A/N: Chapter 2 is edited and reworked! I created this story because I'm tired of seeing the typical '50 Shades' type of men, and how their bad behavior gets excused. So, I decided to write about a character who grows and develops into someone with a backbone, someone who learns her worth. Enjoy!
Cast:
OC - Diana Ellwood Rutherford
Dr. Isaac Skovgaard - Mads MikkelsenTWO
The Road to Recovery
Much to Diana's relief, she was glad she had followed Allegra and Olivia's advice regarding withdrawing her money from the joint bank account she shared with Jesse. He wouldn't be able to freeze it to control her now. Plus, the vast majority of the money in the account was hers—an inheritance from her late grandparents. All two hundred and fifty million of it. He had convinced her a long time ago to make it a joint account.
She sighed in relief as she looked at her mobile banking app. The money she had transferred to her personal account was all there. Untouched. Down to the last penny.
Sitting on the kitchen counter stool, she stared out the window as the rain fell outside. Dr. Skovgaard had been kind to her throughout her stay in their family home. His daughters, no longer wanting her to leave, had seen how much of a positive influence their father was on their best friend. They visited with their families on the weekends, and Diana had noticed an improvement in her spirits. But there were still dark days. Plenty of them. Recovery doesn't take a day, a week, or a month—especially not when someone is as broken as she was. But she believed that one day, she'd be able to stand on her own two feet again.
Placing the baking pan filled with pancetta and eggs inside the oven, she moved to the stove to make some hot cocoa for herself and Dr. Skovgaard. It was the least she could do to repay his kindness.
For the past few weeks, he had been the one cooking their meals and monitoring her health. Sometimes, he would offer wise counsel, like a father she never had. Diana still felt weak. The blood she had lost during her miscarriage had been a lot, and her anemia wasn't helping.
Dr. Skovgaard was a man of few words. He was more of a doer than a talker, and Diana had grown to admire this about him. She often observed him, noticing how composed and methodical he was. She couldn't help but feel envious of Allegra and Olivia. They had a great father—something she had never known.
Her own parents had divorced when she was young, and her mother had given custody to her father. He convinced the court that he was the more capable parent. Now, Diana's father barely cared about her, sending her off to a prominent boarding school that also functioned as a day school for girls. It was there that she met Allegra, Olivia, and the young Dr. Skovgaard.
"You cook?" Dr. Skovgaard said, surprised, upon finding Diana in the kitchen on a Friday morning.
"Uhh, yes... sir... I do," she replied, realizing that Dr. Skovgaard probably didn't think she had any culinary skills. She couldn't blame him, though—it was the first time he had seen her cook.
Isaac Skovgaard was a gourmet, according to his daughters. He even did food critiques for a famous food magazine. Diana had witnessed this firsthand with the dishes he had prepared for their meals.
What Isaac didn't know was that Diana was a gourmet herself.
Isaac smiled as Diana handed him the hot cocoa she had just made.
"So what's for breakfast?" he asked, his voice now a little more encouraging.
"Pancetta baked eggs..." she said. His eyes widened in surprise.

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A True Gentleman [CURRENTLY EDITING]
General FictionDespite being engaged to a devilishly handsome billionaire, Diana was getting tired of her tumultuous relationship with her fiance, Jesse Pearson Smith. She was tired of his crazy, dominating, and controlling antics, drama after drama.She was tired...