Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 124: Chapter 124

ASHAL

"I'm fine. No injuries were sustained."

"Are you sure?" | insist as Demi exhales softly. "I got worried after watching the news clip. It looked..."

"Ashal, I'm fine. Truston that."

"Ok. I'm sorry | can’t be there. There's just too much stuff going on at hand | wanted a break to clear my

head."

"Lucky you. | wish | could get a change of environment too." She sighs wistfully. "Anyway, thanks for checking up

on me. | appreciate it."

"I wish | could do better. Hang in there."

After the call, | turn to Ashton. "I can’t believe she staged everything, and with Mila of all people??? | never even

knew those two could strike up a conversation longer than sixty seconds much less hatch a plan."

Ashton is sprawled on my couch with a hand over his face. He has been upset since he cin this morning for

obvious reasons. It's weird but | am starting to understand how frustrating it all can be.

| spent the previous night ruminating over my alleged feelings for Madeline and while | want to believe that

there's nothing amorous about it, there exists a plethora of behaviors that belie my stance. | can’t help but

wonder if | am so in love with Maddie that everyone else can tell except me.

Is this what it feels like to love someone you can’t have? There's a hollow pit in my stomach that reeks of fear,

sadness and frustration for the woman | can’t have. | now see what Ashton has been going through and honestly,

| strongly commend him for his impeccable restraint all these months. | am going berserk not knowing how

Maddi is faring right now. | can’t imagine being under the sroof with her and thinking straight. How does

Ashton do it? How can he stand seeing Demi with Ashley? | could never.

"Are you okay?" | ask my brother.

He sits upright and kneads the kinks out of his neck. My guess, from the bags under his eyes, is that he barely

slept a wink last night.

"I had to beg Duncan not to tell father about everything. He wouldn’t have hurt a hair on Mila’s head but

Demi...that would just give him another reason to make her suffer." A short breath whistles from his lips as he

digs his fingers into his hair. "I have a lot on my plate right now. Father is onto us. Adriana is in the wind again.

Mila is pushing for our wedding to take place which | am not prepared for and now Demi is playing with fire. |

don’t have the mental band width to tackle all of this at once. | can’t protect her, Ashal. If she crosses father, he

won't spare her."

"No, he won't." | concur.

"She is currently at loggerheads with mother so | doubt mother will be eager to protect her. She's been through a

lot and | understand how badly she must be hurting but this isn’t the solution. If she tries to mess up father’s

plan and bring shto the family, | don’t know what he will do to her."

| take a good look at him. It should be Ashley worrying so much but no, Ashley isn’t. That's mostly because

Ashley is not always present or perceptive around the mansion to look out for his wife. He has been burying

himself in work as a form of distraction from the chaos his actions have caused.

| don’t blAshton for his feelings. If Demi had been receiving the kind of love any woman deserves, Ashton

might have been able to dial back on his emotions.

| know this by recalling how | felt when Madeline was about to marry the wrong guy. | couldn’t even breathe

properly. | almost killed Hunter in my rage.

| rest a hand on Ashton’s knee. "You don’t have to do it all alone. You can tell Ashley the truth and let him worry

about her, then face the things you can control."

"You think | haven't? Ashley admitted that Demi won't listen to him. She can barely stand his presence. If anyone

can get through to her, Ashley thinks it'sbut here | am, woefully failing at that." He surges to his feet and

paces. "I don’t have tfor this. | need to see Keith. | am heading to his farm house to have a conversation

about meeting Adriana again. | just hope Demi doesn’t do anything stupid before | can clear my plate."

"Go on. You can’t do it all. Adriana is our sister and she deserves to be our priority. We owe it to her after all

these years. Demi can wait."

He nods grimly and turns to leave.

"Oh, Ash, get ssleep first. You look like shit and it’s uncomfortable staring at my face looking like shit."

That's usually his line and it feels so good to throw it back in his face.

He waves at me.

"Cree will be here soon."

"What? Why?"

"You know why." He replies without turning. "Be nice to her. She was your friend once and she’s wants to make

amends." He disappears through the door while I huff out a breath.

ork

"He said that?" Cree asks with a hint of amusement when | offer her a drink. She looks exquisite in a sleeveless

jumpsuit and heels. | didn’t realize how much | have missed her. She looks really beautiful and smells great too.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

Seeing her stirs memories of our date and the other dates after it.

"Yeah. Apparently, you want to make amends?"

"Horseshit. | mean, of course I'd love to patch things up but that’s not why he beggedto pay you a visit."

