Four Brothers and a Bride
Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Chapter 169

ASHLEY

"Octavia is a dead end." Asher informs us in the game room. "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 I 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 with me as 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, I never disappointed the stereotype. I 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 I 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.

Some even 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?"

I 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. I 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 outcome of Ashton’s confession tomorrow and what would become of our family if we’re branded criminals afterwards. I’m worried about..." I 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 I need to put on a show to distract Demi long enough for Ashal to be rescued. If she suspects for one second that I plan to abort and orders Liam to hurt Ashal before we can get to him, then all of this would have been for nothing. I DON’T CARE ABOUT GOING TO JAIL. I 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, I know for certain he is drowning in pain, again. Asher waits till Ashton leaves for his bedroom before turning to me.

"Give it to me straight." I tell him. "I know you and father have made plans the rest of us aren’t aware of. I need to know everything."

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 had me followed."

"I beefed up the security and currently make sure every member of this family is followed. You’d think that shouldn’t come as a surprise given that one of us was abducted when he stepped out alone."

I swallow my weak retort because he is right. We all go out with security tailing us. Yesterday, I instructed mine to wait outside when I visited Nicci’s apartment after she returned to Danvarr. It was going to be our first time meeting after the loss of our baby. I felt it was awkward enough between us to allow a bodyguard be in the same room, hence the decision.

Nicci hadn’t called to inform me she planned to return home. She didn’t inform me either that she had touched down in Danvarr. I 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. I had a gut feeling that she might secretly blame me for our loss, just like Demi once blamed me.

She must have felt alone in her condition. She must have yearned for me while she went through the first trimester. Could her restlessness have resulted in the miscarriage? Maybe she wouldn’t have fallen ill if I had been there to keep her company. A myriad of thoughts continued to float through my head while Nicci took her precious time before coming to see me in her living room.

For a woman who had recently lost her pregnancy, she had an unusual glow about her. I dismissed it and concluded that my perception might have been influenced by the fact that I 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." I begin after clearing my throat.

"And yet here you are."

Her voice was a tiny whisper that was still firm enough to communicate indifference. I 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 I have people that inform me about things before I have to ask."

She stared at me. "Exactly. I didn’t think I had to. I 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."

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

"It wouldn’t be the same as hearing it from you! That’s my point, Nicci."

She turns away. Save for her restless hand gestures, she was calm and collected otherwise. I sensed something simmering beneath the surface. Rather than giving into the urge to throw a fit, I edged closer to her and took her hands.

"I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Nicci. I know that must have hurt you." Her eyes grew blurry as I continued. "I am sorry about how I handled everything, including hiding you on the island and forcing you to have the baby so Demi and I could raise it as ours. You have every reason under the sun to hate me." My throat tightens as I fend off the emotions surging within me. "Maybe this is my karma. I am not fit to be a dad. Maybe that’s why the universe keeps robbing me of 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 time to 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, I 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. I 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 cost me a lot, Ashley. It also taught me a lot too. I 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, I 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 frame of my mind to handle this shock. I understand that you’re hurt and you need time. I understand that you’ve fallen out of love with me given everything I put you through. I’m not trying to force anything here but I beg you, don’t cut me out 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 I can’t handle it if this is goodbye forever."

I couldn’t believe how fast my heart was beating. I had lost too much already. Nicci was a constant in my life I wasn’t ready to lose as well. I was a fool to have taken so long to appreciate the people in my life but losing fame, fortune and friends within the same timeline has taught me to treasure those that still stuck around.

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

"Don’t." She cut me off, retreating. "Please don’t call me that."

"Ok, sorry. Please, just give me one more chance to make things right. I’ll compensate for the lost time and your career. I’ll help you get back into the game without anyone knowing. I have some money stashed away. You can have it."

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

"Please, let me atone for my mistakes. What would you have me do? What do you want, Nicci?"

"You’re not listening! We can’t be friends. I can’t do that. I just need you to leave and never bother me again."

Tears clouded my eyes. "If this is about my family, they’ll never bother you again. That’s my promise to you. Just give me one 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." I tried to reach for her hand but she stepped backwards again. "I know how much you used to love me, and how much I also loved you. I believe we can get there again."

"I WAS NEVER PREGNANT, ASHLEY!" She yells at the top of her lungs, startling me into silence. "There, I said it." She huffed out a breath. "I was never pregnant. I made it all up, got fake test results to convince you to marry me. I never expected you to turn me into your prisoner and abandon me on some island. I’m grateful I was never pregnant or you wouldn’t be here, apologizing on your knees. Instead, you’d have sent more guards to keep watch over me till your baby was born. After the child was born, who knows what would become of me having 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 haunt me to the point that I fail to notice Asher clicking his fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, Ash. Ashley!"

I blink out of my flashback.

"Was it really that bad? She turned you down, didn’t she? I wouldn’t blame her. This is the worst time for 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."

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

"I WAS NEVER PREGNANT! I can’t believe how desperate I was to join your family, so desperate I forged all the evidence I needed and bribed everyone I could to ensure I got a wedding ring from you. I’m so ashamed of how needy and clingy I became just to keep a man like you who wasn’t even worth it."

"You’re lying." I 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..." I trailed off, unable to complete my train of thought. Suddenly, I laughed hysterically as I started to realize how the doctor had helped her pull it off. I recalled the joy my mom had when she thought she was going to have a grandchild after all and the adjustments I had planned to make as a father-to-be.

I couldn’t get mad at Nicci. I could see why no one would want a baby with me. It was one of the major reasons Demi preferred Ashton to me; I had failed to grow so independent that my family couldn’t butt into my personal affairs. I was a stone throw from a mama’s boy. I was my father’s loyal dog. Perhaps if I 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 trust me to keep my word or to put her first. I should have been able to counter father when he usurped my position to make the tough decisions regarding my personal life. I should have stopped him.

I got up on my feet and stared at Nicci. I was certain she hadn’t planned to reveal that bitter lie to me. She had just been desperate to get me to leave her as fast as possible and when everything else failed, she resorted to slamming me with her truth.

"I’m sorry, Ashley. I know it’s no justification but I was madly in love with you and prepared to risk it all just to have you forever. I realize now how foolish I was" She looked at me, her arms folded across her chest. "You can’t force love. I know that now."

I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall as I realized I lost Nicci while trying to hold onto Demi who wanted nothing to do with me.

"It’s okay. Who can blame you? I didn’t exactly make things easy for you. If I had been half the man you deserved, you wouldn’t have had to resort to such extreme measures just to have me." I chuckled. "I completely understand and I won’t insist anymore. That would be selfish of me. If this is your decision, I’ll accept it. I hope you can forgive me some day for screwing up so badly with you."

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

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

I 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, I deduced she wanted nothing to do with me or my family anymore. She wasn’t going to join me to a party flooded by the media and have them rope her into my family’s mess all over again.

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

"Nicci and I are done!" I announce to Asher. "It’s for real this time." Lurching to my feet, I steady my wobbly legs. I don’t think I’ll be interested in the complexities of dealing with women for a long while. I make it as far as the door when Asher replies.

"If I had a million dollars for every time a 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 time in a while as I 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 I see the caller.

"Ashal? Ashal, is that really you?"

"No. It’s Skylar."

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