I hand Raven the ring she designed for me with a sheepish smile on my face. “Do you want to put that on me, or should I put it on myself?”
She shakes her head and grabs my hand, placing my ring at the tip of my finger, mimicking my earlier movements. “Ares,” she says, her voice trembling. “You were never supposed to be mine, but now that you are, I promise to give this marriage my all. It’s been odd for both of us, and I know we’re still adjusting to being together. You’re right to say that so much is still uncertain, but this much I promise you: for the rest of our lives, I’ll be true to you in every way. You’ll be everything to me, and I’ll do everything within my power to be the best wife you ever could’ve asked for.”
She slides my ring onto my finger, her hand trembling the way mine just did. Our wedding was a farce, but this moment between us? That’s as real as it’ll ever get.
“Are we really doing this?” she whispers.
I nod and drop my forehead to hers. “We already did, Rave. We’ve been married for a month now. It’s about time we face the facts and work toward a future together.”
“Do you truly see a future with me, Ares? When we first got married you… well, you mentioned leaving me in three years. Do you still want to? I need to know. I can’t… I don’t want to get hurt.”
I cup her cheek and look into her eyes, my thumb brushing over her lips. “I will never let you go, Raven. Fuck what I said. I was a fucking moron who didn’t realize that he’d struck fucking gold. You’re my wife, for better or worse. Only you. For as long as I live.”
She sniffs and smiles through the tears that fill her eyes. “Promise me. You told me you never break a promise, so promise me that you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives. No matter what.”
I drop my forehead to hers and inhale shakily. “I’m yours, Raven Windsor. Forever. I promise.”
I pinch her chin and tilt her face toward mine as I lean in, taking her lips in one long, leisurely kiss. Her arms wrap around my shoulders, and I push up against her, deepening our kiss. Fuck. How many times have I fantasized about kissing her when I really shouldn’t have? Being able to take her lips so freely is surreal.
“Tomorrow,” I whisper against her lips. “Let’s announce our marriage tomorrow.” I know that announcing our marriage means a lot of additional eyes on us, and it’s bound to make Hannah panic, but fuck it. I need the world to know that she’s mine.
Chapter Forty
Raven
I smile at my phone as I type out the message accompanying the wedding photo I’m about to post. This is the one thing I never thought I’d get to have with Ares, but it’s something I’ve always wanted. Everything about this is surreal.
Something has changed between us ever since we got married. There used to be an invisible barrier between us, but it disappeared the moment I walked down that aisle.
This version of him is the one I fell for, so many years ago. He finally feels within reach, and there’s no way I’m letting this chance pass me by. I love my sister with all my heart, but I won’t sacrifice another moment of my own happiness for her — not when she had it all and chose to walk away.
I’m grinning to myself as I post the picture seconds after Ares’s announcement goes live. I picked a photo of Ares kissing me on our wedding day, and I have no doubt it’ll go viral in no time. Perhaps it’s playing dirty, a way of increasing the distance between Hannah and him, but I don’t care. I’m done putting others above myself.
Seconds later, the door to my dressing room opens with such force that it slams into the wall, and my agent storms in with a distraught expression on his face. “What the fuck is this?” John asks, his tone panicked. He holds his phone up, showing me the photo I just posted. “You fucking got married? Married? To Ares Windsor? You got married to the biggest media mogul in the country and you didn’t even tell me? What the fuck, Rave?”
I should’ve anticipated his reaction, but I’ve been in a daze in the last couple of weeks, not wanting to step out of the bubble Ares and I were in, too scared I’d wake up and realize it was all a dream.
“Surprise?”
John glares at me, his bright blue eyes flashing with anger and hurt. It hits me straight in the chest, and remorse washes away my nonchalance.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “It’s not that I didn’t want to invite you,” I promise him. “It’s just that the guest list was kept incredibly small. Our families are old friends, and well, my mother curated the guest list on my behalf. I’ve been so busy with work that I… I’m sorry.”
He looks away and shakes his head. “I get it.” His tone is in contrast with his words.
How am I supposed to explain that I would have invited him if it had been my wedding?
“But I didn’t even know you were dating him, Raven. How did that happen? How and why did you hide a relationship with Ares Windsor, of all people?”
This is exactly what I was afraid of. Those that know me well enough to know I’ve been single for a long time.
I’m spared from having to answer when the door to my dressing room opens. A soft gasp escapes my lips when Ares walks in, surrounded by six bodyguards.
“Raven,” he says, walking up to me. His hands wrap around my waist, and he pulls me into him, his lips finding mine. He kisses me as though it’s just me and him in this room, taking his time, teasing me until I’m breathless. Then he drops his forehead to mine and inhales deeply. “I love the photo you posted,” he murmurs. “I thought you’d pick a general photo of us, or perhaps something from recent years, but you left no ambiguity.”
I lean back in his arms to look at him, pure love spreading from my heart. “I’m proud to be your wife,” I whisper. “Why wouldn’t I want to show you off?”
He leans in, his lips brushing over my ear. “You made my day,” he murmurs. “I’ll have to reward you later.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I pull away from him a little, suddenly self-conscious. It takes me a moment to realize that Ares’s bodyguards have their backs turned to us, but John is staring at us with an expression I can’t quite decipher.
Ares takes a step away from me and wraps his hand around my shoulder as he extends his free hand toward John. “I’ve seen you around, but we’ve never formally met. I’m Ares Windsor, Raven’s husband.”
The two men shake hands, and something about the way John stares at Ares doesn’t sit well with me. Normally, people in the industry are overly happy to meet him, but John doesn’t seem to be.
“I’m also your new boss,” he says as he pulls his hand away. “Since this agency is such a good fit for my organisation, I bought it.”
I look up at him in shock. “You what?”
Ares shrugs and leans in. “I thought it would be good for us to own the company you work for. You can have it, if you want. I’ll sign it over to you, on two conditions.”
“What conditions?”
He smiles and brushes his lip over my ear. “No more campaigns with other men, and you’re no longer allowed to overwork yourself.”