Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 192: Chapter 192

ASHAL

For the first few seconds after the doctor speaks, all | hear is a high-pitched sound ringing in my ears. Gradually,

my vision wavers, then blurs. Every sound fade and every movement aroundslow to a crawl—nurses pacing,

monitors beeping, mouths opening and closing with no sound uttered.

Faces meld with the white walls of the hospital. My breath catches as doctor Ezra continues to speak. | see his

lips moving, feel the weight of his words crashing toward me—but | can’t hear any of it. | feel someone grip my

hand tightly. Mother? My entire family surrounds me.

But | still can’t hear anything that’s being said. Instead, | feel everything; the immense pain clawing up my

chest, the trembling hands fisting in my shirt. Like the pain isn’t enough, the visceral scene of the incident plays

in a loop in my head. My mind reels—spins backward—to the last moments. To Maddi curled against the floor,

her lips parted in a scream | couldn't hear. To her panicked eyes fluttering shut.

To Olivia—God, Olivia—with her arms cradled over her belly, hunched and bleeding from the nose, her teeth

clenched in agony. Her eyes were wild, not just with fear, but with something deeper—protectiveness. She

wasn't scared for herself. She was terrified for her baby. For our baby. She had never looked more maternal than

in that moment.

The images shred my heart.

No! They both have to survive. Neither of them deserves this. But the silence stretches on yet no one is saying

their name. And with every second that passes, the less curious | am to know exactly what the doctor is saying.

Because whichever nrolls off the doctor’s tongue will automatically mean one thing... the other is gone.

"Ashal? ASHAL!"

My mind snaps back to consciousness. My brothers are huddled close to me. Mother's hands are indeed

squeezing mine in support. Even father is still reeling with shock. I finally find my voice but it's thick with raw

pain as | ask him the dreaded question.

"Who died?"

ork

A WEEK LATER

"Ashal?"

| burrow my hands between my thighs and draw a sharp breath. It's been a week since the horror of the sit-down

meeting yet nothing has changed about the way | feel; empty, hurt and dead inside.

"I..." My chest tightens as | struggle to find the right words. "I...uh...It’s...." | clear my throat but it doesn’t change

much. While my head is a hive of ‘what Ifs’ and the things | could have done differently to prevent the worst day

of my life, | press my eyes shut and try to silence the noise and the blame.

"It's okay." | feel Dr. Welsh’s hand on my knee. "Take a deep breath. You're fine."

When | open my eyes, they're blurry and wet. "It still h-hurts." Breath thick, hands trembling slightly, | clench my

fists as visions of the sky lounge dotted with blood assaults me. "Why won't it stop?"

"It will, Ashal, eventually. But you'll have to be patient."

"There has to be skind of pill to numb the pain and stop the nightmares..."

"lI understand you're eager to be rid of the pain of deep loss. | have a few, safe recommendations to make but

firstly, walkthrough everything you've been feeling since it happened. Trust me, Ashal." She adds, taking my

hand, when | flash my misty eyes up at her. "I have lost a lot of people who were very dear to me. | remember

feeling lost too but one truth | garnered from my experience is that with time, the pain ceases to be as raw as it

feels now. You won't always fake a smile and pretend to the world that you're doing okay. One day, you'll wake

up with a genuine smile and realize you re actually doing okay again." Her smile is radiant and hopeful.

I nod at her.

"Good. Now, tellwhat you felt when you woke up six days ago."

Her voice grows distant till everything goes completely silent. Then suddenly, | hear a different voice.

"Are you sure?"

Blinking, I whip my head back to find three faces like mine staring right back atfrom the doorway. I'm not in

Doctor Welsh'’s office after all, but in my bedroom at my Penthouse. It has almost been emptied by the movers

clearing up my stuff. Slowly, my brothers all advance towards me, a sympathetic hue coating their faces.

"What?" | asked, a bit dazed.

Ashley gives the bare room a quick, sweeping glance. "Are you sure you want to sell it?"

The question astoundsfor a few seconds before reality dawns. My eyes skirt around the room. Of course, |

want to sell it. It holds more painful memories of a past | want to forget than of special moments that | will

treasure for a long time. | run a hand over my face exhale sharply. How soon can things go back to being normal

for me? When will | wake up without the pain in my chest or the clawing fear of losing someone dear to me?

My brothers wrap their arms around me, reassuringof their support. After we have the moment, they ease

back.

"You need anything? Just let us know." Asher says, patting my shoulder.

"I will. Thank you."

After they leave, | torture myself by going from room to room, recalling flashes of memories made in this house,

both the good and the ugly. The different shades of Olivia that | never could decipher until | stepped through the

door. Lily with a faux smile that masked her wicked intentions. Then that one-tMaddi visited.

| can still smell all three women in every corner of the house. It gets so overwhelming that | immediately leave,

only to find myself at the station thirty minutes later, sitting across from Lily.

This is highly ill-advised but | need skind of closure. Lily has a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

She looks like she had been expecting my visit, and realizing that makesregret my decision to pay her a

visit. | loathe her for what she did but somehow, | loathe myself even more for not seeing the signs early

enough.

"You look haggard." She says out of concern. "Your beard...you need a trim. And your hair..." She visibly stops

herself from reaching forward to touch my hair. "They've looked better."

"DON'T." | say in a low warning through gritted teeth. My fists are tightened. "Are you happy? Is this what you

wanted?"

"I never meant to hurt you." | scoff at her reply but she continues, a plea on her lips. "I did what | thought was

best for you. Ashal, you deserve as much love as you give. | couldn't bear to see those women toying with your

feelings. It hurt me."

"So, you thought killing them would makehappy?"

"No. | thought getting rid of them would finally allow you to see that the true love you've always sought was

right in front of you; ME" She shudders in fright as | slam my fists on the table between us. Catching myself, |

take a deep breath while an officer hovers close. Lily’s eyes are misty now, and droops to her thighs where she

wrings her hands.

"The p...poison wasn't..." She stutters, crying with her head hanging low. "It w-wasn’t meant to kill them. It was

only supposed to...they lied to me." She leans forward with desperate eyes. "Ashal, you have to believe me. |

had no idea it was fatal. | had no idea."

When she tries to reach for me, | pull my hands away. "The note only said to put two drops in the teas. | didn’t

even know what the liquid could do but | was so consumed in my hatred for the Dunn sisters that kept you away

fromthat | was eager for our love story to begin. Please Ashal..."

I lurch to my feet, staggering a bit. "What? What note?"

Lily blinks and shuts her mouth.

"What note, Lily? Who asked you to poison them?" When she goes mute, | drop back on my seat. "If you dream

of my forgiveness, you're going to telleverything about that note...NOW!"

Her lips tremble, along with her handcuffed hands. | snap my fingers in her face to draw her eyes back to me.

no ) :

Listen, you're already behind bars,

) 9 2

and you're going to be for a long time

q . )

unless | throw in my weight. Don't

you regret ERO @& How

Payet ny trust?

ygu bet ye my trust? If you want