Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 66

DEMI

"You’ve got some nerve showing up here." The sight of William next to my car at the parking lot both frightens and infuriates me.

I halt in my track and scan the area. There are a few people getting into their cars and speeding off. There are also cameras down here. I continue to survey the place nonetheless, ignoring the small smirk on William’s face.

"C’mon Demi, I’m not a monster. I just want to talk."

"Talk? You and I might have different interpretations of that word." I stubbornly cement my feet a few meters from him.

"I can’t talk to you on a private and sensitive matter if you’re standing all the way over there, unless you want me to scream at the top of my lungs how sorry I am for being immature about our breakup and recount how lost and heartbroken I felt when you jilted me. Is that a story you’d like your colleagues to hear?" I shift uneasily before trudging closer.

"Make this quick, please. I can’t be seen with you and I’ve got places to be."

"We could go somewhere more private."

"No! Here’s fine. Now, talk!" He walks to my side of the car but I refuse to flinch.

"I’m deeply sorry for everything, Demi. I am appalled by my own attitude towards you ever since I set foot in this country. I should have carried myself better but I guess Lily was right that I was bleeding onto others because I still hadn’t let go of the pain and hurt I felt over our breakup. It’s been six years since we last held hands as a couple. I shouldn’t have dragged it on too long. I just want to apologize for everything, from your birthday party to the penthouse."

I am struggling to believe William is being honest even if his eyes are the least cunning I’ve seen since he invaded my new life.

"I’ve been a thorn in your flesh ever since I appeared on your doorway that fateful day you turned fifteen if memory serves me correctly. I admit I had come to sway you to be my girlfriend for the week but after we talked that day, I knew you were meant to feature in more than a Chapter of my story."

"Arrgh, that was so corny."

"Yeah, it was really hackneyed and cheesy, wasn’t it?" We find ourselves laughing now till our eyes meet and hold. "I’m truly sorry for interrupting the wonderful life you’ve carved out for yourself. I had no right to judge you or your choices. Ashley is my friend after all and I know he has a good heart. I shouldn’t have made such mean speculations about your marriage. Could you ever forgive me?"

I inhale. "What changed?"

"I’m leaving Danvarr and I want us to part ways better than we did the last time. I’ve finalized the purchase of our new office space. One of our trusted staff members will be relocating to come manage the business here. Who knows? I could visit some other time in the future but that’s beside the point. I truly didn’t want to leave without your forgiveness for my actions in the locked room back in the penthouse. I wasn’t really going to..."

"I know." I wasn’t sure back then but right now, it’s like I can read him better. "Thank you Will." I ignore how easily the name rolls off my tongue even when I know he isn’t the Will I have come to enjoy texting.

"And I’m sorry too for not treating you right. My grief at the time was no excuse to treat you like dirt. We met at a time when I wasn’t ready to be loved or to love back. I’m sorry."

An awkward silence passes between us as I recall his declarations of being in love with me. It’s crazy because no other man has ever vocally admitted having feelings for me. The thought of it makes something warm spread across my belly.

"I guess in another life, maybe we would have a shot." Before I can blink, he pulls me in for a hug. "I’d really miss you. Take care of yourself and Ashley. He’s definitely starting to get warm towards you." He pulls back with a brilliant smile on his face.

"I hope I haven’t ruined you for the next woman."

"Don’t flatter yourself." He chuckles a bit. "Goodbye Demi not Denee or Denise." That bit makes me smile in return.

I watch him walk away with a small smile on my face. I am glad he is leaving so I can go back to sleeping restfully but a twinge of sadness envelops me as he disappears into a car ahead and drives off.

"He’s handsome."

I spin my head, startled to have been snuck up on by the nosy Josh.

"Friend of yours?

I don’t dignify that with a response as I head towards the door to open my car.

"You said we were good, Demi. I thought all was forgiven."