"He begged you?" | don’t know how | feel about Ashton’s desperation.

"Kind of." She drops her glass ceremoniously on the table and leans forward. "Let's forget all that. How have you

been? This isasking genuinely and not because Ashton askedto chere." Her eyes warm with

concern. "The last twe spoke, | was very worried about you. You passed out drunk and when you woke up,

you were a bit hysterical. Have you been well?"

A red hue tints my cheeks. "It should beapologizing. | shouldn't have lashed out on you that very day simply

because | didn’t agree with the things you were saying. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. | should have been more understanding." A quiet moment passes between us while our eyes hold.

"So, what's really going on with you? Ashton sounded worried." When I shift uncomfortably, she gives a thin

smile. "You don’t have to feel awkward. | know you want to talk to someone about how you're feeling and maybe

you think your brothers won't get it. That's why | am here, to be that listening ear that won't judge."

"You say that now..."

"I mean it. Whatever feelings | once had for you...poof. Gone, but it's not because you aren't a great guy. | didn’t

start off being honest with you. | was there to collect a pay check from Shay so | never really bothered to fully

open myself up to the spark between us back then." She shrugs.

"lI am not here to force things though, just to be a friend. If it ever gets awkward and any feelings start to rear

their heads again, | promise to tell you and discharge myself from this self-appointed role of being your

confidante."

Her offer is juicy but | am still skeptical.

"Go on, tellbefore it eats you up."

After debating in my head for almost a minute, | sigh in resignation. "FINE. If you haven't already guessed it, it's

got to do with a girl."

"Typical."

"So much for not judging."

"Oops, sorry."

1 go on to tell her vaguely about Madeline and how I think | have strong feelings for her but she isn’t a woman |

can be with for personal reasons. | try my best to leave out as much detail as | can without confusing Cree. She

listens keenly as | recount saving Maddie from Hunter, our first and second kiss etc.

"So, how does Maddie feel about all this?"

| give a lazy shrug. "I don’t know. She hasn't made any moves that makesuspect she welcomes whatever is

going on between us. She shies away mostly. | think she’s scared of us being together."

"Why do you think that?" Cree presses on with raptured eyes.

Because | am currently married to her sister and | am the guy who practically stole two years of her sister's life

while my family and | trapped her in a penthouse like an embarrassing little secret. Rather than tell Cree what's

in my head, | decide to mask it.

"| guess not everyone is ok with fame. You weren't."

Cree nods. "At first, that had a lot to do with Shay but now, | believe | prefer my quiet existence." She locks eyes

with mine. "Here’s my two cents. If family means everything to you and pursuing this would hurt them and you, |

suggest you treat this as a fleeting affair. I'm sure it'll go away. You fell foronce and | bet you thought you

couldn't move on after my secret cto light. Even then, you chose your family. Do it again, especially since

she isn’t exactly fighting for whatever you both have going on. Choose family. That's honorable for people like

you, right?" She sips her drink and watchesover the glass.

"Now, you're just tellingwhat | need to hear. Get out of her head, Ashton!" This time, | lean close. "What

would you do if the roles were reversed, Cree Baxter? Humor me."

"Damn, you want her that bad, huh? I'm jealous." After a small laugh, she tosses her head to the side, revealing

a nicely sculpted ear bereft of an earring. "I'd ride the wave for a bit to see where it leads us. I'm not even a part

of this story but the suspense is killing me. | badly want to know if this is a star-crossed romance like Romeo and

Juliet or just a hormonal reaction that a quickie at the back of a car can cure."

"You're hilarious." My phone starts to ring and | almost drop it. It’s Maddie!

ork

She rarely callsout of the blue. Why now? | can hazard a guess but | am not in the right frof mind to lie

to her convincingly.

"I went by your office." She croaks out, crying.

"Maddie, what's wrong?"

"My boyfriend, Alfie, they found him dead in his car. It was on the news."

My heart breaks to a million tiny pieces as she continues to cry and sniffle on the other end of the phone. Cree is

still in the living room, enjoying her drink and twiddling with the TV remote to find a good show to watch when |

peek from the first floor. | am glad she isn’t being nosy to eavesdrop on my call.

"Calm down, Maddi. What are you saying? What boyfriend? Are you being harassed by the police for the death of

this person?"

"No. They tookin to answer a few questions since we were together the day before he... just don’t know

what to do. | don’t want to worry Olivia and my parents don’t know about Alfie. | didn’t know who else to call."

