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

Chapter Twenty-Six
ARES
I place my coffee cup on the counter when I hear the front door swing closed and walk toward the
sounds in the hallway.
Raven looks up in surprise and freezes. Her hair is wet, and she’s dressed in the same clothes she
was wearing yesterday. She clearly spent the night somewhere, and it sure as hell wasn’t here, in my
bed — where she was supposed to be.
“Where have you been?” I ask, my voice deceptively calm.
“Ares.” She lifts her hand to her chest. “You’re up early.”
I stare her down, trying to keep her from realizing how angry I am. “I asked you a question.”
She frowns at me and tries to walk past me, but I grab her wrist and pull her against me. “Where.
Were. You?” I snap.
She grits her teeth and glares at me. “Do you have any right to ask me that after you went for
dinner with my sister? Don’t be a hypocrite.”
I pull her closer, until I’ve got her body flush against mine. “I do have that right, Raven. I’m your
husband.”
Her eyes flash and she smiles humorlessly. “You certainly don’t act like it,” she says, her voice
filled with venom. “You went for dinner with Hannah a day after marrying me. Did you even come
home last night, or did you just get in? Did you fuck her, Ares?”
I clench my jaw as I turn us around, pushing her against the wall. “What did you just say?” I ask
through gritted teeth. “Did I fuck her?”
Raven looks up at me, her eyes flashing with anger… but there’s pain there too. I inhale shakily
and drop my forehead to hers. “No,” I whisper. “I didn’t fuck her, Raven. Of course I didn’t. I
promised you fidelity, and I always keep my promises. Do you truly think so little of me?”
She slides her arms around my neck and inhales shakily. Fuck. She fits against me so perfectly. “I
don’t know what to think, Ares,” she admits. “I never thought we’d find ourselves in this situation, but
now that we’re here, I’m not willing to stand aside and let you chase after your happiness.”
I nod and pull away a little to look at her. “I get it. You made sacrifices, and I can acknowledge
that much. Perhaps it was wrong of me to go for dinner with Hannah, but I thought it would be best to
get that conversation out of the way. I didn’t go see her because I missed her or wanted alone-time