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

be our little sister, just like Sierra is.”
Lex nods and wraps his arm around me as I fight back my tears. “Whatever you decide, we’ll
stand by you.”
Sierra and Valentina both nod in agreement. “We love you, Rave,” Sierra says. “We just want
what’s best for you, even if that isn’t Ares. I know you love my brother, but had it been me, I’m not
sure I could subject myself to the absolute bullshit you’ll have to go through just to be with him.”
Valentina nods. “Sometimes, love isn’t enough. Especially when that all you’ve got holding you
together as the world tries to rip you apart.”
“Windsors,” Silas says. “You’re going to want to see this.”
I frown as I follow him into the living room, my eyes widening when I see Ares on the screen.
“He’s broadcasting on all channels that the Windsors own, which is pretty much everything.”
I raise my hand to my heart as I watch him smile through the screen, his eyes as haunted as mine
must be.
“It has come to my attention that false information is being spread by the media about my wife, so
allow me to address these rumors. While I don’t believe our private business is for you to know, I’m
well aware that you won’t stop the witch-hunt you’ve created until you have the full story — and I
need it to stop. I need you to stop harassing and hurting my wife.
To start off, I’d like you to know that it’s true that Hannah Du Pont and I dated for some time.
What you don’t know, however, is that we were only together because of family obligations. The Du
Ponts and the Windsor have had a marriage agreement in place for years now, agreeing to merge
Windsor Media and Dreamessence, with the aim of leaving the company as a whole to be inherited by
children resulting from this marriage.
With Hannah and I being closest in age, we seemed like the best fit, and we did everything in our
power to make it work. I tried my hardest to love her, but I could never escape my feelings for my
wife. In this time, I never crossed the line with Raven. Unlike what the media is reporting, there were
no affairs, not even close. For years, Raven and I were nothing but friends. Until Hannah chose to
walk away from the engagement our families had decided on.”
He pauses and runs a hand through his hair.
“Raven is the love of my life, and walking away from our relationship is the single best thing
Hannah ever could have done for me. Hannah wasn’t wronged — she left. My wife is not a home
wrecker, nor is she the seductress so many have claimed she is. She’s just a woman who loves her
family more than they deserve. She loves me more than I deserve, and for as long as I live, I’ll love
her in return. So here I am, just a man who loves his wife more than anything, asking you to stop this
witch-hunt. I beg of you, stop harassing her, stop damaging the designs she spent many sleepless
nights over, stop spreading rumors. The only mistake she has ever made was loving a man that doesn’t
deserve her, and for my sake, I hope she’ll never want to remedy it.”
Ares looks away for a moment. “Now that you have the truth, any lies being spread about my wife
will be deemed slander. Those of you who won’t heed my warning will face legal action. Any
slander we find circulating twenty-four hours from now will be reported, and we’ll leave our legal
team to deal with that. I ask that you think carefully about the words you spread. Celebrities like my
wife are still human, too. My wife, in particular, is the most soft-hearted person I know. Every single
one of your words, she takes to heart. Do you want to be responsible for a woman crying herself to
sleep, when the gossip you’re so happily sharing isn’t true? Please, I ask you to do the right thing.” He
smiles then. “And Raven? I love you, Cupcake. No matter what.”
The TV goes black for a few moments, and then his message starts to replay, but I can barely see