Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 36: Chapter 36

ASHAL

"Welcsir." Everyone chimes as | make my way into Rollins Media. It’s been days since I've worked directly

from my office. When | step in, there are gifts and flowers from different departments festooning my desk and

sofas. The copywriting team lefta brand new hoverboard. The marketing team stocked my personal fridge

with my favorite drinks and snacks. Tears glisten in my eyes at the show of love from my employees.

"Thank you so much guys. You didn’t have to."

"No, but we wanted to." Elyon, my creative lead quips. He beams at me. "We're glad to have you back sir, hale

and hearty."

| pat my eyes dry. "Okay. Enough now. Let's all get back to work. We have a major campaign coming up. | need

great ideas. There will be juicy rewards for the team that knocks this right out of the park."

Everyone coos with excitement as they retreat to their working desks. | sink into my chair and take a deep

breath. Gosh, it feels good to be back.

Remote working is not my style. | love the power and control that only emanates from my high-back executive

chair. I love hearing the hum of activity from the bull pen filtering in through my half open door.

| love the clomp of my secretary's shoes over the tiles as she comes to reel out my schedule for the day. | love

imagining lunch breaks in the staff cafeteria and eating with everyone.

We are like a family here. We are nothing like the HQ where everyone walks with an imaginary status symbols

embellished on their forehead. Here, there's no power tussle, just a family and their leader.

| am glad | dragged myself out of bed today. | need the distraction. With a lot of faces milling around me, it will

be a while before | recall my dead child or Olivia's bruised body. I'll feel less likely to commit self-harm with so

many people around. When | get my head straight with a few hours of deep work, I'll go see Olivia.

Just after two meetings with all my team leads trying to strategize for the next quarter, | settle back into my

office to prep for lunch when an expected visitor beams atfrom the door.

"I was honestly starting to wonder when you'll show up. | knew you couldn't help yourself."

"| tried and failed to give you your space." Mom admits with a huge smile and open arms. | embrace her. If |

hadn't insisted, she would have joinedto the office this morning and watchedwork all day. I guess it’s

one of the perks of being her favorite.

"| told you I'd be fine. You didn’t have to call Elyon or my secretary." Before she can deny it, | add, "They've been

hovering overall morning and making hushed phone calls. | know it's been you on the other end."

Mom's shoulders sag with resignation. "I had to know you were actually fine. You know | hate being clueless

about your state of mind."

Together, we move from my office area to the adjoining room that serves as a lounge area to entertain our

guests. | reach into the fridge and grab mom'’s favorite can soda.

"I'm glad you're here. | might need your help." | say, giving her the drink. Worry creases her forehead.

"What do you need help with?"

My face crumples for the first ttoday. I've tried not to think about Olivia and our lost child but right now, the

emotions start to overwhelmagain. | wring my hands and gnaw on my bottom lip. Mom drops her drink to

csit next to me.

"It's okay. I'm here for you. Anything you want."

"Thank you for not telling Asher."

She rocks my head on her chest and says nothing.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

"I didn’t mean to do it, mom. | tried countless times to connect with Olivia as myself but she has always loathed

me. She despiseseven more because of my condition. The only nshe loves and responds to is Asher. If

there was a better way to make her fall in love withas Ashal, I'd have opted for it but nothing else worked. |

swear it."

"It's okay."

I pull my head up to stare into her eyes. "No, it's not. | don’t know if I am only shooting myself in the foot by

making her fall deeper in love with Asher while | am pretending to be him. | am sick with worry wondering when

she'll discover the truth and how she’ll react. With the death of our child, will she ever forgivenow?"

Mom grabs my chin with both hands. Tears swim in her eyes. "That is why this plan is so risky. If you truly love

her, you'll have to be relentless in winning her over as Ashal and nobody else. You have to show her that you are

so much more than your condition. I'll help you talk to her."

| surge to my feet and blot my teary eyes. "You and father have been pushingon her from day one. Maybe

that is why she’s sick of me. She never wantedand maybe she feels | am just with her because my parents

demand it."

| give mom a reassuring smile. "I'll win her over mom. | have to be a man for Olivia. She has to know that she

can feel safe with me, aroundand because of me. That's why she loves Asher. | didn’t realize it until now. He

gave her a false sense of safety and she has been clinging to it for a while now. I'll show her that she’s safe with

me."

