Tears of Endurance (Romantic Drama) Book #1 (3 page)

Chapter four

Friday night on Coleshill high street was lively as usual, filled with teenagers heading to the local pubs, specifically, The White Swan, which seemed a popular hangout. The steps leading up to the pub were crowded with smokers and their spirits were running high. Arianna sat on her window seat and continued to look down on to the street below; she remembered when she was younger and lived for the weekends. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go; families and couples heading towards the award-winning local curry house, Rajrani, which was an exquisite Bengal and Indian restaurant; some were bypassing it in favour of a pub meal further up the road. Ordinarily she would be getting ready herself for a night out with Justin; their favourite haunt was Stratford-upon-Avon, just 40 minutes away by car. Steeped in history and filled with olde worlde pubs and restaurants, it was a beautiful Shakespearean town that was inundated with tourists during spring and summer. Only this weekend would be spent alone in quiet contemplation for her future ahead. This thought made her feel sad and lonely, not a place she envisioned to be at this time in her life.

She cracked open a bottle of wine and poured herself a generous glass, taking a long sip before dialling her mother
’s number for some much-needed emotional support. Being an only child, Arianna was fortunate to have been brought up by wonderful parents who had doted on her all of her life. She had a happy childhood, one she was grateful for. Her parents never spoiled her, they taught her the importance of earning your own way through life, never taking your family and friendships for granted and always treating people how you wish to be treated yourself. She loved and respected her mother greatly and knew that the death of her father several years before had hit her mother hard. They were the perfect couple and one that Arianna admired and always hoped to emulate what they had; at least she did until her recent breakup with Justin, which shattered any idea she had of finding the “One”.

“Hey mum, it’s Arianna, I hate speaking to voicemail, you’re obviously out socialising with your friends from the Amateur Dramatics Society. Hope you’re having a good time. I could do with a chat over the weekend. Call me when you’re free.” Arianna hung up and thought about calling Casey, her best friend. She’d known Casey for most of her life; they’d started school together at the tender age of five and swiftly became friends. They had been through just about everything together, their first love, first heartbreak, first job, and so much more. They were more like sisters than friends and with Casey also being an only child; they had always felt a kinship. Casey was married to a pilot she’d met while working as an air stewardess for British Airways ten years previously; within two years, she had given birth to her first child, Charlotte, and 18 months later Aaron came along. In Arianna’s eyes, they had the perfect relationship and the perfect life. Casey no longer worked for the airline, choosing to give up her job in favour of motherhood and wanting to give her full attention to her family.

Arianna poured herself another large glass of wine and decided to call Casey the following day. She had never felt so lonely. It was Friday night and she had nowhere to go and no one to see. A tear escaped from her eye and fell down her cheek, she wiped it away but to no avail as more followed and then a waterfall of tears started to cascade down her face and she could no longer control them. Her clouded mind was filled with Justin
’s deceit. She felt angry all of a sudden, her emotions taking her prisoner and weakening her resolve.

The following morning, Arianna woke up only to be greeted by an almighty headache. She reached out for the glass of water perched on her dressing table only to clumsily knock it over onto the floor.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she cursed to herself as she struggled out of bed, gripping the side of her head in attempt to stem the throbbing pain. She picked up the fallen glass and headed off down the stairs. “I’m sure I had some painkillers somewhere,” she mumbled to herself as she rummaged through her medicine cabinet. A few minutes later, she found a box of paracetamol and popped two tablets swiftly with a gulp of water.

A couple of hours later and minus her headache, she grabbed her coat and headed out the door to meet Casey for lunch at the Coleshill Hotel, situated at the top of the High Street. On route, Arianna made a quick detour to her gallery to collect her post. As she speedily flipped through her mail, one letter in particular stood out from the rest
; it was a letter from her bank, marked urgent. She opened it nervously, feeling a tight knot forming in her stomach. “I don’t believe it, there has to be a mistake,” she cried. She dialled the number at the top of the letter; a lump forming in the back of her throat as she attempted to speak to the lady on the other end of the line.

Ten minutes later, she was sitting on the cold floor of the gallery with her head in her hands, trying to come to terms with what Justin had done. She
’d completely forgotten that he still had a joint bankcard, which enabled him to have full access to her personal and business accounts. “What an idiot I am,” she screamed. Justin had cleaned her accounts out, both her personal and most of her business accounts, leaving her with practically nothing. She never would have believed him capable of such a horrendous act of pure selfishness. All those years they were together and she never really knew him at all. Justin had made two online direct transfers from both her accounts to his personal account, leaving her broke.

She threw the letter into her handbag and made her way to the Coleshill
Hotel with a heavy heart. She saw Casey perched on a stool and waving frantically at her, sporting a wide smile. Casey sensed immediately that something was wrong with her friend, from the devastated look displayed across her face. She jumped off her stool and hurriedly made her way through the bustling crowd to greet Arianna with a much-needed hug. “What on earth has happened?” Arianna looked into her friend’s worried eyes.

