The Secret Fiancée (The Windsors, #5)

by Catharina Maura

“Welcome to work, Lex and Mrs. Windsor,” she says, sounding far too chirpy, almost like she knows she’s defying me by still not calling me by my name. I throw my husband a panicked glare. “You told me you’d fix that!” He just shrugs and watches in fascination as I pull off my wig, revealing my long, dark hair. Lex raises a brow and sighs as he holds out his hand. “Just give me the damn ferret,” he mutters. “It’s enough that the whole world will think I’m having countless affairs. The last thing I need is additional rumors about how my wife murdered my mistresses and carries their heads.”

“I’m proud of you.” His eyes widen, and I step closer to him, noting the people milling about, most of them grabbing coffee and catching up as they start their days. “I’m proud of what you’ve built, and I’m beyond proud to be your wife.”

Much to my surprise, Halima walks up right at that moment. She waves at me, her usual serene smile on her face. “You really seemed to like her, and she’s insanely smart, so I offered her an internship too. Once news of our marriage breaks, no one will be able to say you deprived someone of a spot.”

Amy’s wide smile is back as one of the robots rolls up to her, its tummy turning into a screen. I throw my husband an incredulous stare. Does he realize he created real life Teletubbies? He grins to himself, and I sigh. Yeah, he probably knew exactly what he was doing when he designed the robots the way they are. I suppose we’re all lucky he didn’t make them all wacky colors. I’m so dazed by the new feature the Lola-lookalike revealed that it takes me a moment to realize what’s on the screen.

“Right,” she says, nodding. “We’re going to fix the issues we have with them, and then we’re going to make sure they can operate independently at night. We’ve been tasked with ensuring they can only be operated manually during daytime hours, so human jobs won’t be at risk, while ensuing they can work in a fully automated fashion outside of regular working hours. On top of that, I was told that the formula is changing — they’ll now all be dairy-free! I, for one, am incredibly excited about that! It is, however, something we’ll have to carefully take into consideration since variations in density could affect the machinery’s performance.”

“Why milkshakes?” Emma asks. “Automating something that’s so well known for never working will definitely be fun, because it’ll be such a high-profile project, but it just doesn’t really fit in with the types of products Windsor Motors normally puts out.” Lex looks up at her and smiles. “They’re my wife’s favorite,” he says simply. “I want her to have access to them whenever she wants, and she doesn’t really like dairy, so we’re changing the formula nationwide.” He runs a hand through his hair. “We’re also rebranding. I’m renaming the chain Little Fairy, and I’m calling the chocolate and salted caramel option Mrs. Windsor.”

“The milkshakes are a love letter to your wife,” Halima says, seemingly the only person that’s completely unfazed. He nods, and my heart skips a beat. I try my hardest to bite back a smile and fail. I don’t think my heart has ever raced harder, wilder. For some reason, I’m reminded of my father’s words. Love isn’t always loud and obvious, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Zane follows her lead, pressing his nose against my wife’s hair for a bit longer than I’d like. She smiles and nods at him as he pulls away, and I narrow my eyes as I grab her hand and pull her out of his reach. “You have your own wife,” I snap. “Leave mine alone.”

“Lex,” Raya says, seemingly lost in thought as she eyes the front door Zane left open for us behind him. “Do you think you could jump from here all the way into the house?” I follow her line of sight and shrug. “No idea. Let’s find out, darling.” I step back and make the jump, just about making it inside and nearly stumbling over, only to find all my brothers standing in the hallway, their phones out and the biggest grins on their dumb faces. They all burst out laughing at the same time, money exchanging hands quickly. “For fuck’s sake,” I murmur, realizing what just happened. “I’m sorry,” Raya says, clutching my suit jacket from behind me. “Zane has never asked me for a favor before and I didn’t know what to do.”

“How dare you all use my sweet wife like that?” Another round of cheers fills the room, all of my brothers instantly repeating the words my wife after me, mocking me the way I’ve mocked them for years. “Fuck, he didn’t even think before jumping,” Luca says, laughing.

