Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 169: Chapter 169

ASHLEY

"Octavia is a dead end." Asher informs us in the groom. "Apparently, she and Skylar didn’t keep in touch for

long after that fateful evening when she ran into me. She gradually went cold turkey on Octavia. They've gone

their separate ways since then. Octavia was willing to make contact with Skylar but | suspect Skylar will smell a

rat if another one of her old friends suddenly tries to make an appearance in her life. She'd know we are onto

her."

"I think we're past that now." Ashton replies. "Who's to say Demi hasn't already told her whatever she needs to

know about us. They're definitely working together." He grinds his teeth angrily.

"Is she still sending you those messages?" Asher asks him calmly.

"Blocked her. Can't stand her being so two-faced. She's trying to mess withas usual." He hisses out a breath.

"I was such a fool; a complete fool and she knew it. She knew it and took advantage of it, of me! She counted on

my blind trust to shield her from everyone else’s suspicion. And every time, | never disappointed the stereotype.

| made her work easy and now because of me, Ashal..."

Asher snaps his fingers at him. "Stop it. We promised we wouldn't talk about him like that. It’s nobody's fault or

it’s everybody's fault, remember?"

Ashton sniffles. "By nightfall tomorrow, Ashal will be here with us. Everything will be fine. That's all | want to

think about."

Our birthday is tomorrow. Billion-Err has been actively publicizing it and teasing about Ashton’s big confession.

The guest list has long been completed but our phone lines keep ringing off the hook from uninvited rich folks

that are pleading for a chance to attend.

Seven suggested the venue of the party be changed to a hotel auditorium with a sitting capacity of one

thousand to accommodate more guests. They were willing to pay for it but we vehemently refused their

disguised ploy to watch our ruination in 5D.

The mention of Ashal makes the hole in my heart deepen.

"You're awfully quiet." Asher observes, staring at me. "What's up with you?"

| massage a nasty ache around the band of my neck. "There's nothing to be excited about around here. I'm just

anxious about tomorrow. | am worried about Ashal and how he is doing. I'm afraid Demi won't keep her word and

might actually hurt our brother to spite us. I'm worried about the outcof Ashton’s confession tomorrow and

what would becof our family if we're branded criminals afterwards. I'm worried about..." | trail off, keeping

the last bit to myself because it somehow pales in comparison to everything else and yet, it hurts like a bitch.

"Look at me." Asher commands in a low tone. "We've got to be prepared for the worst, okay? There's a fat

chance that’s how things will go tomorrow. With the exception of Ashal returning safely back home, we haven't

made any solid preparations to shield ourselves from the media blizzard tomorrow."

"Ashal will be safe." Ashton assures me. "We've got that covered."

"Then why are you still going ahead with the confession?"

"Because | need to put on a show to distract Demi long enough for Ashal to be rescued. If she suspects for one

second that | plan to abort and orders Liam to hurt Ashal before we can get to him, then all of this would have

been for nothing. | DON'T CARE ABOUT GOING TO JAIL. | just want Ashal home."

He checks his temper and clears his throat. "Like Asher said, be prepared for the worst." When he grabs a bottle

of whiskey off the bar without bothering with a glass, | know for certain he is drowning in pain, again. Asher waits

till Ashton leaves for his bedroom before turning to me.

"Give it tostraight." I tell him. "I know you and father have made plans the rest of us aren’t aware of. | need

to know everything."

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

He dims his eyes at me. "Are you sure or is this just a ruse to distract yourself from whatever transpired between

you and Nicci recently."

My throat dries up. Of course, he knows.

"You hadfollowed."

"| beefed up the security and currently make sure every member of this family is followed. You'd think that

shouldn't cas a surprise given that one of us was abducted when he stepped out alone."

| swallow my weak retort because he is right. We all go out with security tailing us. Yesterday, | instructed mine

to wait outside when | visited Nicci’s apartment after she returned to Danvarr. It was going to be our first time

meeting after the loss of our baby. | felt it was awkward enough between us to allow a bodyguard be in the same

room, hence the decision.

Nicci hadn't called to informshe planned to return home. She didn’t informeither that she had touched

down in Danvarr. | let the fact that she had been ignoring my calls and messages at the island slide and went to

see her, hoping to get to the bottom of her withdrawal. | had a gut feeling that she might secretly blme for

our loss, just like Demi once blamed me.

She must have felt alone in her condition. She must have yearned forwhile she went through the first

trimester. Could her restlessness have resulted in the miscarriage? Maybe she wouldn't have fallen ill if | had

been there to keep her company. A myriad of thoughts continued to float through my head while Nicci took her

precious tbefore coming to seein her living room.

