ASHTON
"What the fuck happened? I thought you said you lost father. How did you not see him behind you? Why in the world was he following you in the first place?" I keep badgering Asher as he pulls up at Ashal’s second penthouse where we are crashing in the anti. Asher gets out of his car with a forlorn look on his face but I am too livid to spare him a breath.
"ANSWER GODDAMMIT"
"Calm down, Ashton."
"Don’t tell to calm down. Answer my questions!"
He runs a hand over his brows and expels a deep breath. "Look, father and I had a little tiff earlier in the day. We parted ways and I guess he felt guilty and wanted to make it up to so he tracked my car GPS because I was too furious to return his calls."
All I can do is grit my teeth. "Didn’t he settle things with you at the HQ when you two t up? What was the need to follow you all the way to Adriana?"
"Look, I don’t know, okay? It’s Father. If I could decipher his motivations for doing a bunch of shit, I would be two steps ahead of him, don’t you think." He sighs loudly. "I pulled him over and registered my displeasure at being followed. I don’t think he would be doing that again for a while."
I don’t know what to make of this. "I should have listened to you and gone after Adriana. I worked too damn hard for us to lose the opportunity we had today."
"Has Keith called? What did he say?"
"He isn’t taking my calls any longer. My guess is he is furious. It was a big risk to plan that eting with Adriana. He was counting on . I ssed it up and now our sister might no longer be interested in our reunion."
"Hey" Asher calls, grabbing my shoulder. "Don’t rush to conclusions. You found her the first ti, didn’t you? You made the impossible happen. I am certain you will find a way around this snag. Brace up." I bob my head in agreent. His eyes track up the stony steps. "How’s Ashal? Is he much better?"
"I hope so. I have a bunch of questions that need prompt answers."
I lead the way into the penthouse and together, we take the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms where Ashal lays sprawled on the bed. He props himself up the mont we enter, a somber expression clouding his face.
"Hey man." Asher begins, edging close to him. Ashal inclines his head away from Asher’s hand which is extended to check his temperature.
"How are you feeling?" I ask him.
"I’m fine." He replies dryly. I know he knows why we’ve rounded up on him. Shrugging, he straightens his spine. It’s my guess that he is ready for our rapid-fire questions so I proceed. "Ok. Dead guy in your trunk. What else do you rember?"
"I told you all I recall."
"Don’t get cheeky." Asher reprimands him. "This is very serious, Ash. We might have managed to quell the storm with our contacts in the force this ti around but this might co back to haunt us soday. Besides, father is growing very suspicious of all of us lately. He has been tailing us. If he gets a whiff of what you’ve done, he’ll have you thrown into a psychiatric facility for God knows how long."
"I get it. He already threatened once."
"Good. Now, cut it out and cooperate with us." Asher adds.
He exhales. "I’m sorry. I’m a little bit shaken. I---I thought I was past that. I really thought the days of hurting people to the point of taking their lives was over." His voice breaks with emotion. Tears shimr in his eyes. "I honestly don’t even recall talking to the guy much less following him. I don’t know what kind of interaction we had before I..."
"You don’t know if anyone saw you following the guy, Madeline perhaps?"
As I ntion her na, I notice sothing wash over his features. He wrings his hands and shakes his head from side to side. I join him on the bed.
"Ashal, tell the truth this ti. What exactly is going on between you and Madeline Dunn? Are you in love with her? Is there a secret affair going on between..."
"NO." He denies too quickly, earning a suspicious stare from Asher and I. "No, it’s nothing like that, I promise."
"Then tell us exactly what’s going on." Asher presses, impatience simring in his eyes.
"I am not in love with her. If anything, I think I thought I was because she reminds so much of Olivia and has the sa qualities I fancy in her sister. This whole confusion started when Elyon arranged blind dates for , you know the one that led to et Cree? Maddie was one of them. I stood her up because obviously I wasn’t going to date Liv’s kid sister."