“
It’s Justin, Casey. He’s cleaned me out; he emptied my bank account a few days ago. I never saw that one coming in a million years. I never thought he would do something so callous, Casey. I mean, he had his own money, or so I thought. He knew full well how much I needed that money; that it was mostly accounted for. He knows full well my gallery will suffer as a consequence. Casey, what the hell am I going to do now?”

Casey wiped the tears from her friend
’s face and looked at her with sympathy. “I just can’t believe he’s done this to you. Look, you need to contact your bank straight away and tell them what’s happened.”

Shaking her head before answering, Arianna proceeded to fill Casey in on her phone call with her bank.
“He was entitled to withdraw the money. I had not cancelled his card or informed the bank of my change in circumstances. Basically there is nothing I can do about it. I tried to call Justin, but guess what? The number was dead. He’s clearly changed his number.”

Casey grabbed hold of Arianna’s arm and gently pulled her towards the bar. “Two large gin and tonics with ice, please.” Casey flashed a £20 pound note in the barman’s direction and impatiently shifted from foot to foot in an attempt to hold her ground at the overcrowded two-deep bar. If there was one thing that annoyed Casey it was all the pushing and shoving at the bar, it was always the same. “Anyone would think we were heading towards prohibition the way this crowd is acting.” The barman smiled and handed her two tall glasses, complete with a slice of lemon. After receiving her change, Casey and Arianna made their way to the back of the pub, away from the large flat screen TV displaying a home game, Aston Villa vs. Manchester United. This was a big game. It explained the large turn out and the large number of raucous men downing beers and shouting towards the screen.

“
Sorry, Arianna, I had no idea the football was on here today. If you want, we could pop over to the George and Dragon?”

Arianna smiled at Casey and shook her head.
“It’s fine really, there’s a table over there in the corner.”

Casey placed the drinks down onto the table and looked at her friend tenderly.
“Arianna, I really don’t know what to say. I don’t think anyone would have expected Justin to do what he’s done. I mean it’s criminal, and to think there’s nothing you can do about it, just adds salt to the wound.” Casey placed her hand on top of Arianna’s. “Look, if you need some help, I have a bit saved. It’s not much but it might help you through the next couple of weeks.”

Arianna could not stem the flood of tears falling down her cheeks.
“Oh Casey, I could not take your savings. I know how hard you have saved for your anniversary. Andrew is going to be blown away with your gift, Casey, a weekend in Paris is far more than he would expect. Besides, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. What I do need more than anything right now is for my show next week to sell lots of paintings, or my gallery will really be in trouble financially. I’ve made just enough profit over the last 12 months to keep me above water; I was just starting to get somewhere. And then this horrendous deceit by someone I actually thought I was in love with. What the hell was I thinking? Why didn’t I see any of this coming?”

Two hours later, Casey and Arianna left the bar and headed straight towards Arianna
’s townhouse, making a swift detour to the off-licence for a bottle of wine. Casey stayed with her friend for a few more hours, consoling her and listening intently as good friends do before she had to leave and get back to her family. Thankfully, her home was in walking distance. Arianna felt cheated inside, as if an intruder had taken a king-sized bite out of her soul. After finishing her wine, she fell asleep where she lay, on the sofa in her living room, and did not stir until the following morning.

Chapter five

Ben took hold of Charlie’s lead and stood up to leave when he was taken hostage by the familiar vice-like grip to the side of his head. The overwhelming pressure served as a reminder that he had a long way to go before he was truly well. Automatically letting go of Charlie’s lead, he reached up, holding his head in the palms of his hands. The pain was crippling, rendering Ben useless and unable to stand up straight. As he fell to his knees, Charlie sat down beside him instantly. The waitress who served him earlier came rushing out of Cafe Rouge to offer her assistance.

“
Hey, are you okay?” she asked as she bent down and put her hand around his back, holding his arm to aid him.

“
Thank you, may I have some water please. Once I’ve taken a couple of tablets, I will be fine.”

The waitress ran inside the restaurant and no sooner was she gone, she was back again with a large glass of water.

“Here you go, why don’t you sit down for a few moments until the pain has passed?” advised the young waitress, very concerned.

“
Yes, thank you, I think I will.

Ben waited a further 15 minutes for the pain to subside and the painkillers to take effect then he walked back to his apartment slowly with Charlie. As he approached his building, he noticed Tristan pulling up in his car.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I don’t remember arranging anything for today.”

Tristan smiled at his brother quizzically.
“We discussed it on the phone last night, remember?”

Ben could not remember making any arrangements the previous night with Tristan and this worried him slightly. He remembered calling him but could not remember the conversation very well.

“I thought we could get away for a few days. You need a break, Ben. I have taken a few days off work, packed an overnight bag, and thought we could head down to Brighton for the rest of the week. What do you think? We’ve had many good times in Brighton over the years and I thought we were long overdue a trip. And yes, Charlie’s invited too. I took it upon myself to book an apartment overlooking the marina. We can hire a boat for the day tomorrow, like we used to. Just imagine all that fresh sea air, it will be good for you, Ben. So “NO” is simply not an option.”

Ben looked at his brother curiously.
“What are you up to, Tristan? Well, I can hardly say no now, can I? You haven’t really given me an option,” Ben said, smiling.

