Sierra jumps to her feet, her expression surprisingly vulnerable. “If it’s okay with you, we’d love to help you get dressed,” she murmurs, before shooting me a sweet but somewhat hesitant smile. “I wanted to reach out after Hawaii since we didn’t really get to spend much time together then, but Dion told us to stay away from you until the wedding. For some strange reason, he was convinced we’d scare you away.” She throws Raven an incredulous stare. “Us!” she adds. “As if we aren’t total delights!”
I bite back my laughter, my mood lifting instantly. There’s something about Sierra that makes me feel so at ease. She was very sweet to me in Hawaii too, but Dion and I weren’t in a good place then, and I’d avoided her as much as I could because of it. I regret it now, and I hope it’s not too late to reciprocate her attempts to reach out.
Sierra grins at me and reaches for her bag. “Which reminds me, Dion asked me to give this to you.”
She hands me an envelope, and I stare at it for a moment, a sudden bout of nerves rushing over me. My fingers tremble as I pull out a handwritten note, my eyes widening.
Faye,
Today is the day I stop counting down. Instead, I’ll start counting my blessings, because that’s what I hope each day with you will be. I know this isn’t what either of us wanted, but from now on, we’re in this together. From now on, I’m truly yours. For better or worse.
- D. W.
I reread it over and over, my heart racing. Yours. He isn’t saying that I belong to him now, like I’m a piece of property he’s acquiring. He’s telling me he is mine now, and it hits me hard. I wonder if some part of him knew that this is what I needed to hear today.
I look up to find Sierra and Raven exchanging looks with each other, both of them grinning. My cheeks instantly heat, and I lower my gaze. Did they read this card before giving it to me? I’m used to anything that’s addressed to me being read by my father, but somehow, I want to keep this one little card to myself. Just this once.
“Ready?” Raven asks, her tone patient, kind, as though she’ll genuinely wait as long as I need her to. Tears gather in my eyes, a sudden bout of uncontrollable emotions rendering me speechless. All morning, this has felt like another event I had to attend, another role to play — but right now, with Sierra and Raven standing here with me, I suddenly feel like a bride.
The nervous jitters, the way my thoughts keep turning back to Dion’s words, and the smiles on their faces… I’m not sure what it is about this moment, but I feel special in a way I never have before. I feel more comfortable with these two women that I don’t know all that well than I did with my stepmom and sisters.
“Yes,” I answer. “I’m ready.”
Raven nods and holds up my wedding dress, and I wonder if she realizes how surreal this is for me. She’s one of the world’s most famous models and designers, and here she is, personally helping me get dressed. I know that she’ll soon be my sister-in-law, but I didn’t expect her to treat me so kindly. She scared me for a few moments earlier, but most of the time, she’s nothing like I thought she’d be. I wonder if it’s a Windsor trait.
“You look beautiful, Faye,” she says as she stands behind me in front of the mirror, working on the buttons on my back. “This dress truly was made for you.”
Raven steps back and wraps her hand around Sierra’s shoulder, her eyes roaming over me in satisfaction. “You might be marrying Dion today, Faye, but you’re gaining an entire new family, too. Being a Windsor can be overwhelming at times, but you’ll never be alone. Not ever again.”
My throat closes up, and I draw a shaky breath. I know it’s just a nice thing to say, but her words hit me hard. She has no idea how alone I’ve always felt, even though I never was.
Another knock sounds on the door, and my father walks in wearing the gentlest smile I’ve ever seen. I’m so relieved not to find any anger in his eyes that I almost genuinely smile at him. I can’t remember the last time I did that.
“That’s our cue,” Sierra tells me, throwing me a kind look before walking away. Raven follows Sierra out, and my father’s smile melts away the second the door closes behind her.
“That dress is a disgrace,” he snaps. “It’s far too simple for a Windsor bride. You’re not even married yet and they’re already mocking you. There’s no way someone like Raven Windsor messed up your dress days before the wedding, when there was nothing wrong at your last fitting. They’re trying to embarrass us, and we can’t do anything about it but take it with a smile.”
