Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 161: Chapter 161

DEMI

Someone twiddles with the door knob, startlinginto dropping Brett's phone. Quickly, | toss it under the sofa

where he had sat while he was in here. Moments later, Mrs. Rollins pokes her head in. At the sight of me, she

presses her eyes shut and expels a frustrated breath before making her way in.

"Great. | was wondering when you'll show up." | blow sdisheveled hair out of my face and roll my eyes as

she shuffles towards me. "Are you also here to gloat or givea third degree about Billion-Err..." | trail off,

surprised when hunkers down and unties the bind around my legs.

She steps back. "Go on, leave."

Just like that? My eyes track to the door.

"He won't stop you. Go right ahead." Then she turns to leave.

"Don’t you have questions for me?"

"Why?" She asks, turning. "Why do you wantto question you about anything?"

| shrug my shoulders. "At least I'd know where your head's at and defend myself. You must also think | am evil

and torpedoed your perfect family but that’s not true..."

"If | believed that for a second, Brett wouldn't be the one you ought to be scared of." Her eyes are cold and

soulless as she glares at me. "I know a bit about you now, Demi. | dare say that even when triggered, there's

only so much you can permit your conscience to allow. You're not the brute who is trying to bring my family to its

knees."

"Liam." | hum.

She smiles darkly. "To sextent, yes, but | have reasons to believe he isn’t working alone. Poor Liam. He was

such a sweet young man growing up. Then he lost his precious mother, blamed us for it, took a few wrong turns

and embraced this troubled life. Like you, his pain blinds him from the truth but he isn't as wicked as he wants us

to believe. He's got to be working with someone else." Her eyes stray towards the ceiling. "There's definitely

someone else in the picture."

| hold my breath. She’s right. Skylar’'s the one driving Liam. Her slender arms grip my shoulders, startling me

again.

"You know who's behind it all, aren’t you? You're working with them so you must know more about the situation."

Ashal must not have mentioned our conversation to anyone. That's how crazy he must think | am for not only

claiming that he has a biological sister but that said sister is braying for their blood and destruction. Gently, |

drop mother’s hands from my shoulders.

"I'm sorry but all I know is that Liam calls the shots. If he’s working with anyone else, | wouldn't know." My eyes

dip to the floor. "I quit helping him but | guess it’s too late now. He's unwilling to take his foot off the gas until the

Rollins empire burns to cinders."

Mother's only reaction is to allow a ghost of a smile seep into her cheeks.

| refuse to share anything about Skylar, not before | speak to Ashton. | realize now that | have been playing this

gthe wrong way. Everyone seems to know just what | am capable of and so far, they haven't been wrong.

There are boundaries to my heartlessness. There are lines | can’t cross and even when | attempt to, there's only

so much | permit myself to do. What if that all changed? What if | step out of character long enough to clean up

my mess and save the man | love? Would anybody see it coming?

The door flings open and Brett storms in. He doesn’t look surprised to find his wife in the room or to find me

untied and standing next to her.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

| bet my father-in-law might catch wind of things a little faster than others. He holds up what | can only assume

are fresh divorce papers different from the one Asher refused to accept fromafter | allegedly breached our

agreement the last time. I'm done signing these without Ashley and I tell him just that.

"Have Ashley sign them first. | won't be played again."

He scowls atbefore shredding the paper into two, twice. Before | can gasp, he lunges forward and grabs me

by the scruff of my neck.

"Brett, let go of her!" Mother warns him. "Enough of this!"

"Where is my phone?" He barks at me.

"Why would | know?"

"Because | haven't dropped my phone or forgotten it in years and how convenient is it that after our little

conversation, | couldn't find the phone I had tucked into the inner pocket of my suit?"

He letsgo and scans the room. When he bends over and retrieves the phone from under the sofa, he leers at

me. "What the hell did you do? Install a spyware? Call or text someone? Ashton? Go through my call log or

messages? WHAT?"

| jerk back in shock as he barks the questions. Although | didn’t have tto do anything significant on his

phone, | am tempted to lie and watch him torture himself with not knowing for sure.

