Married Without Love

Chapter 11

Hailey

As I headed to the law firm, I couldn't help replay my last conversation with Nathan yesterday. He wanted me to move back to the mansion with him. It was obvious he didn't want to get in trouble with his family and neither did I. If my grandparents found out that I was not happy in this marriage then it would upset them and they would drown themselves in guilt, something I really didn't want. But then did I want to go back there? The answer was no. There is no place for me in his life and as he said, I was an intruder. Neither do I wish to be insulted by his mistress at every turn and for his infidelity to be rubbed in my face. This whole thing is giving me a headache. And I have to go to dinner with him tonight. I wonder what's left for him to say.

I reached the firm building and head to the conference room for the partner's meeting, where all the partners from my firm will be introduced to the top members of the firm we were merging with. After greeting my fellow colleagues, I took a seat.

After a few minutes, the managing partner, Mr Brown and the name partner Mr Smith entered the large room followed by 3 men and a woman and.....Harry?

Ofcourse! Why hadn't I guessed earlier. Partnering with a firm based in London, Harry was back from London. It all makes sense now. I was dodging him because I wasn't ready to talk to him yet and I wasn't ready for all the questions. But now it would become difficult to do that.

His eyes met mine and he gave me a small smile which I returned. They all sat down and the meeting began. We were introduced to Mr Kane, the man who owned the firm we were partnering with, and his trusted partners, Harry among them. Now that his firm is going to have a base here, does that mean he will be moving back to New York? What does that mean for me? For our relationship? I'm already married now. Should I tell him that? How will he react?

My mind wasn't on the meeting. It was swarmed with all different thoughts. As soon as the meeting ended, I quickly exited the conference room and rushed to my office. I sat on my chair and swirled around to take in the view of NYC that the French window provided. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard a knock on my office door.

I turned to see Harry standing near the doorframe, flashing his million dollar smile.

"Come in."

He strode towards me as I stood up to greet him and he engulfed me in a tight hug. We had managed to stay professional during our meeting with Nathan in the hotel yesterday, but now I just couldn't hold it. He was back here after two long years.

I hugged him so tight that I was afraid I would crush his bones. I breathed in his cologne. The masculine smell of him. Like always he smelled good. His arms were warm and safe. God! I missed him so much.

After some time we pulled away and took some time to recover. We sat on the couch in my office.

"It's good to see you again." he said, truthfully. I just smiled at him.

"And you too"

"How have you been?" He asked me casually but there was concern in his eyes, voice laced with protectiveness and seriousness. He really wanted to know.

"Good." I replied. "Busy, but good."

Harry was the only one besides my family who knew about my past incidents. He is the only one, who isn't my blood, but who knows my deepest secrets. My only friend. And two years ago I messed that up too. But instead of cutting me off, he still remained my friend.

Complicated. That's the best word to describe our relationship. Like I said earlier, we attended Harvard law together. We were rivals, competing academically. Though it wasn't a intense rivalry with constant fighting, we weren't friends either. We just knew each other. Harry was a flirt, a playboy, a guy every girl wanted. For my part, I was in a relationship which would later shatter me in pieces. After graduating, we went our separate ways.