"All is forgiven sir but I never made any promises to indulge you every time you showed up in front of my face. I had a long day and it’s not over yet. I need to get going. Goodbye Mr. Randall"

Josh fakes a smile as he gets into the car next to mine. I silently wonder why he is so eager to be friends with me all of a sudden. The last thing I need right now is him breathing down my neck and popping up with every turn I make at work.

I head straight to Anna’s place. I have missed her. Nessa and I might be cool now but Anna is my best friend. I need to mend our relationship so we can be cool with each other again. When she opens her door, I hold up some takeout in paper bags.

"Peace offering?" Anna smiles thinly before ushering me in. She looks radiant even in her night dress. Once I settle in, I move the food aside and peer at my best friend. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"I’ve missed you."

"Same here."

"I’m so sorry, Anna. I don’t know why I let my anger fester beyond the night of my party. I had no right to expect you to stick to me like glue. You deserved a good time too and one night without us tethered at the hip shouldn’t have canceled years of dedicated friendship. I was a bitch and I am sorry."

"Thank you."

"I am also sorry for not trusting you and making assumptions as to how your night went. It’s literally none of my business who you hung with, unless you make it my business by spilling the tea but until then, I trust that my best friend knows what’s good for her and is very capable of making her own decisions."

Anna’s eyes go warm as she continues to stare at me. "Thanks for that too." She grabs the paper bag and dives into her dumplings. I have forgotten how exciting it is to watch her eat. "How was the penthouse? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it." I shrug my shoulders.

"I’m glad you didn’t. It was a bust. Ashal took me to a different penthouse he owns. I didn’t even know he had more than one but then, him and his brothers are filthy rich so that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. They all have properties all over Danvarr that they rarely step into all year round."

I recall everything that has transpired since my party, from befriending Nessa and Josh to meeting Eliana and Ashley’s recent scandal.

"Oh, Anna, there’s so much I didn’t get a chance to tell you. I have to bring you up to speed."

Anna sets her food aside as my tale gets juicier by the second. By the time I finish, she remains silent, processing everything. I know she has a plethora of questions.

"So, what have you decided to do about Olivia? Would you respect her wish and back off?"

I sigh deeply. "The whole point of saving a rebel like her was to use her to expose the wrongs of my in-laws. If she’s already tapped out, she’ll only turn on me if I attempt to rescue her. Father won’t spare me. I can’t risk it. Besides, Olivia was just a secondary part of my plan. I can’t let her foil my revenge. If she’s been brainwashed to stay with Ashal, sorrows and prayers. I can’t save her if she doesn’t want to be saved."

Anna nods. "And Ashley? What’s this about him being a murderer?"

Running a hand over my face, I lay down on my back on the floor. "I can’t quite put my finger on it. Liam had Tobias checked out. Turns out he was a friend and private bodyguard of the quads who later died tragically. There’s not much about the details of his death. Ashley is a lot of things but a murderer?"

I recall distinctively how his fingers had trembled on the steering wheel so much so that I had feared for our lives. He had had a surprise look on his face when I returned from the restroom with the gift box and asked cheerily if I had gotten an admirer.

However, he instantly went pale when he read the note left inside. What followed was an abrupt end to our first, special date night, a hurried departure from the restaurant, and silent treatment ever since.

"I don’t know what to think when it comes to the quads, Anna. The more time I spend with them and think they’re the most humane and nicest guys, the more incidents like this crop up to clear the fog from my eyes. Hence, I am choosing to let the search for proof guide me. I can’t bank on anything the family says. They’ll always protect their own at the expense of others."

"You’re going to find this blackmailer and do with them what you hoped to do with Olivia?"

"Precisely." I have no clue where to start but that doesn’t deter me. Liam is hard at work sourcing for details about Tobias’ death and his connection with the quads. I’m afraid of bugging their game room or phones again. Whoever found and disabled the previous one must be on a lookout for them. I need to find some other way to siphon the right information from them."

Anna sips her juice. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"Not that I know of. Thanks for asking though." My phone starts ringing. A deep frown creases my brow when I realize it’s my aunt. Why is she calling me now after so long? "Hi aunt."

