Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 89: Chapter 89

ASHTON

The last two weeks have been very hectic for me. At hwhile Mila was still a guest in the mansion, she had

been very clingy and in constant demand of entertainment. | barely saw much of my own brothers because she

was always pullingaway to check out a new club, attend a concert or a friend's party etc.

There was always something to do and somewhere to get to. If | didn’t know any better, I'd say she was very

uncomfortable being at hwithwith Ashely’s room (where Demi had to sleep in most nights for the

duration of Mila’s stay) being close to mine.

She wouldn't admit it but | sensed that Mila was still very wary of and insecure around Demi. | noticed how she

switched up on her fashion style from the comfortable and chic to trendy and sexy. Everyday, she looked so good

she turned heads wherever we went.

I indulged her because | needed to distract myself from feeling bad about losing a woman that was never mine

to begin with. While | immersed myself in Mila’s world and slavishly followed her itinerary, the distance between

Demi and | started to widen and | realized | could go a day without thinking about her.

At work, Asher and | finally finalized the acquisition of a car dealership. | didn’t think the deal was going to span

weeks to conclude but | am grateful it was successful. | have never been prouder of Asher. He handled the

process with admirable finesse.

I understand why father keeps him close. Asher is a ruthless negotiator and businessman. I just like cars, man.

The business side of it all sucks to be honest. Thankfully, | have astute people just like Asher on my team who

helpkeep the automobile company running smoothly.

Mila is finally back to sleeping in her own bed now. | am grateful to have my room to myself but there are still

traces of her everywhere, especially in my bathroom. Her scent still lingers on my pillows and bedsheets. Her

lingerie and sof her clothes are still in my closet. | sometimes imagine her fingerprint on the steamy glass in

the shower from when we got kinky in the bathroom. There's also her toothbrush, hairbrush, makeup kit etc. all

over the bathroom sink. | tried to ignore the clutter for a few days but finally gave up and called the maids.

"Thank you, Halle." My room is squeaky clean after Halle and her team finish with it in under an hour. The

bathroom is spotless, like it is used to being.

"You're welcome, sir. Let us know if you need any more assistance."

| shut my door after they leave and sigh deeply. It feels great when | fall asleep later. The next morning after a

good night rest, | wake up refreshed and ready to restart the daily grind. Gris is pleased when | make my way

into the office bright and early. According to him, I am in tto meet my guest.

"A guest in my office? It's not even eight in the morning yet." | mutter irritably. When he tellswho the guest

is, my frown only deepens.

"Good morning, Mr. Spellman." | greet Mila’s father. The elderly man is comfortably seated on my sofa with a

steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He sets his coffee down as I join him on the sofa. | have a slight idea what

he is here to talk about.

"You're late, again" He utters dryly with a look of pure dissatisfaction etched on his face.

"It's two minutes past seven am and you didn’t informyou were coming."

"It doesn’t matter. What matters is that | was here before you, the boss of this establishment."

| shrug my shoulders, lean back on my seat and cross my legs. "Fine. Two points for punctuality goes to you. So,

are you going to tellwhy you are here? | know it has nothing to do with the services we offer here."

Mr. Hugh regardswith disdain through his piercing eyes. | don’t care what he thinks of me. | won't cozy up to

him just because | am with his daughter. | don’t even do so with my own father. He has to acceptjust as |

am.

"What exactly are your plans for my daughter? She spent weeks at your mansion. At this point, | am afraid it's a

little more than a fling."

| want to believe that neither Mila nor father is behind Mr. Hugh's visit today. Just the thought of it pissesoff.

"Mila and | just started dating officially, Mr. Hugh. I am in no hurry whatsoever. Did Mila say something to you?"

"She has no idea | am here right now. | am only asking as a concerned father. | do not want rumors to spread or

her reputation nearly tarnished if you mean to use and dump her. She won't be like that model your married

brother uses."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don’t get defensive, Ashton. We both know the truth. Anyway, back to my question. You didn’t answer me."

| rise to my feet. "I did, clearly might | add. | am still getting to know your daughter. We are in a good place right

now and I'd appreciate it if our parents cut us sslack and stop meddling with our private matters. When we

are ready to take our relationship to the next level, we will do well to inform you guys but not before."

