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

Chapter Sixty-Nine
RAVEN
I walk through the home Ares and I built, my heart heavy. There’s no trace of Hannah left — our
cleaners ensured it. Yet I can still feel her here. I wonder if the scars she left will ever fade.
I’m trembling as I sit down on the sofa, still reeling from the news that was released about her.
Countless affairs, and irrefutable proof that the child she’s carrying is not Ares’s. Climbing her way
to the top like that… I never would have expected that. I can’t wrap my mind around it. It’s like I
never really knew her at all, and it makes me feel even worse for sacrificing so much for her.
I feel like an idiot, and I’m ashamed of my subservience. I catered to her all our lives, feeling
guilty for having had the childhood she’s always wanted, when it was obvious that she lacked for
nothing.
She’s always had this way of making me feel inferior, and if not for Ares, I never would’ve been
able to untangle myself from her web. I don’t even dare think about what would have happened if she
hadn’t walked away from her engagement. Ares and I would both still be unhappy, secretly pining
after each other. I felt so guilty for wanting him, when it’s her that should’ve felt remorse for the way
she manipulated us both.
“Mrs. Windsor.”
I look up at the guard standing in the doorway and tip my head in question.
“Your mother is here to see you. Mr. Windsor instructed us not to let any of your family members
in without your express permission. What would you like me to do?”
I hesitate for a moment before nodding. “Send her in.”
I sit back as I wait for my mother, a dull ache spreading from my heart. In the week I spent with
Silas and Alanna, I’ve thought about her a lot. Hannah isn’t the only one I’ve been making excuses for.
“Raven,” Mom says, a hint of panic in her voice. I frown as I take her in. Her clothes are
wrinkled, and her hair looks disheveled. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my mother look anything short of
perfect. Despite her age, she still conducts herself as the popular actress she used to be.
“What can I do for you, Mom?”
She approaches me with fury blazing through her eyes. “How could you be sitting here so quietly
when there are countless rumors circulating about your sister? I can’t leave Dreamessence to you if
you can’t even handle a PR crisis.”