What Becomes of the Broken Hearted: The most heartwarming and feelgood novel you'll read this year
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WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED
Lisa Hobman
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About this Book
About the Author
Table of Contents
www.ariafiction.com
About What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Poignant and uplifting, this is a story to remind hopeless romantics that you never know when true love might strike…
Cassie Montgomery can remember a time where her life seemed pretty perfect. By day she was setting up her own little business in her sleek penthouse apartment, and by night sleeping on gazillion-count Egyptian cotton sheets next to her fiancée, once reputed to be Glasgow’s most eligible bachelor.
And yet one ordinary, fateful day, Cassie uncovers a secret that shatters her heart into tiny pieces, and changes her life forever…
Escaping to a rural and idyllic coastal village, Cassie finds a cottage that, from the moment she steps through the rose-surrounded door, feels instantly like home. And then there’s Mac, the cool surf teacher, who makes her question what really makes her happy – and makes her wonder if maybe, she might already have found the answer…
Contents
Welcome Page
About What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Acknowledgements
About Lisa Hobman
Also by Lisa Hobman
Become an Aria Addict
Copyright
For Grace. You continue to surprise me and I couldn’t be prouder.
Chapter One
Cassie
Cassie’s life was perfect.
She wasn’t one to brag aloud to others but inwardly she knew, without a doubt, that it was true. In fact, it had become a regular occurrence for her to lie in her pristine bed with its gazillion thread count, Egyptian cotton sheets, in the stunning Glasgow West End apartment and just grin like an idiot.
She had good reason though. The man sleeping to her left was none other than Seth Guthrie, the sexiest, loveliest, most handsome man she had ever met. And he loved her: boring, geeky, bookish Cassandra Montgomery. He was the clean-cut businessman who could’ve had any woman he wanted, whilst she was the Big Bang Theory watching, Marvel Movie loving, grunge music obsessed woman who was ten years his junior. They say opposites attract, but Cassie still couldn’t quite believe her luck. She knew she wasn’t hideous by any stretch, but she also knew she didn’t really fit into the mould you would expect the wealthy tycoon to select his partners from; although rather like Eliza Dolittle in ‘My Fair Lady’ she had been gradually transformed from the ripped jeans, lumberjack shirt and Doc Martens wearing young woman to a designer dress wearing sophisticate. And now, here they were, snuggled up on a Sunday morning just as they had been for the last four years.
Seth owned the apartment when they met and whilst the exterior of the Victorian building, with its sandstone frontage and bay windows, was the epitome of Cassie’s dream house, the interior was quite different. Seth’s taste was what you could call minimalist. Plain white walls with white and grey furnishings—all extremely modern—and very little artwork to speak of, apart from some monochrome canvases with obscure titles that Seth had picked up from a gallery in Chicago. Cassie was desperate to bring a little colour and character-filled charm back to the place that had once been filled with period splendour and she had made no bones about telling him so. His reaction had been something along the lines of, ‘Anything for you darling.’ But it was clearly to appease her. She figured it would all happen in good time. She had grand plans for the place and she knew how much he adored her. He wouldn’t deny her her wish, she was sure. She would be marrying him soon and then she would probably feel better equipped to stake her claim on the place and make her mark.
She had her best friend Davina to thank for her introduction to the love of her life. Vina and Cassie had met on their first day at university when they walked into the same lecture theatre together.
*
School had never really been a joy for Cassie. The learning wasn’t the issue. The other kids were. She had always been a little different to her classmates and so had few memories of true school friendships. Where the majority of her peers had both parents, she had lost her mother at a young age. And where everyone else tended to be financially comfortable, Cassie’s dad had to strive extra hard for the luxuries in life, resulting in charity shop purchases that instigated mocking and derisive stares.
Confidence wasn’t something she’d ever had in abundance and for the most part she tried to blend into the background—becoming part of the fixtures and fittings rather going out of her way to be noticed.
Flashbacks of the trauma she’d experienced at the beginning of a new school year taunted Cassie as she walked into her lecture on the first day at university. She was very much aware that she looked like a deer in headlights as she allowed her wide eyes to scan the student filled auditorium searching for someone to sit beside who didn’t look quite so intimidating as the rest.
A pretty dark-haired girl made a beeline for her and grabbed her hand. ‘Hi, I’m Davina, although you can call me Vina as I’m pretty sure we’re going to be best friends. Come on. There are two seats free over there.’ The insistent stranger tugged at Cassie’s hand and she followed willingly.
Once they were seated Vina looked at her expectantly.
Realising she hadn’t introduced herself yet, Cassie blushed as she did so. ‘Oh, sorry, I’m Cassandra Montgomery. But most people call me Cassie.’
