Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 181: Chapter 181

DEMI

"What?" Anna stares at me, perplexed. "You're moving out? To where?"

"It’s just for a couple of days, Anna. I'll be back." She grabs my wrist and tosses the shirts | was trying to place in

my suitcase.

"Can you stop for a minute and talk to me? This is crazy."

"I know and | am sorry it’s so impromptu."

Anna makessit on the bed and sits next to me. "Demi, what exactly is going on here? Yesterday, you were a

ghost of yourself and | feared you might attempt to harm yourself out of depression. And right after Ashton’s

visit, you crawled into bed at two-thirty in the morning, and now you're trying to go back on everything you had

previously said. You said you were done getting involved in his family’s issues, didn’t you? So why have you been

on a call with Katherine and Cree all morning, trying to figure out a way to find grandpa Rollins and his son?"

"Because | want to help, Anna, and | know I can."

"You also knew this yesterday but your resolve didn’t change. Why now?" Her eyes narrow. "Are you really back

with Ashton? You know | have always rooted for you two but | love you more, Demi. | just want to be sure that

you know exactly what you're getting mixed up in, and you're ready for whatever comes. That's it."

Smiling warmly, | take her hands. "Thank you so much, Anna, for always looking out for me. | know what | am

doing. Trust me." My eyes fall to our hands. "I can’t ignore the fact that Ashton needs my help. | can’t just take a

vacation or stay cooped up in here knowing how much he needs my support right now. It's impossible when you

love someone as much as | love him." | meet her kind eyes that are already blurring with tears. "I know | look

stupid packing my bags to go move into one of his houses right after we..."

"Mhmmm." Anna nods with understanding. "Right after you had sex with him. Say it!"

Chuckling, | slide off the bed and restossing my things in my suitcase. Anna leaps up as well.

"Don’t act shy now. You were a proper slut last night, remember? You told me."

"Oh gosh, | shouldn't have told you anything." | reply with a red blush staining my cheeks and a pinch of regret.

Her arms caround my shoulders. "I know you're trying to make it work without alerting the media but do

you really have to go? He can always visit you here when | am at work."

| turn to her. "I'm not just going to play ‘girlfriend’ at his house, Anna. It's close to the one where Skylar is being

accommodated. This is more about her than it is about Ashton and I. Skylar’s bitter and vengeful. Kind of

remindsof myself two years ago. | think | can relate to her pain. | want to help her brothers connect with her

and hopefully restore their bond as siblings."

Anna shakes her head. "That sounds really nice and noble when you put it like that, but I'm sticking with the

obvious truth: You want to have monkey sex with Ashton five hundred times a day."

"ANNA!" | punch her arm and shove her on the bed. "Don’t put ideas in my head. Go tell that to Asher."

But her smile drops at the mention of his name. Though she doesn’t like to talk about it, | know she’s sad that he

has failed to see her as more than a fling. Their pictures splattered all over the blogs this morning with steaming

speculations as to their relationship had her hopes up. She had hoped that Asher would have the decency to call

her especially given how the media had been subtly bashing her.

He hasn't called her. | know she wishes he loved her to the point of showing her off to the world intentionally,

and not as a PR stunt.

"Are you okay?" | ask when she dabs her eyes.

"I'm missing you already." She hugstightly, sniffling. "Two weeks, okay? It can’t be a minute more or | am

moving in there with you and ruining your fun." We both laugh at her threat.

"Two weeks." | promise her.

Her phone rings and when she checks, it's Asher’s call. Her eyes light up momentarily as she answers it.

"Hey..." but before she can get another word in, he says something that makes her smile falter. Next thing |

know, she’s passing her phone to me. "He wants to talk to you." Her fake smile breaks my heart. | snatch the

phone.

"Asher?"

"My brothers and | are in a bit of a bind. We wouldn't be able to go see Skylar until later. Could you go over there

to keep her company before we arrive? We'll be there in an hour max."

"Good morning to you too." | reply dryly.

"Sorry. My head's all over the place."

| slide a glance at Anna who's helpingfold my clothes in my suitcase. Walking towards the bathroom, I lower

my voice. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. That was rude of you to cut her off abruptly. Have you

seen the blogs? The comments on your pictures with my friend aren't all nice, and she’s the target. You knew

exactly what you were doing when you paraded her in front of the cameras last night so fix this! Stop stomping

all over her heart and giving her false hope if you know she means nothing more to you than a good time, got

it?"

He remains silent for a few seconds. "Is that how she feels?"

"How else could she feel? Even a blind man can tell from a mile away when a man is toying with a woman's

emotions. This is exactly why | was against your relationship from the start. She was never your type because

you don’t date seriously or fall in love. She's the exact opposite. She wants love and commitment, and now she’s

suffering because she chose to follow her heart and trust you to change."

Anna turns toand | smile at her to fend off any suspicion. "Listen Asher, she’s no less than a sister toand

if you think that you can use and dump her, you've got another thing coming. Speak to her NOW or | am going

nowhere!" | head over to Anna and pass her phone back.

"He wants to talk to you."

