Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 167

ASHTON

I couldn’t sleep a wink last night, no one in the mansion could. Everyone has been feeling sad over Ashal’s predicament and angry too. Though planning a party was always mother’s favorite pastime, she looks withered as she makes arrangement for our birthday party. It’s almost like she’s not sure if she’s planning her sons’ birthday party or Ashal’s funeral. Many times, she dabs off a tear from her eyes or excuses herself to go use the bathroom.

Ashley’s been staying close to her, inviting guests via phone call. Like we suspected, many of them keep turning down our invitation without bothering to give a good excuse. Even father’s promise of a ’special gift’ has been unsuccessful in swaying them. No one of high caliber wants to be associated with the family who is currently being rumored to be responsible for a tranche of heinous crimes.

"What are we going to do? I’m almost halfway done with the guest list and no one has RSVP’d." Ashley asks Asher worriedly.

Asher scratches his head. "At this rate, they still won’t budge even if father offers them bonus shares in the company. No one wants to be a part of a sinking ship."

Mother sighs heavily. "She knew this would be impossible to accomplish from the start. She wanted to kill my son all along and merely threw us this bait so she can blame us for not doing everything within our power to save Ashal."

I grit my teeth. "We don’t have time for this. Give me the phone."

My family looks surprised. Hesitantly, Ashley passes the phone in his hand as well as the guest list when I gesture for it too. I scan through the list and find just the right contact.

"People might not want to party with us but they won’t ignore one of the biggest news scoop there’s ever been in the country." I dial the number and after a few rings, someone picks up.

"Danvarr Morning News, how may we help you."

"Ashton, don’t."

I ignore mother and turn away to continue the call. "This is Ashton Sawy...Ashton Rollins speaking. My brothers and I will be throwing a lavish party on the twelfth of this month to celebrate our twenty-fifth birthday party. I’d like to throw an open invitation to all the crème de la crème of our society. Except for the top media houses who will cover the event, every other guest must not have a net worth below fifty million dollars."

"Mr. Ashton, do you expect us to broadcast this invitation? I’m not sure why anyone would...."

"I’ll be making a live confession regarding one of the crimes alleged by Billion-Err at the party, in the presence of my guests. How’s that for motivation?" I hang up and run a hand over my chin. "I guess that will do it."

"Why would you tell them that?" Asher asks worriedly.

"Because I already plan to do it at the party, Asher. Isn’t that what Demi wants before she can release our brother? What’s the point of keeping it a surprise if we can’t even get people to attend the party? Every second counts for Ashal. Who knows what they’re putting him through." I fend off the rage bubbling inside me. "People love gossip and secrets. This should spice things up and create anticipation for the event."

"And what if it backfires? They’re already gossiping and condemning our arrogance in throwing a party in the midst of everything going on instead of taking responsibility for Billion-Err’s accusations. Why would they want to attend said party when they can just confirm it from the news much later?"

I cup mother’s face. "That’s what the masses will do but thankfully, they’re not on the guest list. Rich people won’t be satisfied with just that. To stay relevant, they like to be present where everything will be going down, where most of the media personnel will be covering the biggest news. They’d definitely want to give interviews after the confession. If they somehow don’t care for all that, then they’ll surely attend just to prove to the people of Danvarr that their net worth is over fifty million dollars which is why they made the guest list."

I press a kiss to her eyebrows. "We haven’t got any other choice, mother. We are at our wits end. Right now, we have to do whatever it takes to bring people to that party."

"Have you thought about what will happen after your confession? You may be arrested..."

"Ashal will be home." I interrupt her. "That’s all that matters."

One of the guards enters with a shopping bag. "Sorry to intrude but there’s a special delivery for Mr. Ashton." I whip my head instantly and eye the bag suspiciously. "It’s okay, sir. I already checked. It’s just a party dress. I also frisked the delivery lady. She was clean."

"Delivery lady?" I ask, arching my eyebrows.

"Yes sir."

