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

I walk into the kitchen to find Hannah sitting by the breakfast bar, dark circles marring her beautiful face. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with defeat. She knows. There’s no doubt in my mind that Ares confronted her about what she did five years ago.

She huffs and looks away as she picks up her teacup, her hands trembling. I wish I had the energy to keep up the facade, but I don’t. After what Ares told me last night, I can barely stand to look at her. How am I supposed to allow her into my life, knowing how much she took from me? “Why did you do it?” I ask, unable to keep the question buried.

She looks up at me and grits her teeth. “Do what?”

“That night… why did you sneak into Ares’s room? Why did you pretend it was you he slept with?”

She looks away and shakes her head, avoiding my gaze. I’ve never seen her at a loss for words, but she is today. It’s clear that she thought she got away with her deception. Just how long has she been manipulating me?

“For once in your life, be honest with me. Why would you do that to me? To Ares?”

She raises her head and sighs, resignation written all over her face. “Because I wanted him,” she says simply, a hint of anger in her eyes. “I wanted him to look at me the way he always looked at you. I wanted the prestige of being a Windsor.” She crosses her arms. “When did you figure it out?”

She’s so blasé about it that I struggle to push aside my fury. If she wasn’t pregnant, I’d have poured her tea all over her head before asking our guards to throw her out.

“Not until last night,” I admit.

She nods, her jaws locked. “That explains why Ares asked me to leave this morning. He could barely stand to look at me, because of you. If his grandmother hadn’t stepped in, he’d have forcibly thrown me out.” She smiles at me then. “You almost got what you wanted. Almost.”

I should’ve known Ares wouldn’t simply let this slip. I don’t want to either, but what can I do? I can’t risk harming the baby, and Ares shouldn’t either.

I stare at my sister, the distance between us never greater. She feels like a stranger to me. Did I ever really know her at all? “You put me through years of torment and heartbreak, yet you sit here without an ounce of remorse. I’m your sister, Hannah. How could you do this to me?”

She laughs, the sound hollow. “You wouldn’t even exist if not for me. Mom and Dad only had you because we needed you for the stem cell transplant. You literally only exist to aid my life. Even our parents didn’t want you, Raven. Can’t you see?” She frowns, as though her words make perfect sense. “I’m the daughter they love most, the partner that’s the best fit for Ares, the person that’s best suited to be a Windsor. It just made sense. It wasn’t personal.”

I bite down on my lip for a moment in an effort to squash the nausea her words make me feel. “You’re the most entitled narcissist I’ve ever met, and it pains me that we’re related. I can’t do this, Hannah. I’m done tolerating you. I don’t want you in my life. The moment you have your child, we’re done. I vow to love your child like they’re my own, but you’re dead to me. I wish I had the courage to cut you out of my life sooner. I wish I’d recognized your selfishness for the narcissistic behavior it is. For years, I made excuses for you, telling myself and everyone around me that you were only that way because you understandably wanted to live your life to the fullest. I’m done. I’m done with you, Hannah.”

She smiles at me. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to care? Should I burst into tears and beg you to forgive me? Because I won’t, Raven. I don’t regret a single thing I’ve done. The only things I regret are not marrying Ares and underestimating you. I didn’t think you’d have the guts to truly go after him, but it’s fine. The situation is still salvageable. So go ahead, my sweet little sister. Get out of my way of your own volition.”

I grit my teeth and look away, my heart aching despite the anger I feel. I should be used to this by now, yet her words still hurt. “You’re—” loud buzzing outside steals my attention, and I look out the window to find a helicopter with The Herald’s branding on it hovering over our property.

Alarms start to sound around the house, and the curtains start to close automatically as two of our guards rush into the room. “Mrs. Windsor, there has been a security breach. Mr. Windsor is on his way home.”

One of our guards, Ben, hands me a tablet. My heart sinks when I see the photo that accompanies the headline. It’s a photo of Ares and Hannah when they were younger. He’s standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her and his lips pressed against her neck.

Torn apart by outdated family traditions and a vixen of a sister, the headline reads. My heart sinks as the article chronicles their relationship, supported by photos taken throughout the years. There is one photo in particular that makes me feel sick. They captured the three of us at the premiere we recently attended. Ares has his arm wrapped around my waist, but he’s looking at Hannah. The angle of the photo makes it look like he’s pining after her, and just looking at it hurts.

“I told you that the situation is still salvageable.”

I look up from the tablet in shock. “You did this?”

She grins. “You left me no choice. I told you to walk away while I still gave you a chance. Now the entire world is going to know that you’re nothing but a cheap replacement for me. Everywhere you go, people will be whispering about how sad it is that he doesn’t get to be with me. Once our child is born, public sentiment will turn against you even more so. How long do you think you’ll last under such scrutiny? The entire world will be telling you that you’re a home wrecker. They’ll tell you that you’re a disgusting whore for stealing your sister’s fiancé. Have you checked the comments yet?”

I scroll down to find that her words are true. The article insinuates that I seduced Ares when it was clear that Hannah had concerns about her career. I’m trembling as I grab my phone, only to find the comment sections of all of my posts filled with harassment.

I put the tablet down and take a steadying breath. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think she’d be capable of this. It’s one thing for her to go after Ares, but to actively try and ruin my reputation when she knows how many of my modeling contracts depend on my public image?

“Where does it end, Hannah? Do you have any idea how damaging this is to my career? My business?”

She smiles at me. “It won’t end until you return everything you took from me. Even if Ares and I can’t make it work, I still won’t let you have anything that belongs to me.”

I bury my hands in my hair and inhale shakily. “He’s always been mine, from the very start. Even if he wasn’t, it’s me he loves. Then and now.”

She shakes her head. “I can fix that. I did it once before, didn’t I?”

I sink down to the floor, anxiety clawing at me. Yeah, she has done this before. The deception, the lies. Is this all that awaits me? She’s going to continue chipping away at everything I have, everything I am.

I try my hardest to breathe in, but my lungs are burning. Panic slowly starts to overwhelm me, and I give in to it.

“Cupcake!” Ares shouts. He kneels down beside me and wraps his arms around me as the first sob escapes my throat.

I throw my arms around his neck and fall apart. “I… I c-can’t do this, Ares. I can’t l-live like this. I can’t… I can’t keep doing this.”

He cups the back of my head and rubs my back. “You won’t have to. I’ll fix this, I swear it. I’ll fix it, baby.”

“You can’t.” My voice breaks. With a child between them, I’ll never escape her. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants, and I can’t withstand much more.