The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(6)

I’ll never measure up to my older sister. Not in my parents’ eyes, and certainly never in Ares’s eyes.





Chapter Four





Ares





I tighten my grip on my phone and take a calming breath. “Hannah, you promised me we’d go together. This is the third time this month you’re canceling on me at the very last second. Couldn’t you at least have given me some adequate notice?”

The phone rustles and Hannah sighs. “I’m sorry, Ares. I really wanted to be there tonight, you know that. I wanted to support Raven and be there with you, but I just can’t get away. I need to retake some scenes, and it just hasn’t been going too well.”

“It’s always the same excuses, Hannah. I’m trying to be as supportive as I can be, but you’re making it really difficult. I can’t always be the one who makes compromises.”

“I know,” she says, her voice soft. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Is this because you don’t want to be seen or photographed with me? Hannah, we’re getting married in a month. Don’t forget about our agreement. The moment we’re married, we’re taking our relationship public, so what’s the harm in us being captured together tonight?”

“Ares, it isn’t that. I promise, it isn’t. I’m taking so much time off for the wedding that I just really want to work extra hard to make up for it. I don’t want to be the reason we fall behind on schedule.”

I run a hand through my hair and look up at the ceiling. “I get it,” I tell her, defeated. I do understand it, but I’m starting to lose hope that things will ever change. I used to think I was the luckiest one out of my siblings. Dion can’t stand his fiancée, and my other siblings don’t even know who they’ll be marrying yet. I was the only one that was lucky enough to fall in love with the girl my parents chose for me long before we even got married.

Yet lately, this doesn’t feel like a love match anymore, and I’m not feeling very lucky. Everything feels mechanical and forced, and the excitement we should feel regarding our upcoming wedding is missing.

“She isn’t coming, is she?”

I look up to find one of my younger brothers, Lex, leaning in the doorway. His expression is carefully blank, but his eyes betray his annoyance. My first instinct is to stand up for Hannah, but I don’t have it in me today.

“Nope.”

“It’s going to be annoying for you to go without a date. You know what the women are like at these types of events. You’ll just get harassed all night long. I wish I could’ve made it.”

I shake my head. “It’s fine. You have an early flight to catch, don’t you? Besides, you hate the entertainment industry.”

Lex is in charge of Windsor Motors, and if I recall correctly, he’ll be revealing our latest electric car soon. Each of us is in charge of a different part of the Windsor empire. I handle our entertainment firms, Lexington does motor vehicles, Sierra handles real estate, Zane is in charge of our hotels, Luca does asset management, and Dion manages all of our foreign holdings. Between the six of us, we run all of Windsor Corp, dominating far more of the market than people realize.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell my brother. “It’s just a fashion show. I’ve sponsored plenty of those. I’ll just put in an appearance and leave.”

Lex smiles at me. “Raven will be there, so you’ll be fine. She’s the star of the show tonight. I don’t know how, but she just keeps getting more and more beautiful. I really wish I could’ve made it.”

I tense involuntarily and narrow my eyes at Lexington. Since when did he think Raven is beautiful? She’s always been like a little sister to all of us. Has the way he sees her changed?

“How do you know she’s going to be there tonight?”

Come to think of it, just recently they went to an art gallery together, just the two of them. Is something going on between them? The thought of Raven with Lex doesn’t sit well with me.

He smirks at me and holds up his phone. “I spoke to her earlier today.”

What? She almost always declines my calls, but she has time to speak to Lex?

Lex chuckles at me, his gaze unreadable. “Tell Raven I said hi, will you?”

I nod, knowing I’ll do no such thing. Something about the idea of Lexington with Raven deeply unsettles me, and it isn’t just because of the recurring dreams I have about her — dreams I shouldn’t be having at all.

I’m in a shit mood as I head to the event, unable to pin down what I’m so annoyed about. I should be used to Hannah standing me up by now, but it never gets easier. For years now, we’ve hidden our relationship, wary of the media’s attention. Hannah has always been scared that she’d be accused of nepotism if people found out we’re together, and I get it. I know how hard she works, and having the media’s attention in that way only spells trouble. I understand where she’s coming from, but I’m tired of it all.

The room is buzzing when I walk in and I pause in the corner, my eyes on the catwalk. I rarely even watch these shows — once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, and I couldn’t care less about fashion. Yet tonight, I can’t tear my eyes off the woman dominating the stage.