Raven had a quick shower and Annie sorted out her clothes, giving her something more presentable to change into. Annie worked on her sister's ash blond hair, making her curls appear bolder than usual.
Annie lips curled into a smile when she was done. "Too bad the Silvers won't be taking a pretty bride home today."
Raven looked at herself in the mirror, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I can't wait for all of this to be over."
Before Annie could reply to her sister, they both heard the sound of cars pulling up outside. Raven's eyes locked with Annie's as she felt a pang in her stomach.
"Oh my God! They're here!" Raven stood up abruptly, pacing around the room.
"Hey, it's okay. You're going to go out there, break the news and it's all going to be over." Annie grabbed Raven by ; shehoulders facing her towards and herself.
Knocks came at Raven's door before it came wide open. Their father, Adrian, came into the room. "Raven, come downstairs. They're here."
Raven's heart raced as she followed her father downstairs, but she had Annie by her side holding her hand, trying to calm her nerves.
She stood in the living room, where her step mom and Ananya were already waiting. Adrian stepped out to welcome the guests in.
Raven closed her eyes shut as she tried to steady her breathing. By the time she opened her eyes, she saw a woman in her late fifties walking in, she was short and looked lean, her blue eyes stood bright as she walked in. A man came in, walking alongside her, probably in his late fifties too, he had similar features to the woman.
Nothing prepared Raven for the next person she was about to see walking behind the two strangers.
Him.
The man she'd slept with last night.
Standing in her father's house, this time dressed in a full suit sharp tuxedo, that made Raven's heart skip a beat, yet again.
Raven's blood ran cold, as her mind tried to come up with a meaning of the man's presence in her father's home.
'Did he track me down?' 'Is he here because I took a picture of him with just his sheets on him?'
"Welcome, Laura. I'm glad to have you back here." Adrian said, giving the woman she referred to as Laura a smile Raven hasn't seen for years.
"Oh, the pleasure is mine. Our families are finally coming together, I could never be happier." Laura let out a short laugh before coughing. "Oh, you must be Raven. You've grown up so well, you look so beautiful."
Raven stared at Laura, barely nodding. Her mind was still running wild, she still didn't believe who was in front of her. Maybe this was part of the symptoms you get when you have sex for the first time, you start to see them everywhere. Her gaze fell on him, she blinked rapidly like his face would somehow change to another, but it didn't.
"It can't be." Her voice came out as a mumble.
"Oh, don't mind me. This is my brother, Matthew." Laura gestured to the man who stood beside her. "And this is my son, your fiance, Michael." Laura pulled the man Raven had spent last night with closer to her.
A wave of indifference coated his face at his mother's statement. His lips pressed flatly unlike how upwards Raven had known it to be.
Ravens breath hitched, her eyes widening. 'Your fiance??' This couldn't be happening. Last night….
Annie budged Raven by her side when she realised Raven was staring at him a little bit too much. That had seemed to have brought Raven back to reality as she immediately grabbed Annie's hand, dragging her out of the living room, back upstairs into her room, shutting the room door.
Raven began to pace around the room, at this point which has become a habit. "Annie? That man down there is my, fiance?"
Annie rolled her eyes. "Erm, duh. What is it? You regret losing your virginity now that you see how hot he is in person?"
"Oh, Annie please, stop." Raven scowled at her sister. "That man— The person I slept with lstt night… he is the one."
"What?" Annie's eyes went open. "You're joking right?" Annie waited for some confirmation from Raven. "Oh my God, Raven. You didn't know what your fiance looked like?"
"I didn't care what he looked like. I never wanted this marriage to begin with."
"He is freaking Michael Silver! He owns the biggest entertainment industry. Literally everyone in Chicago knows who he is!"
"Well, not me Annie. NOT ME! I spent the past years of my life outside of the country. You didn't expect me to keep track of hot rich dudes in Chicago, did you?"
Annie placed her palm to her head, as if she was soothing a headache. Annie was honestly starting to get tired of her sister's drama. "So what are you going to do? You can still stop this arrangement. Even if you're betrothed to each other, you had sex outside of marriage. It's still fornication, that's how they see it, right?"
Raven nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe I should talk to him, I mean, he slept with me. That means he was also trying to stop this marriage from happening."
Before Annie could respond to Raven, the door cracked open, revealing Ananya walking in with an unmistakable smirk. "Wow, this is interesting. I guess I didn't need to do anything after all."
Raven froze at the sight of Ananya. "How long have you been standi—"
Adrian burst into the room
"What's going on? Why did you run off like that, Raven? The Silver family is waiting downstairs!"
