“You’re certain about this?” Lex asks, his gaze roaming over my face. My heart is pounding wildly, and for a moment I’m tempted to say no, but then I remind myself of the aim and take a deep breath.
“Yes. It’s important that we control the narrative.”
Lex nods, a wicked smile transforming his face as he gives the order for our announcement to go out. He takes my hand and entwines our fingers as I refresh the Windsor Media website on his tablet, watching an article about us appear.
Lexington and Raya Windsor confirm marriage rumors.
Lex insisted on the title being phrased as it is, since he refuses to call me anything but Raya Windsor. The sweetest wedding photo accompanies the article, and I smile despite my nerves. It was taken as Lex and I danced at our wedding, and he has me lifted up above his head. He’s looking up at me like I’m the only girl in the world while I’m smiling like I couldn’t be happier. We look so in love that even I’m momentarily convinced that what I’m reading is real, that our marriage wasn’t arranged.
“Look,” he says, handing me his phone.
My heart overflows with happiness when I swipe through the social media profiles of my in-laws, finding photos of me with each of them on their accounts, welcoming me to the family. I smile to myself as I take in the variety of photos taken at family gatherings. I often still feel like an outsider, but in these photos, I’m clearly one of them.
“When did they even have time to prepare this?” I ask, my voice thick with emotion. Following Akshay’s threats yesterday, Lex and I decided to announce our marriage with very little notice. We left Ares and Raven scrambling to prepare media kits, but they seemed more than happy to help.
“You’re so loved,” Lex tells me as he gently brushes my hair out of my face. “I’m sure the girls have been waiting for this moment. I’m not the only one who didn’t like hiding you.”
Lex reaches for my necklace, and our eyes lock. He inhales sharply, and then he tugs on it, breaking the clasp and freeing my ring. I gasp in surprise, and he grins, his gaze dark. “You won’t need this again,” he says, letting the delicate chain slip to the floor. He reaches for my hand and looks me in the eye as he slides my wedding ring onto my finger. “Because you’ll never take this off again, Mrs. Windsor.”
I nod, loving that look in his eyes. It isn’t just possessiveness — it’s more. Lex’s gaze drops to my lips, and I exhale shakily when he leans in to kiss me. God, I’m so in love with him, and I just know he feels this thing between us, too.
“Lex and Mrs. Windsor,” Pippy says, and he pulls away, his forehead dropping to mine. “Silas Sinclair has arrived to escort you both to work this morning. He insists that you drive an armored vehicle today, so I’ve had it drive itself to the front of the house for you.”
I raise a brow, and Lex simply shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Just extra precautions. I’m not sure if you remember, but when news broke of Ares and Raven’s wedding, the media launched a full-scale targeted attack on her, going as far as breaching our property lines and flying helicopters overhead to capture footage of her. Something similar happened to Val and Luca, and ever since, Raven has insisted on maximum security measures for new family members when announcements are made. It’s more for her peace of mind than ours, so just ignore it.”
My stomach flutters as we walk out of the house hand in hand — it isn’t different from any other day that we’ve gone to work together, but everything feels different. I glance at him, and it suddenly just sinks in that the whole world now knows that this incredible man is mine.
Lex grabs my hand and kisses my ring finger over my wedding band as Silas drives us out of the Windsor Estate. I’ve met him a few times, and he’s always been charming and kind, but today he seems terrifyingly serious, constantly monitoring for threats and communicating with his team every thirty seconds.
It isn’t long until a helicopter with The Herald’s branding appears overhead, and Lex smiles at me. “Tinted windows,” he says, grinning. “They know it’s us, but they won’t be able to capture even a single photo since we’ll drive straight into Windsor Motors’ parking garage. They can’t get into my restricted section. It’ll frustrate the hell out of them.”
I giggle and tighten my grip on his hand. “You know how much I love messing with them, so I’m all for it.”
Lex leans in and steals a quick kiss. “I wonder how long it’ll take them to figure out all the girls I was supposedly seen with were you. They aren’t the brightest bulbs, after all. How long do you think it’ll be before they start posting cheating scandals?”
“Less than a day,” I murmur, stealing another kiss. “I’m going to fuel the rumors by wearing my blonde wig sometime this week, and then I’m going to look super distraught for a couple of days every time I notice a camera anywhere. If I didn’t think you’d completely lose your mind, I’d even stop wearing my wedding ring randomly.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “You know? I don’t think I’ve experienced even one single dull day since I married you.”
“Nearly there,” Silas says, his voice tense. “I’ve increased the security in the building, and for at least a couple of days, I’ve reassigned our security staff, so you have more round-the-clock protection.”
It dawns on me then. Silas isn’t just worried because of Raven’s experience with the media. He’s worried about Lex’s safety due to what happened in the past. My stomach clenches, and I draw a steadying breath.
Lex throws me a reassuring smile when the car stops, and I hold on to his hand tightly as we get out of the car, bodyguards surrounding us all the way to the elevator. He breathes a sigh of relief when the doors close behind us, and I press my hand to my chest. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so anxious, so scared there’s something I missed, something I messed up.
It isn’t until Lex walks me through the office, to my team, that I realize what I forgot. Everyone but Halima looks shocked, but it’s Adam’s pained expression that gets to me. His gaze drops to our joined hands, and Lex tightens his grip on me.
“I’ll leave my wife in your care,” he says, grinning. Then he pulls me close and cups my face, our eyes locking as he leans in and kisses me, not a single care for who’s watching.
