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

I watch as Alanna jokes around with Sierra and Valentina, my heart full. Luca, Zane, Lex, Sierra and Valentina have been staying here with me, much to Alanna’s delight and Silas’s annoyance.

Valentina and Sierra have been taking turns sleeping next to me, ensuring I don’t get caught in a downward spiral caused by social media. Though truth be told, there isn’t much being shared anymore. Ares’s plea worked, and people massively took down their posts. It sparked discussions about cyber bullying and the mental health of celebrities, but while that topic is on people’s minds, so are we.

“Raven,” Alanna calls.

I walk up to her, and she frowns as she pulls their security feed up on the TV. It shows Ares walking into the building, and my eyes widen.

Silas groans and grits his teeth. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t my least favorite Windsor.”

Alanna and I stare at him wide-eyed as he calls the police and requests that Ares be removed. He turns to me then, his jaw clenched. “You’re not walking out of this house unless you choose to. I won’t let him pressure you. You take all the time you need to make up your mind.”

Luca walks up to me and throws his arm around me. “Agreed,” he says. I lean into him, my heart overflowing. One of the things I feared most was losing the family I gained when I married Ares, but they’ve made it clear that they’ll stick with me, no matter what.

“I’m not sure calling the police was warranted,” I say carefully.

Lex narrows his eyes at me. “Of course it was. There’s no way Ares would leave otherwise, and you’d cave.”

We all watch as the police asks him to leave. Ares walks out, and I tense, tempted to follow him. I’ve done my best to assess whether I should leave or stay, but I’m as confused as ever. We may have been able to get the media off my back, but that only solves one problem. There’s still Hannah, and the child they’re having together.

“Fucking hell,” Zane says, pointing at the screen.

I glance at it to find Ares walking back in, the Mayor by his side, and something that looks an awful lot like a pop-up tent in his arms. He seems to be chatting happily with the Mayor, who helps him set up a tent in the middle of Silas’s lobby.

“Is he serious right now?” Silas asks.

Alanna bursts out laughing. “Oh, come on, Si,” she says. “This is exactly the kind of thing you would do. I think it’s cute.”

I start to pace, my heart wavering. More than anything, I want to go to him and throw myself into his arms, but if I do that, I also need to have the courage to deal with everything that comes with it.

“Um, Rave?” Lex says, pointing out the window.

I walk onto the balcony and stare at the helicopter approaching us, a banner attached to it. It reads 7 days. 168 hours. Tell me you’re still mine.

Valentina smiles. “I mean, you asked for a week, and he gave it to you. Can’t blame the man for showing up the second your time is up.”

Luca joins me on the balcony and throws his arm around me. “How do you feel, Rave?”

I smile at him. “You know what? I think I’m ready to go home to my husband. Being in the midst of it made it hard to see, but the good still outweighs the bad. It always will. The first few years might be tough, but I think I can bear with it if it means spending the rest of my life with the man of my dreams. I’m terrified, and I’m well aware it won’t be easy, but it’s worth it. He’s worth it.”

He breathes a sigh of relief and drops his head against mine. “Thank God,” he says. “I don’t think he’d survive losing you.”

The helicopter flies back toward us, until it’s hovering above the balcony. A ladder is thrown out, and my eyes widen when Ares climbs down it.

“Fucking shit,” Silas grunts. “He used the banner to draw us out onto the balcony. He wanted to know if you were here. Clever fucking asshole.”

I smile up at the helicopter and shake my head. He promised me he’d never let me go, and he hasn’t. Part of me thought he’d be relieved if I walked away, and that he might take that chance to reunite with Hannah. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Silas smiles at me and shakes his head. “Your mind is made up, huh?”

I nod. “It is.”

“I’ll be honest with you, Raven. I wish you’d reconsider. My brother and I get on well now, but for some time, I had to cut him out of our lives. If I hadn’t done that, he never would’ve learned his lesson. Your sister won’t either.”

“I know,” I tell him. “But it’s different when I choose to endure her. Maybe it’s crazy, but I think I’m going to be okay, because I’m stepping back into the madness by choice.”

Ares jumps off the ladder and onto the balcony, pausing for a moment when he sees four of his siblings standing next to me.

“Well, shit,” Luca and Lex both say at the same time, but Sierra and Zane merely stare him down, both of them on either side of me.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Ares tells his siblings as he walks toward me. I take him in, my eyes roaming over the dark circles underneath his eyes, the longing in his gaze. I’ll have to go through hell to be with him, but I’m about to do it with a smile on my face.

“Raven,” he murmurs, almost as though he can’t believe I’m standing in front of him. “One single week without you was enough for me to know that I cannot spend a lifetime without you by my side. My life isn’t worth living if you’re not in it. I fucked up, baby. I can see that now. I never should’ve allowed Hannah access to you, and instead of obeying Grandma’s orders, I should’ve taken you away from home. I swear to you, I cut all ties with Hannah. I’ve ensured that all communication runs through Grandma, regardless of what it’s about. I’ve put an entire team in place to assist her, and I’ve assigned her a full-time doctor, so you don’t need to worry about your sister’s health. I told her that it was a take it or leave it deal, and that whether or not I’d be in the child’s life depended entirely on her. Everything related to the baby and her will go through our dedicated team. We’ll handle all of this on our terms, and the only times we’ll see her is when you want to. It isn’t enough, and I know it isn’t, but it’s a start. Everything else, I know we can figure out.” He hesitates and runs a hand through his hair. “I know I’m selfish, but I can’t help myself. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, Raven, and I always will. I wish I could promise you the carefree life that I want to give you, but being with me won’t be easy. What I can promise you is that I’ll always put you first, and I will do everything in my power to ensure you’ll never regret choosing me. So choose me, Raven. Please come home to me.”

I smile at him and brush the back of my fingers over his cheek, taking in the pure exhaustion he’s exuding. “Ares, I would’ve come home with you even if you hadn’t done all that. I love you. No matter what. I’m sorry I lost sight of that. I allowed my self doubt and insecurities to swallow me whole, and I struggled to see through the darkness. It won’t happen again. I choose you, Ares. I will always choose you, even if it isn’t an easy choice to make. Just a few days without you have shown me that I’d rather suffer with you than live a life without you.”

He cups my face and drops his forehead to mine. “I won’t let you suffer,” he tells me. “Being with me won’t come at a price, I promise. It might be hard to believe right now, but trust me when I tell you that everything is going to be okay.”

I nod. “I do,” I tell him. “I do trust you.”

“Then let me take you home.”

I nod, and he grins at me with such relief in his eyes that my heart skips a beat. I always wanted my own fairytale happily ever after, but maybe that doesn’t exist. Maybe true love is just two imperfect people choosing each other despite the obstacles they’ll face together, and deciding that it’s worth it.

Because it is.