For a woman who had recently lost her pregnancy, she had an unusual glow about her. | dismissed it and

concluded that my perception might have been influenced by the fact that | hadn't seen her in a long while.

Slowly, she sunk into the farthest couch from me, her eyes avoiding mine for the most part. The tension in the

room was almost palpable.

"I had no idea you were back in town." | begin after clearing my throat.

"And yet here you are."

Her voice was a tiny whisper that was still firm enough to communicate indifference. | inclined my head towards

her. Her body was poised in defense with one leg crossed over the other and her shoulders held up stiffly.

"Don’t do that. You know | have people that informabout things before | have to ask."

She stared at me. "Exactly. | didn’t think | had to. | knew the staff on the island, your friends at the airport and

the many people under your payroll here in Danvarr would get the message across to you faster than any call or

text from me."

| was taken aback by her coldness. Rising, | heaved a breath.

"It wouldn't be the sas hearing it from you! That's my point, Nicci."

She turns away. Save for her restless hand gestures, she was calm and collected otherwise. | sensed something

simmering beneath the surface. Rather than giving into the urge to throw a fit, | edged closer to her and took her

hands.

"I'm sorry | wasn’t there, Nicci. | know that must have hurt you." Her eyes grew blurry as | continued. "I am sorry

about how | handled everything, including hiding you on the island and forcing you to have the baby so Demi

and | could raise it as ours. You have every reason under the sun to hate me." My throat tightens as | fend off the

emotions surging within me. "Maybe this is my karma. | am not fit to be a dad. Maybe that’s why the universe

keeps robbingof the joy of fatherhood."

Nicci wrenched her hands from mine and stood up, walking a little distance away from me.

"We don’t have to rehash the past. What's done is done, Ashley. It's tto move on with our lives and I'd prefer

we did so as strangers."

I joined her on my feet, shock splattered all over my face.

"What? What are you talking about? Why strangers, Nicci?"

She turned to me. "Look, | don’t want you to misconstrue my words but this has nothing to do with whatever

your family is going through right now. I just...I'm just done with you, Ashley. | can’t do it anymore. I'm tired of

pining for your love and attention. I'm tired of having my life and my identity being overshadowed by the

relationship we once shared. It costa lot, Ashley. It also taughta lot too. | don’t know how Demi managed

to endure your family’s mistreatment towards her but if that’s what being the daughter-in-law of your family

looks like, | want no part in it. I've trashed that dream. I'm done."

"Nicci, please don’t do this. I'm not in the right frof my mind to handle this shock. | understand that you're

hurt and you need time. | understand that you've fallen out of love withgiven everything | put you through.

I'm not trying to force anything here but | beg you, don’t cutout of your life like we never happened. I'm

willing to wait as long as it takes for you to forgive me. I'll settle for being friends if that’s all you can offer but |

can’t handle it if this is goodbye forever."

| couldn’t believe how fast my heart was beating. | had lost too much already. Nicci was a constant in my life |

wasn't ready to lose as well. | was a fool to have taken so long to appreciate the people in my life but losing

fame, fortune and friends within the stimeline has taughtto treasure those that still stuck around.

"Please, Nicci." | got on my knees. "lI am so sorry, baby."

"Don’t." She cutoff, retreating. "Please don’t callthat."

"Ok, sorry. Please, just giveone more chance to make things right. I'll compensate for the lost tand your

career. I'll help you get back into the gwithout anyone knowing. | have smoney stashed away. You can

have it."

"I don’t want your money. I'll build my life back without your help."

"Please, letatone for my mistakes. What would you havedo? What do you want, Nicci?"

"You're not listening! We can’t be friends. | can’t do that. | just need you to leave and never botheragain."

Tears clouded my eyes. "If this is about my family, they'll never bother you again. That's my promise to you. Just

giveone more chance to prove myself to you, Nicci. Things will be different now, you'll see. You won't

compete for my attention with anyone else. You'll have the whole of me. We can truly build something special

together like we always dreamed. Our love story will no longer be interrupted." | tried to reach for her hand but

she stepped backwards again. "I know how much you used to love me, and how much | also loved you. | believe

we can get there again."

"| WAS NEVER PREGNANT, ASHLEY!" She yells at the top of her lungs, startlinginto silence. "There, | said it."

She huffed out a breath. "I was never pregnant. | made it all up, got fake test results to convince you to marry

me. | never expected you to turninto your prisoner and abandonon sisland. I'm grateful | was never

pregnant or you wouldn't be here, apologizing on your knees. Instead, you'd have sent more guards to keep

watch overtill your baby was born. After the child was born, who knows what would becofhaving

outlived my usefulness in the eyes of the almighty Rollins family!"