"And since then?" I ask.
"A lot’s happened. Maddie exposed my relationship with Cree before I could call it quits. It wrecked my marriage with Liv. I was so pissed off I planned to punish her the only way I knew how; by making her quit school and marry a loser. I was so obsessed with destroying her life that I made a lot of bad decisions I regret. These past few weeks, I have been trying to rectify my mistake and not destroy a young woman’s life simply because she was looking out for her sister. That’s the whole situation with Hunter." He adds, throwing a sidelong glance at Asher. Then, he turns to . "That’s all it is, I swear."
I grit my teeth. "You just killed her boyfriend after stalking him all day. That can’t be all to the story."
Asher cups Ashal’s face. "Tell one thing. Have you kissed Madeline before?" We both stare in horror as Ashal stutters. "There it is." Asher gives the side drawer a bad-tempered kick and runs a hand through his gold mane of hair.
"It was an accident. She was drunk."
"That usually how most love stories start bro, mine for instance. I was drunk." I reply, tapping his knee before joining Asher on my feet.
"I am just protective of her because of everything I’ve done to alter the course of her life till now. It’s not love. It can’t be."
"You might not realize it but it definitely is more than feeling protective. How did you feel whenever you saw her with her late boyfriend? Angry or worried?" My eyes dip to his clenching fists. "Never mind." I turn to Asher. "What are we going to do?"
"This is fucked up. His obsession is dangerous."
"You think I don’t realize that?"
"Guys," Ashal calls out to us. "I’m right here!"
"SHUT UP!" We yell at him in unison. He cradles his head in his hand and sniffles quietly.
I pull Asher out of the room and click the door shut behind us.
"Keep an eye on him." I spell out.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to handle the whole Keith situation. The longer I take in redeeming myself, the harder it’s going to be to secure us another eting with Adriana." I cast a glance at the door. "I’ll see what I can do about Ashal. He needs a long session with his therapist for sure and beyond that, a reality check. Can you try to reach Olivia and see what’s up between them? She might be able to soothe him for now. See if you can get her onboard."
I am not sure if that will work but I hope it does. From everything Ashal has told about their crumbling marriage, Olivia has ntally checked out. Still, she knows all about his condition and if she desperately wants an out, she should be willing to help him however she can.
***
"What? Did you just ask that of ?"
"Yes, I just did."
Cree sighs loudly and combs through her blowout with her fingers. "Look, I told you already that whatever spark your brother felt for was as a result of my acting skills. I am eternally grateful for everything he has done for and I really wish I could help him but pretending to be interested him just doesn’t sound fair. He needs a genuine connection..."
"Or a good friend." I add. "C’mon Cree, you can’t tell that you never felt anything else for him beyond gratitude the whole ti you were together. He spoke a lot about you in a way that he had never spoken of any woman for as long as I can rember. All I am asking is that you try to see if there’s still anything between you two right now, even if it turns out to be a re platonic friendship."
"I don’t know how I feel about this, Ashton. Ashal and I have barely dredged up our past relationship since I got busted for working with Shay aka Nicola. The last ti we t, I was accusing your father of heinous cris and Ashal didn’t believe . What exactly am I supposed to say to break the ice between us right now? Your brother will only suspect my intentions."
"It doesn’t matter if he suspects his brothers put you up to this. Trust , he won’t object."
"And why is that?"
Because seeing you will help take his mind off a certain other woman whom he isn’t ready to admit he has fallen for and right now, that’s what everyone wants, I reply in my head.
"Cree, you owe . Co on. Please, do this for . Spend ti with my brother. He’s been going through a rough ti lately and could use your help as a woman he has nursed romantic feelings for. He needs the distraction. I’ll pay you if you want to."
"Don’t insult , Ashton."
"I apologize." I quickly chi with raised hands. "I’m very desperate here. So, is that a yes?"
