Four Brothers and a Bride

"Hey, I'm sorry | missed your call. Something urgent?"

"Oh, no, not really. | was in the neighborhood and was surprised to learn that the beautiful penthouse close by

belongs to you. | tried calling to see if you were around."

"Oh. | am still at work."

"I didn’t know you had more than one penthouse."

| grit my teeth. "I have tons of properties all around the country, as do the rest of my family. It’s impossible to

keep track of them sometimes. Anyway, you didn’t ask. Do you want to visit all my properties in Danvarr?" She

chuckles lightly.

"Of course not. I'm just pleasantly surprised. Sometimes | forget how insanely wealthy my new family is. I'm

sorry for bothering you like that. See you at home?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Take care."

"Bye."

| stare at the phone wondering if Demi is as clueless as she just sounded.

"| called her." Madeline reads my thought from the doorway. "I told her it was a false alarm. She already knows

about Olivia so | sent a picture Liv and | took earlier today in the dining room. Told her Liv is doing great with her

boyfriend and being treated better than I could have hoped. | apologized for defaming you and explained that

both of you aren't actually married. She understands that Liv wants your relationship to remain private for now

and that is why you're keeping it a secret for now."

| scoff at her. "It’s very bold of you to think I'd believe a word you say ever again."

"Please forgive me. Olivia is hurt. | hate that because of me, you two have drifted farther apart from each other.

That's not why | chere."

"That's precisely why you're here, Madeline."

"It’s Maddie."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP." For the first time, she flinches at my voice. "You chere to find a way to separate your

sister and I. You've never acceptedfor Liv and you never will. | will never get that mixed up again."

"Please, Liv toldabout the baby. Please don’t harm her because of me." She falls to her knees. "Just give me

a few days and | will make everything right. You have my word, Mr. Ashal."

"You won't have a few days. You'd be married and long gone by then."

Her eyes boggle with shock. "What?"

"This time, I'd make sure you suffer so much that you learn to think thrice before trifling withor my family

ever again. Don’t worry about Olivia. She'll be well taken care of after the move to a different house. You can

forget about seeing her or your family ever again."

Through her eyes, | can tell she expected no less. She dabs her tears dry. "As long as Liv and my parents are

taken care of, | will be fine. | did all this knowing the consequences of being wrong. You don’t have to worry

aboutrunning away. I'll be here when my groom is ready. Till then, I'll keep working Demi till every last shred

of doubt against you leaves her system."

| feel nothing hearing the pain in her voice. "You can’t escapeeven if you tried. | dare you to try and see.

Now, get out of my house this minute because if | give into the rage and hit you, there won't be a need to rush

you to the hospital." She nods at my threat and leaves.

| stand on my balcony and watch Olivia shedding tears as her sister hugs her goodbye. Madeline looks up at me

for a few humming seconds before getting into the car meant to drop her off at her dorm. Before she reaches,

there will be a letter confirming the revocation of her scholarship and her expulsion from the school.

After the car leaves, Liv sinks to the ground and cries even more while Lily tries to take her inside. She is still

there when | get into my car and drive away.

ork

Day drinking is a habit | want to stop but my life is such a shit show | keep finding my way back to bars. When

my bourbon is served at the bar, | guzzle it and ask for another.

Throwing a sidelong glance, | watch Cree moving seamlessly from one table to another, serving guests, smiling

beautifully and assisting them in one way or the other like a trained waitress. She’s ca long way from the

lady hurling abuses at the hotel receptionist for not letting her in while being dragged away by security. | am

glad her life turned out better than mine at least.

She has been avoidingsince | got here, barely glancing my way. The few times we have locked eyes, she

waits a beat for sreason and then returns to her duty. She must hate everyone with my face now, especially

me.

Ever since she metin this very bar, she has been falsely accused of one thing or the other and treated poorly

because of it. If | hadn't stepped in to get her this job, she'd probably have it worse especially after the media

outed my fledging relationship with her.

| drain my glass and demand a refill.

"Easy sir. That's the fourth glass in twenty minutes. Are you okay? You shouldn't drink too much. It’s not even

3pm yet."

| smile at the bartender. "It's 3pm somewhere, right?"

His eyes stray towards Cree. "I've been seeing you staring over there. Would you liketo call the young lady?"

"No."

"What can | do to assist you?"

"You can pourthe drink | asked for."

