The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(68)

“Hannah… she’s my wife. You knew exactly what you were doing when you left me at the altar. You walked out on us, so you have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do with the woman I married.”

Her eyes flash with anger, and fresh tears fill her eyes. “Are you sleeping with my sister?” she asks, her voice filled with venom. “Are the two of you going behind my back? I always thought you were weirdly close, but I trusted you. Did you want her all along?”

I stare at her, unsure what to do or say. I don’t want to hurt her, but I can’t lie to her either. Things aren’t as black and white between Raven and me as Hannah would like them to be. “That is, quite frankly, no longer any of your business. You and I can’t be more than friends, and you can’t do this. You can’t drop by my house unannounced and get upset about my wife and me simply being together.”

“Stop calling her your wife!” she snaps.

“That’s what she is, Hannah!”

Big, fat tears run down her cheeks, her gaze filled with remorse. Throughout the years, I’ve become immune to Hannah’s tears, yet these tug at my heartstrings.

“Fuck,” I murmur as I cup her face, wiping at her tears with my thumbs. “Han, please… I’m sorry. I just… I’m fucking exhausted too, you know? I feel like I’m fucking trapped, and no matter what I do, I’ll be letting someone down.”

“Here.” I tense at the sound of Raven’s voice, her tone clipped. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

I take a step away from Hannah to look at my wife, but she’s avoiding my gaze. Her body is tense, and I can’t help but feel like she’s angry. She hands Hannah a handkerchief, and Hannah snatches it out of Raven’s hand angrily.

“How could you!” she yells. “How could you post something like that, Raven? You did that on purpose, you fucking bitch. You’re trying to come between Ares and me, aren’t you?”

Raven steels her spine and stares at her sister. “I’m trying to come between you and… my husband?”

Well, fuck.

“Don’t think I never noticed the way you always looked at him, Raven. The only reason I never said anything was because I knew he’d never want you — not when he could have me. You know that just as well. Call him your husband all you want, but he’ll never truly be yours. Hell, you could fuck him and it’d still be me he’d love. It’ll always be me.”

“Hannah!” I snap, unable to take the pain in Raven’s eyes.

She smiles at me and shrugs. “It’s true. Can you deny it, Ares? Tell me you no longer love me.”

“You need to leave.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I warned you to respect my marriage, Hannah. After everything you’ve put us through, that’s all I’ve asked of you. You’re forgetting that it’s Raven who paid the price for your choices. She deserves better than this — from both of us.”

Her eyes fill with guilt, and she looks away for a moment. “I just…”

“You need to leave,” I repeat, my tone softer now.

She looks contrite and nods before she turns to Raven, who is staring at the wall, her body tense. “Rave, I’m sorry. You know what I’m like, right? I let my emotions get the best of me, and I was jealous. I know you two wouldn’t do that to me, but I just couldn’t see clearly. I’m sorry, Rave.”

Raven nods, but doesn’t look at her sister. Hannah glances at me apologetically, and I shake my head, silently pleading with her to just leave. She sighs and walks away, the sound of the door slamming closed following shortly after.

“Raven,” I murmur. “I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have said all that. I think she’s just been having a hard time with everything that’s going on. You know her heart is in the right place, right? She’s just hurting and lashing out.”

Raven looks up at me, and my heart fucking shatters when I see the tears in her eyes. Raven rarely cries. I can count the times I’ve seen her cry on one hand. It’s Hannah who bursts into tears over the smallest matter, but never Raven. A tear drops down her cheek, and my heart clenches painfully.

“Forget it,” she says, her voice trembling. “She’s right, after all. It’ll always be her you’ll love, right? Even if we sleep together, it’ll be her you’re thinking of. I might be the woman in your arms, but it’s her you’ll truly want. I’ll never be more than a replacement to you.”

I walk up to her and grab her shoulders, a sense of desperation washing over me. I’ve never felt such intense need to take away someone’s pain. “Raven, you know that isn’t true. You are not a replacement. You meant the world to me before we even got married. You’ve always been one of my closest friends.”

She looks up sharply, her torment mixing with anger. “Did you see me as a friend when you fucked my face just now, Ares?”

“Fuck, Raven. You know that’s not what I meant.”

She pushes against me and walks away, pausing by the door. “You said you feel trapped in this marriage, but how do you think I feel? I was forced to marry someone I’ll never stand a chance with — someone who will never even be able to look at me without thinking of my sister. Have you ever stopped to think about what I might have wanted out of a marriage? I want happiness too, Ares. I can see now that you will never give me that, no matter what I do. I’ll never be her. When given a choice between hurting either of us, it’s always me you’ll choose. I’ll never be your priority, not truly.”