An Arranged Marriage

by C. M. Bryden

  Sara knew she’d had a lucky escape and gradually her tears lessened, until, at Jake’s suggestion she should inform the police of what had happened, which had caused her to burst into tears again, only calming down when he promised her he would say nothing.

  It was bad enough, she’d said, their mother had to know of her foolishness, without the whole world having to know as well.

  Realising how stupid she’d been, she then told Jake she’d already written a letter to the principal of her college, informing him she wouldn’t be completing her course. Jake took her in his arms, trying to console her as her tears started again.

  ‘You’re not going to do anything so foolish until you’ve really thought this through. You have to think of your future. You need those qualifications, so maybe you should take the principal into your confidence and let him be the one to advise you. I’ll talk to him if you like, but I think you should go home for a while and get over what’s happened.’

  Jake even promised to talk to her flatmates, and let them know she was safe and, knowing his mother would be the best person for Sara to be with, he drove back to his apartment, as she’d refused point blank to go back to her own place. At least he would know she was safe there, until he could get her onto a plane and out of his hair.

  And that was how Jake came to make yet another big mistake! Had he told Sara he was married, it might have saved the situation between him and Jane from later going into free fall! As clever as he was, Jake made an error of judgement in Jane’s eyes, which would prove to be unforgivable! Also, had he known Jane had seen him kissing Sara, and then walking into his apartment with her, the same gorgeous young blonde she’d first seen him with, the evening she’d been at the hotel with Leo and her father! Had she been aware the self-same blonde was in fact Jake’s half-sister, the outcome would have been quite different. Unfortunately for Jake, Jane didn’t know! But, as it is said, that’s life!

  Jane’s day, like Jake’s, had started off quite nicely. She’d arrived at her office with no thought her life was about to change dramatically, until she started to read a fax from head office waiting for her on her desk.

  Jessie had walked into the office later than usual that morning, looking flustered, giving Jane a look that, had Jane not been so engrossed in reading the fax she would have noticed. The fax asked that Jane go immediately to New York and take over from one of her colleagues who’d been taken ill in the middle of a training programme.

  Jane was none too pleased to be going away at such short notice, especially now she was married, it wasn’t something she wanted to do, but she had no choice as it was part of her job as a senior consultant to step in when needed. Jane passed the fax across to Jessie, who by now had regained her composure. She looked at Jane. ‘Jake won’t like you going away, will he?’

  ‘Probably not, but he knows I have to travel sometimes with my job and, just because we’re married it doesn’t mean I can’t do special assignments. I was rather hoping nothing would come in for a while but I’m sure he’ll understand. I’ll give him a call and tell him what’s happened. Would you mind making a reservation for me on the earliest flight out while I clear up here?’

  Jessie could see any chance of having a heart to heart conversation with Jane, where she’d intended confiding her own news, would have to wait.

  Andrew had spent the previous night at Jessie’s flat after his dinner with Jane and Jake. After an energetic bout of lovemaking he’d suggested to Jessie she should join him on holiday. Not only did he ask her to go on holiday with him but also, much to her surprise, he’d asked her to marry him. She’d been stunned at first, thinking it was too soon, but, without hesitating, she’d accepted, knowing he was exactly the man she’d been waiting for and, at their age, what was there to wait for? Her late arrival at work had been down to them talking until the early hours, after they’d decided to keep their plans secret for a while longer, and then oversleeping! They planned on waiting until they could tell Jane and Jake together, but Jessie did so want to drop a hint to her friend she’d got herself a new man in her life! But Jessie was going to have to be patient as; unfortunately, this wasn’t going to happen for quite a while!

  Leaving Jessie in charge, Jane left the office, intending to make her way home to pack, but not before she’d done some food shopping for Jake. So far, she’d had no success in contacting him; even his office didn’t know where he was. She wasn’t worried about leaving him to look after himself, as he’d already proved he could do that, without any help from her.

  Once she’d finished shopping, Jane decided to take the bus home instead of the train, as it stopped only yards away from her flat. As she sat gazing out of the window, the bus suddenly came to a halt by road works and, for a while, her attention was taken by this activity until she realised this was the street where Jake had his apartment. As she watched the activity in the road she was suddenly shocked to see Jake getting out of his Porsche with the same beautiful girl she’d seen him with at the hotel.

  Amazed at seeing him, Jane watched as he walked towards the main entrance door to his apartment, with the girl holding onto his arm in such a possessive manner it showed she was more than just a friend. He even had the temerity to bend down and kiss her! Jane’s immediate reaction was one of anger. Why, she asked herself, was Jake taking the young woman into his flat? He’d said he was going to sell it? Perhaps what he really intended was for it to be a love nest for his extra marital activities? To say she was incensed with anger was an understatement. By the time she reached her flat it’s fair to say Jane was incandescent with rage, and jealousy. So much for Jake’s eagerness to make love to her each night, as though she was the love of his life, when obviously she wasn’t!

  Perhaps he had a problem? Or was he a sex addict? Perhaps that was the reason he wouldn’t or couldn’t say he loved her? And that when he left her to go to work each day, in reality he was bedding other women!

