The-Wrong-Bride-Ares--Raven’s-story-(Maura,-Catharina)_bibis

Chapter Thirty-Six
RAVEN
My heart is pounding as I walk into the highly exclusive jewelry store that Ares asked me to meet him
at. In all the years that he and I have bought jewelry for Hannah together, he never once bought
anything for her here, not even when she pleaded with him, which I know she did. This isn’t the kind
of store that just anyone can buy from, no matter how much money you have. Their designs are iconic,
and they’re all handcrafted.
“Mrs. Windsor,” the owner of the store greets me, his head bowed. “It’s an honor to have you here
today.”
“Mr. Laurier, the honor is all mine,” I reply, surpised.
He shakes his head bashfully, as though he’s genuinely happy to have me here, and it leaves me
feeling flustered. Throughout my career I’ve become accustomed to having nearly anything I could
possibly want, yet this is one of the few things that has always been out of reach for me.
“Rave.” I look up at the sound of Ares’s voice and smile when he holds his hand out for me. He
entwines our fingers and pulls me into him, his eyes on mine. The way he looks at me reminds me of
this morning. Just as Hannah managed to shake my confidence, he stepped in and restored it, showing
me how much he wants me. Even if what we’ve got is nothing more than passion, it’s still a start. It’s
more than I had just a few weeks ago.
“Let’s pick you a ring.”
“Please follow me, Mr. and Mrs. Windsor.” Mr. Laurier leads us to a desk, where he’s got several
designs laid out for us. “Do you have anything in mind?”
I glance at Ares nervously as we sit down, but he merely smiles and reaches for my hand,
entwining our fingers before he brings our joined hands to his lips. “Anything you want, Raven. There
is no budget. I just want you to have a ring you’ll wear with pride.” He looks at Mr. Laurier then. “My
only request is that you engrave my name on the inside of my wife’s ring.”
My heart skips a beat as heat rushes to my cheeks. He has no idea how many of my dreams he’s
fulfilling today. I hesitate for a moment before I take out my tablet. “I drew something,” I admit. “But
I’m not sure if it’d be possible to create this.”
Mr. Laurier smiles as he takes my tablet from me. “We can definitely make this, Mrs. Windsor.
It’ll be a shared-prong eternity band with a trellis design. What kind of carat weight were you