Page 127 of Four Fiances & I

“We can only hope,” I sigh as I head towards the door. “I’ll be in my office if you want me,” I call, heading away, needing a moment to myself.

As I walk through the house, I see Jason and Gordon talking quietly. I need to speak to my brother and see how he feels about Gordon not being here if Sunday goes ahead. I don’t think he was lying to Jasmine, but I also want to see if there is a reason he’s keeping the guard at arm's length.

“The twins are in the gym for the next hour; Mykela has gone down to speak to Sean,” Jason calls as I walk past. “The girls will be leaving as soon as they are happy Jasmine is going to be okay,” he adds. I nod and say goodbye to Gordon before entering my office and closing the door behind me.

I finally find myself alone and can breathe for the first time without needing to act as expected. Making it impossible to ignore the pain.

No matter what I do, there is always someone or something around the corner ready to destroy me or those I love. Nothing about what I do should have any bearing on Jasmine. But that message, sent through her wedding dress, was personal. It just proves that, once again, I was unable to protect her. Once again, I am failing her.

Walking to the bar, I pour myself a strong drink and throw it back in one gulp. The liquor burns its way down my throat, and I enjoy the pain it leaves in its wake. It’s a way of reminding myself that I cause pain for so many people I love, yet there seems to be nothing I can do about it. Not that I don’t want to, that I just can't. It seems that the harder I try, the more I fail, and failure has never been an option for me, but now, for the first time, I can't see a way of winning this one.

After pouring another drink, I head over to the sofa and sit down for a moment, with my head resting against the back as I close my eyes, desperate for peace.

ChapterForty-Two

CHRISTIAN

When I open them again, the room is much darker. Blinking back the heaviness of the sleep I hadn’t planned, I look around. Jasmine's blanket is draped over me, and the glass I held is on the table beside a glass of water. Quickly, I glance at the clock and realise it’s been over two hours since the meeting finished.

Rubbing my face, I force myself to sit up and clear my head. I can't remember the last time I slept that heavily. Especially as it seems I didn’t even wake when someone, no doubt Jasmine, came in and put the blanket over me. She loves this blanket and waking up like this makes me smile, as I know it will be her way of showing that she loves me. She would have gone out of her way to find it when she couldn’t be the one to hold me.

I hear a couple of hushed voices outside the room and frown, trying to figure out who it is.

“You can tell him from me; ifmydaddy is still sleeping, he will have to wait because I am not waking him up becauseyourdaddy is having a tantrum.”

Chuckling to myself at her overprotectiveness, I stand and fold the blanket. I’m just placing it on the back of the sofa when the door opens slowly.

“It’s okay, he’s a wake. I’ll let you deal with this one while I go back to Mrs Brown,” Jasmine says to Verity before she smiles at me, letting a slightly annoyed Verity enter.

“Everything okay?” I ask, offering her a warm smile. She is usually still a little nervous around me, but today, she seems downright annoyed, and for a moment, I think it may be aimed at me.

“No. Daddy is just being unreasonable and won’t listen to me. He’s demanding to talk to you,” she replies, thrusting her phone towards me. I smile as I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, us Daddies can be unreasonable like that,” I wink before lifting her phone to my ear as she giggles and relaxes. “What’s up, Donavon?”

“Do you want to explain how you feel it's acceptable to keep my girl at yours without her phone for four days?” He is as pissed as I am confused.

“I would if I had any idea what you are talking about,” I reply, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I turn to look at Verity and smile. “Can you get Jasmine for me, please?” Verity nods before rushing out of the room. “What have you been told?” I ask, already knowing the three Donavons are on the approved list of wedding guests.

“Verity was vague about the wedding being off, but not off. Something about it’s been moved, but she can’t tell me anything. All I know was she was asking to stay there but won’t have her phone the whole time,” he sighs, and I can tell he’s relaxed a little now he knows I can put some context to it all.

“Yeah, I’d be confused as well,” I laugh, sitting back on the sofa and taking a sip of water. “I’ll be honest. I have no idea what the girls are up to and how they plan on spending the next few days,” I admit, relaxing on the sofa.

“So, is the wedding off?”

“Yes and no. It's been moved to Sunday, and we are only inviting a handful of people who are important to us.”

“So that explains why Verity acted like there wasn’t a wedding.”

“There's no reason for her to hide anything from you three, as you are still invited. Other than Calvin and his tribe, you are the only ones from outside the family that are.” I take a second to register how important that is to me. I think he’s as shocked as I am by the way he replies.

“Wow, I thought I’d have been the first one crossed off the list.”

“Yeah, me too,” I laugh. “Guess things really have changed between us.”

“Think that will depend on whether you decide to keep my girl from me.” I can hear the teasing in his voice, and I can't help but laugh.

When we were younger, Travis was my best friend, the only person I was ever around other than Terry and my brothers. I never realised how much I missed him and that friendship until he came back into my life before Christmas.

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