ASHAL
I haven’t been able to placate Olivia’s feelings. I’ve managed to rack up a lot of hate points with respect to her. She had barely recovered from my affair with Cree when I shocked her by punishing her sister with a forced marriage. Now, she has learnt that I have been playing her by pretending to be Asher. It’s a lot, I’ll admit. I am indeed an asshole.
The worst part is the timing of it all. It’s such a bad ti for her to find out given her pregnancy. I would hate for anything untoward to happen to her or our baby.
She has been keeping to herself in her room and left instructions that she doesn’t want to see at any cost. Each ti I call her phone, she doesn’t take my calls. She never cos downstairs when I arrive the penthouse. All she does is cry in her room all day, according to Lily. I am getting very worried over her condition.
Lily returns with a tray of untouched food. I grit my teeth. She can’t starve, not now. I sprint upstairs and knock on the door.
"Olivia, I want to talk. Open up. This is about Maddie." Hopefully, she’ll take the bait.
There is a little movent on the other side of the door and surprisingly, Olivia cracks the door open a notch. She looks like hell. Her eyes are all red and swollen. Her face is puffy from not getting enough sleep. She doesn’t appear to have showered in over a day.
"Liv, what are you doing to yourself? Punish all you want but not like this. Don’t hurt yourself or our baby. Please."
"What about Maddie?" She asks weakly, her eyes drooping.
"Open up then. Let in. I promise I’ll fix things with Maddie." Her eyes struggle to stay on mine. I don’t think she’s sleepy. She’s probably woozy. I gently pry the door open as she is too weak to stand a chance against and catch her before she falls.
"Liv, you’ll be okay. I’ll do whatever you want, okay? You want to forgive Maddie? It’s done. You don’t want her marriage to take place? It’s cancelled. Please, I need you to take care of your health. That’s my condition. Eat. Freshen up. Rest. I’ll give you all the space you need. You need your energy if you’re going to scold for my actions. Please Liv."
Thankfully, she lets Lily bathe and dress her. I watch Lily feed her so food. Whenever Olivia wants to stop eating after a few bites, I insist she finishes her plate or we have no deal. She finally finishes every last bit of food and gulps so water.
"Lily, you’ll stay in this room with her. Under no circumstances should she be left by herself for too long. If you have to cook or do sothing else around the house that requires a good ti investnt, Olivia will co downstairs to the living room where other eyes can watch her. Is that clear, hon?" I ask, turning to my wife.
She wipes her lips. "You promised to help Maddie."
"I did and I will." When I go close, she tucks her hands away so I can’t hold them and turns her cheek when I try to kiss her. She hates . Lily clears the plates and leaves us.
"I never cease to disappoint you, do I?"
"Keep your word, Ashal. Don’t let my sister’s life be ruined through marriage. I will harm myself if she has to suffer the sa fate as I did by being stuck in a loveless marriage." Tears fill her eyes. "She might have hurt your pride and reputation but rember she was doing it to help . Maddie sees what you keep turning a blind eye to; a fancy house, comfort ang good food isn’t enough to win a woman’s heart if you take away her choice to stay with you or not." She sniffles and props herself up. I hate where this is going.
"I’m afraid we can never be more this, Ashal. I know you desperately want to believe in a future where I would love you as much as I once loved Asher, your brother. You must have noticed the difference when you pretended to be him for weeks. Is that why you did it? You wanted to see what it was like when I am in love with you?"
"I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that."
"Do you regret it?"
My silence tells her all she needs to know.
"You don’t. You loved it, didn’t you? But you don’t need to pretend to be him just to feel a woman’s love. You could find true love of your own out there, Ashal. I don’t think I can find the energy to love another Rollins brother ever again. Asher was a mistake and a lesson. I can never give you what you want. Why won’t you let go?" When she tries to take my hand, I lurch to my feet.
"You don’t have to be afraid that love will never find you. At first, I thought you were a monster because of how you hit but you’ve co a long way from that mindless freak. You have better control of your temper now. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Go out there and try again. Find love."
"STOP IT."
"There’s no future for us here, Ashal, not even this baby can unite us as you hope. Things will still be the sa between us or even worse. Would you also keep the baby trapped in here with ? Would you hide the baby from the world too? Think, Ashal. What kind of ho would you want your child to be born into? What we have is too depressing to allow a child grow in."
