The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(23)

“What brings you here?”

She smiles tightly. We’ve barely spoken in recent weeks, and every time we do, we’re arguing. Even on her birthday, we only had an hour of peace before she blamed me for not making enough of an effort with her friends — the same ones she’s keeping our relationship from, neither confirming nor denying our relationship status.

“We need to talk,” she says, her voice soft.

I lean back in my seat and sigh. What fucking now? I get that the pressure is high for both of us, but I’m exhausted. I’m tired of constantly fighting with her. I just want to go back to a time when we were still happy together, when we were looking forward to our future together.

“What would you like to talk about?” I ask, my voice calm.

“Ares,” she says, her voice breaking. “I can’t do this. I… I can’t marry you.”

I put my elbows on my desk and bury my hands in my hair as I let my eyes fall closed. “Don’t give me this bullshit,” I tell her. “Our wedding is next week, Hannah. You’ve postponed it three times now. I’m done with this shit.”

“Ares, I’m serious. The more I think about it, the more it torments me. Because of your family’s rules, we can’t spend more than three consecutive days apart for the entire first three years of our marriage, but how is that supposed to work? You can’t take time off from work to accompany me when I’m filming, and I can’t take three years off. How many years do I really have left in my prime? I’m at the height of my career, and I can’t walk away from that now. Maybe the time will be right for us someday, but we both know it isn’t now.”

I look at her and take in the pain in her eyes. She really is serious this time, isn’t she? “Hannah,” I say, my voice soft. “I hear you, honey. I do. But this marriage between us? It isn’t just a marriage between you and me. It’s also one between our families, our companies. We’re lucky that we fell in love with each other, but ultimately, this is an arranged marriage. It’s not something either of us can walk away from.”

She shakes her head. “I know. I’m not saying I won’t marry you at all. I’m just saying not now. Someday, the time will be perfect for us. We’ll be in a stage of our lives where we want children, and I’ll want to take it easier in my career… but that time isn’t now, Ares. Marriage isn’t something we should mess around with. If we get married now, I don’t think our relationship could survive the strain. I definitely don’t think my career could withstand it.”

I fall silent as her words ring through my ears. Yeah, perhaps she’s right, but it’s too late now. “Han,” I say, my tone gentle. “I know you’re worried, and I get that the stress is getting to you, but we’re going to be okay. We don’t have the luxury of walking away from this.”

She rises to her feet and shakes her head. Hannah stares at me, her gaze lingering and filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Ares,” she says.

She takes her engagement ring out of her pocket and places it on my desk, staring at it for a moment before she pushes it toward me. She rarely even wore that ring, yet it kills me to have her return it to me.

“Hannah, don’t be like that,” I plead.

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”

Before I can even stop her, she rushes away, leaving me staring after her. I watch as my office door slams shut, my thoughts in disarray. This isn’t the first time Hannah has gotten cold feet, and it certainly isn’t the first time she’s been worried about her career, but it feels different this time.

It feels final… and I have no fucking idea what I’m supposed to do.





Chapter Fourteen





Ares





Lex, Luca and Zane stare at me, none of them sure what to say. That’s not what gets me, though. It’s the fact that Dion is sitting opposite me in my living room. It’s rare for all five of us to be together, since Dion lives in London. The fact that he flew here overnight means they’re worried about me.

“What is this shit about you two breaking up a week before the wedding?” Dion asks eventually. “You’re supposed to be the lucky one out of us, dickhead. You’re the only one of us that actually gets to marry the person you love, and you pull this bullshit.”

I run a hand through my hair and look up at the ceiling. “It’s not like I wanted to, Dion. I’m as surprised as you are. I knew we had our issues, but what couple doesn’t? I didn’t expect her to call off the wedding for real.”

Luca groans and shoves against Dion’s shoulder. “You fucking suck at this consolation shit. Why did any of us think you were going to be our best bet?” He looks at Lexington and nods. “You try, Lex. Put that PhD of yours to good use.”

Lex frown at Luca and shakes his head. “I have a PhD in robotics. What am I supposed to do? Build him a robot fiancee?”

Zane bursts out laughing. “I bet the robot would still have more character than Hannah ever did. Don’t tell me any of you are actually upset they broke up? Fuck this love match bullshit, because when it comes to Ares, love clearly is fucking blind.”

I shake my head and lift my whiskey glass to my lips. “Thanks guys,” I tell them. “I feel so much better now.”