"Demi, are you really still pissed at your only surviving family that you’ve intentionally refused to stay in touch with us?" She asks with a low voice.

"I’m very busy with work, aunt, you know that. Besides, last I checked, your phones still work and you all know the address of the mansion so I don’t see how our lack of communication is solely my fault."

"Of course, it’s your fault. You are the one who threatened to have us kicked out of your party and acted so rudely to us despite our apology. Didn’t you think you owed us an apology in return for your rudeness? Why would we call you first when we’re waiting on that apology?" I gasp in shock at the nerve of my aunt.

"I owe you an apology for being upset over the way you treated me like scum? Are you being serious right now, aunt Elizabeth? Is this what you called to tell me?" She exhales on her end.

"Whatever. I didn’t expect you take your correction. You’re married into an influential family now so your arrogance is no surprise to me. I just called to give you a chance to make up with your family so that when you see us at the mansion tomorrow for lunch with the Rollins, things won’t be awkward between us."

"What? What lunch? Why would you be having lunch at the mansion?"

"Ask your mother-in-law." She says before hanging up on me. A small headache starts to brew behind my head.

"Is everything okay?"

"No. Aunt and Kira are the bane of my existence and mother just invited them to lunch tomorrow at the mansion. I think I will lose my mind being at a table with those two." My eyes spark with an idea. "Anna, you have to be there. Please, I need your support. It’ll be less suffocating if you’re there. Please say yes. Please, please, please!"

I don’t blame Anna for not jumping at the idea. If I wasn’t married to one of the quads, I’d probably dislike eating with them for the sheer intimidation and discomfort one feels being surrounded by sumptuous food and billionaires.

It’s not always easy for the food to go down the right track when you constantly feel like you are being judged and some people at the table would rather not have you there.

"Anna hisses out a breath. "Fine. I’ll be there."

"Thank you."

On my way back, Ashley calls to know where I am. I tell him I am almost home and stopped briefly to see Anna. Then he mentions in passing that the family requires my presence at a meeting before we all call it a night.

Though I am a little too tired for this meeting, I distract myself by registering my relief over the fact that Ashley has broken his silence and sounds just like himself again. He assures me he is fine and will not be letting a stranger mess with his mental health before hanging up.

After the call, I get surprised to receive a message from Will. It’s been a while since he texted me out of the blue. While I wait on a traffic light, I pull up the message.

[Father is going to make a demand of you. Don’t act alarmed or ask any questions. Just go along with whatever he says, please-Will]

I don’t understand what he means by this cryptic message until I am seated in the spacious living room upstairs and listening to father like everyone else.

"The recent unfortunate event that has been upsetting our family is Ashley being blackmailed over someone’s death. These accusations keep getting ridiculous by the day but in this particular case, we can’t fold our hands and wait for the storm to pass. My son’s peace of mind is being tampered with. His reputation could easily be ruined over a lie. We’ve deployed several measures to get to the bottom of this issue and nab the culprit behind this, a woman for that matter. While we haven’t made much progress and will continue to figure out a solution to this problem, Ashton came up with an idea to lure the blackmailer out and trap them."

Father’s pauses as his eyes darts around the room. I join him but only to wheel my eyes towards Ashton. His eyes are flat.

"Ashton has offered to swap places with Ashley until this blackmailer is nabbed. When the blackmailer revisits Ashely’s office, Ashton will be the one she encounters. If Ashley’s movements are followed, which I suspect is the case, then they’ll be following Ashton. If Ashley is to go on another date with his wife to lure the blackmailer to the same spot, it will be Ashton and Demi there. This is only until we get our hands on the woman blackmailing Ashley."

I have questions but the second I wet my lips to ask, I lock eyes with Ashton and his message replays in my mind. Ashley also glances at me. Why does Ashton have to trade places with him if the latter is fine? Is there something wrong with Ashley? Why does this family keep giving me nothing?

