Uncas dropped his bags on the plush carpeted floor and looked around his hotel room dispassionately. He was back at the same hotel in London where he had stayed nine years ago, where he had waited for Alice in vain. Funny enough, he did not feel the expected anger and hurt; maybe because Alice had reappeared in his life and he was currently with her.

He glanced at his watch and wondered if he should call Alice. He had not told her he had flown to London. She had been swamped with final edits of a book over the past week and he did not want her to worry. He would call her before he went to bed later. His first business meeting was scheduled in the morning the next day, so he had some time to kill. And Uncas knew exactly how he was going to kill his time. After a quick search on his mobile phone, he dialled a number.

Ashleigh stared dazedly into space, his head still spinning despite putting down the phone a good fifteen minutes earlier. Uncas. He finally knew the name of Alice's mystery university lover. He actually existed. After nine years, Ashleigh finally had confirmation that Alice was with a man when she had been alone in New York. And the man was coming to see him now. His phone buzzed and his secretary informed him that his guest had arrived.

Ashleigh's eyes flew to the door of his office as it slowly slid open. A tall, tanned man dressed in dark gray slacks and a black shirt stepped in. Ashleigh stood up and walked around his desk. Holding up his hand, he greeted sincerely, "I'm Ashleigh. How do you do." Uncas shook his hand firmly, "Uncas." The two men appraised each other openly with more curiosity than animosity.

Finally, Ashleigh gestured towards the two overstuffed armchairs beside his desk, "Please, sit." The two men sat and Ashleigh sighed, "Damn it to hell. You truly exist." Uncas' lips curled sardonically, "Sorry to disappoint you." Ashleigh flashed a weak grin, "Au contraire, I'm actually relieved you exist or I would think I was up against a phantom all those years ago."

Uncas studied the man sitting across him. Alice's ex-husband. He was of similar height as Uncas, with chestnut brown hair and green eyes. Though blue blood bled from his every pore, he did not seem arrogant or proud. There was a boyish air to him though he was an extremely successful financier. "What took you so long?" Ashleigh queried solemnly, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "I expected you to barge through my door years ago, demanding to have Alice."

"Pride," Uncas responded with blunt honesty. Ashleigh acknowledged his confession with a brief nod, "Pride does make one do the most stupid things, and make the most irrational decisions." There was a pause before Ashleigh resumed, "Is that why you never sought Alice all these years?"

"Nine years ago, I flew to London to surprise her. She never turned up for our meeting. The next day, your engagement to her was all over the papers. A few months later, your wedding of the century was splashed across every single tabloid," Uncas related calmly. Ashleigh paled, "You were in London then?" At Uncas' nod, Ashleigh groaned, "My father was right. I kept insisting you were in the US, but he was convinced you were in London since Alice was so panicked."

Uncas flinched, "Panicked?" Ashleigh bit his lip hard, "She dashed off after the engagement party that night. She was babbling she had to see a certain 'him' and drove out in the rain. I followed her… and…" Ashleigh broke off, his fists clenching at the horrible memory. "And?" Uncas prodded, noting that the Englishman's complexion had turned almost bloodless. "A truck ran into her. I called the ambulance. She had emergency brain surgery and pulled through. But when she woke up, she remembered nothing. She slowly regained bits and pieces of her memory over time, but she could never recall what happened that night, and whatever happened in the two years before that."

There was a deathly silence. Uncas dug into the sides of the armchair, his knuckles strained. His dark eyes were forbidding, and his entire body was strung tight, vibrating with tension. "I called the family home dozens of times and even staked out the place. But I never once saw her or was able to contact her," Uncas stated, his voice low and rough.

"That was the doing of our sires. They arranged for Alice to stay at the private wing of the hospital for a few months while she recuperated. They did not want the news of the accident to get out, and pulled all sorts of favours to make sure everything was swept under the carpet. Including the fact that Alice and I were going to break off the engagement eventually. Our family firms were in the midst of a merger and well, nothing was more important than the reassurance to our investors," Ashleigh explained detachedly, his expression jaded and bitter.

"You were going to call off the engagement?" Uncas asked, bewilderment laced in his tone. Ashleigh stared at him for a long minute before answering, "Alice was desperately in love with you. She told me before the party there was someone in New York she wanted to spend her life with. We thought the engagement party was a private affair and were going to tell our families we were going to call off the engagement. But our conniving fathers had invited the society reporters to the dinner and we had no choice but to follow the plan for that evening. But we agreed that we would call it off a few weeks later. Then the accident happened."