I can’t believe she is still going on about this separation. Why is everyone telling to try and find love again? Can’t I just have the woman I am with? It hurts to hear the sa harsh truth from Olivia as it is proof that she has given up on us too.
"I’ll go to your father and have Maddie’s wedding cancelled, as promised." I utter in a low voice before leaving Olivia to herself. I can’t bear to spend another minute with her telling we can’t work out. I’ll rather find soone else to vent my frustration on and right now, Maddie doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Her recent actions have influenced Olivia’s decision no doubt. At least with Maddie, I can scream obscenities at her without worrying about the health of an unborn child.
Mr. Dunn isn’t happy when I show up to tell him I’ve had a change of heart. I can understand why he’s frustrated. It can’t be easy to keep making promises to young n and their families only to renege on such promises a few days later.
"Mr. Ashal, I don’t understand why you want to cancel this wedding. It was your decision to have arrange my daughter’s wedding. You even handled the selection of the groom to sift out the most eligible and though I had concerns, you assured the young man is a good choice. All the arrangents have been made between both families. What am I supposed to tell them now?"
"Tell them the wedding is off. It’s as simple as that." I snap at him.
"No, it’s not that simple for folks like . You have enough money to buy your way through anything and anyone. For a man like , my word is my bond. If I keep going back on my word and canceling Maddie’s weddings like this, word will spread and soon, nobody will take seriously when I propose the marriage of my daughter and their son. I might be stuck with Maddie for the rest of her life unless she elopes with a man and does one of those hasty court weddings that young people do."
He throws an apologetic glance my way as he recalls my wedding with his first daughter was as distasteful as what he just described. I bet he wants a proper wedding for Maddie.
"I’m sorry but I can’t cancel the wedding. I have given my word. Maddie will wed Hunter as scheduled."
I rise on my feet. I can appreciate Mr. Dunn’s reason for turning down. My decisions lately have been coming off as fickle and just because I happen to be wealthy and influential doesn’t an I get to play with a young woman’s life like that. I am left with one last option; to pay off Hunter so he cancels the wedding from his own end. Mr. Dunn might get upset when he learns of it and he will definitely know I have a hand in it but we can discuss that later.
"Thank you for your ti." I tell him.
Hunter is an easy man to find. I use the address he gave during the interview process as Maddie’s groom to be and trace his ho. It turns out to be much nicer than I thought. His red car is also parked out front, indicating he is ho. He does very well for himself as a banker.
I almost went with another guy but Elyon had managed to convince to pitch Hunter to Maddie’s father as he was a decent young man who had the wherewithal to give Maddie a good life. His looks might be average but he looks like he can build a good ho and raise a lovely family with her. Hopefully, Maddie will find love with Hunter one day.
I approach the door and knock. It takes a minute before an elderly woman opens.
"Hello." I greet her.
"Can I help you, sir?"
She doesn’t recognize . Refreshing. "I’m looking for Hunter Cummings. I’d like a word with him." A wave of confusion washes over the woman’s face.
"Hunter? Is there a problem?"
"Mom, who’s at the door?" A young woman asks from within. Her mom repeats my enquiry and she cos to the door to see . Her eyes dilate in surprise.
"Ash Rollins, pleasure to et you again. It’s Octavia."
"et again?"
"Yeah. We already t at the bar on Foxton Grove. My friend whom you called blondie saw you, freaked and left the bar? Skye Sanders? You were quite taken by her." She leans on the door. "At least I thought you were but here you are on my doorstep. This has to be fate. We’re ant for each other." A seductive wink follows.
"None of that rings a bell. I think you must have t one of my brothers." Her face assus an embarrassed hue.
"Oh, I’m so sorry." She tucks her hair behind her ears. "You are looking for Hunter, I gather?"
"Yes."
"He doesn’t stay here."
"Why’s that? Isn’t this his ho?"
Octavia laughs. "Why would you think that? Sure, he does so work around the house every now and then but that doesn’t make him part of my family. He’s just a hand we hire to fix the plumbing issues, mow the lawn, that kind of stuff."
What? Hunter lied?
"And the car?" I ask, pointing outside. "Whose car is that?"
