Chapter 24

I straighten my tie absentmindedly in front of the mirror, feeling conflicted.

I had that same dream about Raven again last night, and it really fucked with my head.

Usually, I’d brush it off and remind myself that I can’t control my subconscious, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day.

And the guilt is eating me alive.

Especially because I didn’t immediately realize I was no longer dreaming when I saw her in my bed.

I’d been so close to pulling her on top of me, my cock still throbbing.

Seeing Hannah today only made me feel worse.

I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember, yet now I’m married to her sister.

It feels like I betrayed her in the worst possible way, and the last thing I want is to start lusting after Raven too.

It’s fucking insane.

Within the span of a few days, my entire life completely derailed.

“Where are you going?”

I tense at the sound of Raven’s voice and look up, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

She’s leaning against the wall beside the door, her arms crossed.

Just looking at her makes me feel conflicted.

She looks beautiful in the long silk robe she’s wearing, her hair cascading over her chest.

It’s strange having her in my home.

She fits here so naturally, and yet her presence completely unsettles me.

I watch as she pushes herself off the wall and walks toward me, her hips swaying softly.

I’ve spent most of the day avoiding her, hiding away in my home office instead, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t last.

I turn to face her and force a smile.

“Dinner.”

Raven stops in front of me and grabs my tie, loosening it.

“Is that so?”

She tilts her head slightly.

“With who?”

My heart begins to race as a different kind of guilt washes over me.

Guilt toward Raven this time.

“Rave,” I say softly.

She knows exactly who I’m having dinner with.

She was there this morning when Hannah asked us to have dinner together and talk things through.

Raven lets my tie fall to the floor and grips my collar, her movements betraying her anger.

“I hate this shirt,” she murmurs as her fingers brush over the top button.

I swallow hard as Raven slowly unbuttons the blue shirt Hannah bought me years ago.

I watch her carefully as more and more of my shirt falls open, unsure what to say or do.

She’s never touched me like this before.

And yet it somehow feels right.

The possessiveness in her eyes.

Her touch.

This is completely new territory for me.

“Rave,” I whisper.

“What are you doing?”

She’s clearly angry, and I don’t want to push her any further.

She clenches her jaw and looks up at me.

“Undressing my husband.”

Her eyes flash.

“What are you doing?”

I tense and wrap my hands around her wrists, holding them in place.

“It’s just dinner.”

“Is it?”

I nod.

“Raven… I swear I’ll keep my promise.”

I tighten my grip on her wrists slightly.

“Despite my past with Hannah and my feelings for her, I won’t cheat on you.”

She looks up at me.

“Ares,” she sighs.

“I don’t want to make you unhappy.”

She takes a deep breath.

“Hannah made it sound like three years is nothing, but it’s a long time.”

She pulls her wrists free from my grip.

“I honestly don’t know what to do.”

Her voice sharpens slightly.

“I’ll be honest with you — I don’t share well, and I can get extremely jealous.”

She takes a step back.

“The moment we got married, you became mine.”

Her eyes burn into mine.

“And I refuse to be made a fool of.”

She folds her arms tightly.

“I won’t let the two of you sacrifice me for your own selfish goals.”

Her jaw tightens.

“I’m not going to be your cover while you screw my sister behind my back.”

The tension in her voice hits me hard.

“I don’t know what our marriage is going to look like.”

She inhales slowly.

“And I know you’re in love with her.”

Her eyes flash with defiance.

“But you’d be insane if you think I’m going to stand by and watch you date Hannah.”

She pulls away from me completely.

“I want you to be happy, Ares…”

Her voice weakens slightly.

“But not with her.”

She meets my gaze directly.

“Not like that. Not after what the two of you asked of me.”

I smile at her, intrigued.

Raven has always been so sweet and calm, and I’m beginning to wonder if I ever truly knew her at all.

Over the last few weeks, she’s changed.

And I think I like the change.

I lean closer and brush her hair away from her face.

“I hear you, Rave. I really do.”

I take a deep breath.

“This is confusing for me too.”

I hold her gaze.

“But you’re right.”

My voice lowers.

“I’m yours…”

I step closer.

“And you?”

My fingers brush against her jaw.

“You’re mine.”

My heart pounds violently in my chest.

“It’s going to take time for us to figure out how to navigate this marriage.”

I offer her a faint smile.

“But I can promise you one thing.”

My voice turns firm.

“I will never betray you.”

I pause briefly.

“And I’ll never intentionally hurt you either.”

She nods and turns away, some of her anger fading.

I watch as her fingers brush over the shirts in my closet.

She picks out a white one and slips it off the hanger.

“And Raven?” I say.

“I don’t share either.”

She turns back to face me immediately.

“If you expect me to keep my distance from Hannah, then you’d better keep your distance from other men too.”

She stares at me for a moment before answering.

“I’m yours.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Only yours.”

There’s something about the way she looks at me that instantly reminds me of the dream I had last night.

And the memory alone makes my cock harden.

I tear my gaze away and inhale deeply.

I’m so fucking conflicted.

She’s my wife.

Yet thinking about her that way fills me with guilt.

Raven walks toward me and hands me the white shirt.

I expect her to walk away.

But instead, she grabs the lapels of the shirt I’m wearing and pushes it off my shoulders.

Fuck.

She’s standing way too close.

And even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help wondering how she’d react if I kissed her right now.

