Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 123: Chapter 123

DEMI

Father stares up from his computer screen as | walk into his study, unsummoned and unaccompanied by any of

his sons. This is very unusual especially forbut he and | need to have a conversation outside of other family

members.

| tried to talk myself out of it but the truth is that | need to figure out a way to get father’s DNA fast. Hence, |

figured that | need to find reasons to get him alone. We can’t only meet at the dining table along with the rest of

the family.

"Hello, father." | greet meekly.

"What do you want?" A deep frown creases his forehead. He hates me. | really don’t care at this point.

"lI won't waste your time." | take a deep breath. "I want to resmy job at the office. | can’t be cooped up at

hfor nine months. | am sick of being idle."

Father leans back in his chair with an air of surprise at my boldness. "Is that a plea or a demand?"

"It’s a demand voiced like a plea, father. | have done everything this family has required ofto despite my

feelings on the matter. | have been wronged and hurt. Surely, | am not asking for too much. Pregnant women can

still work. I don’t think I'll be courting any risks by going to the HQ and sitting at my desk for a few hours every

day."

"It’s not about what you think, Demi. It's about what the world thinks. Can you imagine the ridiculous headlines

when my pregnant daughter-in-law resumes work?"

"I honestly don’t care about headlines. There will always be headlines, father, whether | work or not. The media

will never stop hounding us even when we don’t do anything. We can’t continue to live our lives on their whim."

My eyes skirt around his desk. He has a half-empty glass of scotch that definitely has his saliva on it. | could

make a grab for it.

"lI am going back to work. That's what | chere to inform you."

"You're in no position to make such demands."

"Actually, | am." | grab his glass and swirl the scotch to his chagrin. "Because | am not pregnant. | can down this

drink in one gulp and you wouldn't bat an eyelid in worry. There's no baby in my womb."

"Set my glass down!" He growls lowly.

"Do you truly have no sympathy for me? Even after everything I've been through, father? | was going to bear

your first grandchild but Asher killed my unborn baby." The memory causes hot tears to sting my eyes as | give

him a burning look. "I still can’t figure out why you keep glossing over that fact and yet here you are, fighting to

make sure arrangements to welcNicci’s baby go smoothly."

"It's Ashley’s baby too!"

"SO WAS MINE!" | fire at him, spilling a bit of the drink in my anger. "MY BABY WAS ALSO ASHLEY'SA BUT

NOBODY CARES ABOUT THAT, NOT EVEN ASHLEY." | add with a broken, weepy voice.

Father rises to his feet. "You won't return to work unless | say so. Now, stop these theatrics and go back to your

room this minute!"

| back away from him, shaking my head. "I will work and you won't stop me. If you do, | won't be signing those

divorce papers." | smile when he reacts with widened pupils. "I know you would like nothing more than forto

be out of your son's life. Ashley still has feelings forand if | wanted, | could sway him to keepby his side

forever. Would you like that?"

"Are you threatening me?" He throws his head back and roars with laughter. "You have no idea, do you? You have

no idea the lengths | can go to remove an obstacle from my path as well as the path | have carved out for my

boys. | am warning you, Demi Branson, not to test me. | love my sons and would do whatever | deem best for

them. Yours and Ashley's marriage was a mere contract. You are not worthy to be my son’s wife or the mother of

my grandchildren. You will never change that no matter how hard you try. | will make life so unbearable for you

that you won't have any other option but to pack up and run for your life."

Leering at me, he leans forward, his height imposing. "DON'T EVER DREAM OF THREATENINGOR MY FAMILY

AGAIN. YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Tears blur my eyes. While he was speaking, a scary thought crossed my mind. | know how dangerous Brett

Rollins can be but | never imagined he could take things that far simply because of his dislike for me.

"You weren't p...pleased w-with my pregnancy. Tellyou d-didn’t know Asher was g-going to h-harm my baby."

A swath of dark cloud seems to cloak the room as father givesa lopsided grin. "Like | said, you are not

worthy to be the mother of my grandchildren, Demi. Interpret that statement as you wish. Chances are that you

will end up with the right deduction anyway."

| stagger backwards, my fingers almost slipping from the glass cup.

He knew? He knew about Asher’s plan and didn’t stop him? | shouldn't be surprised but somehow | am and it

hurtsto have underestimated this man. My baby had to pay the price for it.

"Father?" A voice calls, entering the study. | crane my neck and lock eyes with Asher. "Demi, what are you doing

in here?" He asks with a frown that nearly matches the one spreading across my face.

| can’t believe them. These two monsters probably connived together to kill my child. Before | can control myself,

my rage bubbles hot to the surface. My fingers tighten around the glass cup in my hand. Father's eyes dim with

understanding and dilate with fright when I let out a loud feral cry moments before smashing the glass in Asher’s

pretty face.

"NO!!!" Father screams as Asher goes down with a heavy thud. His left temple is bruised and gurgling blood.

Father rushes to his son and cradles him limp body in his hands. My vision starts to becclear.