"That’s my brother’s. Hunter also helps maintain it when Jackson isn’t ho. Why?"
I am speechless right now. If Hunter lied about his house and his car, then he must have lied about everything else; his job as a banker, his earnings, his family, his intentions for Maddie. I excuse myself and jump back in my car.
"Mr. Dunn." I say the second he picks up. "That wedding is not taking place. Hunter is a pathological liar. I have just been to his house. It’s not his. It belongs to complete strangers. He lied about his assets. He’s not even a banker. He’s an errand boy for the family that owns the house he claims as his. Are you listening to ?"
As I take a mont to breathe, I start to wonder. Why am I so bothered that Maddie is about to end up with a bum? Shouldn’t that excite ? That was the plan after all when I altered her father’s list so why does this trouble so much? Maddie’s father’s response cuts through my thoughts.
"Will you really stoop this low to tarnish the young man’s reputation just to get to back out of this wedding? Why are you doing this, Mr. Ashal? I know Maddie wronged you but this is pushing it too far."
He doesn’t believe . Typical. "Where is Madeline? I want you to call her and get her exact location and then text it to . I’ll be seeing you soon, Mr. Dunn. Maddie’s address. Text now. Don’t forget."
It takes him a few minutes but he texts Maddie’s location. I imdiately follow her to the store where she told her father she is headed in a taxi. I keep calling her but she doesn’t take my call. When I see her alight from a taxi cab in front of , I want to honk at her. I know she knows my car is right behind her cab but before I can honk at her, Demi hastens into the store after Maddie.
My eyes drift to the car in front of . How did I miss it? I stare at the store. Are those two ladies seriously still eting up? Maddie promised she would handle Demi. Could Demi still nurse suspicions about ?
I haven’t had a chance to iron out things with are. I have been waiting for her to make the first move by coming up to and asking the burning questions in her heart. If I try to defend myself before she asks, I’ll only look defensive and fuel her suspicions all the more.
I contemplate going into the store and confronting both won together. They’ll feel like they were stalked. Demi will believe the worst of . Maddie won’t co with . The confusion about what to do continues to plague until Demi walks out alone, eating chips she just got from the store. Where’s Maddie? Is she still inside?
I shift awkwardly. She’d recognize my car the mont she sees it. Before she can suspect that I followed her, I get down to fill my tank. Demi’s eyes spot and a smile stretches her thin lips. It looks genuine. There’s no trace of shock or surprise which I find weird considering she was just with Maddie inside the store. I can’t keep pretending I don’t know the two of them linked up.
"Hey, fancy eting you here." Demi throws more chips into her mouth.
"Yeah, needed so gas." I co around and start filling my tank. "Was that Madeline I saw you running after earlier?" Demi arches a brow at my bluntness. "It’s okay. I know you two have t. We probably should talk about it."
"Yeah. We should. I’m sorry I haven’t brought it up. It’s just being crazy lately and I didn’t think it was my place to bring up your personal life. Maddie explained everything to . You have a right to your privacy, Ashal. I understand why you kept your relationship with Olivia private. Your brothers have had so tough run with their relationships out in the open. No one can bla you for wanting to deviate from that path."
I sigh tiredly and lean on my bumper. "I guess there’s nothing left to hide. I have only ever loved one woman and that’s’ Maddie’s sister. We’ve had lots of complications in our relationship which led us to seek a private, almost secret one. Even then, I couldn’t guarantee the happiness I craved."
"What do you an?"
I slide a sorrowful look her way. "Liv wants to break up with . Given everything we’ve been through, I am deeply hurt by how easily she wants to end things. She does this all the ti. When the going gets tough, she demands to end our relationship and when I give her a few days to her thoughts, she cos to her senses and begs not to leave her." I indulge in a long sigh. "I love her to bits but she drives crazy most tis."
"I’m sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?" She asks, coming to join on my car.
"We are going through a rough ti and as always, she is afraid of change. I’ll give her a few days to cool off. We always manage to pull through tis like this. After a few days, she’ll be clinging to again and begging not to leave her."
Demi only nods her head while munching her chips.
"I want to believe that there’s still hope for us even though Olivia sounded very resolute this ti."