The nasty edge of her voice and the iciness in her eyes continue to hauntto the point that | fail to notice

Asher clicking his fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, Ash. Ashley!"

| blink out of my flashback.

"Was it really that bad? She turned you down, didn’t she? | wouldn't blher. This is the worst tfor an ex-

model like her to be seen escorting you as your date tomorrow. Even if she’s fully recovered from the

miscarriage or forgiven you for the way she was treated, our social currency is critically low at the moment, and

unable to inspire any confidence in her as your date. Suck it up, okay? If it makes you feel any better, the rest of

us are also flying solo too with the exception of Ashton."

| barely hear the rest of his words as Nicci’s words continue to ring in my head.

"| WAS NEVER PREGNANT! | can’t believe how desperate | was to join your family, so desperate | forged all the

evidence | needed and bribed everyone | could to ensure | got a wedding ring from you. I'm so ashamed of how

needy and clingy | becjust to keep a man like you who wasn’t even worth it."

"You're lying." | countered her. "I saw the results, and you were even willing to undergo more tests at my behest.

The doctor...he’s a dear friend of mine. He wouldn't..." | trailed off, unable to complete my train of thought.

Suddenly, I laughed hysterically as | started to realize how the doctor had helped her pull it off. | recalled the joy

my mom had when she thought she was going to have a grandchild after all and the adjustments | had planned

to make as a father-to-be.

| couldn’t get mad at Nicci. | could see why no one would want a baby with me. It was one of the major reasons

Demi preferred Ashton to me; | had failed to grow so independent that my family couldn't butt into my personal

affairs. | was a stone throw from a mama'’s boy. | was my father’s loyal dog. Perhaps if | had shown some

manliness and shielded the women in my life from father’s brutality the way Ashton was known to, then maybe

they might have stayed.

I had failed to do that with Nicci, the one woman who had loved me, and that had contributed to the rift between

us. Nicci didn’t feel safe with me. She couldn't trustto keep my word or to put her first. | should have been

able to counter father when he usurped my position to make the tough decisions regarding my personal life. |

should have stopped him.

| got up on my feet and stared at Nicci. | was certain she hadn't planned to reveal that bitter lie to me. She had

just been desperate to getto leave her as fast as possible and when everything else failed, she resorted to

slammingwith her truth.

"I'm sorry, Ashley. | know it’s no justification but | was madly in love with you and prepared to risk it all just to

have you forever. | realize now how foolish | was" She looked at me, her arms folded across her chest. "You can’t

force love. | know that now."

| blinked away the tears that threatened to fall as | realized | lost Nicci while trying to hold onto Demi who

wanted nothing to do with me.

"It's okay. Who can blyou? | didn’t exactly make things easy for you. If | had been half the man you

deserved, you wouldn't have had to resort to such extrmeasures just to have me." | chuckled. "I completely

understand and | won't insist anymore. That would be selfish of me. If this is your decision, I'll accept it. | hope

you can forgivesday for screwing up so badly with you."

When | turned around to leave, she called to me. | whirled back to face her.

"Happy birthday in advance. | know things are gloomy at the moment but | sincerely wish you well."

| shelved the thought of asking her to be my date to the party. The answer was painfully obvious. If she had

wanted to accompany me, she would have hinted at it but given her decision to part ways, | deduced she

wanted nothing to do withor my family anymore. She wasn’t going to jointo a party flooded by the

media and have them rope her into my family’s mess all over again.

| walked up to her and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye Nicola Grey." Then walked away.

"Nicci and | are done!" | announce to Asher. "It’s for real this time." Lurching to my feet, | steady my wobbly legs.

I don’t think I'll be interested in the complexities of dealing with women for a long while. | make it as far as the

door when Asher replies.

"If I had a million dollars for every ta brother made such a bold declaration about the woman he loved and

still ended up chasing her..." he shakes his head and rises with a smirk on his face. "Us Rollins men appear to

have a number of curses tethered to our hips. One of them is that when we love, we love so deeply we can’t let

go, even when it makes the most sense to let go."

Something in his eyes gives away pain. He pats my shoulder and walks away after his cryptic expression. Now, a

smile seeps into my face for the first tin a while as | stare at the door, replaying Asher’s words in my head

and wondering why he emitted such a deep understanding of it.

Was Asher finally in love with someone?

My phone buzzes in my pocket. My heart gallops the second | see the caller.

"Ashal? Ashal, is that really you?"

"No. It’s Skylar."