“What did you tell me that time you flew Celeste and me to our island?” Zane asks. “You said you were never going to be… what?” Whipped. I said I’d never be whipped. Damn it. “Fuck off, all of you,” I murmur as I grab Raya’s hand and pull her past them.

He’d convince himself he used the inside information to fuel their rivalry, when more often than not, he just cleared the path for her, opening up opportunities and eliminating competition, so the only one she ever had to compete with was him. Sierra has sabotaged him to the point of getting arrested multiple times, and every single time, he had her released and all charges dropped before any of us could even act. Xavier Kingston is madly in love with my sister, and I’m not sure he even realizes it.

“Patience, baby. You have to earn this cock.” “I don’t,” she tells me, turning so her lips brush against mine. “I own that cock.”

Her gaze roams over my face, and something flickers through her eyes as I pull her skirt down before tidying my own clothes. “I love you,” she says, catching me by surprise. She turns to face me and cups my face, our eyes locking. “I love you, Lex. Only you.”

Lex just holds me as I try my hardest to process everything that just happened. He doesn’t say a word, he’s just there, like he always is. He might not be able to say the words, but this, right here, this is what love is.

My grandfather once told me he gave the third to his protégé, and he promised me he’d introduce me to him someday. Grandpa told me I’d love him as much as he did, that he reminded him of my dad. Bob smiles and runs his hand over the hood of the car gently. “Your grandfather gave it to me,” he says, “right along with the investment funds to start Lewis Motors.”

“Lex,” she pleads. I smirk in satisfaction, pleased with how desperate I’ve got her. “You want this?” I ask, moving my fingers faster, taking her closer to the edge. “Yes,” she moans. “Yes.” “Tell me you love me,” I beg, unsure why I need to hear the words so badly today, but I do.

I sigh as I kiss her leisurely, losing myself in her. “You are what I need,” I whisper. “Every second of every day.”

She straightens her spine as she turns to Xavier, her emotions draining away, leaving nothing but resentment and irritation in her emerald eyes. He just chuckles and leans in, not at all intimidated by the way she glares at him. “Put away those claws, Kitten,” he tells her. “You don’t want to accidentally damage your new toy, do you?”

“I can’t stop looking at you,” he says as he pulls me closer, our feet carrying us across the dance floor effortlessly. “I can’t believe you’re mine, Raya Windsor.” “I am,” I reassure him. “I always will be.”

you… if you ever find yourself loving me, the way you know I want you to…” He pulls away to look at me, curiosity flickering through his eyes. “Yeah?” “If you ever do… would you marry me again?”

Lex cups my face and keeps my eyes on his. “Are you proposing to me, Mrs. Windsor?” I blink, my nerves overtaking me. “No! Yes? Maybe? I…I don’t know. I just… I was just thinking that I’d have liked to honor my mother’s culture more, and I’d have wanted a bigger wedding with more people present. Then there’s that moment, you know? When you see the person you love, the one person you chose out of all other people in the whole wide world. I just… I’m sorry. It was a selfish thought. Please, forget what I said.” “Raya,” he says. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do if it made you happy. If you wanted to get married again tomorrow, I’d happily do so.”

I shake my head, my heart aching. “No,” I murmur. “It’s not something I want you to do for me. I just wondered if it’s something you might want too. It was a silly thought, I’m sorry.”

“You know, if we’d been dating like two normal people, this is the exact conversation we would’ve had once we started considering marriage. The answer I’m trying to give you, very ineloquently, is yes. Yes, Raya. I want to marry you. Yes, you are the woman I see a future with, that I want to spend my life with. If our situation was different, I would still choose you.”

“What brings you here today?” He crosses his arms and leans back in his seat, his smile melting away. “That’s an awfully cold way to speak to your father-in-law,” he says, sounding displeased, like he actually thinks he has the right to reprimand me. Not even Bob would ever speak to me that way, and he’s the only father figure in my life that would ever get away with it.

The monthly payments of $10,000 that I found in Bob’s background check. Years and years’ worth of it. That’s where it went. The one suspicious thing I found in his records was an attempt to protect Raya. Guilt crashes through me as I realize my suspicions were always misplaced.

