A Love Story

Prologue

PROLOGUE

January 2012

 It wasn’t my alarm that woke me up that morning.  It was my cell phone.

The shrill ringing of my cell echoed through the silence of my bedroom as I blinked wearily and yawned. The clock on my bedside glared 4:17 am and my brain foggy with sleep, had half a mind to strangle whoever was stupid enough to disturb me at this hour. I stretched out my hand and fumbled blindly for my cell, not bothering to get up.

If I had known how this single call would have changed my whole life, I wonder if I would have still picked it up… I could have ignored it, I could have gone back to sleep and continued with my life…

But I didn’t.

“Hello?” I murmured, my voice husky with sleep. Bloody hell it wasn’t even morning yet.

I sat up in my bed, my tired muscles aching in protest as I glared at the number on my cell.

Unknown.

Wow. This kept getting better and better.

“Hello?” I rasped grumpily while I rubbed my weary temple. If this was a prank call it was just too damn early.

I was just about to hang up when someone finally spoke on the other end.

“Is this Mrs. Lancaster?”

My heart stopped beating.

Nine years… It had been nine years since I had been called that…

“Hello? Mrs. Lancaster?”

I cleared my throat as my trembling hands unconsciously clutched the phone tighter against my ear. My palms were beginning to sweat.

“I’m sorry but you have the wrong number.” I replied back determinedly, all traces of sleep had vanished from my voice. “There is no Mrs. Lancaster here.”

There was silence at the other end.

“Isn’t this Sara?”

I closed my eyes and swallowed the urge to deny it and crawl back underneath the safety of my quilt. The name was bringing back too many memories… crumbling down the defenses I had built painstakingly through nine years…

“Yes.” I whispered hoarsely, “This is Sarah Beckingworth speaking.”

The voice at the other end breathed in relief.

“Yes Sarah right? I’m calling from St. Jude’s hospital.”

Hospital?

"Sarah I'm sorry to inform you but your husband just met with a car crash and was admitted at 12:05am tonight-"

I wasn't married. Not anymore at least.

I should have told her that but instead, even aft all these years the first thing I asked was...

"Is Christian alright?"

My brain cursed at me in disgust.

Even after everything he did to you, you're still worried about him?

But I was too busy thinking from my heart. And my heart knew...

It knew that how many ever years had passed and how many ever years would come to pass I would never stop loving that man how much ever it hurt me...

How much ever my love was never returned.

"Is Christian alright?" My voice began to grow frantic. " Hello? Hello? Christian is he... Is he..." my voice trembled. I just couldn't say the words out loud.

Is he dead?

"Mrs. Lancaster? Please stay calm." I was so distraught, so eager to hear of Christian that I didn't even flinch at her use of the name Mrs. Lancaster.

“There are a few complication the doctor will speak with you about otherwise Christian is perfectly fine. He was lucky, he just gained consciousness ten minutes back. He's asking for you."

Nine years. Nine years since we had seen each other’s faces.

Of course I had the occasional painful glimpse of that hauntingly beautiful face in the papers or the news but still...

"Yes.” I whispered absently “Yes, I'll be there."

And then I hung up and scrambled down my room, racing against time as I searched for my car keys when actually I should have sat down and wondered...

Amongst all the people that 'the' Christian Lancaster knew... Why the hell had he only contacted me?