She called me. Is this a sign? | shake off the giddy feeling and focus on her pain. | don’t know what | can do to

make her feel better. I'd love to console her but my guilt-stricken face might give her cause for concern. Plus, my

brothers won't appreciatestoking the fire of this dangerous romance.

"Are you busy?"

Shit. Shit! She wants to meet. Gosh, | wish | could go to her.

"I'm a long way from the office." | blurt out instead of dousing her hopes. "I'm at my second penthouse up the

hills, almost at the outskirts of town. | had spending work. I'm sorry I'm not there to help you, Maddi. | really

wish | was."

She takes a few breaths. "I understand. | don’t know what | was thinking." She sniffles again. "I have no right to

bother you like this. You have your hands full with work and Liv..."

"You're my family too. | also care about you. Liv won't forgiveif | let anything happen to you." | close a hand

over my mouth before | can say more and regret my words.

"Thank you, Mr. Ashal. | feel much better now after talking to you."

"I'm glad | could help in sway. Take a break and get srest. You're grieving. I'll see you when | get back."

My chest tightens when she hangs up. She'll never forgiveif she ever learns that | had a hand in Alfie's

death. I slide to the floor and cover my face with my hands. What have | become? What am | going to do?

"That must have been a hard phone call."

I look up into Cree’s face. So, she is an eavesdropper. Whatever. | have no prerogative nor am | in the mood to

judge anyone. | feel her hands wrap aroundand rockslowly.

"You'll be fine." She continues to hum while I allow her words soothe me.

ork

"Where are you?"

| ignore the temptation to roll my eyes. "I'm not a baby. | don’t need a babysitter!" | reply with annoyance.

"This is no way to treat a guest, Ashal. You intentionally gavethat gto play so | wouldn't hear you

driving out, right? How could you sneak out of your own house if you aren't acting like a baby?" Cree laments.

"Just tell me, are you headed to see her?"

"I'm headed back to my family’s mansion to see MY family. | miss them, okay. If Ashton worries, tell him I'll be at

home. You are welcto stay the night at the penthouse if you like. I'll hang up now."

| chuck my phone into the pigeonhole and swerve in a different direction from home. Maddi didn’t pick up when |

called her back after a few hours. It's been an extra two hours since then and | can’t seem to reach her. | have

no idea where she is or if she’s okay. | have left her texts in capital letters demanding for a reply so | know she’s

okay but still nothing.

| pull up in front of her dorm and try her number one more time.

"Damn it, Maddi, pick up your phone! Where the hell are you?" | mutter, punching my phone like a maniac. |

want to go in but that would cause an uproar when the other female students see me. | text Maddi that | am

outside her dorm and wait.

Ten minutes later, she replies with a shocked emoji. When | see her rushing down the stairs towards my car, a

huge ball of relief unfurls in my chest. She’s fine. From her face and disheveled hair, | can tell she must have

been sleeping. As she approaches me, she combs her hair with her fingers and cowers shyly.

"Mr. Ashal?" She utters in disbelief through the passenger window. "I thought you were out of town."

"| just got back." | try not to sound breathless. "You weren't taking my calls or returning my texts. | was worried."

"You askedto get srest and | did. I'm sorry | got you worried. | was sleeping while my phone was

charging silently."

"Get in. Everyone will soon start staring."

She obliges and shuts the door. Now that we are both so close, my breath hitches. She has a peculiar scent

around her that | have never smelt on anyone before.

"My apologies again for your loss." My eyes are fixated away from her face as | talk. "I didn’t know you had a

new boyfriend. You must be hurting a lot. What can | do to make you feel better?"

Maddi scoops her hair behind her ears. "You've done more than enough, Mr. Ashal. I'm really fine. It still feels like

a bad dream but | will get over it soon."

"Do you mindasking how long you two were together?"

"Three weeks." She chuckles. "I was still getting to know him and vice versa. He had his flaws but he wasn’t a

bad person. | guess | just feel so shocked to have lost someone so close. I've never felt this before, the shock of

death so close. | was the last person with him." She bows her head. "It doesn’t make any sense. He was fine. He

didn’t do drugs even though he looked like a druggie. He only drank lots of alcohol. | don’t know what to

believe." Before the tears hit her thigh, | wrap my arm around her and plant a kiss on her hair.

"I'm so sorry, Maddie. You've had to endure a lot of pain that you don’t deserve. | wish | could turn back the

hands of tand undo all the events that have hurt you." My heart skids when she hugsback while crying. |

continue to console her while she blames her fate and weeps.