“
To be honest, Ben, I could do with a break myself,” lied Tristan, not wanting his brother to feel pitied in anyway.
He always did have too much pride
, he thought to himself as he followed Ben up the stairs towards his apartment.

Ben threw some clothes together and packed some food for Charlie. He changed his clothes and picked up his painkillers, deciding not to mention what happened earlier at Cafe Rouge to Tristan as worrying him would serve no purpose.

“That’s me sorted then. Come on, let’s go, Tristan. I think this just might be one of your better ideas!”

Charlie sensed an adventure was afoot and jumped up and down like an excited puppy.
“Come on, boy, in the back.” Charlie jumped into the back seat and Ben and Tristan climbed into the front.

“
We all set then?” Tristan smiled as he turned the key in the ignition. Brighton was a three-hour drive away from Birmingham, possibly four hours if the traffic was really bad. Charlie stuck his head out of the window as he always did when he was going on a car journey; he loved the wind on his face.

“
So, how have you really been, Ben, since leaving hospital?”

Not really quite sure how to answer Tristan
’s question and not wanting to worry him, Ben lied. “Right as rain, it’s good to be home.”

Not at all convinced, Tristan looked sideways towards his brother. He always could tell when Ben was lying and this time was no different. Even as children, Ben
’s left eye would twitch slightly when he told a fib. Tristan was concerned that Ben was concealing the true extent of his pain and wondered why he felt he couldn’t confide in him.

Ben looked at Tristan all of a sudden, a somewhat serious look on his pale face.
“You know what, Tristan. Sometimes obstacles are placed in our path to test our strength and eventually serve to make us stronger. That’s how I view my accident. It’s an obstacle and one I will overcome, so don’t worry about me, okay.”

Tristan glanced affectionately at Ben and turned on the radio. For the next few miles, they continued their journey in relative silence, a comfortable silence. Charlie had fallen asleep on the back seat and the sun was beaming down with full force. As Tristan was driving, thoughts of his dead mother passed through his mind and the awful week following her funeral. He recalled the grief-stricken look that resided permanently on Ben
’s face for many weeks. It was a great loss to them both and one he thought Ben would never recover from at the time. Their mother’s death had hit them both hard and life without her the following months was tough as they missed her so much. He often wondered if Ben deliberately kept a distance in his relationships so as not to get hurt should it all go wrong. Tristan had always been Ben’s protector as children and way into their teens and although Ben had grown up and no longer felt the need for the protection of his older brother, Tristan was always there in the background should he ever need him.

“
So are you going to tell me what happened with Dena? Your secretary, Lisa, gave me a brief overview at the hospital the first time I visited you, but there has to be more to it than what she told me, Ben. I mean, you have to be pretty callous and heartless to just walk away from your partner when they have just suffered a life-threatening fall. I’m sorry to say this, Ben, but you’re clearly better off without her. Better that you find out early on in your relationship what she is really like.”

Ben looked out of the passenger window. He knew Tristan was right but it didn
’t help remove the sting of such a rejection. “Tristan, it seems that she was with me to enhance her career; at least that’s what Lisa thinks. I have to agree with her. When I think back to those months we spent together, all she ever talked about was work and she was always encouraging me to go to all those laborious functions the company organised. I went to the important ones, of course; as chief engineer and partner, it was expected of me. But Dena wanted to be there at every single one of them and when we did go to a function together, within five minutes of arriving she would be off mingling with all the other directors. I knew she was a driven woman when I started dating her, although I never imagined she was with me for any other reason than mutual attraction.”

Dena was only interested in furthering her career but Ben was so overworked, he
’d been too blind to see it and failed to notice the all too obvious signs over the months. She made it quite clear to Lisa that she was not ready to play nursemaid to anyone, that she couldn’t cope with it and she thought Ben would be better off without her. She didn’t even wait around long enough to see if he would make a full recovery.

Ben felt the all too familiar pain making an impromptu visit
; he took the bottle of pills out of his jacket pocket and popped two in his mouth, washing them down with a bottle of water.

“
You okay, Ben? I can pull over at the next services if you want to get out and take in some fresh air?” Ben just nodded, his face as white as a sheet as the pain gripped him once more. “You really need to go back to your consultant, Ben. Get that headache checked out just to be on the safe side, I mean, it can’t hurt to be cautious.”

Charlie sat up, yawned, and once again stuck his head out of the window. Tristan pulled in at the next service station and parked up for 30 minutes. Ben gave Charlie some water
, then grabbed his lead off the back seat and took him for a walk for 10 minutes while Tristan went into the services to pick up coffees-to-go.

Tristan was far more worried about Ben than he would ever let on
; he decided he was going to keep a close eye on him over the next few months. Seeing the stricken look on Ben’s face when the pain took hold crushed him. He loved his brother with all of his being and since the death of their mother years before; they had become closer than ever. He swore if he ever came across Dena, he would tell her just what he thought of her. Ben was far too good for her anyway; Tristan had never bonded with her, and he had never really been that keen on her either.