"If you don’t plan on having a future with my daughter, do well to let her down easily and quickly. | won't let you

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strain her along and choose someone else over her after breaking her heart." His voice has a fine threat in it.

"Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Spellman."

He stands up as well, our eyes level. "Here's a thought. You can back away and let your brother, Asher, date my

Mila. At least with him, | will worry less about him being erratic and impulsive. With him, | can be certain that he

will fulfil his responsibility towards her irrespective of how he feels."

I smirk at him. "I'll be sure to pass along your wishes to Asher."

Mr. Hugh clenches his fist before storming out of my office. Gris rushes to me.

"Sir, you shouldn’t have spoken to him like that. You know who he is. You should have been more respectful to

him."

"He shouldn't have spoken toso condescendingly knowing who | am either! TrustGris, | handled that as

best as I could. If I didn’t check my temper, he would have left here with a broken nose."

| give it thirty minutes tops before father’s call comes blaring on my phone. Two hours go by and | am surprised

at Hugh's restraint in conveying his displeasure to my father. Even Mila doesn’t call or text me. It’s strange.

When I finish up with my last meeting before lunch break, | settle back in my office and put a call through to

Cyril.

"How is she?"

"She still hasn't said anything new. She maintains that we have the wrong person." | sigh deeply. "We can torture

her..."

"No, | mean not yet. Ill be stopping by later today. If she still refuses to open up to me, I'll leave her to your

methods of persuasion."

"Alright sir."

My brows knit in a frown when an unexpected guest causes an uproar in the building. The hurried shuffling of

footsteps, the ass slicking and babbling of praises have only ever been spurred by one man.

Gris holds the door open with a low bow as father walks into my office. With a raised hand, he stops Duncan and

three other security personnel from joining him inside my office.

"I'll talk to you later, Cyril." | hang up the call and stand to my feet while father’s eyes take in my space.

"You should have calledto the HQ. Why did you take the trouble to call the way?"

From the look on his face, | can tell he isn’t impressed by my minimalistic design. His office and Asher’s are a

statement of opulence. Though Ashley's and Ashal’s offices are tastefully furnished and bigger in space, they

have a stroke of personality about them. My office is almost a blur if you squint your eyes given my belief that

less is more.

"Why are you still occupying this small space? Is there a problem with the bigger office reserved for the CEO?"

"| like this view better." Father is not convinced but moves on. "What brings you here? This is such a surprise."

He slants a cold glare my way.

"Don’t act like you weren't expecting my call at least. You know exactly why I've come."

"Hugh."

"Yes, Hugh called." | join him on the sofa and subdue a grunt of annoyance when he turns down the drink Gris

rushes in to offer him with a dismissive wave. He exhales. "What exactly are you playing at here, Ashton? | came

all this way to ask you what gyou're trying to play with the Spellmans."

"I don’t know what you're talking about."

"Mila. She isn’t like the nobodies your brothers are used to going for. She is Hugh Spellman’s daughter! | needed

to look you in the eye when | reminded you what a deadly gyou're playing by ruffling her father’s feathers

with your arrogance. Mila is a beautiful and successful woman whom you've been flaunting for the world for the

last couple of weeks. Is it so unbelievable that her father would want to know what your intentions for his

daughter are?"

"No, it’s not. | told him exactly how | feel."

"And how do you feel?"

"Like it’s too early to put pressure on my relationship with Mila just to please our parents! We just started dating

officially. Give us a break."

Father bites down on his lower lips. "I need you to promiseyou won't screw this up because of whatever

negligible feelings you might nurse for any other woman. YOU CAN'T FUCK THIS UP, ASHTON."

| fully understand his silent message. "lI was wondering when you were going to bring that up."

