Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 178: Chapter 178

DEMI

Ten minutes after Ashton drives us to the middle of nowhere, I remain frozen in the passenger seat, watching him pacing a few feet ahead of the car. What the hell is he thinking? Why did he bring me here and why won’t he talk to me? Occasionally, he’d turn to glance at me, like he wants to make sure I’m still in the car.

I have no idea what is going through his mind but if his eyes are any indication, it’s a turmoil in there. With a deep sigh, I unlock the door and march over blades of grass to stand next to him.

"What’s going on, Ashton? Why’d you bring me here?" I ask with my hands crossed over my chest defensively. He turns and the impact of his blue eyes hits me afresh, hard and daunting. Still, I refuse to tear my eyes away. If we’re going to talk, it has to be now.

A small chuckle escapes his lips. "I’ve been wracking my brain for the last ten minutes, trying and failing to understand just what kind of a person you are, Demi Branson. The more I try to figure you out, the more confused I get." Now, the humor drains from his face. In its place, a sudden cloud of sadness hovers. "I’ll admit this once. I have no fucking clue what to believe about you, because I really don’t know you, Demi. At some point, I thought I did, and I was ready to go to bat for you even against my own family. Right now, it’s no longer the same."

The pain in his eyes shatter the wall I spent the last few days building between us. Nervous, I unknowingly take two steps back even when he hasn’t moved towards me.

He doesn’t react to my action but continues with the same intense look in his eyes.

"A lot has happened between our families, between us. I’ve said and done a lot of things that I am not proud of, things that will haunt me forever. You haven’t been a saint yourself but it’s nowhere compared to my own sins and that of my family. Demi, everything that has happened has only made one thing clear; whatever we thought we could become was a lie. Every time I take one step closer to you, you suffer all over again and my world burns."

My heart tightens with a familiar ache.

"I never thought the day would come when I’d be too scared to trust you or to trust myself not to hurt you. This isn’t the man you formed months ago. I’m...broken. I’m a mess and if you don’t keep your distance from my family and I, we’ll only keep tainting you. You know that as well as I do."

"Yes, I do."

He arches his eyebrows at my quick acceptance only to cloak his surprise seconds later.

"Thank you, for saving my brother. I’m sorry it took me so long to believe it."

"I thought we already said our goodbyes. You didn’t have to lie to me, take me on a fucking twenty minutes’ drive only to bring me to this arid land just to rehash that. A damn text would have been enough." Feeling Angry, hurt and defeated, I pivot on my heels and start heading for the car. Too dramatic? Certainly, but tears are already blurring my vision and this move is the only way to hide them from him.

"Demi, please wait."

was over him. Why is it so damn painful still? My heart races when I hear him trailing behind me. How can he not realize that

"Demi!"

wrap around me when I buckle down, groaning in pain. Ashton’s face is a study of pain and horror when

me

shoe off and I stifle a gasp of shock at my reddened foot. When I try to flex it, pain slices up my calf. I’m so stupid. Why did I take things too

in one fell swoop. Ignoring my awkward protests, he deposits me carefully inside the car, shrugs off his

"You’re going to be fine. There’s a small clinic a few meters from here. I’m sure they can patch it up before we get to a

feeling overwhelms me again, making my sore foot pale in comparison to the sinking feeling in my chest. More tears threaten to spill from my eyes as

foot is being cleaned, treated and dressed, he stands next to me, squeezing my hand

she’s all set, Mr. Rollins." The nurse says

"Thank you so much."

all mine. Take care, Mrs. Rollins. You’ll be walking just fine in a

way she addressed me.

I

hurts. Let me carry you to

ok. I feel much

continues to grin

again while we head out. Unfortunately, when we approach the door, the entrance is surrounded by B-list reporters who didn’t make the cut to the birthday party. Like ravenous

"How did they know...."

eyes stay back to

first time a celebrity graces your establishment, you want your clinic in the news? Have you considered that he’s just a human too and craves some privacy like the rest of us? If you wanted an autograph or a picture, you could have asked. Why did you have to call them here knowing what his family has been going through recently because of reporters like that

"Demi, it’s okay."

I query Ashton. "You know how this works. You’ve barely managed to clear your name and now this? What will they say in their blogs when we’re photographed together? That I wasn’t at the party but

to calm me down. "Let me handle

as we expected, the cameras flash continually. What

your ex-husband. I didn’t mean to call anyone here but I told