“We should probably talk about… us,” I say.
Raven tenses, her spine straightening. “Yes. We should.”
I run a hand through my hair and stare up at the ceiling for a moment. “I’m sorry it came to this, Raven. The thought of me being the reason you don’t get to live the life you envisioned for yourself, fuck. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Ares.” Her voice is soft but firm, and I sit up straight to face her. “This isn’t your fault. I admit that I also didn’t think Hannah truly wouldn’t show up, but it’s done now. We’re married.”
Married. Fuck. This is a complete fucking shitshow. How the fuck did I end up married to my fiancee’s younger sister? What the fuck? I take a calming breath before tipping my drink back. I need some fucking liquid courage for this shit.
“I know this isn’t what you wanted, Raven, and truthfully, I didn’t think that it’d come to this. I want you to know that I don’t expect anything from you. All I ask is that we make it look like we’re giving our marriage an honest chance — in Grandma’s eyes, at least.”
“In Grandma’s eyes,” she repeats, her gaze roaming over my face. “What does that mean?”
I pull my bowtie loose and unbutton the top button on my shirt. “It means we only have to fake it in her presence. So long as she thinks we’re trying our best to be together, she’ll leave us alone. I’m the first of my siblings to get married, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect either, but I know my grandmother. If she thinks we aren’t trying, she’ll come up with all kinds of schemes, and we can’t have that. You only know Grandma as the sweet old lady she pretends to be in front of you, but she’s hard to deal with. I love her, but she can be a true nightmare.”
Raven rises to her feet, looking like a complete vision in her white wedding dress. All day I’ve tried my hardest not to stare at her, but it’s impossible to resist. She looks stunning, and the deep V at the front of her dress showcases her cleavage beautifully. It feels inappropriate to look at her a second too long, but I struggle to tear my gaze away. It’s strange that this beautiful woman is now my wife.
“So you want to pretend we’re making our marriage work, and what will you be doing in the meantime?”
She walks up to me and rests her knee on the sofa, between my legs. Then she leans in and places her hands on my shoulders. It takes all of me to keep her from finding out how fucking mesmerized I am.
“Do you intend to fuck my sister while you make me fulfill the terms of our marriage?”
I tense and grit my teeth, surprised by the question and the venom in her voice. “Of course not,” I snap. “Just what do you think of me, Raven?”
She tightens her grip on my shoulders, anger flashing through her eyes. I’ve never seen her look so furious. The Raven I used to know was always sweet and patient, but the woman in front of me is something else entirely.
“I don’t know, Ares. It sounds an awful lot like you’re asking me to pretend to be your wife for three years, until you can divorce me and go back to my sister. It’s all super convenient for you two, isn’t it? Hannah runs away, so she doesn’t have to suffer through the limitations this marriage would impose on her career, and for the next three years, she gets to focus on her acting career while I’m trapped in this marriage with you. Are you really going to take three years of my life and sacrifice them for Hannah?”
I take a moment to just look at my wife. She’s hurt, insecure, and angry. Justifiably so. I’m not sure what I was asking her for, but I do realize I chose the wrong words.
I reach for her and wrap my hands around her waist, startling her. “No,” I tell her. “No. I won’t sacrifice three years of your life, Raven. What I’m saying is that there are rules we need to abide by, and faking it in front of Grandma will make both of our lives easier.” I inhale deeply, my mind a complete fucking mess. “I’m not sure what this marriage will be like for us. I’m not sure where I stand with Hannah, either. Right now, there’s a lot I don’t know, Rave.”
Raven nods and pulls away, her shoulders drooping. Today has been a hard day for both of us, and at least for a little while, things won’t get easier.
“We don’t need to figure everything out at once. We can take our time, okay?” I tell her. “How about I show you around, and we just get an early night?”
She nods, and I force a smile onto my face. Raven and I have always been so comfortable with each other, but right now, we’re both pretending we aren’t hurting. Everything about today kills me. She just became my wife, yet the distance between us has never been greater.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raven
I’m in a daze as Ares shows me his condo. Until today, I’d only ever seen his living room and kitchen. His home is very similar in size to Sierra’s, but his layout is entirely different. Sierra’s is mostly open plan, while Ares seems to have a lot of different types of rooms.
I can see my sister’s influence all over the place, and it feels strange. It makes it even more obvious that everything here was meant to be Hannah’s. I suppose in many ways, it all still is. He still is.
Even the cinema room he’s got was no doubt built to watch private screenings of Hannah’s movies. The love he has for her is evident in every nook and cranny of the place I’ll be forced to call home.
“I like my privacy, so I don’t enjoy having staff around. My housekeeper and chef come in during the day, when I’m at work, so they won’t really bother you. You won’t see them at all. I’ll show you how to download the app the entire family uses later. You may have seen Sierra use it before. If you need anything at all, just send a request through the app and it’ll get done, whether it be groceries or painting the walls. We have an entire team of butlers that know how to get nearly anything done.”
I nod as I follow along. “This is the last room. It’s my bedroom,” he says. “I suppose it’s ours now, actually.”
He holds the door open for me, and I follow him in reluctantly, my stomach twisting. It’s clear that he shares a lot of memories with Hannah in this place, and that’ll be even more the case in his bedroom.
Ares runs a hand through his hair and inhales deeply, his gaze roaming over the room he thought he’d share with my sister.
I’ve never been in his bedroom before, and just standing here feels like an invasion of privacy. Ares hesitantly turns toward me, his gaze apologetic. “Your suitcases were delivered earlier today. You should find everything you need in the dressing room. Let me show you.”
I nod and follow him, pausing at the sight of the vanity filled with my sister’s favorite products. A dull ache spreads from my heart, and I wrap my arms around myself protectively. For years, this is the room he shared with Hannah. This is where she’d stay when she came over, and from what I can see, that was quite often.
Ares follows my gaze and freezes. “I…” He cups the back of his neck, his gaze contrite. “I wasn’t thinking, Raven. It was all so sudden. Until this morning, I was hoping… I haven’t had a chance—”