"That's enough." Cree says, coming over to the bar. She stares atwith a dry look. "You drove here. You

shouldn't be drinking this much. Do you needto call someone, your brothers maybe?"

| chuckle at her attempt at showing concern. In the end, nobody really gives a shit about anybody but

themselves.

"I bet you hate me, don’t you? You hate that you ever calledMi Rey." | slur.

"You're drunk." She turns to the bartender. "I'll help him to a private suite and call his brothers for assistance."

"Ok. Thank you. I'm sure the manager will appreciate it."

She helpsup and watchesshrug on my jacket. Slowly, | follow her out of the bar to a higher floor where

she converses with housekeeping. She unlocks a door that opens up to a palatial suite and helpsto the living

area.

"Why won't you say anything to me? Why are you so formal?"

"You should rest, sir. I'll get one of your brothers on the phone." She shrieks when | pull her down on the couch

withand turns her face to avoid my kiss. "You're drunk. Stop it." Angrily, she writhes out of my grip and

adjusts her uniform and hair. "Someone will be here to take you hshortly."

"I'm sorry, Cree." | let out before the drowsiness can overwhelm me. "I should have trusted you. You didn’t

deserve to be treated like a suspect. | understand why you did what you did. | probably would have done the

sif | was in your shoes, | guess. Please tellyou forgive me. | hate that things ended the way they did

between us." | pull myself up to my feet but stagger back down.

"It’s alright, Ashal." Cree replies, rushing to helpto the bedroom to get a proper rest. When my back hits the

bed, | know | have a minute or two before my body completely shouts down.

"You didn’t say you forgive me."

"I forgive you, Ashal. Our encounter wasn't all bad. You gavemy two biggest accomplishments in life. | will

forever be indebted to you." | feel her warm kiss on my forehead. "Now, stop talking and go to sleep."

She takes my hand and rubs gently while | give into the sleep with a contented smile on my face. Just before it

all goes black and quiet, | hear one of my brothers rush in.

"How is he?"

"He's fine, just a bit drunk and tired."

Who is it? | can’t tell the subtle difference in our tones because my head is mushy right now. Asher? He's been

trying to reachall day. Ashton? He's been withdrawn lately because of his unplanned engagement to Mila

and disappeared on us this morning. Ashley? He's got his back stabbing girlfriend and deceitful wife to deal with.

Who could Mila have called so fast? How did she even get their new numbers? She couldn't have used my phone

because it’s tricky to unlock and | didn’t feel her try to get my thumbprint or eye scan. Even if she did, my

passcode will give her a tough time. Could she have snagged the numbers from Shay?

"Did he ask any questions about..."

"No." Cree replies.

My curiosity gets the best ofand | struggle back against the pull of the alcohol. When my eyes open, I've

been knocked out for roughly twenty minutes. | reach for the glass of water by the bed and guzzle most of it

before splashing sover my face.

Beyond the door, | can hear movement and voices. Is my brother still here? When | stand, | feel so much steadier

even though my head still hurts.

The bedroom door is slightly cracked open. Through the crack, I find Cree in the living room with Ashton. They're

conversing in a low tone but given my place by the door, | can make out what they're saying.

"Any idea what her nwas? Did you check with your source?"

Cree sighs. "I told you everything | know."

"You can givethe contact of your source so | can speak with the person directly, you know. You have a busy

job. | hate to drag you further into this."

"I can’t do that. He wouldn't like it."

What in the hell are they talking about?

"Then you'll have to helpout here. | can’t go about searching for my little sister if | don’t even have a name

to begin with."

Little sister? What is Ashton talking about? What little sister?

"The news article even used fake names for my parents. | checked and it was a dead end." He rubs his hands

over his hair. "I can’t believe how far my father was willing to go to bury the truth. Cree, you ledto the

graveyard once. You must have known my real parents are buried there. Just tellwhat their names were. |

have no other person to ask. If you don’t know it, ask your source somehow. | just really need to find my little

sister. She could be anywhere in the world, alone. | don’t want her to feel alone."

With my head splitting between a massive migraine and confusion, | shove the bedroom door open, startling

Ashton and Cree. He lied to us? Cree knows about our biological parents and he lied that she didn’t? Everyone is

a fucking liar today!

"Ashal." He breathes, rising up. His eyes dart betweenand Cree who also stands nervously.

"YOU LIAR. YOU SAID SHE KNEW NOTHING! WE HAVE A LITTLE SISTER AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?"