"You wretch. What have you done?" He croaks while shaking his boy but Asher fails to open his eyes. In seconds,

the study is filled with men in black. One quick appraisal of the situation, from the unconscious son bleeding

from the head to my teary face and bloody hands, they draw the conclusion and snag my wrists behind my back.

"ASHTON, WAKE UP!" Father rouses him to no avail. "SOMEBODY CALL THE DOCTOR!"

Ashton? Did | hear correctly? | blink severally and assess the unconscious man on the floor. No! No!! God, please

no!!! It can’t be.

| drop to my knees. "Ashton? That can’t be him. That's Asher!" Tears stream down my face. "That's the son who

killed my baby."

"GET THIS WITCH OUT OF HERE!" Father orders. | struggle against the men as they pullaway into the living

room. The entrance door swings open and horror fills me.

"What's going on?" Asher asks, putting his phone in his pocket.

"ASHER, HELP! ASHTON'’S HURT!" Father calls from his study.

"WHAT???" Asher replies, bolting across the room. | fall listlessly to the floor as more tears run down my face.

What have | done? How could | have made such an egregious mistake? | have never failed to distinguish Ashton

from the rest so how I could miss it now? | watch hopelessly as Asher carries his brother over his shoulder and

rushes for the door.

"I'm so sorry, Ashton." | mutter under my breath as tears wrack my body. "I didn’t mean to hurt you, | swear. I'm

so sorry."

"Are you deaf?"

| blink my eyes at the man yelling in my face. It's definitely Asher. Phew, that was all an imagination? Thank

goodness.

Asher’s glare and annoying question irks me. With great restraint, | ignore the urge to bash his skull in with the

glass in my hand as | remember what he did to my baby. | decide against letting my anger lead. My fear might

just ctrue and I'll end up hurting Ashton in my blind haze.

| give father and son one last sizzling look before turning and leaving.

In my room, | silently hope father is too distracted to notice I had left with his glass cup or even if he does, | am

praying he doesn’t make a big deal of it and goes ahead to fetch himself another. | stow the cup away in a zip

lock bag to pass to Liam soon. Since my decision to work didn’t go well with father, | text Anna to stop by the

mansion later so she can take the glass and give it to Liam.

My hands are shaking as | type the text not just because of the dread of being caught but also because of what

father had revealed to me. Did he and Asher truly work together to hurt my child? | guess | am just starting to

realize how meaningless my life is in the mansion and how father can makedisappear whenever he wants,

just as soon as he is able to offer the public a good excuse and fend off suspicions.

Does Ashley know this? | can’t help but wonder. He wouldn't believeif | told him. He wouldnt do anything

about it now. If he could forgive his brother so quickly, then why can’t he forgive his father? Tears roll down my

face as | mourn my dead child afresh.

An hour later, someone rings my doorbell and my eyes flutter open. My body aches from sleeping in a bad

posture on the floor. | stretch my arms and wince in pain while the doorbell chimes again.

"Go away!"

A moment of silence stretches on until | hear his voice.

"Demi, it's me."

Ashton? Is it really him or am | hearing things because | spent the last hour reliving the horror of my imagination

in father’s study. Slowly, | open the door and surely, he is standing outside my room. His face is mired with a

vague expression | am unable to discern. He doesn’t cin like | expect him to. That is how | know he is pissed

even though his face hardly shows it.

"What is it?"

He grits his teeth before answering. "I'm going to ask you one more time, Demi. Did you slip down the stairs or

were you pushed?"

Something about the way he phrases the question and stresses the words tellshe knows the truth now. |

briefly recall Mila standing outside my room just like he is now, days ago. She offered to helpget out of my

predicament if | truly wish it. She hinted at a public accident that will give the Rollins family a hard tin

convincing the populace that my pregnancy wasn’t lost.

Though it was everything | wanted to hear, | was still very suspicious of Mila. If | have learnt one thing, it is that

she dislikesand considersa threat to her happiness. She can never be my ally so if she was offering me

help, what that was in truth was a ploy to trapor getin trouble with the family.

"Are you in?" She had asked again that day. | took my sweet tto study her beautiful manicured fingers.

"How do | know this isn’t a schto getin trouble with my in-laws? You would like nothing better, wouldn't

you?"

She laughed. "You'll just have to trust me. Ashton isn’t in a hurry to wedand that stings. | have a feeling that

our wedding might be rushed to distract people from the dreariness of your miscarriage."

"| can’t trust you blindly. You'll have to earn it."

"And how am | supposed to do that?"

My eyes twinkled deviously. "You wantto stage a public accident? How about accidentally slipping down a

flight of stairs and bleeding heavily while the paparazzi watches?"

"That sounds good." Mila concurs.

"You will have to pushthough."

"What?" She shrieked.

"That's the only way | will know that you don’t plan to stabin the back. If you jointo test this out with a

small push at my next public sighting, Ill trust you and handle the real accident myself. C'mon, you wouldn't

trusteither if the roles were reversed. | have been hurt and betrayed more times than | can count by people |

consider my family. Can you really blme for having trust issues?"

Mila let the thought simmer in her head for a few seconds. "A test. Fine but this better not cback to haunt