Mon Amour | 𝑪.𝑳

Part 61

Returning home and settling down, Lyla was more than content being held in her boyfriends arms.

Boyfriend.

She got so giddy to finally say the word.

They were content just laying in silence on their bed, balcony doors open circulating fresh air into the room. Lyla was scrolling through Tik Tok on her phone, fully aware of her boyfriend watching the screen from his position.

The minutes travelled by and she knew that he'd fallen asleep because the arm that had been tightly wrapped around her waist was now loose and she could feel his breaths on the back of her neck. Lyla gently manoeuvred her position on the mattress without waking up the sleeping Charles and even in his sleeping state, Charles moved himself to cuddle into her side the minute his mind had realised he was no longer holding her.

Waking up in the morning was always peaceful. This time, it was Charles who awoke first and was greeted with his girlfriend laying in his arms. Without waking her, he managed to grab his phone from the bedside table and roll back onto his side to re-enclose Lyla in his arms, but instead of turning his attention to the small glowing screen, he took the moment to admire her.

Over recent weeks, Lyla's mind had began healing from her past trauma. It was noticeable in not only her mental state but also her physical state.

Her hair had gotten blonder and brighter, her entire body seemed fuller and her skin was glowing, there was a glint back in her eyes that had disappeared when she was 12 and had been told of her mothers disappearance. Because she had been spending so much time in Monaco and talking French, the hint of Italian in her accent had disappeared and she was now holding that thick French accent she'd had as a young child. Her smile seemed different to what it had been before and her overall stature presented as more positive than it had done previously.

Charles was so entranced by the woman in his arms that he didn't notice her wake.

"Good morning." Lyla says softly, voice laced with sleep.

"Morning, amour." Charles blinks himself from his trance, smiling down at her.

"Have you been awake long?" Lyla questions, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Not long at all." Charles replies.

He falls down onto his back as Lyla pushes herself up onto her elbow. Her eyes scanned his face before her finger dragged across the side of his face feeling the forming stubble along his jawline and chin. Charles couldn't help but laugh because it tickled slightly and he curled away from her trying to escape her hands, Lyla just laughed at how adorable he looked.

"I need to shave." He says to her, turning back to face her.

"No." Lyla pouts, pushing his hand away from his face.

"No?" He smiles at her pouting. "Okay, I won't then."

"Don't do a Seb and start growing a full on beard though." Lyla's nose wrinkles.

"Not planning on it." Charles grins, pushing himself up from the bed.

He plants a kiss on her lips as he moves from the bed, leaving her tangled up in the duvet and looking after him.

"Going for a run?" She asks, knowing his training schedule by heart now.

"Want to join?" He questions, laughing as her nose wrinkles again.

"Definitely not." She replies.

Charles laughs at her response, pulling a t-shirt over his head much to the disappointment of Lyla who rather liked shirtless Charles. After grabbing his shoes from the floor, he approaches her again and plants a kiss on her lips once more.