The Wrong Bride: Ares and Raven’s Story (The Windsors)

I drop my head to Ares’s shoulder and snuggle closer on the sofa. I’m drawing on my tablet as he reviews documents on his laptop, yet I’m filled with such happiness tonight. It’s the simple things I love most with him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Windsor?”

We both sit up in surprise when one of our bodyguards walks in. Our staff is usually so invisible that it’s easy to forget they’re there at all. They never enter the house when we’re at home.

“What is it, Ben?” Ares asks.

Ben hesitates for a moment. “Hannah Du Pont is at the gate. We’ve denied her entry, but she doesn’t seem to be in a good state of mind. I would recommend that we let her in before she causes a scene and attracts the media.”

Ares looks at me, and I nod. If what he’s saying is true, something is really wrong. Hannah would never risk causing a scene otherwise. She cares more about her reputation than she’s ever cared about either of us.

“Let her in,” I say.

I grab my phone and pull up the cameras. The gates at the front of the mansion swing open, and she drives through. It’ll only take her a few minutes to get to our house, and the closer she gets, the more apprehension fills me. I have a bad feeling about this.

I haven’t spoken a word to her since I asked her if she wanted me in her life, and I didn’t think I ever would again. Not truly. I anticipated seeing her at social events, but this? I didn’t expect her to show up at our house ever again.

Hannah looks distraught as she walks in, Ben by her side. She pauses and looks around, her face betraying her shock. “I see you renovated the place,” she says, her tone soft and matter-of-fact. The venom I expected isn’t there, and it makes me feel uneasy. Considering the way we fell out, there’s no way she could be standing in front of me now without an ulterior motive.

She walks up to us and sits down on the sofa next to the one we’re on, her gaze moving between Ares and me. Trepidation runs down my spine when she clasps her hands nervously.

Normally, she can’t take her eyes off Ares. This time, she’s looking at me, with something that looks a whole lot like remorse in her gaze.

“I’m sorry to drop by unannounced,” she says, her head bowed. Her eyes fill with tears, and she inhales shakily. The way she wraps her arms around herself makes her look so vulnerable, but I’m convinced it’s all an act. I should’ve known she wouldn’t let me walk away so easily — not with both Ares and our parents’ company.

“I… there’s no easy way to say this.” She raises her head and looks into my eyes. “I’m… I’m pregnant.”

She’s… what? My heart drops, and nausea hits me hard, her words replaying through my mind. Fear unlike anything I’ve ever known holds me captive as I stare at my sister. She looks so apologetic, but I recognize that glint in her eyes. It’s how she always looked at me when she pretended to feel sorry for the way Mom favored her over me.

I wrap my arms around myself and take a steadying breath. This can’t be happening.

Her gaze shifts to Ares. “I’m five months along. The baby is, of course, yours.”

Ares tenses beside me and reaches for my hand, entwining our fingers before he places our joined hands in his lap. It’s clear that he’s in as much disbelief as I am.

“I didn’t realize it for the longest time. You know how irregular my periods are, Ares. It isn’t until I started to gain weight inexplicably that I thought of doing a pregnancy test. I’ve had no symptoms whatsoever. No morning sickness, no indications at all. I wasn’t even showing until two weeks ago. I… it’s a high-risk pregnancy, Ares, and I just… I need you. I can’t do this by myself, and I’m scared.”

Ares’s free arm wraps around my shoulder, and he squeezes tightly, our hands still entwined in his lap. I’m scared to even look at him for fear that it’s happiness I’ll find written all over his face. Five months… that means he slept with her days before we got married. Or shortly after. I bite down on my lip harshly as I try my best to control my breathing. I can feel panic rising from my chest, threatening to overwhelm me. Did he cheat on me?

Ares lets go of my hand and grabs his phone. He starts to type before he makes a call. “I need a doctor,” he snaps. “Send a doctor to my home within the next ten minutes.”

Hannah’s eyes widen. “You don’t believe me?” she asks, shocked.

Ares smiles tightly. “Just covering my bases,” he explains. “If you’re carrying my child, it’s important that we check your health, isn’t it? Especially if it truly is a high-risk pregnancy.”