I don’t know why but I can’t let it go. What are the odds that a party dress was delivered to us by a lady? If it was Demi, the guard would already have said so. Could she have sent someone else to spy on us and see if we’re complying with her terms? Why else would she send me a party dress? Who’s it for?

At mother’s instruction, the guard reveals the dress. It’s overly sexual with sheer fabric making up ninety percent of the dress.

"Why did she send this?" Mother wonders. "What is she up to now?"

"There’s a note here."

Asher grabs it and reads. A deep frown coats his face. "Demi wants Ashton to deliver the dress to her at Anna’s home."

"That wench." Father cusses. "She’s incorrigible."

"Did the delivery lady have her face covered?"

"No sir." The guard replies me.

So, it wasn’t Demi then, or anyone who has been to this mansion before or the guards would have recognized the lady.

"What did she say her name was?" I press on.

"Skylar, sir."

"Skylar?" My throat dries up. Skylar as in my lost sister, Skylar? I don’t know any other Skylar apart from the one Kayla told me about. What are the odds that this delivery lady is a random person? Before my family can press me for answers as to my sudden reaction, I bolt out of the door and head for the grand gate.

"Where’s she? Which way did she go?"

Outside the gate, there’s only a lone car cruising down the road. Someone pokes her head out, her hair flying in the wind. Though she is too far for me to note her features, the gold locks are quite familiar. She continues to watch me while I watch her. I can’t make out her facial expression. I don’t know what she’s thinking but I can feel something off her; she’s definitely not on our side.

"Ashton? What’s wrong? Why did you dash out like that?" Asher asks, tapping me back to reality. When I look back, the car is just a speck in the distance.

"Nothing." I reply before going back in.

Mother leaps to her feet on seeing me. Ashley and father are at different corners, speaking on the phone.

"You were right. It worked. Everyone is returning our calls to confirm their attendance."

At least that’s some good news. I nod to her before picking up the note on the dress to read it.

[Do you think I’d look great in your arms wearing this sexy number, birthday boy? Bring the dress to Anna’s and tell me in person. Love, Demi.

I crumple the note in my hand. Whomever this new Demi is, I fucking hate her.

***

As I stand in front of Anna’s door with Demi’s dress in my hand, I can’t stop pondering over a few things. Kayla’s words about my sister hating my brothers and I play in a loop in my head, as well as some other disturbing thoughts. Does Demi know about Skylar too? Are they working together to harm my family or was it a coincidence that Skylar delivered the dress? Who else is in on this revenge plot?

When Demi swings the door open, I am a bit distracted and unprepared to face her. Given the flash of shock and surprise in her eyes, I deduce that the feeling is mutual. Why is she shocked when she left me a specific note demanding I hand deliver her dress? It takes her a split second to harden her face as her eyes drop to the box.

"Got something for me?" She asks casually on recognizing the brand which only sells female clothes.

I can’t believe it. That’s the first thing she says to me after hurting my brother and threatening my family? Rage unfurls in my belly, making my face crease with a frown. She reaches for the box and takes it. Before she can slam the door in my face, I put out a hand to block it.

"Don’t piss me off, Ashton."

"We’re doing everything you asked. The party plans are underway. Can I speak to Ashal? Please? Just for one minute. I beg you. I just want to hear his voice." She stares at me deadpan and the emptiness in her eyes is glaring.

"You’ll see and talk to him after the party. Now leave."

I refuse to budge. "You asked me here. Don’t you want to know what I think of the dress?" the slight upward slant of her eyebrow tells me she has no idea what I am talking about. She opens the box and stifles her shock at the black, sheer outfit. I lean close so my breath can fan her ear as I whisper my thoughts.

When I ease back, she isn’t quick enough to hide the pain that flits across her eyes.

"Ashton." Anna appears, wiping her hands on a napkin. She gives Demi a quick glance after noticing the tension between us. "I’m sorry about Ashal. I’m praying for his safe return to your family." At Demi’s chuckle, Anna’s face creases with worry.