"I don’t need your phone for anything. | know what | know and if | wanted, | could give Liam further proof to end

your business for good." | reply with sizzling eyes.

"Oh yeah, and why haven't you?"

When I can’t find the words, mother replies in my stead.

"Because she’s in love with our son, you fool! It's as plain as day. She's torn between seeking the very justice

that brought her into this family and loving Ashton who's directly linked to her parents’ accident." She comes to

stand in front of me. "I don’t know what you've heard dear but my Ashton’s innocent."

A mean thought crosses my head as I look at her. | shake my head. "You weren't even there that night. You know

what you know because that’s what they all told you, isn’t it?" She hesitates for a moment. | watch her eyes

glaze over with worry at my insinuation before | continue. "Your family always keeps you in the dark about the

things they're afraid you can’t handle, like your husband's affair and the son that cout of it."

"Shut up this minute!" Brett threatenscoldly as mother’s face becashen.

"And Nicola’s miscarriage."

"Nicola’s what?" Horror spreads across her face as she glances at her husband. "Nicci miscarried? When? How?"

"It's okay." | draw her attention back to myself. "I totally understand. If | suspected my loved one couldn’t handle

the truth, | will also hide it from them. | sigh deeply. "I was also not there the night my parents died but | have

very reliable sources that have informedof the hard truth of that night. For the longest t| struggled with

the cold truth of Ashton’s involvement. | badly wanted to believe he was innocent and at spoint, | did but

thanks to father here, a witness on that awful night, the scales have fallen off my eyes."

Smiling, | turn to father while mother stares blankly. | can tell from the horror on his face that he wasn’t

expectingto spin his trick like this. Though he doesn’t voice his thoughts, | can almost hear him calling me

the B word.

"Father was there that night, mother. He helpedrealize that Ashton did kill my parents’ intentionally and lied

about it."

"What?" Mother whirls to face her husband whose lips are moving without audible words.

"Ashton’s sick, mother. He needs as much help as Ashal, maybe more. He's a psycho who goes about like a

wrecking ball, decimating things and people in his path without realizing it. That's what father explained and |

can’t help but agree. | think he needs to be stopped and Liam can help with that."

"What the hell did you say to her, Brett? Did you throw our son under the bus with your sick theories? Is the plan

to get rid of your family and reunite with Kristy and her bastard child?"

"Con, Barbara, how could you say that? Can't you tell Demi is deliberately lying to steer the blaway

from herself?"

"She surely didn’t make that up. You've been trying to shovel that silly talk down my throat for years. How would

she know about it if you didn’t feed the srubbish to her?"

Father glares at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead. | take a few steps back and thoroughly enjoy watching

him vacate his high horse and plead with his wife. She dismisses his excuses and turns to me.

"He's wrong, Demi. Ashton is nothing like he described. You've met the man. Do you really think he’s sick? He

constantly strives to be a better man than his father and that stings for Brett. Please, don’t punish him based off

of a lie."

I nod at that.

"I want mine and Ashley's divorce finalized today. I'm done going back and forth with this issue."

"It will be arranged. I'll have the lawyers bring a fresh copy of the divorce papers." Mother assures me. "And in

return? You'd find out who the masked player is like | suspect?"

| know exactly who it is but | don’t know if | can trust mother and father with that information. If Skylar is truly

the biological sister of the quads, there must be a story behind her deep hatred for them. | have to speak with

Ashton first. If he also dismisseslike Ashal, I'll let the issue go and hope they survive whatever Skylar has in

store for them.

"I shrug my shoulders noncommittally. Mother doesn’t insist on a clear answer, thankfully.

"Good. I'm sorry once again for how you were treated before, during and after your stay in this mansion. | know

those words don’t mean much coming frombut | can only hope you find a place in your heart to forgive my

family for the pain we’ve caused you. I'll get someone to attend to you. Freshen up. Have something to eat.

Ashley will be hsoon. Both of you can sign the papers after that."

She walks away, then stops at the door when father lingers. "Got something more to say to her, Brett?"

