Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 151: Chapter 151

ASHER

I wasn’t prepared for that. I didn’t expect Ashton to make that move or pose the question about our biological parents without running it by the rest of us first. My mouth dries up as the deafening silence in the room wears on.

Father is a rare image of shock and terror as his chest heaves with breath.

"What did you say?" He rasps.

Before Ashton can say anything in reply, we hear a slight whimper and tip our heads to find mother atop the staircase. She looks pale and disheveled in her night clothes. Pain radiates from her bloodshot eyes. Her grip tightens on the railing as she watches us, her lips hanging open. Her eyes rake us, a withering look blanketing her face.

"Mom?" Ashal whispers. Did she hear Ashton’s question too? Is that why it appears like her soul has ditched her body?

She takes one step, misses and trips.

"MOM!" Ashal skips over the couch and reaches her before the rest of us. Thankfully, her firm grip on the rail didn’t break. She hangs on for dear life until Ashal convinces her to let him help her up.

"It’s okay, mom. I’ve got you. You’re okay." He pulls her to his chest where she sobs softly. My heart clenches tightly in my chest, as I am sure everyone else’s does.

"You’re b-back." She skims his face with her hands

Father tries to go for her hand but she tucks it away from him, clinging to her son instead. Her walls have been up since Josh’s paternity was exposed. I don’t think she’s spoken a word to father ever since we saw the news. We haven’t eaten collectively as a family since then. Everything has changed.

Ashal helps mother to her room. Father turns to Ashton, mirroring the devastation in mother’s face.

"Who fed you with such egregious lies and how long ago was this?"

"That doesn’t answer my question!"

Father’s face clouds over with ripened rage. "I scold you for slipping up like every other parent out there would and you start to question the legality of your adoption?" His eyes skim mine and Ashley’s faces. "Are you also two nursing the same doubts? Were the adoption papers not enough proof for you? What else could you possibly be insinuating that I did to have you boys as my sons beside adopting you through the proper channels?" He turns to pin Ashton with a disappointed glare. "What are you insinuating your mother and I did to get our hands on you guys?"

The moment he throws in mother to topple our emotions, I feel the claw of doubt scrape down my gut at his deliberate ploy to emotionally manipulate us. If he resorted to that cheap trick, then there’s a chance he’s got something to hide and that scares the shit out of me.

I have been actively avoiding this subject matter and denying the clues around me because the subject is a rather personal and sore one. I’ve lived my life justifying the wrongs my family metes out as being a necessary evil to protect ourselves.

as it’s done to protect my parents and brothers, the world can go fuck themselves and their moral code. I couldn’t care less but this? If the accusations are true and father and mother conspired to rip us from our biological family

luck? Does it make me ungrateful and selfish to demand to be loved as much as Josh, the real Rollins’ heir? While my head fills up with conflicting thoughts, father and Ashton keep

things, Ashton. I know I can be ruthless when it comes to stomping out fires that threaten to raze down our lovely family’s reputation and that of the business but it hurts to realize that you all think me a monster and mindless freak because of it. At the core of everything I have ever done is

his childhood wouldn’t have been any different from yours. I still believe in molding children to be the image of strength, resilience and competence in striving to be the best in life. You might not be a mirror image of me but

closet many nights to face your demons. You learnt to distract yourself by playing with fabrics and imagining designs. Call it tough love but I don’t know a father who will coddle his son’s weaknesses which have the power to overwhelm him in future. I SAVED

to you no matter what I did. You challenged everything and constantly made me feel unaccepted as a father. I let you get away with a lot of things to prove my love for you but all this time, your doubts and rejection remained. I am highly disappointed in you for believing a stranger over the man who

"FATHER!"

like me? You want to fly solo? Have at it, Ashton. You’re welcome to remain in your brothers’ lives but you and I will have zero ties as far as my last name, goodwill and wealth goes. You go back to being your biological father’s son!" He pats

after him while

bring that

"I’m sorry."

are stupid! You are stupidly in love with a woman who is set to ruin our lives. Demi is already making concerted efforts to destroy the only family we’ve ever known. What do you hope to gain

what that means? That we’ve been lied to our whole lives! That’s not something we can just turn a blind eye to

been uncovered as a sworn enemy of this household. Everything is falling apart. The last thing we need is to fight amongst ourselves! This

promise and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Please, trust me. We have bigger fish

it behind him for now and I totally understand why. I am scared to think of it myself, the reality that father might

stripped bare of everything tied to Brett Rollins didn’t even

life, devoid of fear of losing out, would be and if the

royally pissed at

else from broaching that dicey topic again. Father didn’t just threaten to

"Have you contacted Demi?"

me anyway. Why don’t you work your charm with Anna and get her to tell you where Demi is? I could go see her, beg her forgiveness, whatever she wants. Heck, I’m ready to do anything she asks as

not been on good terms with Anna. Demi’s actions have kicked us back a few steps as usual. I have been busying Anna’s calls all day and pretending to be engrossed with liberating my family from the dark times we’re in when the truth is that I’m just pissed at Anna for

she would deign to give me a little heads up knowing what her friend was planning with Billion-Err. I don’t

could have saved us a lot

Anna to get some information. Just as I expected, she’s

was all she could tell me because she made a

be?" Ashley wonders. Gradually, we crane our neck as Ashton heads towards the

somewhere?" I ask

Demi would be open to speaking with anyone in the mansion, it has to be him. He must know her whereabout. I walk up to him