Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 146

ASHTON

Fuck! Fuck!! Fuck!!! How did I forget to erase that file from Asher’s computer? How could I have been so careless?

Demi pales after I tell her about Asher’s discovery.

"W-What are you...saying? How did he...no, it’s too early. He c-can’t find out, Ashton. He’ll come after me..." I grab her cold hands and force her to look at me. She’s so terrified her body is shaking.

"It’ll be fine."

"No. He’ll tell father and..."

"HE WON’T. HE WON’T, DEMI. IF he was going to, he wouldn’t have bothered to call me or ask to see me. I still have time to convince him to keep your secret." Though she bobs her head, I don’t think she’s fully processing my words. Absentmindedly, I pull her head close and kiss the top of it. Our foreheads touch for a few seconds while her breath calms. "I promise I won’t let them hurt you. Please, trust me."

"Okay." She mutters weakly. I kiss her hair one more time before leaving.

Asher is fuming when I get home and find him in the gym fully clothed in a suit. He hasn’t even bothered to remove his shoes or his tie. He leaps up like a frog once he our eyes meet and ambles towards me.

"How long have you known?"

I ignore the rough shove at my chest and his blistering gaze.

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN THAT SHE’S THE DAUGHTER OF THE COUPLE YOU KILLED?"

My eyes flash at his hurtful words. This is the first time in six years that a family member is calling me a killer because of what happened that night. I get that my brother is angry but it’s very tactless and mean of him to hit below the belt just to register his anger.

I inhale deeply. "I found out after your surgery that she’s Camille Branson’s daughter."

"And you kept it a secret because of what?" Asher rages with furrowed brows. "Huh? Who exactly were you trying to protect, Ashton? You hid such a crucial information from the same family that protected you from jail and coddled your little secret while you drowned yourself in alcohol for years to forget that night. You chose Demi over us? That’s what we get?"

"Asher, you know very well that this isn’t about my feelings for her. I committed a sin against her, ruined her entire life and family..."

"Accidentally!" He clarifies, throwing the bottle of water in his hand across the gym. "It was a fucking accident, right? That’s what you said and we as a family believed you. We risked everything to shield you from the consequences. How could you not immediately alert us to the fact that the woman who joined our family six months ago was Camille’s daughter? How could you hide her secret knowing fully well that she must be out to avenge her parents?"

Before I can respond, he inclines his head as something crosses his mind. "I always knew it. I felt in in my bones from the moment she stepped into this house that she seemed ominous but no one believed me." His eyes flicked back to mine. "Where the hell is she? I need to have her interrogated. She must be behind most of the shit we’ve been through since she married Ashley. I need to know her accomplices and what her grand plan is. Oh fuck," He gasps, running his hands through his hair. "Father would be livid. We are yet to get over your hair reveal and Ashley’s divorce scandal and now this..."

I yank him back when he tries to leave in a haste. "YOU WON’T SAY A WORD TO FATHER ABOUT DEMI’S IDENTITY!"

The air in the gym seems to dry up as Asher turns slowly to glare at me. "What was that?"

I glare right back at him. "I SAID YOU WON’T BREATHE A WORD OF THIS TO FATHER, YET."

His smile is wicked and sick around the edges. "OR WHAT, ASHTON? WHAT WOULD YOU DO?"

I leave him to go sit on a bench press. Sighing, I bury my face in my hands. "Her parents are dead because I told him about Camille. If I never mentioned finding that reporter’s card on her desk and listened to her side of the story first, that poor woman and her husband would still be alive."

"Oh, come on, that’s..."

"HE’LL KILL DEMI BEFORE THE BREAK OF DAWN." I yell over Asher. "And you know it. You know exactly how he handles people he perceives as threats but you probably couldn’t care less about Demi." I lunge to my feet. "Yes, I am a killer but which quad can claim to not be one? Like father, we have all ended a life or more." Asher works the tension in his jaw by clenching it as I drive home my point.

"You know who isn’t a killer? Demi! She’s a poor orphan who’s still hurting from the loss of her parents. Her life took a tragic turn after they passed on. So, what if she’s itching for revenge? Wouldn’t you feel the same way if the roles were reversed?" I draw closer. "I may not have been able to protect her parents from our family but I certainly won’t spare anyone who attempts to hurt a hair on Demi’s head."

Our chests heave with breath as we lock eyes.

"Does she know the truth?" He asks. "Does she know you..."

"Yes, she does." I pre-empt him.

"Then she can’t possibly love you, can she?" He sucks a breath through his teeth. "You’re wasting your time playing a knight for her while she’s busy plotting your death." Asher loosens his tie and fists his fingers. "You better hope I don’t find evidence that she’s trying to take us down. I won’t spare her, Ashton."

"Spare who?" Ashley asks, walking in with both hands buried in his pockets. Asher grins, walks up to him and pats his cheek.