"| wanted to give you the benefit of doubt. | am impressed that you are moving on from that disgraceful act with

Demi and choosing a future with Mila but that doesn’t mean that | am over your betrayal towards Ashley. |

thought you were better than that."

| scoff at his judgement. "I am a Rollins son. If memory servescorrectly, the men in our family are not better

than betraying their loved ones."

Father matches the heat in my eyes at my snide reply. That one must have hit a nerve or two. How dare he talk

toabout betrayal when he has been the one championing it in the family.

"Demi is to blfor all of this. She seduced you."

"Don’t start this again."

"She's playing my sons like a fiddle."

"You're so predictable." | hiss.

"Good. Then you know how badly | am prepared to screw up her entire life if you don’t prove tothat you're

over whatever you thought you felt for her. She is married to your brother, Ash. YOUR BROTHER! You should

never have fallen into that slut’s trap."

"I didn’t fall into anyone's trap. | felt something for her but I'm over it now. Can we all just move on instead of

brandingwith that one mistake?"

"If you truly had moved on, you wouldn't be playing games with Mila Spellman." | watch father lean forward with

cold fury in his eyes. "You've known Mila for a sufficient period of time. Her feelings for you are not in doubt. Her

family is a well known and respectable one. If you're not still sulking over your brother's wife, you would get

engaged to Mila."

"What's your hurry?"

"You're clearly never going to win her father over with your stubbornness so before Mila’s doubts as to your

loyalty and affection matches her father’s apathy towards you, we need to lock this union in with a promise of

marriage."

| surge to my feet, brimming with anger. "You chere to remindthat | am just another pawn in your game.

Ha. Just my luck."

"I chere to help you secure your future before you ruin it over faux feelings of affection for a woman you can

never have, Ashton." Father says, rising as well. "Look at Ashal. He had the opportunity to wed Stacy Baker and

botched it. Today, he is stuck with a woman in a loveless, secret marriage. Is that what you want? Do you want to

lose Mila and your family’s trust over your lust for your brother's wife?"

"Watch it."

"Then provewrong. Agree to get engaged to Mila. Her father won't make a fuss once | talk to him. We also

have Mila’s obsession with you in our favor. No one says you have to get married now. Couples get engaged and

get married much later nowadays. You could wed her in a year or two if you wish. If you do this, you won't only

be insuring your relationship with Mila but Ashley’s with Demi. She needs to realize you're off the market so she

can focus on her marriage with your brother."

Oh, so Ashley had father do his dirty work. "Ashley set you up to this?"

"I had a worse plan in mind for Demi that you would have really hated if Ashley hadn't talkedout of it. That's

how livid | was after learning of his wife's feelings for you and her shameless acts around you. It’s just shocking

to realize all she has done after insisting on inserting a no sex clause in her contract with Ashley. Talk about

double standards." He shakes his head. "Do as | say and | won't punish her brutally for her role in all of this."

I clench my fists by my side, mad that Demi is still a weakness of mine.

"Fine. I'll do it."

ork

"This is no prison, at least not what most people conceptualize as a prison." Cree says stuffing a slice of pizza in

her mouth. "Is there a particular reason why | am being held in this beautiful house instead of a cell?" She wipes

her lips with a napkin and slurps her orange juice.

| jam my hands in my pocket as | approach her. She's a cheeky one. "Are you in a hurry to be behind bars? Don’t

worry, you'll still end up in prison. | just need you to answer my questions first. This is the last tI'll ask them.

Once | step through that door to leave, you'll be on your way to a correctional facility. Mark my words."

She sighs and dumps her pizza. "I already told you, I'm not Shay. Why isn’t anyone listening to me? How can you

honestly accuseof being someone simply because we call our men similar nicknames? | could have called

you Mi amor, pooh bear, Tiger or whatever else | wanted. Would you also round up every other woman in the

world who uses similar nicknames? Whoever this Shay is, she’s still out there and you're punishing the wrong

woman." She bites her food again. "This aspect of my punishment is delicious by the way." She adds, pointing to

the pizza.

My mood isn’t the best right now given father’s visit and his demand. With a feral cry, | flip over the table,

throwing the juice and pizza box on the ground. Cree is already on her feet, eyes wide with shock.