Uncas remained unnaturally still on the armchair, his gaze troubled and turbulent. He uttered, "Why didn't you…" "I had no idea who you were. Alice didn't share details about you except for the fact that there was a man waiting for her in New York. She told Cora the same thing, too. Cora and I tried to find out more from her friends from university but everyone seemed oblivious that Alice was dating someone. We concluded that the relationship was not serious. And after a few months when she did not recall your existence… I became selfish. I loved her in my own way. I convinced myself you weren't important enough for her to remember, and asked her to marry me. Alice, thinking we had decided to go ahead with the engagement, agreed."

"Then why did the two of you divorce?" Uncas rapped out. "Alice couldn't remember you, but she knew she had forgotten something, someone. It was nagging at her. It has been nagging at her. She suspected she dated someone in New York and did fly there several times in an attempt to find out. Her apartment held no clues – no photos, no foreign belongings. She talked to her friends but everyone confirmed to their knowledge, she had no boyfriend. She gave up after some time. We had an amicable marriage but after a few years, we just grew apart and decided we were better off as friends."

Uncas closed his eyes, absorbing all the information Ashleigh had just shared. He wanted to blame the other man but realised he had no right. Ashleigh was right in one aspect. Uncas could have sought him out anytime in the past nine years, but he had not. He had stubbornly stuck to his belief that Alice had left him for her rich fiancé. He had wanted Alice to seek him out, not the other way around.

"Why don't I give you Alice's number? You can call her and…" "I'm dating Alice again. We met in Hong Kong," Uncas interjected brusquely. Ashleigh gaped at him, "Does she know who you are? I mean she doesn't know who you are but if you told her who you – " "She doesn't remember me. I have told her nothing. But I do plan to tell her everything once I get back to Hong Kong. I needed to find out what happened nine years ago," Uncas grounded out. Ashleigh blinked a few times, speechless at how Fate seem to be having a ball with them all. Then he grinned with resigned bemusement, "And she fell in love with you all over again, didn't she? She can't remember you, but she fell in love with you again anyway."

Alice flopped on the couch in her apartment. She was exhausted. It was past midnight and she had just gotten back from the office. She was finally done with edits for one of the books she had been working months on. While she felt an immense sense of satisfaction, there was an equal amount of relief. Her phone buzzed and she smiled. It was Uncas calling. They had texted over the last couple of days, but Alice had been too busy to have a decent conversation. She had even stayed some nights at the office over the last few weeks.

"Hey, you," Alice greeted affectionately as she massaged her neck with one hand. Alice went on to tell him about work while Uncas listened intently as he always did. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to meet for the last few days. While don't you we have lunch tomorrow? I'll meet you at your office," Alice suggested. A silence ensued before Uncas spoke, his tone cautious, "I'm in London, Alice." Without warning, her heart dropped at his words and her hands started shaking. An incessant buzzing started to resonate in her ears. Her stomach tied into knots and she could feel cold sweat prickling at her hairline. What was wrong with her?

She swallowed with difficulty, "Why are you there?" "I have a few urgent meetings that came up at the last minute. I arrived yesterday morning. Sorry for not telling you but you were so busy that I didn't want to worry you needlessly." He elaborated a little about his upcoming meetings but Alice barely paid attention. "I'm in London, Alice." The sentence kept resounding ominously, as her head started to pound furiously. She felt faint and breathless. Suddenly, fragmented images flashed through her memory. Her memory. Something was jolting those locked memories.

Alice could not endure it any longer. She mumbled into the phone, "I'll call you later. I have to shower. Give me fifteen minutes." Uncas chuckled and for the first time since they had started dating, the velvety warmth of his voice did not fill her with pleasure. "Take your time, sweetheart. I like waiting for you," he answered huskily before hanging up.

Alice's phone slipped from her fingers as a loud roar filled her ears and the fragmented images began to bleed into clear, almost sepia-like images. "I like waiting for you." Her head splintered with almost unbearable pain but she did not pass out. Awareness crept through her whole body… and her mind. Her body was scorching hot and icy cold at once. Uncas.