  The first thing Jane did when she walked into the flat was to ring his mobile number; much to her annoyance it was still switched off. She then tried his office number, where his secretary told her she had no idea where Mr Adams could be found, or who he might be seeing, as she didn’t have control of his diary! The only other person, who might know what Jake was up to, was her father and even he was unobtainable, which Jane thought rather strange. His secretary told her he’d been away from work that day and when Jane asked if it was because he was he ill, not that he’d shown any signs of ill-health when she’d seen him the night before, the woman assured her he was in the best of health; in fact, she even told Jane she’d never seen him looking better!

  This was getting her nowhere; his club had no knowledge of him either, as he hadn’t stayed there in over a month, which also seemed very odd, as where else would he have stayed when he’d visited her and Jake. She then called Jessie, who had no explanation either, as to whom Jake could possibly have taken to his flat. Perhaps, she suggested, the woman might be someone interested in buying his apartment! This Jane knew wouldn’t be true from the way she’d seen him kissing the young woman! As for the whereabouts of her father, Jessie had crossed her fingers and told Jane she didn’t know, as he hadn’t called? This wasn’t true. Andrew had called only a few minutes earlier, with no intention of speaking to Jane and neither could Jessie have repeated their conversation!

  Jake wasn’t used to discussing his comings and goings with anyone. He answered to no one for his actions, and so, that evening, as Jane watched the hands of the clock go round, she waited for a phone call that was never going to happen. If Jake had walked into the flat at that moment, Jane was certain she would have lost her temper, not something she normally did, but these were extenuating circumstances, and Jake would have learnt yet another lesson, in how to behave as a married man with responsibilities. Jane even debated going to his flat, then thought better of it, she didn’t intend to demean herself in front of his other woman, especially if her hunch had been correct and he was having a
n affair.

  By the time she left for the airport the next morning, Jane had heard nothing from her erstwhile husband and was devastated, believing their lovemaking had been performed by a man with no morals. And, like her marriage, their bedroom antics had just been a sham! It didn’t take long for Jane to convince herself Jake had married her merely for his own financial gain after all.

  By the time Jake phoned the flat it was too late, as by then, Jane was on her way to America. He was ready to leave for the airport with Sara and, thinking Jane must also be on her way to work, he’d tried her mobile number, to his annoyance that too was switched off. There was nothing he could do but wait until later, and contact her at her office.

  Much as he loved his young half-sister, Jake didn’t want to be saddled with her for any longer than was necessary, as far as he was concerned he’d done his duty by her, and his mother and, once Sara was on her flight home, he intended finding out where Jane had disappeared to as a matter of priority. He knew he needed to get in touch with her and give her an explanation as to where he’d spent the night and why. Unfortunately for Jake, that wasn’t going to happen for some time to come.

  Jake watched Sara’s flight take off on time after an emotional farewell on her part, and after he’d promised to visit her and his mother before the summer ended. At last he was finally free to make his way back to the city, and to Jane’s office, where he fully expected to find her.

  The receptionist told him Jane had left that morning on the early flight to New York on urgent business, which explained why he couldn’t get hold of her. He then asked to speak to Jessie, but she too was unavailable, taking time off for personal reasons the girl explained, adding she was sorry, but she didn’t know where she’d gone!

  Knowing Jane would be in contact with her office at some point in the day, Jake asked she be informed he needed to talk to her urgently, at the same time, knowing this might be a problem, as the time differences in America always messed up one’s life.

  It was all very disappointing for Jake, unused as he was to not getting his own way, but he was still hopeful Jane would find a way to speak to him, especially if their last night together had been anything to go by?

  Jake thought back to that night, when he’d held her in his arms and, for a few moments, he wondered, if he did have a problem and, if so, how could he repair it if Jane wouldn’t talk to him?

  The worst idea Jake ever had was not telling Jane he had a family, or them he’d fallen in love and was going to marry the most beautiful woman in the world. It was as though his thought processes had become addled the moment he’d fallen in love, even to the extent it had affected his business dealings.

  He’d used his emotions as a bargaining tool with her father, just to get her into his bed, something he would never have done before. Knowing all this, Jake decided he would have to admit his inadequacies to Jane, and to her father, even to his parents and stepparents, something he wasn’t keen on doing, but it would have to be done if he was to convince Jane he loved her more than life itself.

  His next decision was to drive across the city to the factory where he knew he should be able to find Andrew, but when he arrived there was no sight of him and no one knew where he could be found either! It just wasn’t Jake’s lucky day for sure, and neither would it be for a long time to come!

  Jake became quite angry with himself, for not phoning first, and then, with the world in general, when he was told Andrew would be away for a few days and wouldn’t be back until the following week; it was at this point his suspicions Andrew was having an affair with Jessie really took root in his mind.

  By the time he returned home to Jane’s flat, Jake was thoroughly fed up with the events of the past two days. He’d gone from being in total control of his life, as he thought, then married to a woman he loved and whom he’d begun to believe loved him in return, to suddenly having his life shifted right out of kilter. Much to his annoyance his complacency had been jolted and, as he liked nothing more than order in his life, Jake was getting increasingly frustrated; at the moment he didn’t seem to have any control over it at all!