"Are you going to tell him, or should I?" He yells at me. When I remain intentionally mute, Asher drops the bombshell. Ashley is speechless at first. Slowly, he drops his hands by his sides.

"She knows the truth about that night?" Ashley asks me.

"Yes." I reply.

"And your drunken wedding? Was that really accidental or planned?"

Asher rolls his eyes. "How could you even ask? She clearly staged everything to wriggle her way into our family. Jeez, you guys are so slow." He expels a deep breath and mumbles incoherently.

Ashley walks up to stand in front of me. "If this is true, then Demi played us all from day one. She’s been nursing a huge grudge against our family while pretending to have our best interest at heart. If this is true, she must have plans to expose and wreck us. Yet, you still want to protect her when she obviously detests us and blames us for the loss of her parents?"

"What would you prefer? That we rat her out to father and find her dead body being pulled from a lake leagues from here?" I didn’t mean to hurt him by the Tobias reference but he grimaces as the memory filters into his head. I turn to Asher. "Would snitching help you score brownie points with father, huh? The same man who lies, cheats, manipulates and kills on a whim?"

"DON’T MAKE THIS ABOUT FATHER!"

"But it is about father, Asher!" I snap back at him. "Everything started because of him and right now, this agitation to capture an innocent woman is spurred by the zeal to please father! Demi isn’t half the menace father is and we all know that. Why does he get to dictate who lives and who dies? If you all truly want to be his minions and please him, then don’t stop at Demi. Hand Adriana over to him as well and let’s see what he does with your little sister!" Their faces turn ashen like I hoped.

"That’s what I thought." I square my shoulders and glance from one to the other. "I feel guilty enough for the pain Demi is going through and for that reason, I can’t stand her being hurt even further."

"And if she’s working against us?" Ashley asks.

I smile at him. "Why didn’t you tell father that Nicola was Shay even after all the torment she put you through? Why didn’t you do anything in retaliation but rather forgave her?" He pales and jams his hands back in his pockets. "I’m keeping an eye on Demi. She may hate us and blame us for her parents’ death but she isn’t an evil person. She’s going through pain and lashing out like normal humans do. Let her be. She isn’t the threat you think she is."

Asher swallows back a retort when I give him a sizzling look.

"For her sake, you better be right." He thunders before storming away. When Ashley turns to leave, I stop him with a question.

"What did you have in mind when you leaked those photos of Demi and the stranger to Billion-Err?"

His body turns rigid for a second before he whirls back towards me. There is no point in feigning ignorance as he can tell from my firm look that I know what I am saying.

"Definitely wasn’t expecting demands for mine and Demi’s divorce or the intense public outrage on and offline. I was drunk and lashed out because of how cocky she seemed about her affair. I never meant for things to be this bad."

"Like I said, people lash out when they’re hurt." His expression is somber and remorseful before he walks away.

Father returns home and suddenly summons all three of us into his study. At first, I fear Asher hadn’t been swayed by my words and went ahead to tell father everything but when he appears just as surprised over father’s call, I realize his guess is as good as mine.

"I had an eventful meeting with Spellman Group today. It’s amazing how far they’re willing to go to prove their innocence in this matter to me." He nods at Asher who goes on to fill us in on his findings and speculations regarding the conglomerate and Billion-Err.

"Well, it took them less than a week to use their resources to uncover the culprit behind Billion-Err. Yes boys, we can finally put a face to the blog."

My blood pressures spikes. "You know who’s behind Billion-Err?"

"Yes." Father tosses a brown envelop at Asher who hastens to pull out the pictures within. Ashley and I huddle close to get a good look.

"This guy?" Ashley says with wide eyes that match the shock in mine.

"You know him?" Asher asks.

I recognize Demi’s lover in a heartbeat. Him? Then Demi is definitely involved with the blog. Ashley clears his throat and avoids my eyes.

"I just think he looks oddly familiar. Isn’t that right, Ashton?"

All eyes turn to me. Father reclines in his chair, steeples his fingers and breathes heavily as he regards me. We haven’t even had a chance to discuss my hair stunt yet. I can only imagine what’s running through his mind. As for Asher and Ashley, one brief exchange of looks between them helps Asher draw a hasty conclusion that the man in the photo is connected to Demi. He arches his brows as he glares at me.

A warning. You said you have her under control but if you don’t, I’ll deal with her.

A reminder of his threat. If I find evidence to prove that she’s the threat I think she is, no one will be able to stop me from dealing with that threat the best way I know how.

"The man in the picture is called Liam and he happens to be Mila’s estranged older brother!" Father explains to everyone’s surprise. "According to Hugh, Liam is the family rebel. It’s a long story for another day. The important thing is that his arrest warrant has been issued. He’ll be incarcerated before nine am tomorrow morning and after interrogation, we’ll expose ALL his accomplices!"

My heart drops in my belly. Demi!