One Night Love Affair *COMPLETED*

Chapter Forty Nine

"My mother and father got married because their parents wanted them to. Their marriage was a business merger and nothing more. To put it black and white - it was an arranged marriage. There was no love lost between my parents, because there never was any love between them to start with."

James took a deep breath and took a sideway glance towards Lana. Before he started talking he was agitated, nervous. What he was about to tell Lana, he had never told anyone before. He thought things from the past, things from his past were behind him, but as this past few days passed by, and Lana didn't trust him any more than she did when they saw each other at his office, he knew he had to explain.

There were things that made sense to him, but would never make sense to someone like Lana. It was a simple decision to make, once he convinced himself, it was for the best.

Some of the nervousness disappeared once he saw that Lana was listening to him intently, her face showing curiosity and none of the former hostility. It gave him the push he needed to keep talking.

"My mother Meredith, whom everyone called Meri, was just nineteen years old, when the decision to marry my father was made. Harry Cornell was more than a decade older than Meri. Thirty to be exact. He didn't want to get married, but my mother's father was an owner of a company Harry wanted to have for himself. Because my mother was an only child and a female, my grandfather decided to marry her to Harry. This way he married off his daughter, get to keep the company in the family, instead of risking being taken over by someone he didn't approve."

***

"Lou, I don't know if I can get through with this. I don't think I want to marry Harry."

Meredith was sitting on her bed, wearing a wedding gown, talking to her best friend Louisa. It was her wedding day, and everything was going smoothly, but Meredith had never been more terrified of doing something, like she was of walking down the aisle and saying yes to that men her darling papa chose for her.

"It's just nerves Meri. There's nothing to worry about. You, my dear, are marrying the most eligible bachelor in the tristate area. Harry Cornell is a catch. You'll be the queen of New York society and you'll be the richest woman here. Besides, do you really think your father would chose a bad man for you?"

Lou had been Meredith's friend since they were in the diapers. They moved in the same social circles, they liked doing the same things, they were basically sisters.

"You're right Lou. Papa wouldn't chose a bad man for me. I guess I am kind of silly. It's just..."

A single tear fell down Meredith's cheek, but her eyes were so watery, it looked like they would break free any moment from now, ruining the perfectly applied make-up.

Lou stopped checking herself out in the vanity mirror, fixing the nonexistent mistakes of her flawless make-up. Quickly she walked the distance between the vanity and the bed where Meredith was sitting, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I know sweetie. I know you wish your mama would be here. I wish she'd be here too."

"I just miss her so much. I always thought she's be there, sitting in the first row, watching me walk down the aisle, crying as I say I do."

Lou let go of Meredith, gently fixed the smudge on her cheek, the one caused by a tear. Then she took her hand and squeezed it.

It was hard for Meredith, Lou understood that. Meri's mother died just a year ago, and it didn't seem like Meri was ready to continue living. But at the same time, Lou was jealous of her friends lavish wedding. She was newly single, and before the engagement was announced, she was toying with the idea of seducing Harry Cornell a couple of times. Now he was a lost cause, for a girl who didn't even want him. It was really hard for Lou to be supportive of her friend, where she didn't understand her one bit.