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

Chapter Twenty-Eight
RAVEN
I watch my phone ring as I park my car in front of Ares’s house, my heart heavy. It’s a strange feeling
to want to hope for something yet knowing better. What is that even? Does that have a name? It isn’t
hope, but rather a longing for it.
I wish I had it in me to so much as hope that my mother is calling me simply because she misses
me. A soft sigh escapes my lips as I grab my bag and get out of the car, declining her call for the fifth
time, but that doesn’t deter her. My phone starts to ring again, and I steel myself as I finally pick up.
“Mom?” I press my thumb against the scanner, and the front door swings open.
“Raven, I’ve been calling you for over an hour now.” She sounds irritated, and a strange ache
spreads from my heart. “What took you so long?”
I put my phone on loudspeaker as I take off my coat. “I had a shoot that ran late because no matter
what we did, the photographer wasn’t satisfied with the shots. I’m exhausted, Mom. I went straight
home after it, so most of your calls came in while I was driving.”
“Raven, doesn’t your car have a hands-free function? Goodness. Surely it’s not that hard to set
that up?”
I bite down on my lip harshly in an effort to keep my retorts in. There’s no point in arguing with
her. The one most affected by that would be me, and I don’t have the energy to upset myself
unnecessarily.
“What are you calling for, Mom?”
She hesitates for a moment. “Hannah has been very upset all week. She hasn’t left her apartment,
and each time I go over to check up on her, I find her crying. I don’t know what to do, Rave. Do you
think you could speak to her? I asked her if she’d heard from you, and she told me you haven’t even
called her once. How could you do that, Raven? You know how sensitive she is and how badly she
needs us all right now.”
I stare at my phone for a moment before I reach down to take off my shoes, giving myself a
moment or two. She was so different on the day I got married, and I hoped the change would last, that
she finally realized that the way she’s been treating me is unfair. I should’ve known better. The
moment Hannah comes up, she forgets every promise she made me. Everyone always does.
“Mom,” I say carefully. “The only reason I married Ares is because she refused to. I’m not sure I