His fingers draw circles on my shoulder, no doubt in an effort to reassure me, but nothing can calm my pounding heart. How could she be pregnant? What does this mean for us? My thoughts are whirling, and I try my hardest to fight the lightheadedness I feel. I can’t afford to panic right now. I can see the life I wanted with Ares slip away as Hannah claws her way back into our lives, smothering me.

The doctor arrives, and I rise to my feet, impatient to get to the heart of this. Does hoping that she isn’t pregnant make me a horrible person? Ares and I have finally found true happiness together, and this… this will tear us apart. It was near impossible to focus on my marriage and chase my own happiness throughout the last few months. How much harder is she going to make it for us once a child is involved?

“Raven,” Ares says, reaching for me. He places his hands on my shoulders and squeezes tightly. “I’m yours, no matter what. There’s nothing you and I can’t get through, and this is no different.”

“How is this not different, Ares?” I ask, distraught. “It’s a child. An innocent life.”

He cups my cheek and nods. “Yeah, it is. But let’s take this one step at a time, okay?”

He thinks she’s lying, but I know she isn’t. Hannah is too smart to do something like that. I sit down in defeat when the doctor walks in with a grim expression. He glances at Ares and nods.

“She’s five months pregnant. The baby is healthy, but the mother is under too much duress. She’s been battling anxiety and insomnia. Her blood pressure is far higher than I’d like it to be too. You’ll need to take good care of her.”

I stare down at my wedding ring in resignation. She said he’ll end up coming back to her, and she was right. As the mother of his child, there’s no escaping her.

What does this even mean for us? Would this child be my niece or nephew and my stepchild? Would we co-parent? Or… would he want to give their relationship another shot for the sake of their child? I know how much family means to him. He wouldn’t want his son or daughter to grow up in a broken home. He won’t accept only being able to see his child on weekends.

“Raven?”

I look up to find the doctor has left the room. How long have I been sitting on the sofa, trapped in my thoughts?

“Where is Hannah?”

“She’s lying down in the guest room.” Ares kneels in front of the sofa and grabs my hands, holding on tightly. “Are you okay?”

I look into his eyes and force a smile on my face. “Congratulations,” I say, my voice breaking. “You’re going to be a father.” I swallow down my sorrow and inhale shakily. I’ve dreamed of saying those very same words to him someday, but it’d be me who was pregnant. Having a family with Ares is something I’ve only just started to dream of, and it feels like she’s stolen yet another one of my dreams.

I pull my hand out of his and cross my arms as I stare out the window behind him, my heart bleeding. “Did you cheat on me, Ares?”

He cups my cheek and turns my face back to his. “No,” he says, looking into my eyes. He looks as tormented as I feel. “Never. I never will either. This won’t change anything for us unless you want it to.”

I stare at him, taking in his sharp jaw and those beautiful green eyes. Will his child have his eyes? His smile?

“Give me a moment of honesty, Ares. Do you want this to change things between us? Are you phrasing it that way because you want me to be the bigger person and walk away? Are you asking me to do what you won’t, so you don’t have to feel guilty for choosing your child and its mother over me?”

His eyes widen, and he grabs both of my hands. “Moment of honesty,” he replies. “I’m silently praying that you’ll tell me that this doesn’t impact us, and that we’ll find a way to get through this together. I was so proud of you for standing your ground and cutting Hannah off, and now we’re forced to accept her into our lives in ways that we both deemed unimaginable. I’m scared of hurting you, of asking too much. I don’t know what the right thing to do is, so I need you to tell me.”

I nod and look away. “I wish I knew,” I whisper. “I wish I had the right words for you right now, but I don’t. The only thing I do know is that it can’t be the child that suffers. I’ll be there for you, Ares, in whatever capacity you need. I’ll raise this child with you, if that’s what you want. There’s no doubt in my mind that I love you, and though it might be hard, I know I’ll love your daughter or son the same. What I don’t know is if I can survive having Hannah in our lives.”

He nods and lays his head on my lap, his arms wrapped around my waist. I should’ve known better than to think I finally got my own Happily Ever After. Happiness has always been out of reach for me. Ares has always been out of reach.