Vina held out her hand. ‘Fabulous to meet you, Cassie.’ They shook hands like they had just agreed on a serious business deal, not a new friendship.
Vina began to chat to Cassie as if they had known each other for ages and Cassie’s nerves began to dissipate.
‘You have the most gorgeous hair, Cassie. I wish mine was blonde.’ The pretty young woman sighed. ‘Black hair is so… dull.’
Cassie smoothed down her hair, surprised at the comment seeing as she had liter
ally dragged a brush through it before class. And add to that the surprisingly pleasant yet unfamiliar feeling brought about by the compliment. ‘Oh… Thank you. But your hair is beautiful. So shiny.’ Her words carried the conviction she felt and she was shocked that this perfect specimen of womanhood would want to change anything about herself.
Vina shrugged. ‘Hmm. I guess we all want what we can’t have, eh?’ She followed this with a giggle. ‘Good grief, maybe I should be in a Psych class instead of Business and Finance.’ She rolled her eyes.
Cassie scrunched her brow as her stomach twinged. Poor Vina had clearly walked in to the wrong class. Business and Finance was in a whole other block. This was, in fact, Comparative Literature. She was about to point out Vina’s mistake when she glanced towards the white board at the front of the room. To her absolute horror the words ‘Business and Finance – Lecture 1’ were emblazoned in black against the shiny, stark white.
Her heart leapt. Before she could stand and dash out of the auditorium a tall, slender, bespectacled man wearing a blue shirt and khaki trousers walked in, dropped his briefcase and began firing jargonistic questions at the gathered students. Hands began to fly up in eagerness all around her and Vina was frantically typing on her top of the range laptop.
Cassie leaned towards her new friend. ‘Vina,’ she whispered in a strangled panic.
The raven-haired girl’s eyes stayed focused on her screen. ‘Hmm?’
‘I shouldn’t be here.’
Vina turned to face Cassie and patted her arm. ‘Oh, don’t say that, honey. We’re all in the same boat. This is all a bit intense but I’m sure it’ll get easier. Don’t forget it’s only day one. Just give it time.’
Feeling her cheeks heat to the point of near spontaneous human combustion, Cassie leaned closer still. ‘No, I mean I’m in the wrong bloody lecture. I thought this was a literature class.’
Vina’s green eyes widened and she stared, open-mouthed for a moment. ‘You’re not kidding, are you?’
Cassie cringed and shook her head, no.
‘But how... I mean… oh god, Cassie you nutcase.’ Vina proceeded to fail at hiding her amusement at Cassie’s ridiculous predicament. ‘Okay, we need to get you out of here with your dignity intact.’
Cassie glanced around and was greeted with scowls from the other students who were clearly unimpressed with the two new friends’ lack of concentration.
‘Is there a problem, ladies?’ The harsh voice of the tutor broke them from their whisperings.
‘Erm…yes, sir. I mean…Cassie has had an urgent email to say she needs to attend the front office immediately to sign some paperwork,’ Vina informed the man who now stood, hands on hips and with a line of irritation creasing his forehead.
‘Well then you’d better go so I can get back to teaching, hadn’t you?’ he snapped as he glared at Cassie.
She nodded and gathered her belongings as quickly as possible, the all too familiar feeling of all eyes on her made her skin prickle as she did so. The heat in her cheeks indicated that her face was probably now the colour of a London bus and she kept her head down as she turned to walk towards the steps.
Vina grabbed her arm and whispered, ‘Coffee at one in the quad?’
Cassie grinned. ‘See you there.’
It was the start of a very firm friendship, which involved many girls’ nights, lots of laughs and visits to each other’s homes during the holidays. And this was all before Seth entered onto the scene…
*
Cassie rolled to gaze at her man as he slept; the immaculate white pillowcase formed a halo around his messed-up hair and she smiled. Seth was rarely dishevelled but it somehow suited him and she was a little saddened that he didn’t often remain unshaved. The five o’clock shadow that currently graced his angular jaw increased his sexiness by several notches. He looked nothing like his usual self, she mused. And nothing at all like the smart, suited man she had met all those years ago.
Reminiscing about how they met was another favourite pastime of hers and even though Seth poked fun at her for being an eternal romantic it didn’t stop her...
The Guthries were such a lovely family—very wealthy yet still down to earth for the most part. Their huge Georgian mansion house in the most exclusive, rural area on the outskirts of Glasgow, with its line of expensive cars and household staff told of a very different life to Cassie’s. She’d been brought up by her father in the little Cumbrian village of Dent where the two of them lived in a small but pretty cottage with their little dog, Bilbo.