Raven swallowed hard, struggling to maintain her composure. "I'm sorry." she managed to say. "I… I'll come down right now."
Raven followed her dad back downstairs. Annie and Ananya following them behind them. The guests were already sitting around the table. Adrian began to apologise to the Silvers as they joined them at the table. Raven took a seat right opposite Michael, while Annie sat beside her. Raven's eyes followed Ananya who went to sit right beside her mom, Barb.
Raven watched Ananya lean to her mom's ear telling her God knows what— we can probably guess what it was. Barb's eyes widened and her eyes locked with Raven before going to Michael's.
Raven bit her lower lips, silently cursing at her step sister. She removed her gaze from them, it didn't matter anymore, she was going to let the cats out of the bag anyway.
As they started discussing arrangements of the wedding, Raven couldn't help but steal glances at Michael, she even tried to get his attention. His expression remained distant and different from last night, his jaw clenched as if he was somewhere else entirely. The man from last night, who made her feel alive even for a short while, seemed to have vanished. This made Raven's heart sink further, was he ignoring her now that he knows they're betrothed?
"Ahem!" A voice came clearing out. Raven angled her neck to look at the source of the voice. Her heart dropped for the umpteenth time that day when it went to Ananya. "Father, there's something important you should know."
Everyone turned to look at Ananya, wondering what it was that was important that she had to interrupt. Raven crossed her fingers hoping whatever it was Ananya had to say had nothing to do with her.
Ananya continued, a smug smile on her lips. "Raven and Michael… they've already… been together, as in had sex. And that means the marriage can't happen, right?"
Six pairs of eyes went wide, including Raven's and Annie's. Raven's gaze immediately went to Michael, who had his eyebrows furrowed, looking even more confused than shocked.
"What is this? Is this true, Michael?" Laura turned to her son.
"No, mom. I— This is the first time I'm meeting Raven." Michael stuttered, bringing is hand to his chest, as if he was shielding himself from the truth.
Raven felt a pit in her stomach at Michael's denial. He was actually denying her, was he embarrassed of her? Ashamed? "Excuse me?" Her voice came out harsher than expected, she felt a little bit hurt.
Adrian's voice boomed, silencing the room. "Enough! Ananya, stop with your nonsense. Raven is pure and this marriage will go ahead as planned."
Raven let out a bitter laugh at her father's words. Pure? Definitely not anymore
"It's true." she whispered, her voice slightly shaking. "I met Michael yesterday at a bar, and ended up at his place. And yes, we slept together."
The room fell into a stunned silence. Everyone's eyes were locked on her, wide with shock and disbelief. No one said a thing, perhaps all too shocked to say anything.
Adrian was the first to break the silence. His face twisted, his nostrils flared as he rose from the chair. "What did you just say?" His tone was dangerously low.
Raven's throat tightened as she also raised from her seat standing tall in front of her father. "You heard me, dad. I didn't know who he was, and to be honest, I didn't care. I'm not sorry for what I did."
Laura, who looked stunned, her hands went to her mom. "You said this is the first time you met her." She turned to her son.
"Because it is. I have no idea what she's talking about." Michael tugged at his tie, clearly getting frustrated at Raven's confession.
Raven's patience snapped. "Can you stop already? It's embarrassing to watch you deny it." She pulls out her phone, her fingers slightly shaking. "I took this because I thought my dad wouldn't believe me, but it turns out I'll have to use it on the person I slept with." She opens the picture she took that same morning. The room is silent, every eye on her. She turns the screen towards Michael, the image of them in bed together glaringly obvious.
Micheal stands from his seat, looking at the phone. His face pales, something flickered his gaze, like a recognition or something. His eyes went from the photo to Raven, then back to the photo. His jaw clenched tightly as his eyes went darker.
"You have to be fucking kidding me." he growled, before turning on his heels, storming out of the room.
"Michael!" Laura calls after him, but he doesn't stop. The door slams behind him, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.
Adrian's face turns a shade darker. "Raven, my study. Now." He commanded, his voice cold and sharp before he turned and left, Her step mom, Barb following close behind.
But Raven even barely heard him. Her eyes were still glued to the door Michael had disappeared through. What the hell just happened? Why did Michael react that way? Was it out of regret… or something else?
A gnawing unease settled in her chest, twisting her insides. The thought of defying her father barely bothered her; all she could think about was the way Michael had looked at her—as if she'd touched something fragile, like she'd done something unspeakably wrong. And for some reason, that hurt more than anything else.