The Billionaire's Substitute Bride

Raven

* * *

“I can’t believe that asshole,” Sierra says as she storms into my office. I drop my pencil to my desk and reluctantly drag my eyes away from the evening gown I’m designing.

After a couple of tough weeks, I woke up this morning with my creative block completely gone. I knew exactly what to design for my upcoming fashion line, but with my best friend here, there’s no way I’m going to get this dress out of my mind and onto paper.

“Morning, babe,” I tell Sierra, suppressing a smile. There’s only one person she gets this riled up over, and I have no doubt whatever story she’s about to tell me is going to be wild.

“Xavier Kingston stole my concept and presented it as his own. He won the project I spentmonthspreparing for —with my ideas!”

I lean back in my seat and let my gaze roam over Sierra’s disheveled, long, wavy brown hair. My bestie always looks impeccable, but not today. Looks like Xavier really got to her this time.

“Weren’t you the one who sabotaged him last time? You punctured his tires so he’d be late to the meeting when you knew that tardiness was the one thing the client wouldn’t tolerate.”

Sierra smirks wickedly, her green eyes lit up with delight at the memory. “If not for that, his company might actually have gotten that resort deal. That was a multi-million dollar deal. Honestly, I’m kind of disappointed it was so easy to mess with him. Usually he’s smarter than that.”

I shake my head and lean in, giving her my full attention. She won’t leave until she’s had enough time to complain about Xavier Kingston, her biggest rival. King Enterprises and Windsor Real Estate have been business rivals for as long as I can remember, but Xavier and Sierra definitely took it to the next level.

“So shouldn’t you have expected him to retaliate?”

Sierra glares at me as though I’ve betrayed her, but she knows I’m right. Honestly, even though they keep sabotaging each other, they both pretty much end up with an equal half of the opportunities that come their way, dominating the real estate industry together.

“I want revenge,” she snaps. “That Bastard. I can’t believe him. Youhave tohelp me, Raven.”

I pick my pencil back up and shake my head. “Nope. Not going there.” I’m not crazy enough to offend a psychotic billionaire like Xavier Kingston. Sierra is the only woman alive who continuously gets away with that, and I doubt she even realizes that the only reason that happens is because he lets her.

My phone buzzes and I reach for it absentmindedly, freezing when I read the caller ID.Ares. My heart tightens as I stare at my phone, watching it ring.

“Raven?” Sierra says, her voice soft, concerned.

I look up, snapping out of my daze, and force a smile onto my face. How long have I been zoning out for? “It’s your brother,” I tell her, before accepting the call.

“Hi, Ares,” I say, my calm tone in contrast with the beating of my heart.

He chuckles, and a sharp sense of longing rushes through me. “Raven, I’m surprised you even picked up. You’re so hard to reach these days. You’re even busier than I am.”

I lean back in my seat and smile. It’s been a while since I last heard him say my name. “What’s up?” I ask, knowing that whatever it is he’s calling for is bound to hurt me. Ares is a habit I can’t kick. He’s a shameful addiction, an illicit secret.

“Want to go shopping with me? I need to buy a present for Hannah’s birthday, and who better to ask for help than you?”

I should say no. Thelastthing I want to do is accompany Ares to buy a present for my sister. I can’t stand hearing him talk about her, seeing the love and devotion in his eyes. But I’d rather see him gushing over her than not see him at all.

“Sure,” I tell him, against better judgement.

Sierra looks at me through narrowed eyes as I end the call. “What did he want?” she snaps.

I smile tightly, knowing she won’t be happy. “He needs a birthday present for Hannah.”

Sierra locks her jaw and looks away. “Don’t go,” she says, her voice soft. “Just don’t go, Rave. He can figure out what to buy her himself. Why does he need your help?”

“It’s fine,” I tell her, even though I’m not sure it is. It’s been years, and I still can’t deny him anything.

“It isn’t,” Sierra says. “I love my brother, but I love you just as much. You need to stop giving him such easy access to you when each and every time you see Ares, you’re left heartbroken.”

I shake my head in denial. “I’m not, Sierra. Ares and I are just friends. We always have been. You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

She crosses her arms and stares me down. “Lie to yourself all you want, Rave, but you’re not fooling me.”

I avert my gaze, unable to keep up my pretence when she’s looking at me that way. She’s the only one who knows what happened when we were younger, and though I deny it, she’s the only one who knows that I’m still as in love with Ares Windsor as I was then.

“Rave, don’t you ever wonder what would have happened if you’d confessed your feelings to him after that night—”

I hold my hand up and shake my head. “It wouldn’t have mattered. It’s always been Hannah he loved. From the moment she walked into his life, she’s been all he could see. If I’d told him how I felt about him, it’d just have made things awkward between us. I’d have lost his friendship.”

She looks into my eyes, her gaze filled with the same heartache I’m feeling. “Are you really going to stand back and watch Ares marry your sister?”

I turn to face the window and inhale shakily. “What choice do I have? They’ve been together for five years, Sierra. If there was ever a time to make a move, I missed it. They’re happy together, and I wish them well. If either of them finds out about my feelings, it’d cost me my friendship with Ares, and it’d destroy the strained relationship I have with my sister. And what for? He’s never seen me as more than a friend, at best. He never will.”

Sierra shakes her head. “I don’t know about that, you know? I don’t think Ares is as happy as he convinces himself he is, and I sincerely doubt he sees you as just a friend, Rave. He might not be able to admit it to himself, but there’s always been something between you two. It was there before Hannah was ever even in the picture, and she was never able to fully erase it. She may have tried, but she’s never been able to take your place in his life.”

I look down at my hands, unsure what to say. I hate it when she gives me hope that I have no business having. He’s about to become my brother-in-law, and I need to keep the boundaries between us firmly intact if I want to survive their wedding.

“Raven, I’m convinced that the only reason they’re still together is because they know they have no other choice. Just like me, Ares knows he has to marry someone of our Grandma’s choosing… but the one she initially chose for him wasn’t Hannah. It was you.”

My heart aches at the reminder. I still remember the day my parents told me they wanted to retire and decided to merge their independent movie production company, Dreame essence, with Windsor Media. The Windsors and the Du Ponts had been business rivals right until that point, but the proposed merger changed everything — and not just for my parents.

They wanted to keep their beloved company in the family, and since the Windsors are well-known for arranging marriages for their heirs, they were handed the perfect solution. A marriage between the Windsors and the Du Ponts would keep the company in the family, and it’d keep both families in control of the business.

At the time, the one they considered for this arrangement wasn’t Hannah. It was me. Due to my friendship with Sierra, they thought I’d be the best fit. I was only twenty when the deal was made, but I’d been happy, and Ares didn’t seem opposed to it either.

That all changed when I took Hannah with me to Sierra’s twenty-first birthday party. I remember that night vividly. I saw him first, but she’s the one he never looked away from.