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

I bite down on my lip, realizing what I just said. What’s wrong with me? This is exactly what I’ve
been worried about. I’ve never had a problem keeping inappropriate thoughts about her deeply
suppressed, so what changed?
I let go of her and take a step away, but she follows and wraps her hands around my tie.
“Can we stop?” she asks, her tone pleading.
“Stop what?”
“This,” she whispers. “Dancing around each other, avoiding each other. We’ve been married for a
week and I’ve barely seen you, much less spoken to you. Why is that I feel like I lost one of my
closest friends?”
Her words catch me off-guard, and I reach for her, the back of my hand brushing over her cheek.
“Rave,” I murmur. “I just… I thought it would be good to give you space. The last couple of days
have been a lot for both of us. I was worried I’d make you uncomfortable. Being in each other’s
personal space like that, I’m not sure. I just didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
It isn’t the full truth, but it’s as close as I can give her right now.
“You are,” she tells me. “You are making me uncomfortable by keeping your distance. It’s weird,
and I hate it. We’ve always been friends, Ares. Why does that need to change? Surely marriage
should’ve brought us closer? Do you truly hate being married to me that much?”
A hint of pain flashes through her eyes, and it fucking guts me. Fuck. “What? No, Raven. What the
fuck?” I wrap my hands around her waist and lift her on top of the kitchen counter with ease. Her eyes
widen, and she places her hands against my chest.
I take a step closer to her and stand between her legs, unsure what to say, yet unable to push aside
my sudden intense need to reassure her. “I just feel guilty, Rave. I’m pissed off at Hannah, and I’m
mad at myself for doing this to you. Fuck. I just…” How do I explain that I’m having a hard time
accepting that the life I so carefully planned out vanished into thin air? How do I tell her that my mind
is a complete fucking mess, and that I can’t figure out why I’m not more upset about the way things
worked out, the way Hannah and I parted ways? I should be heartbroken, but more often than not, it
isn’t even Hannah I’m thinking about — it’s Raven. I want to do right by her, and I don’t know how to
do that. I don’t want to clip her wings, and I can’t bear to see her smile dim. I don’t want to make her
feel trapped in this marriage with me. I’m terrified that she’ll come to resent me for forcing her into
this.
She inhales shakily and looks into my eyes. “I’ll never be her,” she says softly. “I know that, Ares.
I know I’m not the woman you want to wake up to. I know you can’t stand having me in your bed at
night. I get it. I know you’re hurting, Ares. But please… please don’t distance yourself from me. If
asking you to treat me as your wife is too much, then all I’ll ask for is your friendship. I miss you,
Ares. What do I do? How do I make my presence more bearable for you?”
“Bearable?” I repeat, confused. “Fucking hell, Cupcake.” I drop my forehead to hers and inhale
deeply. She’s always smelled like vanilla cupcakes and sunshine. Many things have changed
throughout the years, but not this. “I’m so fucking sorry.” I pull away to look at her. “It’s not you, baby.
Your presence in my home doesn’t make me even remotely uncomfortable. It’s quite the opposite. I’m
worried being around me is uncomfortable for you. I’ll be honest with you, Rave, I’m having a hard
time processing everything that happened. It’s hard to believe that you’re my wife now, and I can’t
quite figure out what that even means for us.”
She smiles at me so sweetly that my heart clenches. “Didn’t we agree that we don’t have to figure
it out right away? I can tell you this much, though: there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. There isn’t much
you could do that’d make me uncomfortable, and if you do, I’ll simply tell you.” She raises her finger