We must have been clinging onto each other for about five minutes before the tears stop running and the

awkwardness of our position hits Maddi. Immediately, she pulls away fromand apologizes.

"It's okay."

"No, it’s not. | should know my limits. You're my sister's husband." She wipes her eyes.

"For now." | hum under my breath.

"What?"

Sighing, I lean back in my chair. "Liv and | are getting a divorce soon. That's what she demanded of me."

"What? What about the baby?"

"She wants us to be co-parents. | tried to talk her out of it but her mind is made up, Maddie. | honestly can’t

blher. She loathesas a partner. We didn’t exactly start out on the best foot. If this is what will make her

happy and how | get to compensate for everything she’s endured under my roof, | won't fight it this time." | stare

out into the gathering clouds. "I sincerely want her to be happy. Clearly, it can’t be with me. She has given up on

us. She keeps pressingto start dating again, could you imagine that?" A short, frustrated laugh leaves my

lips. "I just hope she finds true happiness with a man that will value her this time."

Maddie remains quiet for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry you two couldn't find your happily ever after together. | really thought she would see how much you've

changed and give you one more shot."

Without looking at her, | give a thin smile at my dashboard. "She's givenmore than enough chances and |

screwed it up every time. She and | could never seem to meet each other halfway. Whenever she was prepared

to love me, | was wallowing in self-pity and self-loathing to recognize her heart. When | was willing to bare my

heart out and put her first, her affections had changed. It's a never-ending circle." Now, | look at Maddie. "This is

for the best. | don’t want to waste her tany longer."

| pinch her cheeks. "Cheer up. | thought you of all people would be popping champagne atop a table in a club at

the sound of this news."

"That was before | got to know this version of you." She dips her eyes and burrows her hands in her thighs. "That

was before | stopped hating you. I'm sorry if you're hurting. I no longer want you to die alone in a pit in the

middle of fucking nowhere. | want you to find happiness too, like my sister one day."

Her words cause a warm feeling to bloom in my chest. | stifle the urge to kiss her. That would be super awkward.

"Thank you, Maddie. | really needed to hear that. It means so much more coming from you."

We keep our eyes trained on each other as the balmy night air whistles outside. My heart is pounding and |

wonder if she’s also feeling everything | am feeling in this moment. Curious, | start to lean forward slowly

towards her face. The fact that she doesn’t immediately back up seems like a good sign. Our noses touch and

our lips tease each other. Just before | can swoop in, her hand shoves my chest.

"I-1 can’t..." She twitches her cardigan closer to her body. "I'm sorry. We can’t do this."

Rather than feel hurt, | feel grateful that she stopped me.

"I'm sorry. | shouldn't have...forgive me."

"I don’t think we should keep this up. Liv is my sister. | don’t want to hurt her anymore than she already has

been hurt. Let's just ignore whatever this thing between us is and go on like we always have; as brother-in-law

and sister-in-law."

"I understand."

She turns away but not fast enough forto see her blurry eyes, unlocks the door and gets out. Before she can

take three steps, | jump out of the car and call out to her.

"Maddi!"

She turns around. "Please, just go."

| circle my car to stand in front of her. Thankfully, there isn’t anyone milling around.

"Why Alfie? Why did you choose to date him after your experience with Hunter?"

"What do you mean?"

"I want to know why you keep going after guys that clearly aren't good for you. It’s disturbing."

"How was Alfie bad for me? He broughtout of the rut | was stuck in after the horror of my kidnapping. He

showeda good time."

"But you clearly weren't comfortable with the way he treated you. The way he sexually harassed you, slapping

your bum in public, catcalling you. You hated it. Why then did you endure all that? Is it so hard to pick

responsible guys that you don’t have to hide from your family? Is it?"

| am terrified of which kind of man she’ll end up choosing again to get her over the stump of Alfie's death since

her choices are usually questionable.

Maddi backs away from me, eyes widening. "You said you didn’t know | had gotten a boyfriend. You're not

supposed to know what Alfie looks like or what's he’s like around me."

My heart plummets to my stomach as | realize where she’s going.

"How did you know all that?" she asks with narrowed eyes. My silence makes her shake her head in terror. "Mr.

Ashal, | need you to answer me. WERE YOU WATCHING US THE DAY ALFIE DIED? WERE YOU HERE AT MY DORM

WATCHING ALFIE DROPOFF?"