Memories

Memories

Chapter 1

Christmas Eve 1998……….

She was running late. Panicked, she put her foot down on the gas as the tyres cut through the icy snow. Stephanie had wanted tonight to be so perfect. She wore his favourite dress. It was a black silk Donna Karan, very flimsy and it made her feel sexy. It came down to the middle of her thighs and she knew he loved her thighs. Even when they were out to dinner he could barely keep his hands from touching them. They would reach under the table squeezing them and rubbing his fingers along her flesh.

The black spiked heels she wore accentuated her long, toned legs. It was the best part of her body being she was a few pounds on the heavy side. He would always tell her he liked his woman curvy. And the underwear had been an easy choice. She wore a black lace push up bra, her creamy breasts spilling over the top of her dress. She knew he would really like it. He had a thing for black lace. His eyes would shine in appreciation when he quickly undressed her. He'd grab her then and begin to touch and caress her. She'd groan loudly with pleasure. She was on the way to his house where tonight he would give her pleasure of a different kind. She knew he was going to propose. She'd seen the diamond solitaire in the pocket of his black wool coat. Her stomach churned with anticipation. Her mind began to drift as she planned how she would respond.

She didn't want to appear too keen and eager. Maybe she would keep him dangling for a bit. John loved it when she played with him. Smiling, Stephanie turned the corner into the next street. Her unpractical shoes caught on the pedal and slipped off the brake. The car was still travelling at a fast and steady speed as it drifted across the tree lined street. The houses shone brightly with Christmas decorations on either side of her. The dazzling glare of the headlights momentarily blinded her. A truck was heading straight towards her. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Her foot frantically searched for the brake as she jerked the steering wheel to the right to avoid him. The heat was on full blast but she felt her body turn to ice. A tree stood directly in front of her and she braced herself for the pain. Her body was thrown forward as the metal crunched loudly on impact. Her head connected with the steering wheel.

Stephanie was left with the sensation that she was floating, like she was drifting off into space surrounded by blackness. She tried to make herself come back. For some reason, she knew she couldn't let the darkness consume her. A distant voice was calling her name. She had to focus on the voice. It would stop her from fading into the dark. The voice became a little louder, closer. Her eyelids fluttered open. She could feel the chill of the night air through her thin black coat.

"Steph, are you okay? My God, are you alright?"

Stephanie's confused blue eyes stared at the huge man crouched down in front of her. He looked worried as he stared intently at her. She swallowed hard. His fingers were brushing loose strands of hair from her forehead. His touch was extremely tender considering the size of him. He was huge. She recognised him of course. It was that wrestler, that Triple H guy. Her father constantly raved about his talent and what he could do for the future of the company. But what the hell was he doing here tonight? He didn't live in Conneticut. He should be at home with his family. It was Christmas for crying out loud. And why was he acting so concerned about her anyway? They had never even met properly let alone talked to one another. And the way he was looking at her, well it was just scary and plain weird. It was like he was really spooked that she had been in a car accident. Maybe he was delusional and thought being this nice to her could advance his career. He obviously didn't realise that Daddy dearest didn't gave a crap about her. Mr Helmsley's time and efforts were clearly being wasted. Stephanie shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Her head was pounding and it felt so heavy.

"Steph, talk to me. Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

His brown eyes were concerned as they searched her face. Stephanie inhaled sharply as he reached across and unclipped her seat belt. She could smell his cologne. It was spicy and extremely intoxicating. It was making her dizzy or maybe that was just the bump to her head. Yep, that was probably it.

"Steph?"

The man Hunter had hold of her hand now. There was a feeling of intimacy as he began to rub her knuckles with his thumb. Stephanie quickly drew her hand away from him and saw the confused expression on his face. He was definitely freaking her out. She'd heard rumours he had been a player in his time but this was ridiculous. She had to get to John. He would be at home waiting for her.

"I'm fine." she mumbled.

Stephanie swung her legs out of the car. She had to get the hell out of here. Hunter stood up and stepped back in the snow. He held his hand out but she didn't take it. Her legs felt shaky as she stubbornly got to her feet. The cold instantly pinched her cheeks. It was freezing outside. The left side of the black Expidition was a mangled mess.

Wait a second. Why the hell was she driving an Expidition? This wasn't her car. She had a Corvette, a nice, shiny red one. Her parents had given it to her for her sixteenth birthday. It was her pride and joy.

"Where's my car? Where's my Corvette?" she cried.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Paul.

Confused, Stephanie staggered back in the snow.

"Be careful, baby." His hand gripped her arm gently. Stephanie stared at Hunter incredulously as she shook him off. Why did he keep touching her?

"Stephanie, what's wrong? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." she snapped. "I'll be fine."

She pushed back her hair as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. The large house she stood in front of was new and unfamiliar to her. There were pretty white lights hung along the eaves and the bare branches of the trees in the vast gardens. She could see the decorated Christmas tree in one of the huge bay windows. It was beautiful but she didn't recognise any of it. This wasn't where she had driven to. What was going on? She stared at the house in a daze.