Zane pushes his brothers aside and walks up to me, Celeste trailing just behind him. “Don’t worry,” he says, his tone placating. “We’ll return each tear you shed a thousandfold. Touching a Windsor has consequences, and this fucker is about to find out what they are.” “In that case,” I say, my voice breaking. “I’m going to cry a river.”

Everyone steps aside when Grandma Anne walks through the doors wearing a black suit, her expression perhaps the angriest of them all. “How dare they?” she snaps, fury rolling off her in waves. “How dare they touch one of my kids? Invade our homes?”

we’re freezing their assets if they’re with the Windsor Bank, blacklisting them from every establishment we own, and because I’m extra pissed off by this, I’ve also checked whether they or any of their family members have any holidays booked at any of our hotels. I’ve instructed my staff to cancel their reservations, but not to let them know until they arrive at the premises. Let’s see how they feel when not just their own, but their friends’ and family’s lives are affected, for years to come.”

my heart aching. I just thought you’d started to trust me, that you were trying to overcome the past with me. I’m hurting today, and this is just another thing that adds to my pain. I need you, and you can’t even see it. “It’s nothing.”

She pulls back and looks at me in confusion. “Of course I am. What are you talking about?” I look past her and freeze when I find Akshay bound to a chair, his face swollen and bleeding. Xavier Kingston has his foot on Akshay’s knee and a baseball bat in his hands. He merely winks at me in greeting and places the bat underneath Akshay’s chin, forcing him to raise his head.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m sorry, little fairy.” Raya draws her knees to her chest and shakes her head. When she lifts her face to look at me, her eyes are filled with heartbreak. I’ve never seen her look at me that way before. She’s always been the light in my life, but now her gorgeous eyes are cast in shadows, and I only have myself to blame for it. “I didn’t mean it, Raya. I just…” She sits up on her knees, her body trembling as Sierra helps her up. Nausea hits me hard and fast when I notice the red mark on the side of her face from where I pressed a gun to her head, bruises already forming. I stare down at my hands, disgust crashing through me. What the fuck have I done?

My wife faces me, her gaze filled with disappointment and pain. “I’m not her,” she says, her voice soft. “I’m not Jill, Lexington. I don’t deserve to pay for her crimes when all I’ve ever done was love you.” “I know you’re not her,” I tell my wife, staring down at my feet. For a few moments, I was convinced Raya had done exactly what Jill did, and she’s right, I punished her for it before even hearing her out. Regret crashes through me, and my heart squeezes painfully. I draw a shaky breath and reach for her, only to pull my hand back the moment she flinches. I’d give anything to rewind time a few minutes, to take away that look in Raya’s eyes. “Do you?” she asks. “Or did you just let the truth slip? I wondered, you know, if you were pretending. For months now, I’ve wondered if I was the only one falling in love, and now I have my answer.”

I know you find this hard to believe, Lexington, but I truly love them like they’re my own.” “They are yours too,” he says, but I know he doesn’t believe it.

I smile humorlessly as I recall his words. How dare you touch my family. Pain spreads from my chest, making my stomach clench and my eyes fall closed. Yeah, he revealed his true thoughts in the heat of the moment. Lexington might have become my family, but I was never his. I probably never will be. You don’t press a gun to your family’s head before even taking a moment to think about what might be going on. He assumed the worst of me, not a single doubt in his mind, and I don’t know what to make of that. I need time to think, to process.

Adam sighs and gently brushes my hair out of my face. “Raya, that man looks at you like you’re a miracle he’s honored to be near. He’s mesmerized by everything you do and say. You don’t see it, because you’ve never experienced the cold boss he is when you’re not around. The difference is jarring, but you bring out something in him that I’m not sure anyone else could, and you always have, from the very start.” He pulls his hand away, his gaze roaming over my face. “The question isn’t whether he loves you, because he does. The question is whether you can live with his distrust and his need to control everything in his life, including his wife. Could you be happy living like that, and if not, where does that leave you?”