"How do you intend to do that?"

"That's where I'll need your help."

ork

After the strenuous security clearance in my own home, mom and | finally make it into the penthouse.

"Why do you have to go through all that clearance to get into your own house?"

"Because | have three brothers that look just likeand one of them happens to be loved by my wife. | can’t

take any chances, mother." Mom nods sagely.

Just then, Lily appears in her checkered uniform and welcomes us. She stands, looking a bit confused about how

to address me.

"It’s me, Lily, your boss."

"Oh, welcMr. Ashal."

"This is my mother, Mrs. Rollins."

"Welcto you too, Mrs. Rollins. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Mother beams at her.

"Where's my wife?"

"She's seeing a movie in the htheatre. I'll inform her you're around."

"Tell her to meetin the living room upstairs. Mention that my mother is here too."

Mother joinsto take the stairs to the second living area where we sit and wait for Olivia.

"To the best of her knowledge, she doesn’t know that | know of her pregnancy for my brother. If | fail to win her

over with my genuine promises as Ashal, | just might resort to weaponizing her betrayal. I'm not proud of it," |

add when mom's face hardens, "I just want to have a family with her and hopefully, she’ll be smart enough to

realize Asher will never give her that."

"Okay."

When Olivia walks into the living room, she’s looking much better than | expected. She greets mother cordially

and meets my eyes. She offersa stiff greeting which | don’t take personally.

"How have you been, my dear?"

"I've been better." She replies mother with clasped hands.

"Please sit." | point to the sofa. Olivia hesitantly walks over and takes her seat.

"Olivia, | know at this point you have every reason to dislike...hate me." | correct. "I have hurt you more times

than | can count and it’s no excuse that those were due to a medical condition | have no control over. Yet, here |

am, still begging for your forgiveness and still asking for a chance to do right by you. Saying I love you might

sound like the worst thing you ever heard but | will never stop trying to be a better man for you. | know our

marriage was forced but | believe we can still make something beautiful out of it. | just need to know if there's

anything | can do to restore your faith inand our union."

The room falls silent. Olivia gapes atin shock. The words | just uttered are clearly not what she had been

expecting to hear. She stares from mother’s face to mine, her lips unable to form words. Mother intervenes.

"Liv dear, | apologize on behalf of my son here for what you've had to go through because of my family. | am

certain no mother could bear to see their child trapped like this. However, | am giving you my word that

everything will be better going forward. Ashal is prepared to do whatever it takes to fix your marriage and give

you the love and the life you deserve. All he is asking is for you to give him one more shot. While you deliberate,

please remember that him hitting you has never been intentional. Without his condition, he'll never even hurt a

fly. Please don’t anchor your decision solely on his medical condition. Treat him like you would a normal man

vying for your love and see what your head tells you."

| weigh in again, going to sit close to my wife and taking her shaking hands in mine. "Olivia, ever since you came

into my life, I have never thought about my future with anyone else. | am deeply in love with you. This wouldn't

be our life if we didn’t meet the way we did and you didn’t threaten to ruin my family. If you agree to give me

another shot and to stand byand my family, | promise to have you join the Rollins mansion as the

respectable daughter-in-law of our household. My mom here will bear witness. What do you say?"

When Olivia's hands slip out of my grasp, | know she’s about to break my heart, again. Nervously, she rises to

her feet and creates a distance between us.

"Is this a joke? Do I look like a fool to you all? You made these spromises toand much more when we

first got together." She glares at mom. "You promised he would get better and never hityet he never got

better. Every the beatto a pulp, you pretended not to know and stayed in your mansion."

Her eyes fire up as she stares atnow. "You don’t care about me. You can’t possibly lovebecause if you

did, you wouldn't keepin this marriage against my will. You wouldn’t be selfish with your love and constantly

think of yourself and what you want. | know exactly what my life will look like with you in the Rollins mansion.