“I’ll do it,” I tell her quickly, stepping back.

Having her hands on me feels too intimate.

It’s too much.

Aside from that one night she and Sierra got drunk, Raven has always kept a respectful distance from me.

So I honestly don’t know how to handle this new version of her.

Raven watches me as I change into the shirt she chose.

“Don’t let me down,” she says softly.

So softly I almost miss it.

I immediately look up and meet her vulnerable gaze.

“I won’t,” I promise.

Neither of us knows how to navigate this marriage.

But this much, at least, I can do.

I can keep my promises to her.

Raven nods, her eyes following me as I walk out of the room.

All I can think about on the drive to the restaurant where I’m meeting Hannah is the way Raven looked at me.

She looked so hurt.

So disappointed.

I’m not sure what to make of it.

Raven and I…

I honestly don’t know what the future holds for us.

But I’m starting to wonder what these next three years are going to look like.

I thought she’d want to keep her distance.

That she’d push me back toward Hannah.

But the way she touched me just now…

It felt intimate in a way I never expected.

“Ares!”

I look up when Hannah rushes toward me the moment I step into the private dining room she reserved.

She wraps her arms around my neck and rises onto her tiptoes, her lips brushing mine for a split second before I manage to push her away.

“Don’t,” I snap, wiping my lips with the back of my hand.

Confusion flashes across her face.

“Ares… please don’t be angry with me.”

I walk past her and take a seat, not even bothering to pull out her chair the way I usually would.

Hannah stares at me for a moment before finally sitting down.

“Ares…”

“Where were you?” I ask coldly.

“On our wedding day, where were you?”

She looks away and wraps her arms around herself, tears filling her eyes.

“I genuinely didn’t think they’d make Raven do this,” she says, her voice trembling.

“I had just landed my dream role.”

She inhales shakily.

“I was only trying to buy time.”

Her eyes meet mine again.

“I thought it was the only way.”

She presses her lips together.

“As long as you weren’t directly involved, your grandmother wouldn’t punish you for my choices.”

I lean back in my chair and stare at her silently.

I’ve loved her for so many years…

But I’m starting to wonder if that’s only because we forced this relationship for too long.

“You gambled,” I say calmly.

“And you lost.”

She smiles at me and tilts her face toward mine.

“It was unexpected, but Raven won’t mind divorcing you in three years.”

She says it so casually.

“This only slightly disrupted our plans.”

She smiles softly.

“You and Raven used to spend time together occasionally anyway.”

Her voice lowers.

“So there’s no reason we can’t do the same.”

She shrugs.

“No one needs to know.”

I fold my arms and smile humorlessly.

“Are you asking me to cheat on my wife with you?”

I raise an eyebrow.

“You want to become my mistress, Han?”

Anger flashes through her eyes immediately.

“She isn’t really your wife,” she snaps.

“Besides, it’s not like Raven would care.”

She crosses her arms.

“Or are you planning to stay celibate for three years?”

My thoughts immediately drift back to the dream I had last night.

No.

There’s no way I’m staying celibate.

“Hannah.”

My voice turns firm.

“You’ve always known marriage is sacred in the Windsor family.”

I hold her gaze.

“And I’m no exception.”

My jaw tightens.

“I won’t cheat on my wife, regardless of who she is.”

I inhale deeply.

“I’ll treat her with the respect she deserves.”

I stare directly at her.

“You chose to walk away from us.”

My voice hardens.

“And Raven and I were left to deal with the consequences.”

“I made a mistake, Ares. I know I did…”

Her voice cracks.

“But this…”

She shakes her head in disbelief.

“You and I have been together for so long I can barely remember life before us.”

Her eyes glisten.

“Are you seriously telling me you want to be with my sister like that?”

I drag a hand through my hair.

“No,” I tell her.

“I’m telling you that you can’t have everything.”

I hold her gaze steadily.

“You made your choice.”

I shrug slightly.

“So now you’ll have to live with the consequences.”

I pause briefly.

“Maybe you and I will find our way back to each other in three years.”

My voice softens slightly.

“Or maybe we’ll realize our relationship ended long before you walked away.”

I inhale slowly.

“I honestly don’t know anymore, Han.”

Then I look directly at her.

“What I do know is that I’m done making excuses for you.”

“Ares, what does that even mean?”

“It means we’re over.”

My voice is firm.

“The moment I married Raven, you became my sister-in-law.”

I hold her gaze.

“Whether you like it or not.”

She stares at me wide-eyed.

“Ares, I know you’re angry, but don’t do this.”

I shake my head.

“I didn’t do this, Hannah.”

My voice hardens.

“You did.”

She reaches for my hand and intertwines our fingers.

“Ares, I don’t want to lose you.”

Her eyes fill with tears.

“Please, give me a chance to make this right.”

Her voice breaks.

“Please, honey.”

She shakes her head slowly.

“This… can’t you see how insane all of this is?”

She squeezes my hand tightly.

“I can’t lose you.”

Her voice falls to a whisper.

“I don’t even know who I am without you.”

I smile tightly.

“We can try being friends, Han.”

I slowly pull my hand away from hers.

“But that’s the best I can offer.”

“Friends?” she asks in confusion.

“How could you and I possibly be friends?”

Yeah.

How could we?

After everything we’ve been through, how are we supposed to find a way to stay in each other’s lives without hurting each other…

Without hurting Raven too?