"You're not Ashal, are you?"

"Let's try that again, princess. Why were you tormenting my brother? You had better not try to lie toor you

will be wheeled into a hospital with broken bones."

Fear finally glistens in her eyes. My brothers and | have been lenient for days and she has been abusing the

privilege by stalling. | am at my wits end. | don’t care what | do now. I'll make her talk one way or another.

"You won't hit a woman." Her voice is shaky. Good.

"No, but Cyril can. He's paid ridiculously high to inflict pain on others till they beg for a quick death. He won't

stop until he gets the truth. Would you like Cyril to take over here or are you ready to start talking?"

Cree trembles as Cyril steps up next to me, his eyes bereft of emotions.

"We might not have enough evidence to lock you away for a really long tbut that’s no problem at all.

Incriminating evidence can easily be planted. If you continue to pissoff, you could go in with higher charges.

Don’t forceto make that decision, Cree. Tellwhat you know!"

"| already did!" She cries with misty eyes.

"It can’t be a coincidence that you match the description we have of Shay. Everywhere | look regarding the case

of blackmail, you feature prominently. You showed up as Ashal’s blind date and brandished a gun while uttering

the name, Tobias. You were there outside the cinema when Ashley was questioned about Tobias. Your

whereabout isn’t accounted for on the day a courier deposited a flower bouquet to Ashley’s office and on the day

his wife was left a gift box in a public bathroom. These cannot be coincidences. Start talking Cree!"

Something flits across her eyes. | wasn’t sure before but right now, | feel less bad for the way | am trying to sift

out information from her.

"I don’t have all day, Cree Baxter. We still need to cover your text messages toregarding my other parents.

Yes, | know you know something about that too." She doesn’t deny it and my resolve is further strengthened.

"CYRIL, MAKE HER TALK."

Cyril brings out a small metallic box from a backpack that contains varying sizes of sharp objects, including

syringes. He begins to strap on latex gloves.

"Ok. Ok. I'll tell you what | know but please, ask them all to leave, especially the crazy one." She screams,

staring fearfully at Cyril. | have the room cleared.

"You have five minutes before | lose my patience."

Cree slides listlessly to the ground. "You're not going to believeanyway but this right here is the truth." She

burrows her hands between her thighs and avoids my eyes. "I am behind the text messages regarding your

biological parents. | chanced on sinformation about your adoption. | was strapped for cash so | thought I'd

find a way to extort you. It was stupid of me. | am sorry. | thought you'd pay heavily to learn the truth if you

didn’t already know. If you did, | planned to threaten you with exposing it to the world."

"Why me? Why did you only contact me?"

"Yours was the only phone number Shay agreed to givefor my own ends."

"Where'd you get the information about my adoption from?"

"I'm sorry but | can’t implicate anyone else. Whatever you want to know, you can ask me. | know far more than

you can imagine." She gets on her knees. "Please, don’t hurt me. I'll cooperate and help you find the answers

you seek. You won't even have to pay me. | have earned more than | hoped for from the job Ashal helped me

secure."

"You know the names of my biological parents?"

She nods grimly. | inhale and struggle not to digress. | did promise my brothers | was going to stay off this hunt

but it’s so tempting right now. Curiosity battles with pride and pride wins.

"Shay. Tellabout Shay."

"I am not Shay. | just...| owe her a debt and helping her with blackmailing your brother was the only way she

wanted the debt paid."

Keep going."

"She just tellswhen and where to appear and what to do. | don’t ask questions. | don’t know anything about

Tobias or why she believes using his nwill torment your brother, Ashley. She toldto deliver the flowers to

his office and to show up at the blind date with Ashal, as well as other sightings too, like the cinema. She tells

"Who is Shay?"

Cree breathes heavily and hesitates slightly. "I told you | didn’t want to implicate anyone else. | can only tell you

that she knows a great deal about this Tobias incident."

"I NEED HER NAME, CREE OR CYRIL TAKES OVER!"

"Nicola! Shay is Nicola Grey!"