Page 107 of Four Fiances & I

“While we wait for your officers, would you like to finally explain to my brothers and Miss Connors what it was you so rudely dragged them out of bed for,” Christian says as he sits back in his chair, looking annoyed as Jasmine places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. It works as he reaches up to put a hand over hers.

“We had a report that there was a polygamous relationship which was about to change and break the law by becoming bigamous. There was also the belief that Miss Connors was being forced into this relationship against her will, as well as reports of incest.”

“Incest?” Maximus and Jasmine call out at the same time.

“I hope that you are referring to the fact that our fiancée was once our stepsister and not accusing my brothers and I of such acts,” Christian warns, leaning forward again.

“Of course, there was no mention of you and your brothers taking part in such relations.” Sergeant Myles pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes his brow. It takes everything in me not to smile at how nervous he is.

“That’s what I thought.” Christian opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a folder before sliding it in front of the sergeant. “All documentation is in there, as well as a letter of consent to check these with the relevant authorities.” He sits back again and places a hand on Jasmine's, which is back on his shoulder, both looking calm and at ease.

“Inside, you will find a copy of our father's marriage certificate to Miss Connor's mother, Carol Connors. It is dated, and if you do the maths, you will see that Miss Connors was one month from her eighteenth birthday when we met at the wedding. The four of us are of no blood relation to her, which makes the claims of incest ridiculous.” We watch as Sergeant Myles flicks through the papers in the file.

“There is a copy of our notice of marriage. Only Miss Connors and myself are named on it, as we are the only ones getting legally married. My brothers and Miss Connors then have a blessing, where they exchange promises to each other rather than any formal ceremony, but it will not be legally binding, meaning they will be husband and wife by name, not by law.”

“We are all well aware that she is not our fiancée nor will she be our wife legally; that does not change our love for her,” Jason adds, stepping closer to Jasmine and placing a hand on the bottom of her back.

“There is no law to stop us from calling her our wife, same as there is nothing stopping her from referring to us as her husbands,” Maximus adds.

“And how do you feel about all of this, Miss Connors?” Sergeant Myles asks. Jasmine smiles at him as she shrugs.

“I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me they are mine, same as they don’t need one to claim me as theirs. Society may not classify our relationship as normal, but I don’t care. I will always love all four of the O’Reilly brothers equally, and although they may have once been my stepbrothers, I never saw them as such.

“The three years they were in my life before we started this relationship, they did nothing but protect me and show me how strong I am. I’m not ashamed of our relationship, nor feel it worthy of this invasion of our privacy. Whoever told all these lies should be charged with wasting valuable police time.” She leans on the table and stares Sergeant Myles in the eye.

“As for me being forced into this relationship, that is just laughable. If anything, I’ve forced them, as they had to accept I could never choose just one of them. The only reason I am legally marrying Christian is for my own protection, should anything happen to one of my husbands. I will legally be an O’Reilly and will be treated as such by being able to be their advocate when they cannot represent themselves.” She stands back up and leans into Jason rather than Christian. Jason places his arm around her waist and holds her close, proving she does not love one over the other.

“If you need me to give a formal statement and confirm all I have said, I will happily do so with our solicitor present.”

Sergeant Myles wipes at his face again, and we can see he knows there is nothing illegal about any of our relationships.

A knock comes from the door, and Christian shouts for them to enter. The officer sent to retrieve the others walks in ahead of Davies and Jones with Terry on their tail. Terry looks like he’s ready to commit murder, and I can only assume he has heard all that Davies said about Jasmine.

“Officer Davies, I believe you have something to say to the O’Reillys and Miss Connors,” the sergeant snaps. Davies looks around at us all and tries to fake sincerity as his eyes land on Jasmine.

“Sorry, I called you a whore.”

Maximus twitches next to me, and I quickly grab his arm and shake my head, reminding him he can't risk jumping the prick, yet.

“Apology not accepted.” All of our heads snap to Jasmine as Officer Davies looks shocked. “You came into my home, barged into my room whilst I was in bed and tried to intimidate me before calling me a whore.”

“Well, in my defence, Miss Connors, from what I could see on my search, every room is yours. I do believe I’ve never met a woman who sleeps in five different beds and isn’t paid.”

This time, it takes all my strength to keep Maximus under control as Officer Jones, Sergeant Myles, and my brothers yell out in protest.

“Sergeant Myles, if you do not deal with his lack of respect, I will take this as high as I need to,” Christian warns as his temper gets dangerously close to boiling point. Jasmine steps next to him and places a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her.

“He doesn’t matter. He is obviously a spoilt kid with a narcissistic personality disorder. His comments do not affect me. As I said a moment ago, I am proud of our family.”

Christian takes a deep breath before looking at the sergeant who is watching Jasmine.

“Miss Connors, I am extremely sorry for his lack of respect, and I can assure you he will be dealt with.” He turns his attention to the officer before adding, “Starting with his immediate suspension.” Officer Davies goes to argue, but the sergeant has had enough. “Officer Jones, escort him to the police car, please. I will be there shortly.”

“Yes, sarge,” Officer Jones replies before looking at Jasmine. “I am sorry for the way my colleague spoke to you. That kind of treatment was unnecessary and cruel.”

“Thank you,” Jasmine replies, giving him a small smile.

“It’s the least I can do,” he smiles before nodding in the direction of Jason and Christian, followed by the two of us on the sofa. Turning his attention to his soon-to-be former colleague, he nudges him towards the door, and I can hear them arguing as soon as they think they are out of earshot.

---