"And Ashley?" I blurt before I can stop myself. Everyone turns to me. "Would he be playing his brother too?"

Father’s thin smile is a little hard to read. "No. The last few attacks have been mentally tasking for him. He would be resting at one of our family properties for at least a week."

"What if someone recognizes the fact that Ashton isn’t really Ashley?"

"Like who?" Father asks me.

"Nicola." I ignore the awkwardness that hangs thickly in the air after I drop her name. "She knows him really well. What if she shows up at his office and..." I trail off. "She might sense he’s...different. And his staff? I have seen Ashley at work. I don’t think his aura is something anyone with an identical face can easily pull off." When my eyes meet Ashley’s, he is smiling at me.

"You are right." Ashton affirms. "I don’t know much about fashion but that’s hardly a problem. Ashley’s blackmailer hopes to mess with him mentally. I’m going to release a statement that Ashley won’t be attending the Fashion Gala next week because he wants to focus on working on his latest collection due next month. I’ll casually throw in that he’ll be mostly tied up at the office for this reason. Ashley has never missed the Fashion Gala since his first debut. His blackmailers will be convinced their efforts have finally taken a toll on his mental health and that’s the real reason he is bailing on the Gala. They’ll target him at his office or whatever public appearance he makes. I’ll be waiting."

Then after a beat, he continues. "I’ll leave instructions that I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone, not even family members. That should ward off any and all guests, except necessary ones like couriers, janitors, security detail. We’ll be on the lookout for however they want to get to me."

"And Mila? Would she be apprised of this plan?"

What if she comes looking for him for a date or to go racing?

"This plan stays within these four walls." Father hammers. "Ash, find a way to keep her at arm’s length for now before she comes looking for you here." Ashton nods.

After the meeting, Ashley pulls me aside to put to bed any other worries I might have.

"You said you were fine."

"I am but I can’t ignore the fact that I’ve dealt with some mental health problems in the past. I just need to shut out the noise and rest for a bit, maybe speak to a therapist about what recently happened. I trust Ashton on this. I know he will catch the woman trying to bring me down."

"Ashley." Father calls to him. Before he leaves, Ashley squeezes my hand and reminds me to trust the plan. Ashton is still embroiled in a conversation with his mom. He’s probably also trying to convince her about the plan so I head for my room. An hour later, I get a call from him as Will.

"Is there really no other way to nab this...blackmailer?"

"We’ve tried other things. She is smarter than we think. I can’t think of a better way to get her." He sighs deeply. "Ashely doesn’t deserve to suffer like this. He’s not a killer. If anything, he’s the least likely amongst us to take a life, not because he is weak but because he is very cautious about taking a life. He was the brother that caught bugs and set them free afterwards during our childhood. That’s just who he is."

"And you? Did you kill the bugs?" I let out a calming breath and ask the real question. "Are you capable of taking a life...on purpose?"

"There’s very little I wouldn’t do to protect the ones I cherish." His low baritone makes my body tingle with equal parts of fear and lust. I shake my head to refocus on what I am trying to confirm.

"Ashley was right. You’ve got more spunk than the rest of them and maybe that’s why you’re so intimidating."

"You discussed me on your date with Ashley?"

"We discussed almost everything and everyone. Don’t flatter yourself."

He chuckles lightheartedly. "Ashley will be fine. I’ll see to it that we put this behind us soon."

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Go ahead."

"Why is the blackmailer convinced that eight years old Ashley killed Tobias Woodley if his mutilated body and slashed throat was found floating under a bridge, leagues from your old mansion?"

"You did your homework." His response comes after an awkward silence. I hear the rustling of bedsheets like he is propping himself up on his bed.

"That’s good. The funny thing is that that particular piece of information is not easily accessible to the public except family members and highly influential people who can cut through the bureaucratic tape. How, if I may ask, did you come by that information, Demi?"

My heart crashes to the floor of my stomach. Shit. I just fucked up.