Before Dawn

By Ana Simons

Where the Stars Fall ~ The chance encounter where it all begins, as told by Olivia

 

Olivia's perfect life fell apart in an instant. Now she's left to pick up the pieces and move on, but that's easier said than done when the image of her long-time boyfriend in the arms of another woman is so fresh in her mind.

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Brian Anderson thought he knew what the future would bring ― until he was betrayed by the man he considered a second father. On a personal quest to right the wrongs done, laying his heart on the line again is not in his nearest plans. That is, if life wasn't so full of unexpected surprises... 

 

Heartbroken and distraught, Olivia's sworn off love for good. But a chance encounter with Brian, the man her heart never forgot, sends her life into an emotional whirlwind. Now the 28-year-old doctor is faced with a choice: take another chance on love or walk away never knowing what could have been.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ana Simons
• Release date: Feb 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9798201731106

Ana Simons

I’m a writer of contemporary and women’s fiction. I enjoy writing thoughtful, honest stories about ordinary people, family life, and the complexities of modern relationships. Realistic incursions into life as it is, I suppose: stars don’t always align, and life throws you a curve. But then there are all those moments that make life a wonderful journey too. So sometimes you may find yourself relating to the many struggles some of us face in our daily lives, at other times, cracking a good laugh. Or swooning over one of the heroes. My story? After spending half of my life studying literature and writing about books, it wasn’t until recently I'd try my hand at crafting stories myself. It turns out I fell in love with it, and now I spend most of my free time thinking of ways to challenge my characters. While I’m Gone is my debut novel. It is a thought-provoking story that explores the feelings of loss after the breakup of a marriage and the fears and thrills of finding love again ― all under very extraordinary circumstances. I’m currently working on Between Heartbeats, the second instalment of the Falling Home Duet.  By day, I’m a professor of intercultural communication. I live in sunny Southern Europe with my husband, my extraordinary twins and two frisky rescue dogs.

Book preview

Dear All,

This free novella is a complementary prequel to Where the Stars Fall, a second-chance romance about love, loss and finding yourself in the place your heart never truly left.

You do not need to read it to enjoy the next instalment. It’s simply an extra I wrote for those of you who would like to get a feel of the storyline and the characters before diving into Where the Stars Fall.

Also, for everyone who wants to know Olivia a little better. While Where the Stars Fall is entirely told through Brian’s eyes, Before Dawn introduces you to Olivia’s world before her return to London and revisits the day she meets Brian again, ten years after their story was left unfinished. Some of Brian’s passages will be found in both books.

Happy reading!

Ana ♥

We’re all a little weird. And life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness―and call it love.

ROBERT FULGHUM

A wedding invitation

––––––––

Together with their families,

Linda & James

invite you to join them in the celebration

of their wedding

—

Saturday, 29th August, at 1 pm

Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, London

followed by reception and dancing

1

Letting go ~ Olivia

––––––––

Barcelona, 24 July

TRACING A FINGER along the elegant silk ribbon on Jimmy’s wedding invitation, I can’t help but feel turned inside out all over again. Everyone I know is either celebrating their engagement, getting hitched or popping out babies. That or spectacularly wrecking their marriages.

Yet here I am. Home alone on a hot Friday night, with nowhere to go, indulging myself in red wine and self-pity.

I close my eyes and drag in a long breath, holding it for a moment, repeating it to myself like a mantra: cut it all off, Olivia. It’s time to move on. But, dammit, like everything else in life, it’s always much easier said than done. The moment I saw them is still so vividly framed in my memory, sometimes it feels like it only happened yesterday.

His tall frame pinning her up against the wall, towering over her.

My initial incredulity.

Her panted gasps.

My utter shock.

His disgruntled growls.

The stabbing pain in my chest and the sound of the hospital tablet slipping from my hand and falling on the floor. My eyes fixed on the screen cracked into little pieces in the middle of the meds room―because they refused to look up at it again and acknowledge the scene was real: the man who’d just asked me to marry him lost in the arms of another woman, the new supervisor of the Nurse Internship Program.

Something inside me broke that day. I wanted to cry, to scream at the hurt, at the disappointment and anger, but I didn’t. I just stood there. Still. Frozen. There was nothing around me except a blur and everything went on in slow motion.

Him dismissing her so coldly and running to me.

His apparent regret.

His repeated apologies.

"I... I don’t know what to say... I’m so sorry," I remember vaguely him breathing out against my skin, rocking me in his arms almost desperately, his words a distant echo rumbling in my head.

"I’ve been such a fool, that didn’t mean anything. Please, forgive me, he asked me later that night, crying like a young boy. Ask anything you want. What can I do to make it up to you?"

