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

Chapter Seventeen
ARES
I pause at the sound of Raven’s voice and lean back against Sierra’s bedroom door, my eyes falling
closed. Who am I kidding? I came here because I knew this is where I’d find her, and not because I
wanted to speak to my sister.
“I’m worried I won’t be able to change her mind,” Raven says. “With just a few days left, my
anxiety is off the charts. If Hannah doesn’t show up on her wedding day, I’ll be the one getting
married.”
“Would that really be so bad?” Sierra replies.
My heart races as I wait for Raven’s answer, but all that follows is silence. I brace myself and
straighten my spine before knocking on Sierra's door. The door opens, and my sister's eyes widen
when she sees me standing here.
I can count the amount of times I have been here on one hand. Being forced to live so close
together meant that my siblings and I are very protective of our privacy, and normally I would never
breach our unspoken rule of respecting each other’s private space when we aren’t in communal areas.
Today, however, is an exception. I'm not here for Sierra. I'm here for Raven. I look past my sister
into hazel eyes that carry a hint of agony.
"Raven, can I speak to you for a moment?"
She hesitates, but then she nods and rises from her seated position on my sister's bed. She walks
up to me, her dress swaying. Even when she looks this distraught, she's beautiful.
"Follow me."
She falls into step with me as I lead her to my house. "Where are we going?" she asks, her voice
soft.
“My place.”
It's strange to think that Raven might soon be living there with me. Neither of us wants this, but
with each passing day it's becoming more and more clear to me that this is inevitable.
Both of us are just caught in a web of our own deception, convincing ourselves that Hannah will
change her mind, that everything will be the way it should be.
But we both know better.
Raven is quiet as she follows me down the long hallway that connects Sierra's house to the main