"Huh? No!" He lies. "I'm right behind you, dear." He givesone last blistering look before escorting his wife

out,

Ah, it felt so good to make a move no one expected from me, not even Brett Rollins himself. | guess | will be

sticking to being unpredictable for a while.

| return to my room. It hardly feels familiar anymore. The sheets have been changed to a barf color I'd never

have approved. The drawers and closet are almost fully cleaned out. The floor feels cold. The walls that were

humming with life and are now silent and bland. | tear my eyes away from the sofa Ashton has slept on

and other corners that remindof him.

To be frank, Brett's words did get into my head even though I tell myself | don’t believe a word of it. These a

nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach that keeps tellingthat I'd never truly know what transpired on the

night of my parents’ death and whether or not Ashton is tellingthe whole truth. Ill just have to move on,

forgive and forget if | want the normalcy of life back.

| take a quick shower, the first in over a day, to get rid of the grime. Thankfully, my shower essentials are still in

the bathroom cabinet. | grab a Tee shirt and pull them over sjeans. When | step out smelling like flowers, |

find him sitting on my bed.

My heart clutches in my chest.

"Ashton?"

| didn’t think I'd feel this sudden rush of adrenaline at the sight of him. Had it been that long? | want to hug him

but my feet remain rooted on the floor, not because | had indirectly asked him to stay away fromthe last

twe spoke, but because of the papers he whips out. Divorce papers.

His eyes are heavy. He pulls himself up to his feet while | try to make double sure | am staring at the right man.

"Ashley already signed them. He wantedto give them to you."

What's wrong with him? Why is he acting so indifferent towards me? It can’t be the divorce. He knows Ashley

and | were always a trainwreck. Did someone say something to him?

"Ashton." Unknowingly, | cup his chin with my hand. "What's wrong? You look...sad."

"Sign them, Demi. Please. Everyone's waiting downstairs, including the lawyers. Mother said you asked for this

to be finalized today."

"You're shuttingout." | reply and wince at my shaky voice. "You doubttoo, don’t you?"

| grab the papers and sign them enthusiastically. | don’t care how that makes anyone feel. I'm ending that

Chapter in my life and moving on. | chuck them at him. "There, you have it." | can’t believe he’s being so weird

and won't tellwhat's bothering him even when he knows I'll only imagine the worst.

How am | supposed to tell him about Skylar like this? How do | even bring up the strange messages on his

father’s phone to an orphanage manager regarding the quads?

"I don’t know what your deal is but you have it all wrong. I'm not the enemy here. In fact, | wanted to tell you..." |

trail off when a guard shows up at the door and taps on it.

"Mr. Sawyer, everyone's waiting for you guys."

"Be right there." Ashton responds before the guard leaves.

"Sawyer?" | repeat, surprised. "Why did he address you as..." Then it clicks. Oh crap. Did Ashton get disowned

because of me? Is that what Asher had been worried about?

"C'mon, let's not keep them waiting. We can talk later." My heart clutches as he walks to the door.

"ASHTON."

Reluctantly, he halts by the door. | take in a sharp breath as | contemplate whether to tell him about his crazy

sister or the text messages between Brett and sorphanage which | suspect the quads are connected to.

Neither seems easy for Ashton to digest right now. Maybe | have to dig deeper and get my facts straight before

spiking his blood pressure unnecessarily.

"What, Demi?"

I walk right past him, then pause briefly to stare at him deadpan. Being so close to him unnerves him, and chips

away at the wall he’s trying so hard to put up between us. As our heated eyes stay trained on each other, | feel

his breath catch in his throat just like mine. His eyes dip to my lips before he can stop himself and I instantly

know that he won't be able to put up much of a resistance if | kiss him right now.

Memories of the night of our first kiss floods my mind. With a deep sense of responsibility, | take the high road

and step back instead of tugging at the strings of his sanity.

"After you, Mr. Sawyer."

He swallows hard before heading out of the door. | inhale a sharp breath, pat my cheeks to stimulate the blood

circulation that seems to have cut off abruptly, before stepping out to meet my fate.