"Hunter, where am I?" she asked timidly.

Stephanie slowly turned her head in his direction. She saw the look of utter amazement on his handsome face. His nose was scrunched in confusion as he looked at her, his blonde strands blowing behind him in the light wind.

"Hunter?" he asked her, taking a step towards her. "Why the hell are you calling me Hunter?"

Stephanie quickly frowned. Surely she hadn't got him mixed up with someone else. She was positive it was him. Mr Suck It, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Besides, there was no way she could mistake that nose of his or his long blonde hair although it seemed much shorter than she remembered. It rested just below his shoulders. He had grown a beard too. She had to admit he looked pretty sexy in his faded jeans and leather coat. But he so wasn't her type. She preferred her men more clean cut and they usually had manners too. This guy continually swore and spat in the ring. He also had a thing about his dick if she remembered correctly.

"My name is Paul." He stared at her strangely as he rubbed at his chin. "You know that."

Stephanie shook her head. "And how would I when we've never properly met."

"What?!" he snorted.

Stephanie was taken aback. Shit. Now he sounded really freaked out. His brown eyes were wide as they scanned her face frantically. His big hand pushed back his hair from his face. He was looking at her like she was a crazy woman.

"Steph, we're married for Christ sakes. Of course we've met."

"Wh…what?" she stammered out, totally shell shocked. It was her turn to stare at him in disbelief. Married?! How on earth could she be married and to him? She was in love with a guy called John not Paul. What the fuck was going on here? Was this someone's idea of a joke? If it was, it wasn't funny. It wasn't the least bit funny at all.

"Are you drunk?" he asked.

Stephanie swallowed and managed to shake her head.

"Then maybe you're concussed or something."

His big hands reached out towards her face. Stephanie stepped back, her heels sinking into the crisp white snow. She could feel the goose bumps prickle on her bare legs. Paul's brown eyes looked at her tenderly as he touched her arm.

"Please. I just want to check you're okay."

"I'm fine, honestly."

"No, Steph. You're not."

"I just want to go home." she snapped shrugging him off.

"But this is your home baby. Your home is right here."

Stephanie looked at the strange building in front of her and shook her head. This wasn't her home. It couldn't be. Her home had a red door and coloured lights decorated the square glass windows. This one had nothing she recognised at all. There even appeared to be what looked like Laura Ashley curtains at the window. She hated fucking Laura Ashley.

"Look we really need to get you inside. It's freezing cold out here."

Stephanie began to slowly back away shaking her head. "I can't. I have to be somewhere."

She felt the sudden urge to run. She needed to get to John and everything would be okay. He would tell her the truth and stop this insanity. This Paul guy was a whack job.

"Please Stephanie. Come inside." he pleaded.

Shit. He was probably luring her in for the kill. You heard about these things happening on television all the time. It could be some sick revenge for all the shit her father had put him through. She knew Paul had taken a lot of heat for some incident in Madison Square Gardens a couple of years back. Maybe he'd reached his breaking point. The holiday season did a lot of strange things to a lot of weird people. She'd read somewhere that the murder and suicide rates doubled at this time of year.

"The baby might wake up any second. We can't stay out here and leave her."

Stephanie froze at his words as her big blue eyes stared at him wide with fear. A baby?...what baby? God, this was getting worse. She was married and now she was supposed to be a mother! She didn't have a single maternal bone in her body. She wanted a career. She was learning the ropes to take over her father's business. She had no interest in diapers or formula.

Stephanie suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to run. This honestly couldn't be happening to her. This was some sick, fucked up joke. Or a dream. Yes, that was it. This whole thing had to be a dream. All she had to do was wake up then this nightmare would be over with.

"Steph, please. You're starting to scare me here."

Stephanie swallowed back the lump building in her throat. There was something in his voice that moved her deeply.

"You and me both." she whispered.

Stephanie realised Paul's fear was genuine. She could see it in his deep brown eyes. He looked so scared, concerned and confused. His emotions terrified her to death. It made her realise that maybe there was an element of truth to what he had told her. Maybe she was really married to him. No. She couldn't be.

Staring at him like a woman at her own funeral, Stephanie slowly began to back away as her fear began to clutch at her chest. She needed to be somewhere, just anywhere except here.

"Stephanie, where are you going? You have to come inside."

"You don't understand. I don't belong here!" she screamed at him. The snow was cold on her feet as she turned and fled. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest.

"Stephanie! Come back."

Her chest tightened in pain as she began to run from him. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Paul's shouts were fading into the distance. She just kept running, her feet crunching in the snow. Her breath was a thin veil of vapour in the darkness. She felt a wave of relief wash over her when she realised Paul couldn't leave the baby behind. He couldn't come after her. But still, she kept running.

Stephanie didn't know where the hell she was going. She just knew she had to get out of here. She had to try and make some sense of this crazy situation. Because God knows this couldn't be happening to her. This just couldn't be her life.