Her square shoulders sag. "It’s a maybe at best. I have a few conditions. Firstly, I’m going to tell him you put up to this from the start. Secondly, whatever it is I am supposed to be to him, it can’t be forced. If he doesn’t want around, I’m gone. Thirdly, this has to be under wraps. I don’t want the spotlight that cos with the Danvarr quads."
"Fair enough. Thanks Cree."
"How’s it going with your sister? Found her yet?" She asks, leaning to sip her coffee.
"Still working on it but I am super close."
My eyes dart to the flat screen TV displayed at a high point on the wall, airing the news. The clip of Demi being pushed by a stranger during one of her public outings has leaping to my feet. Thankfully, a young man breaks her fall before she can tumble down the short flight of stairs. Where the fuck is Ashley? Isn’t he supposed to be with her on these staged outings?
"Sothing wrong?" Cree asks worriedly.
I grab my phone from my pocket. Keith hasn’t responded to but right now, I am more worried about Demi as if she’s actually pregnant.
"Everything’s fine. Um, I have to be on my way. I’ll call you." I give her a pat on the shoulder before dashing out of the café. The dia hadn’t hamred on the severity of the almost accident that Demi had because she hadn’t exactly fallen on her face. However, that doesn’t ease my panic. Who could have done sothing so malicious to her knowing she’s in the early stage of her pregnancy? I can’t wrap my head around it.
"Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I’m ho." Demi replies softly.
"I’m on my way."
My parents are just as livid as I am when I arrive the mansion. Duncan and his n have already been sent out to find the culprit. Demi is seated in the living room while everyone else is up on their feet trying to make sense of the situation. Ashal is absent for good reason.
"Who could have attempted to hurt her?" Mother asks worriedly.
I want to go over to Demi and ask how she is faring. Ashley looks really worried.
"Do you think soone else might know the truth about Demi and Nicci? Billion-Err has been going off speculating that Nicci’s disappearance is a move to disguise her pregnancy and now soone wants to harm my purportedly pregnant wife." Ashley shakes his head. "I don’t know what to make of this."
Asher gets off the phone. "It’s been confird. Nicola is still on the island."
"What? Did you think she was behind this?" Ashley asks him. Asher rely shrugs.
"You just said it yourself that soone who knows the truth might have been trying to expose us. We all know Nicci isn’t a fan of this plan of yours. Is it really farfetched to suspect that she might have snuck back into the country and tried to hurt your wife who is galivanting around with a fake pregnancy in front of the paparazzi?"
"That’s very unlikely, don’t you think? How could she have beaten the guards securing her and left the island to hurt Demi?"
"Gee, I don’t know, Ashley. I am just trying to cover every base here." Asher grunts in frustration. I bet he is indeed frustrated with the way things are going awry lately. No one hates when plans don’t go accordingly like Asher.
Ashley grits his teeth while Demi silently seethes at the shift of his concern from her to his baby’s mother. Mila cos to link an arm around my hand.
"Where were you, Ashley? I thought you were supposed to be with Demi?"
"I had urgent business to attend to, okay? How was I supposed to know that the one ti I leave her side, soone was going to pull a stunt like this? Besides, do you really expect to be hovering around her every second of the day since she’s pregnant? Even Billion-Err has been talking about that, asking how many married n have the ti to trail after their pregnant wives. I had to give her a break to dispel further suspicions."
Duncan appears and nods in greeting to everyone.
"Yes?" Father implores him.
"We haven’t been able to nab the culprit but we know for certain now that it was a woman based on a witness at the scene."
"A woman?" Father repeats in shock. "Who could have..." His eyes trail to Demi. "Demi, you’re being awfully quiet. Do you know who might have done this? Did you see the person?"
Demi raises her head slowly. I can’t tell what’s she’s thinking but I am certain that’s she’s fuming.
"Yes. I did see the person who pushed ."
"What? Why have you refrained from telling us this whole ti?" Asher belts out angrily. Father and mother edge close to her.