"And what if she really wants to call it quits this ti? Will you be able to let her go?" The keen edge of Demi’s voice makes tilt my head in her direction. Is she asking what I think she is asking? Is this so kind of confirmation that I am more humane than Maddie must have described? In response, I simply feign a smile and head back into my car. I honestly don’t have that answer yet.
"Madeline already left, didn’t she?"
"Yeah."
"See you later, Demi." She stands by her car with a hand dipped in her chips and watches drive away while I watch her through my rearview mirror in return. I don’t know where we stand now and what she thinks of . I only know that the look in her eyes have beco one I never wanted to see; fear.
I track Maddie’s phone through the waning light of dusk and when it takes to a strip club, I barge in with a deep frown. I don’t know what is going through her head. She used to seem like a rather sensible young lady. It beats how quickly she changed and how fast she’s been making one bad decision after another.
Is this the next best thing after getting kicked out of school and being forced to get married to a stranger? I would have expected that she would have eloped by now. It seems far more honorable than having to watch her on a table with half of her clothes on, drunk and teasingly stripping off the rest of her clothes in a bid to entertain a bunch of horny, screaming dudes.
I plow through the shed, sweaty bodies and semi nude waitresses to get to the table.
"Maddie, get down from there, NOW."
Maddie blinks down at and her eyes pick up my face. She laughs lazily.
"Ash Rollins is in the house everybody! I guess it’s my lucky day after all."
When I try to reach her hand, she moves back. Thankfully, most of the custors here are dead drunk and will barely rember this until after tonight. A few sober ones co up to and try to make conversation. I dismiss them and climb up on the damn table. Maddie is singing tone deaf to the music in the background with her back turned to . She only has her lingerie on with so pieces of jewelry.
She yelps in shock when I sweep her off her feet and throw her over my shoulder. I ignore her screams, kicking and scratching as we make our way through the hooting, drunk crowd.
"Put down!"
"Shut up, Maddie."
She laughs drunkenly. "You’re such a fun killer. The night is young and it’s my bachelorette party. Can’t I have one thing for myself?" I reach my car, shove the passenger door open and help her inside.
"Seatbelt."
"I’m not leaving." She stubbornly argues. She bites my ear while I strap her in.
"Stop it!" The bite isn’t very painful but I can’t stand her being so naughty. My phone buzzes with calls from Mr. Dunn. I look at Maddie’s state and realize she can’t possibly go ho like this. Her father will throw a tantrum and give her a hard ti when she gets sober tomorrow.
"Where’s hunter?" Maddie asks when I get behind the wheel. "I need to ask him if he thinks I’m hot. I need to ask a few other questions too. Ashal, do you think Hunter will be good to ? I don’t care about his looks or his money anymore. I just want to cherished, not tolerated." Her weak slurs fade out and she starts crying.
"Hey, Maddie, you’ll be fine. You are not getting married. The wedding is canceled."
Her cries only intensify. "No one wants to marry . How am I supposed to find true love if nobody wants , not my parents or Carter. Everyone hates Maddie’s guts. Everyone."
I lean over to wipe her tears. "Don’t cry, please. They don’t hate you. They love you. Stop crying."
She turns to with sad eyes.
"You hate . You hate the most."
"I don’t hate you, not anymore."
I’m being honest. I feel bad for her. My decisions have drastically affected her life and I don’t know how to pull her out of this depression. Tears stream down her face as she stares at with half-closed eyes. Did I manage to ruin the lives of the Dunn sisters? How will I sleep at night knowing all the damage and pain I have caused them?
Maybe Olivia is right. She and I were dood to fail from the start. She will never love and I can’t bla her. I shouldn’t hold onto her simply because I can’t find love. I should let her live her life free of .
I have seconds to react when Maddie closes the distance between us and brushes her lips against mine, almost like she wants to taste them. Then she gets into it, kisses sensually with a hand tangled in my hair. My insides explode with heat before I pull away from her, wide-eyed with shock. She slumps back on her seat, her hair over her face and drifts off to sleep with a smile on her lips.
With my heart still thumping wildly and the hardness in my groin dulling my senses, I touch a hand to my throbbing lips.
She is drunk. She didn’t an to. It was a mistake. I continue to chant these words in my head, more to keep my own sanity, while I watch her sleep.
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