Aiden

I had assumed that at the conclusion of my pursuit, I would be content to add her name to my list of conquests, but I was mistaken. She wasn't just another conquest for him. I'm not sure what to name it, but I wanted to keep Sydney for the rest of my life. I ruled out the notion of falling in love since the idea felt so foreign to me. However, I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted Sydney to be with me for a long time with a possessiveness I couldn't describe. My family's men never married for love; it was always for the betterment of the business. Their marriage survived, despite the fact that they had multiple affairs, but it didn't matter in the end.

I brushed those thoughts aside and strolled out to one of the sessions. The conference consisted of the normal mix of meetings, presentations, and trade exhibits, and it was a huge success in terms of business. The evening of the conference was a formal event, and I was mingling with the audience when I was summoned by a familiar voice.

"Aiden! Good to see you." Marilyn walked towards me with a huge grin. A business conference was the least expected place to bump into her.
"What are you doing here, Marilyn?" I asked as she greeted me.

"Dad had some business here and I wanted to visit London!" She gushed.

"That's nice," I replied.

"You look good, seems like marriage has been favourable for you," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Perhaps! though, unfortunately, you didn't attend the wedding. I was looking forward to it." I replied, not sure what else to say.

She gave a slight smile, "I was busy, sorry about it. How about I making amends for it by buying you dinner? There is this lovely Italian place I know. It's near my hotel. My treat!" She said with a dazzling smile.

I wouldn't be a man if I failed to recognize the invitation in her tone. I thought about Sydney, and my heart lurched. What the heck!

"Sure, seems like a good plan," I replied. Amongst the attention and the alcohol, my mind wandered. Why was I bothered by Sydney anyway?
Soon we were seated in an upscale restaurant talking about general stuff.

"We should do this more often. I missed you," Marilyn said in a good-natured, friendly manner.

"I've been around, just haven't had time to catch up," I smiled back.

"Well, aren't you a married man now ?" She joked.

I answered gently, "Yes." This was not going well at all.

Marilyn kept talking but I missed most of it. My mind wandered off to Sydney.
She probably realized my distraction, because I soon felt her bare toe trailing along the inside of my thigh. I froze, then glared at her, but didn't do anything to draw attention to the situation. She began rubbing her foot against my groin as she placed her order.
"Marilyn, stop!" I said sharply, interrupting her.

She looked at me innocently.

"Is there a problem, Aiden?" Her toe moved faster.

"Just stop whatever you are trying to do," I said through gritted teeth.

"We can move things to my room if you wish. Or would you prefer yours?" She said huskily.

"Marilyn, it's not going to happen," I threw my napkin and moved back in my chair, getting out of her reach. 

"Get me the check please," I told the waitress.

Marilyn continued staring at me with her hooded eyes, "you have changed Aiden or should I say tamed? You have fallen for her, aren't you?" She asked with a smirk.

I gave her an annoyed look," that's not true Marilyn, I am just not in the mood now, if you would excuse me. I need to go. Thanks for the dinner." 
 I left the restaurant, very disturbed. 

********

Sydney

"You look awful; didn't you get enough sleep the night before? Is it possible that my grandson has exhausted you?" As we played poker, Mr Reiner Sr. offered a cheeky remark.

"Aiden is in London, Mr Reiner," I responded, looking back at the elderly gentleman.

"Hmm, young lady, let me know if my grandson has been bullying you. I'm going to smack him in the face. " He gave me a warm smile.

"He has a tendency to be cranky at times. We're doing OK, for the most part. "I said with the brightest smile I could summon.

"Would you like to take a walk?" I inquired.

"Why not, if you have the time for an old man?" he said.

We strolled down to the large garden with my arm linked to his. It was more of a park than a garden. There were flowers, plants, and small fountains galore, rivalling those found in metropolitan parks. Wendy, the nurse, was right behind us. Rainer and I discussed his late wife.

"Did you love your wife?" I inquired.

It took him a while before he replied. "Well, I suppose so. Ours was an arranged marriage set by our parents."

"Didn't you feel that you should have married someone you loved?" I pressed on.

"I never thought about it. My father saw that our business would be greatly enhanced if the two families were united. So he approached my father-in-law and the marriage was agreed upon," he explained.

"I recall you telling me previously that you admired a girl in college; what about her ? Wasn't it disappointing that you couldn't keep the relationship going?" I enquired further.

He paused for a moment before responding.

"Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices for the greater good," he explained simply. "I did what I could for the family."

"At the cost of your love and happiness?" I pressed on.

"My dear child, things were different back then. I was brought up in a different generation. My happiness lay in upholding the family's honour and protecting the business… My wife was brought up in the same way with similar values. When we got married, she was unhappy initially, and so was I. But we grew to respect, honour and love each other. We may have never spoken the word out loud. But I am sure it was love. I used to be worried sick when she fell ill. I was jealous when she danced with other men. I was overjoyed when she gave birth to our son, Aiden's father. I can say, I was a good husband and father, and never let them down. She never complained about anything. Ever since I married my wife, I stopped all my previous dalliances. Partly, because I didn't want to have any scandals and I wanted to be a good husband. So, I am not sure if this qualifies as love, but that is how it was. I still miss Sarah sometimes," he explained wistfully.

When I looked at him, I could see he was speaking from his heart. The Reiner men were not simply a group of cold-blooded businessmen, as the media had depicted them. They were also loyal husbands and fathers who were serious about their responsibilities. The old guy sighed at that precise moment.

"My dear child, I care a lot for Aiden. I would never allow any harm to come to him. I may be old, but if anyone tries to harm him. I would not hesitate to protect him in whatever way I could, so wouldn't you call that love? I have come to care for you as well. I want to see my grandson happy. I want him to have a wife who will support him and take care of him when I am gone. I can see the way he looks at you. His face glows whenever you are around him. He is just too stubborn to admit it. I would blame it on our genes, our men don't know how to express their true feelings," he explained sweetly.

I bit my lower lip, feeling horrible for deceiving such a kind old man.

"You make it seem like Aiden is head over heels in love with me," I shrugged. "It's only a contract; it's not even a true marriage..." I blurted out and immediately realized my mistake.

I gazed at him, terrified, hoping without hope that he didn't hear what I was saying. He returned my stare with an unreadable face.
Crap! Aiden was going to kill me!