Chapter 3

Clayton was relieved that his father had not taken offense at his words, and that eased the tension that had begun to build between them. Damn. He was not a child anymore. He was a grown man who would have to make his own decisions.

“If I want to get married, I will do so without being match-made or forced. I have met enough beautiful women to choose from if I want, regardless of patrician birth. I do not want to be pressured, and trust me, sire, I have no desire to be bound to one woman forever,” he said.

He had risen to his feet as he spoke, and Hugh watched as he headed for the door.

“Do have a good day, sire. I shall meet with you during dinner. For now, adieu,” he said as he opened the door and walked out into the hallway.

Hugh could only nod his head—more from surprise that Clayton remained adamant on the issue than from acknowledging the farewell.

When it was dinner time, the family sat together, still talking about the many things that worried England and what they planned to do next, and of course, the weather and fashion.

“The weather has been indeed incredible! This summer is one like no other. One enjoys the sun and relaxes at night in the cool evening air. What do you think about the weather?” Abigail asked to no one in particular.

It was typical English style to talk about the weather all day and not do anything about it—not like anyone could. It bored Clayton to death each time he had to make unnecessary conversation about it. There never seemed to be a good enough conversation that did not revolve around the weather.

“I do think the weather is lovely. It is good indeed, as you have said, Abigail,” Hugh agreed as he picked up lettuce from his plate and stuffed it in his mouth.

“Clay, my dear, do we old folks bore you? I’m so sorry. What would you rather talk about? Tell us about London! Your father and I will visit soon. Maybe in the winter,” she said.

And she knew winter was not soon. She had read Clayton’s mind and could tell that the conversation bored him. For that, he was genuinely grateful, but he had no idea what to talk about. Was it the very few events he attended? Or the business he was running and the legacies he was building around the world?

“There is not much to talk about London, Ma. Perhaps you two could visit earlier than winter?” he suggested.

He knew he had made a vain suggestion.

He looked in the direction of his father, and the man looked away. Hugh hated the hustle and bustle of town and preferred to remain in England.

His mother, on the other hand, was always needing an excuse to visit London and stay for a short while, but Hugh never let her stay for more than a day. She did her shopping in London, got her fashion magazines and most of her skincare products there, but she was never allowed to stay longer.

“What do you think, Father? I know you detest traveling, but it would be convenient for you. My private aircraft will bring you two,” Clayton said.

“That is good enough, Hugh. We should go. I ache to go have a look at London,” Abigail said.

***

Ruth was teetering on the brink of depression, and it did not help that she too, like Alicia, had no job. When she had first told her friend Alicia that she was involved in an office romance with her boss, Alicia had expressed so much fear in her tone, and when they eventually met, she had spoken about it.

“I love Mark, and I’m sure he loves me too. Why don’t you chill out and let me give him a chance?” she had asked Alicia, who would not welcome the idea of being entangled with one’s boss at work. To make it worse, the relationship had been kept discreet—totally away from public stares and mouths.

Not like too many people cared about her. But they certainly cared about her boss, Mark.

She had had the best one year of her life dating him. Mark had been thirty-nine at the time, she twenty-eight and more than eager to get married. He had promised her endlessly that their relationship was leading to marriage.

Now she was twenty-nine, single, and heartbroken.

She had quit her job and had been on the brink of hysteria when she realized that her boss, Mark, was a family man who did all he could to keep his family out of the media and the general public.

She had decided, after one year, to start making little findings about him since she had intentions of marrying him—he was never in the papers for anything other than business.

The first sites she visited did not provide enough details about him, but she was sure she had seen a mention that he was married.

She had been horrified.

He was married? Not divorced?

She had called in sick the next day and locked herself in her room, making online searches about her boss, Mark. How totally foolish she had been not to have done this earlier.

He was married with two kids and a Japanese wife. The names of his kids and his spouse were withheld, but the sources indicated that he was very much married—and his family lived in New York. The same New York where he worked and dated her?

She was too tense to believe it.

She had built her life around the relationship and had been sure she was getting married soon. Marriage was very important to her, and she had not been able to marry earlier as she had always wanted as a young woman.

With tears in her eyes, she had called Alicia, her hands shaking and her lips quivering. Alicia did not pick up—she was probably busy at work. When Alicia called back, Ruth was shivering. She picked up the receiver and held the cord in her left hand, her lips trembling and her fingers twisting the cord to steady herself.

“What’s wrong?” Alicia asked immediately. She heard the sniffs, and it worried her.

“Alicia… I’m sorry I never listened to you. Mark is not a single man!” she said, the last word tumbling out before she broke down crying.

True, Alicia had had her misgivings about the relationship, but not once had she pointed out exactly what could be wrong, and so Ruth had dismissed her concerns and taken them for paranoia.

“He is married?” Alicia asked.

“Yes.”

“How come you never knew? How did you find out now?”

“I searched on Google and there it was. I am disappointed I trusted him so much that I never tried to find out things about him. I messed up big time, Alicia, and I feel like I should drop dead.” She was sobbing again, and her sniffs were loud enough to disturb her neighbors.

“Don’t think like that, Ruth. You should confront him and hear what he has to say,” Alicia advised.

Ruth took the advice.

She had spent the previous night crying and scribbling on paper after paper until she finally typed her resignation letter. As she stepped into Mark’s office that morning, he saw in her eyes that she had learned something about him—and he did not look like a man who would ever apologize.

He was braced for whatever bombshell she had come with. He took one last deep breath as she approached. He flashed her a smile, but she did not grin in return. He waited.

“You never told me you were married, Mark…” she stated. She clearly had no desire for small talk, and he knew it.

“Well, are you asking or telling me?” he asked. He had never been known to be apologetic, no matter how wrong he was. He was the boss, was he not?

Ruth looked at him then and hated herself for ever having thoughts of marrying a man like him.

“You are married, Mark. Why did you ever tell me you would marry me? Why did you ever lie to me, Mark?”

“I know this building is soundproof. Still, I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down,” he said.

“Mark!”

“Don’t shout. Whatever findings you made on your own about me, I have no desire to debunk the claims,” he said flatly.