Hesitantly, she takes the call. | watch her nervous laugh and tense movements finally wither away to make room

for a wholessmile. Whatever he’s saying to her, he’s good at his games. Anna’s mood brightens in seconds.

Her eyes widen with sparks shooting out of them. When the call ends, she has a hard tkeeping a straight

face.

"Feel better?" | ask with a wink.

"Yeah." She says cheerily in a way that makes my heart flutter with happiness.

"I'll have to finish packing later. Little miss Skylar needs babysitting right now. Wishluck."

"You'll need it." Anna replies with a chuckle.

ork

When | enter Asher’s duplex where he’s keeping his sister, | expect to find her snarling. What | didn't expect is

the first words that flow out of her mouth the second she seesapproaching the top of the stairs from where

she’s seething with anger.

"Those guards have been oglingsince | woke up in this ugly house. Tell that to the dickheads that call

themselves my brothers or was it your idea to keepconfined in this stupid house with seven warm-blooded,

grown-ass men?" She shootsan icy glare that doesn’t faze me.

"Or maybe YOU are the one checking them out seeing as you already counted the guards but conveniently left

out the seven female housekeepers here." | plant my hands on my hips and match the fury in her eyes while she

continues to steam. "Those dickheads who call themselves your brothers are your brothers and it was their idea

to make sure you're comfortable and lack nothing in here. MY idea was to have you tied to a chair with your

mouth gagged and your eyes covered. | guess you have those dickheads to thank for the freedom to wag your

tongue."

She squares up to me. "What exactly are you doing here? | don’t need a babysitter!"

"Sure, you do. You're acting out like a spoilt brat, blaming everyone but yourself for your poor life decisions.

You're acting like a child, Skylar."

She closes a hand over her stomach and laughs hard. "Wow, you fool. What would it take for you to stop acting

like a piece of gum stuck under the Rollins’ family shoe? This is downright embarrassing even for you, Demi, the

way you desperately want them to see svalue in you. | guess that is to be expected from someone with the

personality of a doormat."

| ignore her jibes because | expected nothing less. She’s being intentionally rude and mean to distractfrom

reaching close to her pain. One thing becomes apparent to me. | can’t get through to her by being kind and

understanding. People like Skylar only understand one language and | intend to speak it.

no

Listen up, I am not here to coddle

)

you. I'm here to shove your B.S down

that throat of yours because | know a

q . )

lot about the pain of losing one’s

parents. | went ost com

oni b road 5 revenge, thinking

when | get to the end of it and hurt

the people | blamed for my pain,

everything will suddenly feel right

with the world. Guess what? It sucks

,

even worse on the other end. That's

)

why | am here to make sure you don't

f : )

waste the precious tyou've got

seeking revenge against brothers

that were separated from your family

i"

even before they knew how to crawl.

"Don’t you dare act like you know anything about my family or my pain!" Her eyes are red rimmed as she steps

up to my face. "I don’t care what you've heard or what you think you know but | wager it’s still a far cry from the

truth."

"THEN TELLTHE TRUTH, SKYLAR. Pray tell!" Gesturing with my hands, | turn around the staircase. "You keep

saying no one knows about your pain yet you wouldn't tell us what really happened. How are we supposed to

believe you?"

I" ,

I DON'T CARE FOR YOUR BELIEF OR

on

ANYONE ELSE'S." She snaps at me.

I" : )

These tactics won't work on me.

0 . )

Stop wasting my {re yau Qrént

7

here fo tslihdse robots to letout

of here, then leave from my sight and

go getsomeone with real power.

| hope that at least you can be useful

and do something else besides

q ’ q

bouncing from one quad'’s dick to

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another." The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

Rage unfurls in my belly. "Watch your mouth, Skylar."

"Or what? What could you possibly do to me?" She flashes her eyes at me. "Hit me? Go ahead. | dare you to try

it."

| grit my teeth and clench my fists. "You're such a spoilt brat. Who the fuck raised you?"

"A living parent. And yes, I'd much rather be a spoilt brat than a shameless excuse of a daughter who keeps

defending the very family that destroyed hers just because of sdick. | bet your parents are rolling in their

graves for being cursed with an only child as dumb as you..."

Eyes stinging and vision red, my hand

flies across her face before | can

stop myself. Everything else

happened fast, perhap 100 fast Qne

BEI GR yoy hurtful

Worl in my face and the very next

q , q

after | hit her, she’s falling over the

stairs just as the quads arrive. They

scream her nat the top of their

lungs, rushing towards her. When she

finally hits the ground, blood trickles

from the back of her head onto the

white floor. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

My vision blurs as they surround her at the base of the staircase, cradling her head, yelling for help, calling for

an ambulance.

"I can’t feel a pulse." Ashley says with a shaky voice. Asher picks Skylar into his arms and dashes for the door

while everyone trails after him except Ashton.

He looks up at me, his hands bloody. His eyes communicate fear for his sister's life and pain to seecaught in

the web again. Feeling listless, my legs give way and | drop to my knees, staring at my quivering hands.

What have | done?