Chapter Four Asher #2
I barely have time to blink before a pair of arms extend from the car and yank me inside. Thoughts of a kidnapping, as misguided as it would be given how little ransom my father would cough up for me, flash through my mind and I feel a beat of panic before—
‘Congratulations!’ Teddy roars, tugging the door shut behind me once I’m inside. Never mind that I’m currently draped haphazardly across his legs and still not sitting upright. ‘Never thought we’d see the day, did we Dre?’
Andreas, sat opposite us, pretends to wipe away a single tear. ‘We’re so proud. You’re all grown up.’
‘Ha, ha,’ I deadpan, shoving myself away from Teddy so I can scoot into the empty seat beside him properly. ‘I see you two have heard the news.’
Teddy signals to the driver to start moving and leans back into his seat, a wide, Cheshire cat-esque grin splitting his face. ‘Heard the news,’ Teddy scoffs, reaching into the door compartment to pull out a bottle of champagne already missing its cork. ‘We’ve been celebrating. Here, drink up.’
He unearths a champagne flute from God knows where, shoves it in my hand, and immediately begins pouring.
‘When do we get to meet your dearly beloved?’ Andreas asks as he passes Teddy his own glass. Teddy dutifully begins topping him up.
‘Oh yes,’ Teddy says, his grin widening to truly ridiculous proportions. ‘Our dear new sister-in-law. Can’t wait to meet her. I bet she’s ecstatic. Tell us how the proposal went down.’
I glare at my brothers. ‘This isn’t funny.’
‘On the contrary,’ Andreas says in between sips of champagne. ‘This is hilarious.’
‘Incredibly,’ Teddy agrees. ‘Our baby brother is getting married. To a woman he’s not said even one word to. This is peak romance if you ask me.’
Andreas nods. ‘The stuff Hallmark movies are made out of.’
I know I shouldn’t take the bait, but I’m already on edge from my meeting with our father. ‘And what would you know about romance, Teddy? How is Céline, by the way?’
Teddy’s smile drops immediately at the mention of his ex-fiancée. His eyes narrow. ‘Watch it, Ash.’
I ignore the thinly veiled threat, satisfied that I’ve got a little bit of revenge for their teasing, and instead ask, ‘How long have you both known?’
‘Just this morning,’ Teddy says.
‘About a week now,’ says Andreas.
Teddy scowls at him.
Andreas shrugs. ‘He’d find out eventually.’
‘And neither of you felt like giving me a heads-up?’
The mood shifts slightly in the car. We’re all painfully aware that while our father actively loathes me, it doesn’t mean he has any real love for Andreas or Teddy.
None of us are really safe from his manipulations; they’ve always just been better at dealing with him than me.
Out of the three of us though, Andreas is clearly the favourite – if you can even call not actively hating his eldest son a form of favouritism.
So it doesn’t surprise me that Andreas has known about my impending forced nuptials for a not insignificant amount of time.
It does surprise me that he didn’t say anything though. When it comes to our father, the three of us have always banded together and looked out for each other as much as possible. That Andreas would leave me in the lurch like this is uncharacteristic.
He does, at least, have the decency to hold his hands up apologetically and look somewhat ashamed. ‘I wanted to tell you,’ he says carefully. ‘Believe me, I did. But he made it very clear that if either of us intervened that he’d… escalate.’
‘Escalate how?’ I snap before I can stop myself. I’m trying to remember that Andreas and Teddy aren’t the enemy here, but my patience for our father’s schemes is running thin and they’re an easy target right now.
‘He said he’d take the French resort from me,’ Andreas says.
Teddy grunts and mutters, ‘And he threatened to lock me out of the family account. Said something about teaching us what real consequences are for once.’
I exhale slowly. Our father has never once given up an opportunity to remind us that everything we have is technically his.
‘So we stayed quiet,’ Andreas finishes. There’s genuine regret in his voice, which irritates me more than an excuse would have.
At least I could’ve had a reason to snap at an excuse.
‘I also wasn’t entirely sure that he was serious about it.
You know how he gets sometimes, throwing out any random idea and seeing what sticks.
But then he kept bringing it up over and over again and I eventually realised…
’ He trails off and gives me another apologetic wince.
‘There’s a pretty big difference between “let’s build an underwater hotel” and “I’m going to marry off my son to a stranger in order to get a deal over the line”,’ I point out through gritted teeth. ‘One is slightly more realistic than the other.’
Andreas hums thoughtfully and tips his glass in my direction. ‘Debatable. The underwater hotel was a solid concept. Just bad execution.’
‘And this is all a moot point anyway, because you’re not going to do it,’ Teddy chimes in. ‘You’re not going to marry her. Obviously.’
I open my mouth, close it, open it again, and then clamp it shut.
Teddy suddenly looks alarmed. ‘Uh, what?’
‘I’m going to marry her,’ I say quietly.
Teddy reels back like I’ve just slapped him. ‘No, you’re not. Dre, tell him.’
Andreas just purses his lips and Teddy’s eyes widen in shock. ‘Andreas.’
Andreas turns to look out of the window, stubbornly refusing to meet mine or Teddy’s gaze. After a beat of silence he says, ‘I think he should do it.’
‘Have you both lost your minds?’ Teddy squawks, looking between us both. ‘If this is some kind of prank, I’m gonna need you to end it now.’
Even I stare at Andreas incredulously. ‘I know I just said that I’m going to do it, but I didn’t think you’d be on board.’
Andreas is still refusing to meet my eye. ‘Obviously,’ he says, and his voice sounds strained. ‘I’d prefer you to find love on your own. But, I think, ultimately, this could be good for you. And for your relationship with him.’
‘In what way?’ Teddy blurts out, still staring at Andreas like he’s just sprouted another head. ‘Am I seriously the voice of reason here? Me?’
Teddy has a point.
Andreas shifts awkwardly in his seat. ‘I’m not saying it’s an ideal situation—’
‘Well, thank fuck for that,’ Teddy drawls. ‘That means you haven’t completely lost your mind.’
‘I just mean,’ Andreas continues, ignoring Teddy like he’s not sitting directly opposite him. He looks up and finally meets my gaze. ‘This could be what you’ve been waiting for. You do this one thing, and maybe he’ll finally ack—’
‘I get it,’ I say bluntly, cutting him off before he can say out loud what we both know he’s getting at. An unpleasant mix of shame and embarrassment starts to build inside me.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fighting hard to earn my father’s love and recognition and, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been failing.