaming with a smile. Father gives me a cursory glance that is laden with apology at the interruption of an important moment between us. I lean back in my chair while he rises to hug his son.

"I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it."

"I wouldn’t miss it for the world." Josh quips. His face falls when he sights me. "Oh. Thought it was just going to be the two of us."

My jaw drops. "You didn’t tell him I was coming? Am I interrupting something here?"

"No, Asher, it’s not like that..."

I lurch to my feet and grab my stuff. "It’s cool. I’ll see myself out."

To be fair, I had run after him when he mentioned needing some air. I had insisted on joining his little getaway trip. Maybe he had planned to go with Josh all along. "I’ve got things to do anyway."

"Asher."

I ignore him as I make my way off the jet. Shit. My pickup car will be awhile so I just walk with my jacket in my hand. I am so livid right now.

My car eventually arrives and I send the driver away and drive myself. I circle around aimlessly for a bit before finding myself in front of Anna’s workplace, the Honey Pot. I sit in my car for about an hour and thirty minutes till her shift ends.

When she comes out, all changed out of her work clothes, laughing with a bunch of friends, I smile at the sight of her. It’s been so long since I saw her smile so radiantly.

They part ways and she starts walking alone in the direction of my car. Through my side mirror, I know the instant she recognizes my car. She ignores me and continues to walk home despite how many times I honk at her. When she refuses to get in so I can give her a lift, I get frustrated and drive all the way to her house.

Anna frowns deeply when she gets home and finds me perched by her porch.

"Get the hell away from my property!"

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"That depends on how fast we talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"You have plenty to say to me judging by that look in your eyes."

"I mean it, Asher Rollins, I don’t want anything to do with you." Her breath hitches when I grab her waist. "Let me go."

"You have every right to be pissed at me. I deserve your hatred and more."

"Save the lines for Nessa. I’m sure she’ll be willing to get your dick wet at any hour of the day but I have things to do so why don’t you run along to your whore..."

A resounding slap stings my cheek when I cut her off with a kiss. I expected nothing less and yet I went ahead. I have missed her terribly. It’s sad to think that my life felt a little more peaceful when Anna loved me and considered me her boyfriend.

Anna wipes her lips. "Don’t you ever do that again."

"I’m sorry. I needed to feel your lips again." I run a hand over my face. "I need to see doctor Ezra. I think it’s getting worse. Can you come with me, please? I’m sorry about everything that’s happened between us and even with your best friend. I don’t expect you to understand how complicated my family is but right now, I don’t want to be at the hospital alone. Please, Anna, I could use your help."

She fixes me with a deep gaze. "I think you have enough family members and people on your payroll to worry about being alone at the hospital. I’m sorry but I won’t indulge you this time. You don’t deserve my sympathy."

The sound of waves crashing against a rock fill my ears. That’s how shocked I am at her reaction. She brushes past me, unlocks her door and slams it shut behind her.

I really fucked up this time. If Anna can be a hard nut to crack even with my emotional delivery, I don’t think I have any other trump card up my sleeve. Have I truly lost her? I stagger to my car. When I turn back, she’s not hiding behind her curtain, peeping at me. I want to clench my chest in agony.

This is it, Asher. You were always going to walk this road alone; an inner voice tortures me. You’ll die all alone. No one really cares about you. You’re not so different from your father after all. Nobody loves you genuinely.

I hit the gas and drive to the hospital while the thoughts cloud my senses. In spite of its brutal truth, I manage to remind myself that I need more time. Things are screwed up right now. I can’t die just yet. My brothers and my mother aren’t ready to move on without me. Father’s promise is still on shaky ground. If anything happens to me right now, Josh and his mother will tear my family apart. I need to get fixed. I can’t give up now.

I sit alone, wringing my icy fingers in doctor Ezra’s office while he attends to another VIP patient in the operating theatre. He has been alerted of my presence and has promised to attend to me as soon as he can.

Five minutes quickly turn to an hour and still no sign of the doctor. What is more surprising is how I fail to realize such a long time has even passed. All I can think of are fond memories of Anna and the kind of relationship we could never have, one where we could be an official couple accepted by my family and the whole of Danvarr.

I imagine her sitting with me and telling me stories to calm my nerves. It amazes me how thoughts of her still calm me even in her absence. I whip out my phone and allow my hand hover over her number, deliberating on dialing it or not.

I decide against it and turn to my brothers. Which of them should I call right now? Who wouldn’t make a fuss about me keeping them in the dark on my health challenge and prefer to be understanding right now?

Ashton’s call comes through while I am still debating.

"Ashton?"

"Hey. Where are you? I am in a bit of a dilemma right now."

I look around the doctor’s office. "I stopped by the office to do some work. What can I help you with?"

"Keith got back to me with an address and time to meet Adriana but on my way, Ashal called. I think something bad has happened with a stranger. He was crying. A life might have been lost. He needs our help."

