Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 194: Chapter 194

ASHLEY

"What?" I snap, lunging to my feet. My eyes sizzle with anger. "What do you mean you’re hiring a manager to oversee MY company? You can’t do that!"

"I can, Ashley, and I will." Father replies bluntly as his eyes dart around my work space. I hadn’t expected him to show up suddenly in the middle of the day or to come to such a rash decision just when I am starting to see glimpses of a clothing line I might be inspired to create. My sketchpad has gone through a couple of torn pages before I finally drew something akin to a vision of the new line.

"Sales are not slow on your end; they’re practically inexistent now. We’re out of stock for most of the highly sought-after designs at the walk-in stores. The customer support of this company’s website is a mad house. There’s an egregious number of complaints yet no one has deigned to give appropriate replies." He leers at me with a clenched jaw. "Every single time a woman breaks your heart, you let your emotions affect a billion-dollar company I built from the ground up with my sweat. That ends now. I need someone who knows how to keep his feelings in check and run a business professionally."

"Father!"

"Someone who knows not to mix business with pleasure, especially at the work place!" His eyes flash angrily as it stays on me. I dip mine, aware that he is referring to the scene where he walked in on me smashing my third assistant in the last two weeks.

Somehow, I become reluctant to work with them after we have sex.

"You might be my son but you clearly lack what it takes to run a company long term without making stupid decisions because of women."

"I’m sorry, okay? I was dealing with stuff but it’s over now. I’ve got the clarity I wanted. I’m good now."

"I DON’T CARE, Ash. I’ve heard that line countless times and given you countless opportunities but you always fail me. And you know what’s funny? Ashal has been through much worse than you in the last few years yet his company still does very well at the end of each quarter. You see, you have no justifiable excuse for your incompetence."

My eyes darken at the harsh comparison. "Really? Now, it’s Ashal and not Asher?" I chuckle dryly. "For the longest time, you loathed Ashal because of his illness. You never gave him a breathing space, always blaming him for his condition and indirectly referring to him as a monster. Even when he outperformed Asher, you continually recognized Asher globally as your right-hand man. Now, you suddenly want to unlock a new level of being a pathetic father by using Ashal to shame me?"

I shake my head in disbelief. "You have no idea the battles my brothers and I face on a daily basis but more importantly, you have no right to tell us how to respond or react to our battles. YES, I am not Asher, Ashton or Ashal but telling me that Ashal’s been through worse than me is BULLSHIT! Yeah, he suffered through a medical condition he never asked for and because of that, his love life was always hard. But everyone excused most of his incompetence." Tears sting my eyes. "I was sexually assaulted as a child by your best friend. I’ll always wonder if you truly never knew about it..."

"Ashley!"

all think it should be easy for me to pretend that it never happened. You hold me to even higher standards than those who never have to go

about her pregnancy but I swear I formed a bond with a child that didn’t even exist. If Ashal can still be in shock and feeling the pain of losing loved ones even though it was a close

eyes on father knowing he will never know the truth about Nicci’s baby, mother

struggle to form a connection with one woman?" I scoff at him. "Like things can’t get any bleaker for me, you want to take the only thing that keeps me sane?" I can’t believe how unfazed he is despite how difficult it is for me to

off my chair, I toss it over my shoulder and brush past

walk out

carrot while making me grovel at your feet begging for it? Or, you’ll hand it all over to your real son to show me my place? Do whatever the fuck you want. There’s nothing left for me to lose anyway. Ignoring his calls, I storm out of what used to be MY

to do? I have no idea. Though I had spouted a

wheels, my hands begin to tremble. This is my limit. I’m not sure I can take the pain, the

***

and raining heavily outside. For the last three hours, I’ve been staring at glass of beer, watching the froth fizzle away while nestled at a local downtown bar people hardly

phone died after a disturbing number of missed calls. I’ve been feeling numb and empty for the last few hours, gaping at the empty bar and back

few hours. I can’t seem to escape the crippling fear that I am

name, I would be nothing. Without my brothers filling my life with equal parts drama and intrigue, Danvarr wouldn’t

where my trauma stops and where my innate deficiency begins. Is my past largely to blame for

block the searing pain crawling up my chest. Bust as soon as my fingers wrap around the glass, someone forcefully yanks it out of my grip and downs

small belch, Iman sets the glass down and smacks his lips. Where the fuck did he even

wanted to drink it, you’d have had it

can’t seem to muster the strength to challenge his action. So, instead of smashing his face in, I get on my feet

"It’s Demi, isn’t it?"

encrusted knuckle rings are a fashion trend your brothers refuse to buy into so they’re kind of a tell for you, Ashley Rollins." His face is devoid of the roguish grin I have