He tumbling her off the couch in her apartment in New York. They making love. Walking together in the park. Lazing at the beach together. She skipping backwards to wave at him at the airport. Uncas calling her and informing her he was in London to see her. Her engagement party at the hotel. She agreeing to meet Uncas after the party. She driving like a deranged person in the heavy rain…

Uncas. Nine years. Lost. Forgotten.

Her control snapped and she screamed in agony into her cushion even as tears poured down her face. Images kept playing over and over in her head, each of them like a knife through her heart. She screamed over and over again hoarsely, the cushion muffling the noise. She punched theback of her couch but the pain only got worse, crushing her entire being. Her heart was breaking into pieces. Uncas.

Alice stared out of the window of the plane numbly as she touched down in London. She wore dark sunglasses to hide her puffy, red eyes and her hair was pulled into messy bun. She had taken the earliest flight out of London and she had not slept a wink since she regained her memory. She had not told anyone, not even Cora or Ashleigh. She would pay Ashleigh a visit but first, she wanted to see Uncas. Alice felt she was seeing him for the first time in nine years despite seeing him over the last couple of months. She had not recognised him on sight that night at the party. Alice felt like throwing up each time she recalled that fateful meeting. She had not recognised the man she loved with all her heart, mind and soul. He had been lost to her for nine, long years.

She could not imagine how he had felt when she had stared blankly at him without a flicker of recognition. She could not imagine how he had felt when she abruptly disappeared on him that rainy evening nine years ago without a trace. She could not imagine how betrayed and hurt he must had been when he woke up the next morning to find out she was engaged to another man and had married him a few months after. She could not imagine why he would let himself love her again after all these years. She did not know why he had not told her the truth of their past relationship when their paths crossed again in Hong Kong.

Uncas was staying at the same hotel as he had nine years ago. Alice stood in front of the door of his room, staring at it unseeingly. Here she was… nine years late. Her fingers pressed the buzzer. She waited. Those few seconds felt like a thousand years. The door finally flew open and Uncas stood in front of her, with only a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" he blinked, his almond eyes widened in shock. Alice could not speak. She simply nodded and pushed past him into the room. She stood in the middle of the living room and spun around to watch him walk towards her. She was still wearing her sunglasses so he could not see her expression.

Uncas. Alice looked at him in new light. She compared the current man to the man she had left nine years. He was a little heavier and more muscular around the shoulders and biceps but still lean all over, his muscles rippling across his powerfully fit physique. Alice's welled with tears as she took in his face, with faint wrinkles radiating from the corners of his beautiful eyes. His jaw and cheekbones were as sculpted as ever, his lips firm and full. His hair was shorter, barely touching his collarbone compared to his younger self where he had kept it past his shoulders. His eyes had lost its wicked playfulness and instead were filled with empty weariness. She had not noticed that before she regained her memory, but now she did.

The present her now understood why the present Uncas had been so cold towards her initially, and remained emotionally detached and wary even after they had started dating… for the second time. How he managed not to scream in pain, denial and betrayal each she turned to him without a nary of recognition, without an ounce of knowledge of their previous love for each other. Their love for each other. Alice's heart twisted so fiercely inside her that a choked moan escaped her lips and her fists clenched.

Uncas eyed Alice worriedly. Even though he could not see much of her expression with her sunglasses covering half her small face, he sensed her anxiety. She was rattled, very much so. He padded over to where she was standing and gently griped her shoulders, "Is something wrong? Did something happen? Why are you here?"

Alice raised one hand to her sunglasses. Uncas noticed her hand was trembling violently. His worry tripled. She yanked the sunglasses away from her face and tossed it carelessly on the floor. Her eyes were drenched with tears, her complexion pale and worn. Dread filled Uncas and he cupped her cheek urgently, "What the hell happened? Why are you here?"

Alice husked in a reedy voice, "Why am I here? Why am I here?" Uncas flinched at the agony in her eyes and tone with confusion. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

"I should have been here earlier… much earlier, "she hiccupped.

Uncas' felt all the muscles in his body coil instinctively in defence at the awful, biting awareness that was starting to snake viciously through his veins. It couldn't be…

Alice looked at him in the eye and in that moment, Uncas felt ripped apart and destroyed.

"I should have been here nine years ago," Alice whispered brokenly.

Author's note:

Sorry it took me some time to update the story. Have been really busy! Thanks for all the sweet notes of encouragement and as always, I will finish all my stories :) Hope the new chapter was somewhat worth the wait...

XXXOOO