  Jake knew he only wanted to be with Jane; his business interests no longer came first. He wanted his family to know and love her as he did and then it struck him, once they did know, they would have to learn they no longer had first call on his time and would have to sort out their own problems and then he stopped, as he thought of the repercussions when he told them? And what about Jane, when was he going to tell her? Certainly not in a phone call, it had to be face to face and, for that to happen, she had to be back home! He would just have to bide his time!

  Later that evening, he had a call from his mother telling him Sara had arrived home safely. Listening to the background noise as she was speaking, Jake assumed she was calling from the restaurant. He thought of his mother’s life now, and how different it had been from when he’d been young and his parent’s had first divorced.

  To make ends meet, his mother had taken a job as a kitchen helper at the local Italian restaurant near to where they lived. Because she was a brilliant cook, it was only natural when the usual cook had an accident she had stepped in to help out. She’d cooked superbly that night and had so impressed the owner he offered her a full-time job.

  Many months later, she fell in love with Stefano, a young and handsome relative of the owner who’d arrived from Italy to work as the restaurant manager. Within a few months they were married.

  Jake liked Stefano enormously; unfortunately, his own father didn’t. He wasn’t prepared for another man, and a foreigner at that, bringing up his son, so he insisted Jake should be sent away to a boarding school. Jake’s mother tried all ways to prevent this, but she was told Jake had to do as his father wished and that was the end of that.

  This was the one event that had so traumatised Jake, stunting his emotional growth to such an extent that over the years it had affected his relationships with women, leading Jake to blame his mother for sending him away.

  From then on, Jake shared his holidays between his parents and their new partners, as by then his father had also remarried. The best holidays for Jake though, were the ones when he arrived home for the holidays and spent time in the flat with his mother, Stefano, and their baby daughter, Sara.

  One day, quite unexpected, Stefano received a letter informing him he’d inherited an old and aristocratic Italian title, along with a run-down property in Tuscany from a bachelor uncle. Overnight, Stefano become an impoverished landowner and a Count and his, and Jake’s mother’s lives’ were about to change drastically!

  It was decided they should go to Tuscany and see exactly what it was that Stefano had inherited and, of course, when they saw the ramshackle building, that had once been an old manor house, along with several other old barns and out buildings, they wondered what they could do with it all?

  It was a small estate, situated at the top of an old medieval village, with the most outstanding views over the countryside, in an area already popular with tourists, and that was twenty years ago. At the time, Jake’s mother and Stefano couldn’t believe their luck. They knew they could live there and make the old buildings into a wonderful home and a business and, as they were both talented, with lots of ideas they knew they could make it a success. That’s how they came to be hoteliers and restaurateurs, in one of Italy’s most beautiful regions.

  At the end of that first holiday, Jake had to return to his boarding school, leaving his family to move permanently to Italy in the next month and start renovating the buildings. By the time of his next holiday, they were well on their way to having most of the buildings finished and, over the next few years the business gradually grew and prospered, as did Jake’s education.

  As he got older, so he spent longer spells of his holidays helping his mother and stepfather, doing everything and anything that needed to be done, never minding that most of it was hard work.

  To Jake, it was like watching a dream unfold as the old buil
dings took on a new life. Once he’d been to America and had graduated from university, and he’d been “head hunted” Jake finally found his own niche in life.

  He had a natural talent for making money! Enormous sums of it, with the added bonus, he enjoyed the buzz making it gave him!

  He was also able to help his mother and Stefano out financially, as they struggled to get the renovations to some of the old barns finished, as they expanded their venture. It was Stefan who first suggested Jake should become a partner in the business, and that was how he became even more involved, although by then his own business interests in London were rapidly expanding.

  Jake’s father, John Adams, had also re-married, shortly after the divorce. His new wife, Alicia, was the only child of a wealthy shop owner in Marseilles. She’d been a young French student when they’d first met and knew when she’d finished her studies she would have to return to France. As her father was getting old, and she had no brothers or sisters, she would be the one to take over the business. After falling in love with John, she’d persuaded him to go with her to visit her father. Once there, and seeing his daughter looking happy, he asked John to take over the business with Alicia so he could retire. This arrangement suited John. Within a short time, he was married and had fathered Daniel and was at last living in France, in the manner to which he’d always aspired.

  Jake loved his new stepmother equally as much as he loved his new stepfather, Stefano, and his half-brother Daniel, who was only a few months older than Sara. As his two half siblings grew up it was quite natural for Jake to become the much adored older brother to them both, a role he enjoyed immensely.

  But all this meant very little to Jake at that moment, because by the end of the evening he’d begun to feel apprehensive about his life in general, fearing it was going off in a direction he wasn’t happy with. His big problem was he didn’t know Jane had seen him with Sara, or that she’d already added up the numbers, sure to have given her the wrong answer. Jake unfortunately, was quite right to be afraid.