Everyone will turn a blind eye to your actions. They'll sweep my suffering under the rug like they've always done

and rally round you to give emotionally support whereas I, | will be threatened to silence. That's the norm in the

Rollins household, isn’t it?"

"Olivia."

"Don’t call my name, Ashal. | don’t want your selfish love. Why can’t you understand that? | don’t love you and |

may never be able to love you."

My fingers clench by my side. When Olivia sees it, she staggers back.

"Are you going to hitin front of your mom too?"

"Ashal" Mom calls me, rising nervously.

"I'm not going to hit you or anyone." | run a hand through my face and settle back down on my seat. "I'm trying

so hard to win your love and trust despite how many times you've trampled on mine, Olivia. Why are you so

adamant about rejecting my love? It’s not just because of my condition, is it?"

| stand and square my shoulders. "It’s because you're in love with another, right?"

Olivia's eyes widen with shock.

"| know. | know you just lost a baby. | know it wasn’t mine but you don’t seebeing spiteful of you. You don’t

seeasking questions or trying to get mad at you. | have learnt to forgive you quicker because | never want to

hurt you again. Why isn’t that enough proof of my love for you?"

Olivia's lips tremble slightly. "Why won't you ask who the father is."

"Because | don’t want to get mad at you."

"You know who it is." Olivia says firmly.

"| forgive you, Olivia, whoever he might be. | am sorry for the loss of the innocent child at my hands. Now, | want

us to start on a clean slate, just you and I. No more betrayals. | am not the only one who needs to put some

effort into repairing our relationship. | need you to meethalfway if this must work."

| stretch out a hand to her. "Will you agree to be my wife and the mother of my unborn kids before the whole of

Danvarr?"

Olivia stares at my outstretched hand.

"Excusesir, Mr. Asher Rollins has just been cleared by security. He is requesting your approval for entry into

the penthouse." My chief security officer announces.

ork

"You're a difficult man to see, Mr. Ashal Rollins." Asher says as | take the short stroll from the entrance of the

penthouse to his car on the driveway. "Now, why the fuck is your security detail treatinglike | am being

cleared to enter the Whitehouse? | thought this was like a second crib for the boys?"

"You didn’t tellyou were coming, Ash."

"Pffft, my bad." Asher grabs his phone and sends a text. My phone beeps in my hand. When | read the text, it's

clearly from him informingthat he is about to pay Olivia a visit. | chuckle softly at his flippant response.

"This will not do from now on. You can’t get in here without clearance from me."

"What the hell is going on man? I'm your brother for Pete’s sake."

"That's exactly why you weren't turned away at the gate."

Asher fixeswith a hard look and steps down from his G-Wagon. He eyes the penthouse and deliberately lets

his eyes stray to Olivia's window.

"This isn’t what you think it is. | didn’t want to bring this up with you without confronting your wife first but |

guess you leaveno choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ashton had a lot to say tothe other night when | exposed Demi’s pictures with her ex. He accusedof

svery vile things which | admit | might be capable of but in this case, | clearly didn’t do. Apparently, you and

Olivia lost a pregnancy." He pats my shoulder somberly. "I'm really sorry about that. | don’t know why you didn’t

tellbut we'll leave that discussion for another day."

He replaces his dark sunglasses on his face. "I’M HERE TO CONFRONT YOUR WIFE FOR INSINUATING THAT | AM

RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PREGNANCY SHE JUST LOST."

I do my best to look shocked, not shocked as to how Ashton found out and even told Asher but shocked as a man

suddenly discovering that his wife might have been cheating on him.

"What the h-hell are you t-talking about r-right now?"

Asher tosses his head and laughs. "You've always been a terrible actor, little bro." His face hardens now. "LET'S

TRY THAT AGAIN. YOU WANT TO TELLWHY YOUR WIFE BELIEVES SHE'S BEEN FUCKINGAND EVEN GOT

PREGNANT BYWHEN | HAVEN'T SEEN HER IN MONTHS? Think again before you lie to me, Ashal Rollins."

Before | can caution him to keep his voice down, we get interrupted.

"Asher?"

We both look up to find Olivia staring dejectedly at us.

Oh no!