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

“She’s five months pregnant. The baby is healthy, but the mother is under too much duress. She’s
been battling anxiety and insomnia. Her blood pressure is far higher than I’d like it to be too. You’ll
need to take good care of her.”
I stare down at my wedding ring in resignation. She said he’ll end up coming back to her, and she
was right. As the mother of his child, there’s no escaping her.
What does this even mean for us? Would this child be my niece or nephew and my stepchild?
Would we co-parent? Or… would he want to give their relationship another shot for the sake of their
child? I know how much family means to him. He wouldn’t want his son or daughter to grow up in a
broken home. He won’t accept only being able to see his child on weekends.
“Raven?”
I look up to find the doctor has left the room. How long have I been sitting on the sofa, trapped in
my thoughts?
“Where is Hannah?”
“She’s lying down in the guest room.” Ares kneels in front of the sofa and grabs my hands, holding
on tightly. “Are you okay?”
I look into his eyes and force a smile on my face. “Congratulations,” I say, my voice breaking.
“You’re going to be a father.” I swallow down my sorrow and inhale shakily. I’ve dreamed of saying
those very same words to him someday, but it’d be me who was pregnant. Having a family with Ares
is something I’ve only just started to dream of, and it feels like she’s stolen yet another one of my
dreams.
I pull my hand out of his and cross my arms as I stare out the window behind him, my heart
bleeding. “Did you cheat on me, Ares?”
He cups my cheek and turns my face back to his. “No,” he says, looking into my eyes. He looks as
tormented as I feel. “Never. I never will either. This won’t change anything for us unless you want it
to.”
I stare at him, taking in his sharp jaw and those beautiful green eyes. Will his child have his eyes?
His smile?
“Give me a moment of honesty, Ares. Do you want this to change things between us? Are you
phrasing it that way because you want me to be the bigger person and walk away? Are you asking me
to do what you won’t, so you don’t have to feel guilty for choosing your child and its mother over
me?”
His eyes widen, and he grabs both of my hands. “Moment of honesty,” he replies. “I’m silently
praying that you’ll tell me that this doesn’t impact us, and that we’ll find a way to get through this
together. I was so proud of you for standing your ground and cutting Hannah off, and now we’re
forced to accept her into our lives in ways that we both deemed unimaginable. I’m scared of hurting
you, of asking too much. I don’t know what the right thing to do is, so I need you to tell me.”
I nod and look away. “I wish I knew,” I whisper. “I wish I had the right words for you right now,
but I don’t. The only thing I do know is that it can’t be the child that suffers. I’ll be there for you,
Ares, in whatever capacity you need. I’ll raise this child with you, if that’s what you want. There’s no
doubt in my mind that I love you, and though it might be hard, I know I’ll love your daughter or son the
same. What I don’t know is if I can survive having Hannah in our lives.”
He nods and lays his head on my lap, his arms wrapped around my waist. I should’ve known
better than to think I finally got my own Happily Ever After. Happiness has always been out of reach
for me. Ares has always been out of reach.