I cross my arms and stare her down. “Grandma Anne came to the house today, Han. She insists that the wedding take place next week… with or without you. If you don’t do this, they’ll… they’ll make me marry him in your stead.”
Hannah’s eyes widen, and she falls silent. “You… you can’t be serious?”
I nod. “I am. Dad told me that if I don’t, I’ll lose my company and all the money he promised to invest in me. Grandma Anne warned him that she’ll pull away all support if this marriage falls through.”
She runs a hand through her hair. “They’re just trying to strong-arm me, Rave. They won’t actually make you do that. Besides, Ares wouldn’t ever agree to it. That’s sick.”
My heart clenches painfully even as I nod. Sick. Twisted. That’s probably what he thinks of this entire situation, too. “I’m not sure, Han. I don’t think they’re merely bluffing. Dad seemed worried, and I’ve never seen Grandma Anne look quite so serious.”
Hannah shakes her head. “Don’t worry,” she reassures me. “You won’t be forced to do anything, Rave. They won’t make you. They’re merely threatening us and using you to make me change my mind, but I won’t.”
“Hannah,” I plead. “If they don’t change their minds, can you truly bear to watch Ares marry someone else? Marry me? I know you love him, Han, so please think about this carefully. If they aren’t bluffing, then what? Will you really stand back and become Ares’s sister-in-law? Because that’s what’ll happen if you don’t change your mind. Dad made it quite clear that if you’re not there on your wedding day, I’ll have to walk down the aisle in your stead, or I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for.”
I know Grandma said she wouldn’t accept Hannah at all anymore, but I’m certain she wouldn’t object if Hannah changed her mind now. All she’s ever wanted is for Ares to be happy, and his happiness lies with Hannah. It always has.
Hannah looks away and runs a hand through her hair. “I’m certain, Rave. I can’t do this. I won’t sign away my life for anyone — not even Ares.”
I stare at her in disbelief. “Even if it means he’ll marry someone else?”
She nods. “If that is our fate, then so be it.”
I grab her shoulders and shake her. “Hannah!” I snap. “Be reasonable, for God’s sake. Can’t you see what you’re doing to me? You’ll get off easy, but what about me? I’ll be stuck having to marry a man who has only ever loved you, and if I refuse, I’ll lose my career. Don’t do this to me, Han. Don’t do this to Ares.”
She looks into my eyes, her expression a mixture of defiance and disbelief. “It won’t come to that, Raven. You won’t lose your company. Neither Dad nor Grandma Anne would ever let that happen. She loves you more than she’s ever loved me, you know? Even if I don’t marry Ares, she won’t punish you for it. Don’t worry, okay? You won’t get trapped in a loveless marriage, or whatever it is that’s going through your mind. Forget the fear Dad instilled in you, Rave. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
I shake my head. “No,” I whisper. “Everything won’t be.” I don’t know how to make her see reason. If Hannah doesn’t change her mind, she’ll be destroying three lives, including her own.
Chapter Seventeen
Ares
I pause at the sound of Raven’s voice and lean back against Sierra’s bedroom door, my eyes falling closed. Who am I kidding? I came here because I knew this is where I’d find her, and not because I wanted to speak to my sister.
“I’m worried I won’t be able to change her mind,” Raven says. “With just a few days left, my anxiety is off the charts. If Hannah doesn’t show up on her wedding day, I’ll be the one getting married.”
“Would that really be so bad?” Sierra replies.
My heart races as I wait for Raven’s answer, but all that follows is silence. I brace myself and straighten my spine before knocking on Sierra's door. The door opens and my sister's eyes widen when she sees me standing here.
I can count the amount of times that I have been here on one hand. Being forced to live so close together meant that my siblings and I are very protective of our privacy, and normally I would never breach our unspoken rule of respecting each other’s private space when we aren’t in communal areas.
Today, however, is an exception. I'm not here for Sierra. I'm here for Raven. I look past my sister into hazel eyes that carry a hint of agony.
"Raven, can I speak to you for a moment?"
She hesitates, but then she nods and rises from her seated position on my sister's bed. She walks up to me, her dress swaying. Even when she looks this distraught, she's beautiful.
"Follow me."
She falls into step with me as I lead her to my condo. "Where are we going?" she asks, her voice soft.
“My place.”
It's strange to think that Raven might soon be living there with me. Neither of us wants this, but with each passing day it's becoming more and more clear to me that this is inevitable.
Both of us are just caught in a web of our own deception, convincing ourselves that Hannah will change her mind, that everything will be the way it should be.
But we both know better.
Raven is quiet as she follows me down the long hallway that connects Sierra's living quarters to the main house. Perhaps it would have been better to take her to the main living room, but I'm not certain our conversation would be private there.
I lead her to my condo, suddenly seeing it through fresh eyes. Hannah designed and decorated most of this throughout the years, both of us expecting to live here together someday. I wonder what Raven thinks of it. Does she like the monochrome theme Hannah went with? I can't imagine what it must be like to even entertain the thought of having to live your sister's life.
"Can I offer you a drink?" I ask as she sits down on my white leather sofa, the same one she and I fell asleep on just a few weeks ago.
Raven shakes her head and looks up at me questioningly. "I'm okay," she says. "What is it you want to talk about?"
I sit down next to her and turn to face her. "You know exactly what I need to talk to you about, Raven. We can neither avoid nor ignore this for much longer."
She looks down, trying her best to hide her distress from me. "Ares," she whispers, her voice breaking.
I can't stand seeing that torment in her demeanor. I hate knowing that I played a role in the pain she's feeling, and it kills me to know that from here on out, I will only break her heart more.
"I'll speak to her," she promises, but I shake my head and grab her hand.
"You know that won't make a difference. Don't you think that I've tried?"
Her eyes drop to our joined hands and she pulls her hand out of mine, cradling it as though she can't bear my touch.
"We have to try," she tells me. Raven lifts her face to look at me, and her expression guts me.
"Cupcake," I whisper. "We are out of time and out of options. I know this isn't what you want, and never in a million years did I expect we would find ourselves in this situation… But here we are. Neither one of us can walk away from this, so aren't we better off facing this together?"