Vina Guthrie’s family had sent her off to university with the best of everything, whereas Cassie’s dad had scrimped and saved following the death of his wife to ensure there were funds available to further his daughter’s education. He had always put Cassie first. Losing her mother at a young age had left her with an emptiness and need for security that her father had clearly sensed. He rarely left her side when she was small and often told her stories of a princess whose mother had met the same fate. But in the story the princess eventually met her Prince Charming and the couple lived happily ever after. By the time Cassie had started her university course she hadn’t met a single person who matched up to the perfect man her dad insisted was the only one deserving of his darling girl. He talked of security, not only financially but emotionally. All the boys she’d known were ridiculously immature and lacking in any ambition. She was beginning to give up hope of ever meeting someone who could withstand the pedestal her father had created in her mind’s eye with his ideals for her future. It was their final year of university and Vina had informed Cassie that her elusive big brother was coming to the city on his way home from a business meeting in Asia and that he was taking her out for dinner. Cassie was delighted for her friend seeing as Seth didn’t seem to get much time to socialise. He had never been present when she had accompanied Vina home for the holidays so he was the only member of the Guthrie clan that she hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting. Her knowledge of the businessman was limited to the stories Vina had told her and the photos of him dotted around the Guthrie residence. What she did know back then was that he was very handsome in a dreamy music and wind machines kind of way. It sounded like he had a wicked sense of humour and could prank with the best of them in his youth but that he had always been Vina’s protector and Cassie greatly admired that quality in him.
Cassie sat on Vina’s bed as her best friend rummaged through her wardrobe to find a suitable outfit for the occasion. Cassie wasn’t paying too much attention and was, instead, miming along to a Pearl Jam track blurting from the MP3 player in her room.
‘Did I mention you’re invited to dinner too, Cass?’ Vina asked as she selected and discarded various items of her extensive collection of designer clothes.
Horrified, Cassie sat bolt upright from her lounging position on Vina’s bed. ‘What? No! I can’t go!’ She glanced down at her jogging bottoms and scratty old Spiderman t-shirt.
Vina grinned. ‘Well not dressed like that you can’t. Here try this on.’ She threw a pretty navy-blue dress at Cassie. ‘I think it’ll suit you much more than me. That colour just drains my complexion.’ She sighed.
Cassie shook her head. ‘But you’ll want to catch up with Seth alone and I’ll just be in the way.’
Vina turned to face her and placed both hands on her hips. Fixing her with a determined stare she stated, ‘You’re my best friend. You’re coming. End of. Get dressed.’
Cassie and Vina arrived at Bella Italia in the centre of Glasgow at seven thirty and were led towards their table by the maître d’. As they approached they were greeted by a familiar, handsome, beaming face.
‘Davina!’ He scooped her up and swung her around, regardless of the cramped space between the tables.
Vina squealed, paying no mind to their surroundings. ‘Noodle-head!’
The dark-haired man placed Vina down once more and turned his attention to Cassie. ‘And I’m guessing you’re the best friend I’ve heard so much about? Cass
andra, right?’ he asked in his lilting, Scottish accent that had been somewhat softened by so much travelling.
Cassie felt the telltale signs of embarrassment glowing in her face as she nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right.’
He held out his hand. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Cassandra.’ His gaze locked on hers and she was momentarily transfixed by his verdant eyes as his deep, sensual voice reverberated through to her core. She was taken aback by how much he resembled Gerard Butler in real life, and was momentarily swept away into a fantasy featuring the two of them locked in an embrace as he saved her from some peril.
Oh my word, that voice. That accent. And he’s incredibly good-looking. The sexiest man I’ve ever met. So very sexy. Hmm, sexy Seth.
Realising she was staring she slipped her hand into his where it was swallowed up and she smiled nervously. ‘Lovely to m-meet you too Sex… eth… erm… Seth.’ Her eyes widened and she cringed, shaking her head in bewilderment and embarrassment as her steamy thoughts slipped out as words.
Vina burst into hysterical giggles. ‘Sexeth? Well, it’s the first time I’ve heard you called that, Noodle-head. And we know I’ve heard you referred to by all manner of delightful names.’ She nudged Cassie who was now standing with her eyes scrunched tight and praying for the marble, mosaic tiled floor to open up and swallow her.
When she opened her eyes again, Seth was smiling and there was a distinct twinkle of humour in his eyes. ‘Oh yes, she’s right. I’ve been called much, much worse.’
Cassie swallowed hard, fighting the tears of utter mortification at her ridiculous slip-up. ‘Well, I can’t think why that would be,’ she said forcing a smile. ‘And please call me Cassie.’
‘How kind you are, Cassie. Oh, and there is a story behind Vina’s nickname for me, in case you’re wondering.’ He gave her hand a slight squeeze, which caused her heart to skip and further fuelled the inferno raging beneath her skin.
‘Shall we?’ Seth gestured to the table and the two friends followed closely behind.