As if there was something he could say or do to lessen the blow.

"Enough!" Gathering strength from somewhere deep within me, I pulled myself together and pointed to the door. "It’s not like this is the first time you’ve cheated on me, is it? But guess what? You won’t do that again. Ever. Get the hell out!"

Swirling my second glass against the dim light of the side lamp, I force myself to shove it all away from my mind, the hurt and disappointment, this deep sense of hollowness in my chest, the–

Holy fuck, I’m so sorry, Hun. You got my text, didn’t you? Juggling the laptop case, a couple of bags and a raging fury, Julie, my occasional roommate, closes the front door with her bum and rushes to the kitchen.

No problem. I wasn’t in the mood anyway... For our Zumba class, scheduled for a couple of hours before, hadn’t she been called to a last-minute meeting. Need help?

Dammit! Returning to hang her coat, she almost stumbles on the box placed near the entrance door, next to the hanger. What’s this? Your ex-box?

Hmm-hmm. Taking a long sip, I feel the restless inside seep even deeper into my chest.

Finally! So proud of you, darling! Now, when are we going to burn this shit? she asks dryly before heading back to the kitchen.

It has taken me a while but today I finally managed to go through the drawers and gather all the things he’d left here. Clothing, some CDs and books, basically. I look at it again and almost feel nauseous; six years of my life stuffed and sealed in a not even large carton, ready to be delivered to his desk. 

A bonfire might be a bit too extreme, don’t you agree?

You think? she asks laconically, though what she really means is something like Why isn’t the sodding box in ashes already?

How did the surgery go? A laparoscopic in-utero operation performed this morning to a baby’s heart.

Surgery in the womb, a miracle of science and Julie’s absolute passion. Dr Vega, an internationally renowned foetal medicine consultant visiting the hospital, took part in the team. She called this afternoon completely ecstatic, near hysterical to be more accurate, because she got to meet him.

Granted, the process of getting back on your feet again is an all-absorbing beast. But I’ve been lucky enough to have Julie by my side since Filipe and I went our separate ways five months ago. She not only makes this time a tad more bearable by making me dance my butt off every day, she also does her best to steer me away from shitty decisions. Like, call him when I bolt awake in the middle of the night. Drown my misery into Vodka shots the few times she managed to drag me out for a girls’ night. Or trash his fancy office, now that he’s been appointed head physician of the OB/GYN department and behaves like a conceited asshole.

Brilliant, just brilliant! One of the best days of my life... at least until we had our department meeting. Lucky you, it’s your day off.

The pantry door slams hard.

What now?

Oh, he sent you roses. How lovely, she says with sarcasm when she sees the arrangement lying on the table.

I shrug, not commenting at all. He’s never offered me flowers in all the years we’d been together, now he has them delivered every week... It’s just pathetic really.

That twat-faced wanker will drive us all insane, I’m telling you! she says. As if breathing on my neck the whole fucking day wasn’t bad enough, now Dr Cheating-Ass-Liar also thinks he owns the goddamned place and is entitled to make everyone’s life miserable. He suspended María today, how’s that even possible? For crying out loud, that woman taught him everything he knows! Un-fucking-believable! What a creep, a complete psychopath! She slams the fridge door even harder, the clink of bottles hitting each other mingling with a long string of cuss words.

Just another day at the office, I guess, but I try not to let it affect me. I’m a nervous mess as it is today, so I just keep swirling the wine, watching it climb up the side of the glass, shutting my mind to anything else.

Hey, what do you think of this bargain I found in that tiny vintage store? She pops into the living room with a greenish dress placed in front of her body. It’s for tonight.

It goes very well with her red hair and fair complexion. Lovely. I force a smile and hide my face behind a long swig. Then I shift my gaze to the news broadcast on the telly. I can sense her inquisitive eyes studying me, though.

Sunshine? What happened? You’ve been crying?

I try to disguise the lump formed in my throat. Nothing, I’m fine. Another sip. What are you doing standing there like a statue? Pablo should be arriving any moment. You’d better hurry up.

If you ask her what brought her to Barcelona some two years ago, she’ll give you a very professional response: she left England because she was looking for a challenging position in one of the most modern, state-of-the-art hospitals in Europe. The truth is that she left it all for him. Against all odds, what was supposed to be a summer fling in Ibiza flourished into something quite meaningful.

Look at me. Which I do. She shoots me a hard glance. What do you mean I’d better hurry up? You’re coming too! You promised.

I tuck my legs beneath me and lean against the couch’s backrest making myself comfortable for another night in front of the TV. Sorry, I don’t feel like going anywhere tonight.

"What’s this all about? Him asking you to take his sorry ass