“I… I don’t think —”
He reaches for me and grabs my arm tightly. Fear rushes through me, and I fall silent. “Don’t think you’ll get to rest easy from now on, and don’t think for a moment those two have your best interests at heart. You need to work hard to win Dion over. Without his support, they’ll trample all over us. You should have kicked up a fuss when they asked Abigail and the girls to leave. What is wrong with you, you spineless piece of shit? How could you have stood there and watch your family be embarrassed like that?” He pulls me forward, and I nearly stumble in my heels. “Try to get through the wedding without embarrassing me any further, or so help me god, I’ll make Chloe and Linda pay for your mistakes.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dion
Faye barely even looked me in the eye throughout our entire ceremony. Even as she walked down the aisle, she kept her gaze downcast, as though the only way she could get through our vows was by dissociating. I thought things between us had been as good as they can be considering the circumstances, but perhaps I was the only one who’d felt that way.
Even kissing her once we were pronounced husband and wife felt wrong — if that brief, brush of my lips against hers can even be counted as a kiss. I wish she’d leaned into me the way she did two weeks ago, in our home. I wish she’d kissed me back, so at least one part of our wedding ceremony had felt real.
“You okay?” I murmur as we move through the room, networking as is expected of us. The venue is filled with politicians eager for our donations, business partners that work with Windsor Enterprises’ subsidiaries, and countless acquaintances that want a chance to cozy up to us or others that are in attendance today. It’s sickening.
“I’m fine,” Faye says, finally looking up at me. She’s wearing that same closed-off expression I’ve always hated, a polite smile on her face. My wife is looking at me like I’m a stranger, like I could be anyone. I should applaud her for her poise and sophistication, but instead, I find myself wanting to provoke her. I want her to burn for me.
My hand wraps around her waist, and I pull her into me, my movements rougher than I’d intended. Faye gasps as I bend toward her as best as I can — even with the high heels she’s wearing, her ear is still quite a bit out of reach for me. “I meant it. The note.” My voice is soft, calm, reassuring.
She looks into my eyes, and her expression finally cracks, one single ray of hope shining through. It isn’t enough for me.
“Zero days,” I murmur, and she stares at me, captivated. I watch as her pretty little lips part, and my cock instantly stirs. “You look fucking stunning today, Faye. You have me fucking spellbound, do you know that?”
Her cheeks flush so fucking beautifully, and it thrills me like nothing else ever has. She has no idea what she does to me.
“Faye.”
Her entire body tenses, and just like that, that porcelain mask I hate so fervently is back in place, all of my efforts undone. Faye steps out of my embrace and straightens her spine, a polite smile on her face when she turns to our unwelcome intruder.
“Eric,” she says, her voice soft. I study her carefully, my heart racing as I try to determine how she feels. If I’m not mistaken, today is the first time she’s seen him since they broke up, and though there’s a glimmer of pain in her eyes, she keeps her expression perfectly relaxed.
“Why are you here?” I ask. “Your father was invited. You were not.”
Eric looks up at me, his gaze filled with the same pain I just glimpsed in Faye’s. It fucking guts me — makes me feel like an outsider on my own wedding day.
“I’m here on my father’s behalf. He couldn’t make it.” He looks down then, inhaling deeply, before he lifts his head and nods at Faye. “Besides, I had to see this for myself.”
“Eric,” my wife whispers, her voice filled with longing. It tears at me, taunts me. “I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head and smiles at her with such love that I find myself tensing, my entire body reacting violently. “Don’t be, my little fairy.”
Fairy? I fucking hate that he’s got his own nickname for her, but even more so, I hate how much I’d have loved to call her that if he hadn’t tainted it. Fairy — it’s what her name means, it’s what she embodies. I hate how well it suits her.
“She’s my wife,” I snap, my arm snaking around her waist. “You’ll call her Mrs. Windsor.”
“For now,” he tells me, his helplessness making way for defiance. “She’s your wife for now.”