Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

DEMI

"Demi! Demi!! Demi!!!"

The shrill sound of my aunt's voice cuts through my foggy brain and stirs me awake from a deep sleep. My eyes still closed, I hear her swing my door open and barge into my room with her daughter in tow. It's usually bad when they enter the small boxy room that is my escape hatch from their hateful glares and harsh words.

I have been living with my aunt ever since my parents died five years ago. They were unfortunately inside a faulty elevator in a mall that fell from the nineteenth floor and crashed. Aunt wasn't pleased to have an extra mouth to feed by accommodating me. She hated her sister, my mother. Jealous is more like the word. They had both wanted my father and my father chose my mum over my aunt. Long story. My aunt and her daughter, Kira, have been making my life a miserable one ever since I moved in with them.

"You're still in bed by ten in the morning, huh girl? Did you forget you're an orphan and a freeloader in my house? An adult who is yet to start contributing substantially to the expenses in this house?" My aunt snarls.

I sit up on my bed thinking how I have been submitting my pay checks from working at a book store to my aunt at the end of every month, for the last two years now. The light from the window is harsh so I squint my eyes. My head aches badly and my aunt's voice is only making it want to fall off my neck. Why do I feel this way?

"Where were you last night? Kira heard you come in by two this morning. Where the hell were you?"

"I told you she has started prostituting herself." Kira draws close and sniffs me.

"Eww. She reeks of alcohol and her breath stinks mum. She's clearly drunk."

"What's that?" Kira asks. In a flash, she snatches a paper crumpled by the foot of my bed. I continue to cradle my head in my hands when Kira shrieks. "NO WAY! NO F*CKING WAY." She rushes to show her mum what the paper says.

"A marriage certificate?"

stares at me. "TO ASH ROLLINS??? This can't be right. The Rollins brothers

Speak up Demi. What is the meaning of this? Who did you get married to last night at the Saint Lucy church? Which Ash

all went by the short form, Ash Rollins whenever they were in public spaces to preserve their mystery. No one could really tell them apart by looking at them. Very few people have had the privilege to fraternize with them and I am not of that class so the Ash Rollins on the certificate must be a prank

and driving him to the edge with my decision to wait till marriage. Fresh hot tears moisten my eyes now. I had left there to my best friend's work place, a high-end club. She snuck me

"I...I don't remember."

aunt's eyes. "Oh, you'll have to remember. I don't care if you make up a story." Smiling, she exits my room with the marriage certificate, dragging Kira with her. I dig around for my phone and flip through it. There's no clue in it. No pictures or sloppy drunk videos. How much did I drink last night? How did I end up with a marriage certificate? And to Ash Rollins? Nah, some random dude must have been playing a prank. There's no way one of the billionaire quads of

before. He would be more concerned than mad. Liam, one of our most loyal

do you think

"To the

gives me chills. "I don't think so." She's all dressed up. Kira too. "We're heading for the Rollins

"What? W-Why?"

in my face. "Because my clever mum has already posted your marriage certificate online. All the entertainment blogs are eating it up. There's a new article about your marriage every

by wealthy families/businesses and calling them out for it. I don't mind other small blogs running the story but not Billion-Err. Now, the whole of Danvarr knows my face. How am I

bursting seeing the crappy photo Kira added of

and had a drink for the first time. I must have had too much to drink. The fake marriage thing must have been a drunken idea

of it as it is. Mum is going to put her skills as a thespian to work today. The Rollins will be prepared to pay us handsomely to bury this story.

can this ever

least you can do to pay me back for putting up with you. You better play your part. The

they here?" I ask with