"Prayers won’t work here." Demi replies, staring flatly at me. Her eyes are empty again. "I’m sure he and his family know exactly what to do to get Ashal back, right?"

"Demi." Anna’s cautionary tone is laced with concern as she stares at her friend.

Disgusted at Demi’s attitude, I clench my jaw and turn to Anna. "Thank you, Anna. That’s very thoughtful of you." I jam both hands in the pockets of my blazer, turn around and walk away.

In three days, I might likely lose my freedom so while I can still move freely, I have more important things to sort out than to let myself be disappointed in a woman I thought I knew. If this is how she wants to exact her revenge, so be it. However, as long as she isn’t punishing just me, her main culprit, I won’t sit idly by and watch her play Roulette with the lives of my family.

Firstly, I call Kayla up and instruct her to meet me. Together, we both return to my new home to have a serious conversation.

"Do you have a picture of Skylar?"

"No, but I think Keith does."

Keith’s a dead end. He won’t oblige me even if I have a gun to his head. My only other option is to threaten him with the life of his parents which I don’t want to do. So, I am simply monitoring his moves for now. Hopefully, he’ll lead me to Skylar soon.

"I tried reaching out to Skylar as you asked but I think she’s changed all her lines and moved far away. She even dropped out of college from what I hear."

Since my meeting with Kayla didn’t yield much result, I realized that I’m left with no other option than to break the news to my brothers before I am carted off to jail. Asher and Ashley respond to my invitation and show up at my house in less than an hour. They’re both caught off guard at the sight of Kayla aka Adriana from the pictures and videos I shared in our private chat.

"It’s okay." I mention when everyone of them appears flustered by each other’s presence. "Please sit down. This is very important."

While Ashley tries to make small talk with Kayla who’s beyond mortified, Asher tugs my sleeve.

"You should have given us a little heads-up that our estranged sister was going to be here. This isn’t cool."

I move to the center of the room and get everyone’s attention. Briefly, I sum up the reality of the situation so my brothers are caught up.

"There’s no point in getting pissed at her. We have a bigger problem on our hands. This other sister of ours, Skylar, I think she’s braying for our downfall as much as Demi is."

"Other sister? If this one’s a fake, how are we sure..."

"I have no idea, Ashley." I cut off his angry tirade. I know he’s feeling hurt but we don’t have the time to hash out those feelings. "I just know that the story of her past mirrors what Cree had shared with me. And before you ask, I don’t know if this is all a setup. I called you guys here so we could rub minds together on how to deal with these problems."

Ashley stalks off to the bar, pours himself a drink and drains the cup in one gulp.

"Did you say Skylar Sanders?" Asher asks Kayla.

"Yes sir."

"Could you describe her?"

"She’s got the best blonde hair that would make Barbie cry but she doesn’t like to wear it proudly. She mostly covers it with wigs when she’s not feeling safe in public spaces." Kayla gets lost in Asher’s eyes. "She’s got eyes just like yours, all of you. She’s extremely beautiful but withdrawn most of the time. She’s..."

"Five feet four inches tall, incredibly shy or at least it appears that way but her eyes reflect a quiet defiance."

"Yes. Yes."

"Wat’s going on here?" I ask Asher as Ashley rejoins us. His curiosity was also piqued at Asher’s words.

Asher exhales. "I think I might have run into our sister at a bar once. She instantly recognized me as Asher at the bar," and turning to Ashley, he adds, "Yes, sister. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that if one of us had turned out to be a girl, he would have looked exactly like her. You see her once, you’d think so too." Something warm washes across his face as he hums her name once more.

"Skylar Sanders."

"She delivered Demi’s dress to the mansion this morning. I think she’s somehow connected to everything going on." I announce.

"Oh, for God’s sake." Ashley returns to the bar for a refill while Asher surges to his feet and adjusts his suit.

"Well, I think I might know someone who might know where we can find Skylar. Her name’s Octavia and she’s a friend to Skylar. I’ll make the call."