I’m absentminded as I take a bite of the breakfast Alanna made for me. I tried not to, but I ended up scrolling through my social media feeds all night, and I found nothing but hatred directed at me. Despite Ares’s best attempts, screenshots of deleted content are making their rounds across all channels. We’ve made it into every single gossip magazine, and they’re all scrambling to create timelines of Ares and Hannah’s relationship.
It came to no surprise to me when The Herald reported on Hannah’s pregnancy, which only villainized me further. Now I’m not just the woman standing in between two childhood sweethearts, I’m also the evil stepmother-to-be.
Watching my love for Ares being turned into a spectacle for everyone to witness is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Photos I can’t recall taking are being posted online, showcasing how we used to look at each other when Hannah and Ares were still dating. The media have everyone convinced that I’ve been seducing him for years, trying to break up Hannah and him. Everything about this reeks of her. She’s always done this to me. Every single thing she’s ever done to me, she’s made me take the blame for, twisting our story until I’m the villain. This is what she’ll do to me for the rest of our lives.
What will it be like once the baby is born? Will she somehow manage to use her own child against me too? I have no idea how long it’ll take her to make Ares turn his back on me, but I suspect she eventually will.
I take a sip of my coffee, trying to take my mind off the videos of people destroying my designs, some of which were hand sown by me, all of them citing that they won’t support a two-faced home wrecker. Then there’s the death threats from Hannah’s fans, and the loss of my own fanbase. I’ve had countless modeling contracts canceled without anyone so much as asking me for an explanation. She’s destroying me, step by step, and it won’t stop until she gets what she wants.
Silas chuckles and glances at me. “Windsor bought The Herald and several other gossip magazines. He banned them from reporting on you.”
My heart skips a beat at the thought of Ares. I truly thought we could get through anything together, but eventually, he’ll tire of this battle too. He can’t save me when it’s my own sister that’s executing my fall from grace.
Silas groans when the doorbell rings, his eyes finding Alanna’s. “How much do you want to bet that we’re about to find more Windsors on our doorstep?”
She grins at him and shrugs. “I’d be disappointed if they didn’t show up, Si. Raven deserves to be part of a family that’ll love her the way her own won’t. Let’s see if the Windsors deserve her or not.”
Silas sighs and smiles at her indulgently. “Ten paper cranes,” he tells her. “That’s what you’ll owe me if you make me host more Windsors.”
Alanna wraps her arm around me and nods. “I’ll give you fifteen.”
Sierra rests her head against my shoulder, her expression as crestfallen as mine. For once, she hasn’t tried to give me hope, nor has she been lost in fairytales of her own making. She’s been as quiet as I have been, neither of us sure of what the future might bring. I know she’s been reading up on all the news about me too, and it hurts her just as much as it hurts me.
Silas looks grim as he leads Lex, Luca and Zane into the living room, Valentina following a few steps behind them. Silas shoots his wife a look, and she grins back at him reassuringly.
Alanna strokes my hair and smiles at me. “They were really worried about you. Each and every one of them called me, one by one. Since we’re in charge of the Windsor family’s security, it didn’t feel right to keep them in the dark. I didn’t tell Ares where you are, but I couldn’t hide it from them. Valentina called me, in tears, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry before.”
Lex wraps his arm around me and squeezes tightly, and then Luca does the same. Zane musses my hair, his eyes filled with worry. “You okay?” Luca asks as they all sit down at the dining table.
Valentina grabs my hand in both of hers, her eyes red. I didn’t expect to see her here, but I should’ve known she’d be there for me, even if it means facing Luca. “I saw the articles. Oh, Rave, what do we do? Should we make a statement? Grandma Anne instructed us to keep our silence, because she’s concerned about the baby and Hannah’s health. But I… I don’t know. That doesn’t seem right to me.”
I shake my head. “It’s why I left, Val. I knew I couldn’t stay there without arguing with her, and I know that would threaten her and the baby’s health. I can’t go back home until I’m in a better state of mind. It’s just that… once I go back, how long will it take before she gets to me again? Even if she doesn’t, how long will I be able to withstand the media harassment?”
I run a hand through my hair, distraught. I was so close to having everything I’ve ever wanted, but I should’ve known better. Each time I find a semblance of happiness, it’s yanked right out of my hands.