"Who did it?" Father questions her with brows knitted in anger. Demi exhales. She lifts a hand with her index finger jutting out. Slowly, she turns towards , lingers before shifting a bit.
"Mila." She utters loudly. "Mila pushed ."
***
"YOU HAVE TOTALLY LOST YOUR MIND, DEMI ROLLINS. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE LEVEL OF ACCUSATION YOU’RE HEAPING ON ?" Mila asks with flaming eyes. I grab her arm when she advances towards Demi like she ans to rip out her tongue.
"Demi, what the hell are you saying? How could Mila have done that to you?"
"Exactly." Demi replies mother. "It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? That’s just how unbelievable all this drama is when everyone in this room knows I am not even pregnant." She shakes her head as tears blur her eyes. "I wasn’t pushed for goodness’ sake. I told you all that when I got ho today but you all chose to fixate on the lie the dia is pushing. The place was crowded and rowdy. I missed my step and tripped. That’s all that was but of course, that story isn’t as juicy to the dia as telling everyone that the pregnant daughter-in-law of the Rollins family was pushed. If I had been pushed, don’t you think I would have felt it? I SLIPPED. END OF STORY." She tries to leave and pauses.
"You know what? I can’t believe how freaked out you all are acting over a baby that doesn’t even exist or maybe you are panicking at the thought of your plot being exposed. I wish you all had had the sa concern for your late grandchild when Asher had brutally murdered it." With a grunt of pain, she bolts to the elevator and disappears.
Everyone remains calm.
"Duncan, follow up with the witness and get to the root of this." Father instructs him.
"Yes sir."
"I can’t believe that wench. She actually tried to get in trouble just to prove a point. Who does that?" Mila whispers under her breath after everyone starts to disperse. "Did you see that? You asked to be sympathetic towards my fellow woman and this is where it gets . Do you see what kind of a person she is?"
"She’s hurting, Mila. Forgive her. I’m sure she didn’t an to accuse you like that." But Mila won’t hear of it.
"Why am I not surprised? You’ll always take her side!" She wrenches her arm from my grip, leers at before storming out of the mansion. I am guessing she won’t be spending the night here today.
I am glad it was a false alarm. Still, it was a rude shock. Heaven knows I’ve had too many shocks over the past few days to find this one funny. Though exhausted, I climb back into my car and drive to my company. I need so peace and quiet. Plus, I have missed the solitude of my office and even Gris’ constant whining.
Thankfully, everyone has gone ho save for the security n doing their last round of checks. I take the elevator to the last floor after assuring them that I won’t take longer than an hour before calling it a night so a few of them stay back. I just want the privacy of my thoughts and possibly, a breather away from the drama at ho.
I call Gris and listen as he fills in on what I have missed. After that, I call Mila to apologize on Demi’s behalf. Keith still refuses to respond to my calls or texts. Before leaving, I call Demi hoping she’s not with Ashley. She picks after the third ring.
"How are you feeling?"
"I’ve felt better."
"I’m sorry about today. Ashley should have been by your side."
"He’s right. Having him tethered to my hip all the ti was starting to get suspicious. It’s not his fault." She pauses. "It’s not your fault either so you have nothing to apologize for. I missed my step. It’s on ."
I wait a beat. "Are you sure you weren’t pushed. It looked exactly like that on the news."
She sighs tiredly. "Fine. I was pushed since that’s the story everyone wants to hear."
I get distracted by an incoming call. "I’m sorry, Demi. I’ll call you right back. Get so rest, okay?"
I disconnect her call to receive Duncan’s.
"Yes, Duncan."
"We have more information now sir. We’ve confird that Demi was definitely pushed. I felt like running the info on the suspect by you first before your father."
"Why? Is sothing wrong?"
"Kind of. Actually, the witness has identified the suspect. We also confird that the suspect was at the said location during the ti of the incident."
"Who’s the suspect, Duncan. Give it to straight."
He pauses a bit. "Mila Spellman."
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