I surge to my feet immediately. "Pin me his location and I’ll be right with him."

"No. I was thinking you could go see Adriana while I help Ashal out. He called me, Asher. He specifically asked for my help. I haven’t been paying much attention to him lately and if I disappoint him this time around by sending someone else, I don’t think he’ll trust me again with matters like this."

"Ashton, you’ve been following up on all things Adriana and Keith. I can’t just step in and play you right now. This meeting is crucial. If I fuck it up or give Keith reasons to suspect foul play, he could botch the whole deal. We could lose our one chance to reunite with our sister again. I can’t have that on my conscience. Please, let me help Ashal. I am sure he will understand why you can’t make it. Adriana is important to him too."

"The problem is that I’m two minutes out already in Ashal’s direction. I didn’t stop to think before dashing to him. If you’re at the HQ, then you’re only a few blocks away from the meeting point with Adriana. You know everything about her. I filled you guys in already. Keith will only act as a chaperone at the meeting. You’ll get to talk to Adriana all by yourself. When you do, don’t pretend to say what you think I will. Be your authentic self and bare your heart to your long-lost sister. What do you want to know about her? I trust you can handle it."

Before I can protest, he hangs up just as Ashal’s heart wrenching whimper seeps in. My fingers are shaking now. I am in no condition to handle this. Do I call Ashley? His line doesn’t go through when I do. The last thing we need is to make a bad impression by standing our sister up. I take in a sharp breath and dash for the door. When I pull it open, someone is about to enter with doctor Ezra.

"Father." I hum with shocked eyes.

***

"I thought you were off to the island."

"Changed my mind. That can wait but my first son can’t." Father pulls me in for a long hug that surprises me.

"And Josh?"

"He understood."

I doubt that but I don’t press further. "How did you find me?"

"You weren’t taking my calls so I had your car GPS tracked." He eases back from the hug and stares around the doctor’s office. "Imagine my surprise when it leads me here. I guess you aren’t fine after all, huh?" I wince when he pokes my temple.

I give doctor Ezra a quick look. I hope he hasn’t said anything.

"I’m told you’ve been waiting for the doctor."

"Yeah, I just needed a prescription for my headaches."

"And that couldn’t have been done by any other doctor?" Father asking, trading glances between me and doctor Ezra. The latter clears his throat.

"Asher is fond of me as you know. He hates hospitals and whenever he has to come in, he wants me to attend to him given my history with your family. Besides, if he had called before coming, I would have informed him I was going to be in surgery so he didn’t have to wait.

Father shrugs. "Doc, can he get an MRI? He’s been having these annoying and persistent headaches for some time. I want to make sure it’s nothing serious."

"Father, I’m not a kid. I can handle my own business. You don’t have to butt in."

"Nonsense. You’re my son and your health matters to me. I will butt in whether you like it or not. Doc?"

I head for the door. "I was just on my way out before you two arrived. I had a shitty day and made other plans. Doc, I’ll see you later for the headache. Father, go home and get some rest. I’ll see you later."

Before he can protest, I dash out. I am already late to my meeting with my sister by ten minutes. My heart is pounding in my chest. I am a long way from the HQ. It will take me another seven to ten minutes to arrive at the meeting spot. I hope she isn’t too disappointed.

On the way, I put a call across to Ashton to find out what is going on with Ashal.

"Are you there yet?" He asks frantically. "Keith has been calling and I’ve been stalling him."

"On my way. Got intercepted by father."

"What?"

"It’s fine. I shook him off. How’s Ashal doing? How bad is it?"

Ashton sighs. "He had a blackout and can’t recall what happened but there was a dead man in his trunk when I arrived."

"Damn. Do we know him? Does Ashal recognize him?"

Another sigh and a whisper. "I think the dead guy is Madeline Dunn’s latest boyfriend."

"What? Did Ashal go after him?"

"It appears so. He admitted to stalking them earlier today. His obsession with her scares me, Asher. How do we deal with this on top of everything else?"

"We’ll talk about that later. What are you doing about the body?"

"I called our contacts in the police force and reported a drug overdose. They’ll handle the story. Ash won’t get linked to this."

"Okay. That’s good. I just got to the meeting point. I think I see Adriana. The guy next to her must be Keith. Oh shit."

"What? What is it?"

Instead of swerving to pull into the outdoor restaurant where a tensed young girl and a guy are awaiting my arrival, I continue on my journey but as I continue forward, Keith locks eyes with me. Through my side mirror, I watch him stand with an angry look on his face as my car presses ahead.

Fuck. Now, he’ll think Ashton bailed after all the length he went through to arrange this meeting with our sister.

"I just drove past them. I couldn’t stop."

"Why?"

"Father’s car is right behind me, Ashton. He followed me."

"FUCK!" Ashton belts into the phone with anger.