Lexington holds up his hand. “Shh,” he murmurs. “Ares is calling.”
He picks up the phone and smiles. “Yeah, I heard from her, and she told me she’s fine. She’s safe. No. I don’t know where she is. Haven’t you instructed the security team to find her?” He nods to himself. “How could they not have found her yet?” he asks, his concern clearly fake. “Okay, well, I’ll keep an eye out.”
Lex ends the call and puts his phone down with a sigh. “I know he promised you a week, but I don’t think he’ll last that long. What are you going to do?”
I stare at the people that have become the family I never had. “I don’t know,” I tell them honestly. “I feel like a coward for running away, for giving in.”
“Nah,” Luca says, holding his hand up. “Let’s normalize walking away from toxic situations. You don’t have to stick it out when your mental health is taking a beating, just because that’s what everyone expects of you. It’s okay to reassess and decide whether or not a situation is still acceptable to you. You were never given a choice when it came to Ares, but you deserve one. Take your time, Raven. We’re all here for you, and regardless of your choice, you’ll never lose us. You will always be our little sister, just like Sierra is.”
Lex nods and wraps his arm around me as I fight back my tears. “Whatever you decide, we’ll stand by you.”
Sierra and Valentina both nod in agreement. “We love you, Rave,” Sierra says. “We just want what’s best for you, even if that isn’t Ares. I know you love my brother, but had it been me, I’m not sure I could subject myself to the absolute bullshit you’ll have to go through just to be with him.”
Valentina nods. “Sometimes, love isn’t enough. Especially when that all you’ve got holding you together as the world tries to rip you apart.”
“Windsors,” Silas says. “You’re going to want to see this.”
I frown as I follow him into the living room, my eyes widening when I see Ares on the screen.
“He’s broadcasting on all channels that the Windsors own, which is pretty much everything.”
I raise my hand to my heart as I watch him smile through the screen, his eyes as haunted as mine must be.
“It has come to my attention that false information is being spread by the media about my wife, so allow me to address these rumors. While I don’t believe our private business is for you to know, I’m well aware that you won’t stop the witch-hunt you’ve created until you have the full story — and I need it to stop. I need you to stop harassing and hurting my wife.
To start off, I’d like you to know that it’s true that Hannah Du Pont and I dated for some time. What you don’t know, however, is that we were only together because of family obligations. The Du Ponts and the Windsor have had a marriage agreement in place for years now, agreeing to merge Windsor Media and Dreamessence, with the aim of leaving the company as a whole to be inherited by children resulting from this marriage.
With Hannah and I being closest in age, we seemed like the best fit, and we did everything in our power to make it work. I tried my hardest to love her, but I could never escape my feelings for my wife. In this time, I never crossed the line with Raven. Unlike what the media is reporting, there were no affairs, not even close. For years, Raven and I were nothing but friends. Until Hannah chose to walk away from the engagement our families had decided on.”
He pauses and runs a hand through his hair.
“Raven is the love of my life, and walking away from our relationship is the single best thing Hannah ever could have done for me. Hannah wasn’t wronged — she left. My wife is not a home wrecker, nor is she the seductress so many have claimed she is. She’s just a woman who loves her family more than they deserve. She loves me more than I deserve, and for as long as I live, I’ll love her in return. So here I am, just a man who loves his wife more than anything, asking you to stop this witch-hunt. I beg of you, stop harassing her, stop damaging the designs she spent many sleepless nights over, stop spreading rumors. The only mistake she has ever made was loving a man that doesn’t deserve her, and for my sake, I hope she’ll never want to remedy it.”
Ares looks away for a moment. “Now that you have the truth, any lies being spread about my wife will be deemed slander. Those of you who won’t heed my warning will face legal action. Any slander we find circulating twenty-four hours from now will be reported, and we’ll leave our legal team to deal with that. I ask that you think carefully about the words you spread. Celebrities like my wife are still human, too. My wife, in particular, is the most soft-hearted person I know. Every single one of your words, she takes to heart. Do you want to be responsible for a woman crying herself to sleep, when the gossip you’re so happily sharing isn’t true? Please, I ask you to do the right thing.” He smiles then. “And Raven? I love you, Cupcake. No matter what.”
The TV goes black for a few moments, and then his message starts to replay, but I can barely see the screen through my tears.
