Signed & Sealed

N I N E - A New Day

Happy reading, Sade xx

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CHARLOTTE laid in bed staring at the ceiling slowly watching her room become illuminated by the rising sun. She had not slept a wink that night.

Relaying all that she said to Nicolas just a few short hours ago would go down as probably one of the bravest things that she's ever done. It might seem silly to think that telling a stranger a story about your past could be classified as something 'brave' but to her, it was a huge deal.

She was a very guarded person and trusting others was a challenge. She felt like she always had to be 'okay', or at least appear to be because she never wanted anybody to worry about her. To her it was one of her biggest flaws and top of the list to why it was extremely difficult for her to develop relationships, the ones which she's been a part of in the past did not do too much to aid the situation either. Giving him a glimpse of the person who she was and letting him see her vulnerable side came with such ease and that in itself rocked her to the core.

You're not supped to be this comfortable around someone who you barely know!

Charlotte tried her best to keep up with the flawless persona she worked so hard to create but it was hard. It was difficult to build yourself back up after being thrown down to what felt like the depths of the Earth and having your heart torn into shreds. She has used the façade of a confident aura to mask the fact that she was incredibly fearful, that mask seemed to be on for so long that it has become difficult to distinguish her true personality from the one she created.

Last night she was on the verge of letting Nicolas into her broken side but decided to hold off, as that was a tale that would be left untold.

Moping about things was not going to do her any good so she decided to pull herself together. She knew that Nicolas had already left for work so at least she didn't have to worry about running into him because she needed a few hours before she could manage to look him in the eye again.

She also knew that the housekeeper, Lisa, would be busy doing laundry at this time. So she picked up her phone, opened up a playlist filled with her favourites and decided to be a little carefree this morning, she was sure the office could operate without her for a few hours.

NICOLAS sat at his desk and raked a hand through his hair in frustration.

Damn it he should've hugged her!

He should have done something, anything, really instead of just sitting there in haunting silence after Charlotte all but bared her heart to him.

What she had revealed to him came as a shock.

He didn't know her well enough but from what he surmised from her first impressions was that she was a woman as confident and independent as they come. If he was a betting man he would have bet a heavy sum that she had been that way all of her life. Never had he ever thought that she would go through what she did. While it may not seem like a big issue to some, in his eyes she was one of the bravest people to cross his path in a long time.

Leaving the comfort of your family and entire lifestyle was not a walk in the park and Nicolas knew that if he ever had to take that path, it would have to be a monumental push to get him to leave his family.

The image of her replayed in his mind. A beautiful woman sitting on his sofa; her soft hair flowing down her back and her deep red gown touching the floor. From an outside perspective, she looked like the poster girl of vivaciousness. But one glance into her eyes; those deep pools of chocolate that relayed so much emotion and the trails of escaped tears glistening down her cheeks.

"Okay," a voice sounded and brought him back into reality, "I have been standing here for probably a whole 5 minutes watching you completely stare into space," Sebastian said as he made his way over to sit in front of his desk.

"What's up? And before you tell me that it's nothing I have never seen you so out of it while at work."

Nicolas huffed; clearly, there was no way around convincing Sebastian that he was alright, he was his oldest friend and could read his expression instantly. The whole situation with Charlotte put him in an awkward predicament. What she told him was obviously a private matter that she held close to her as there were moments she could barely speak due to her being so chocked up.

"You see," he began, "I was told some information last night that, shall I say, shifts my first impression of a certain person. What that exact information is, I do not think that I am at any liberty to disclose but my perceptions are being shifted." He tried to explain his situation as best as he could, trying to not come out with any of the specifics.

Sebastian grinned, leaned back into the chair and interlocked his fingers.

"So what I'm getting from this tactful response is that you somehow got to the bottom of the whole Charlotte situation which occurred last night. She probably let you in on a private matter, now there's some unspoken agreement between the 2 of you?" He mused.

Why did he even bother? Bash could read him like a book. So obviously he was able to somehow use the minute amount of information and link the happenings of the previous night to how he was acting today.  Most times Nicolas thought that Sebastian's ability to read him was an asset to their friendship but now he was just beginning to work on his nerves.

LOOKING up from his newspaper Enzo could see that his wife had quite a few things on her mind and he was certain that he knew exactly what some of those thoughts might be.

"Gioia mia," he called, "I'm sure the girl who was with Nicolas was just a friend... of sorts." He trailed.

Isabelle's attention shifted toward her husband sitting at the head of the table, smiling like she always did as he called her by the same term which he had since the day their eyes met.

"Hmm, I don't know. What do you think about her?"

Now this was odd, he raised his brows slightly in confusion and put down the paper so he could look at her full on. She was asking his opinion and this was new to him. His wife, of however many years they've been married, he couldn't remember at this time but he knew that it was long enough to know that her behaviour that morning was peculiar.

She would always fully express exactly how she felt before asking him for his scope on any situation, so this was truly unusual to him.

"Well, she is surely not his usual type. This one wasn't as tall, seemed more normal than the others, more grounded shall I say. Her being Martin's daughter was truly unexpected because I honestly don't remember seeing her around. Ever."

"Definitely resembles her father more than her mother, so that makes sense," Isabelle thought out loud.

"She seemed like a nice girl maybe one he should pay a little more attention too," Enzo said as he adjusted his hold on his paper and continued to read about the new developments in the business world.

A small smile ghosted Isabelle's lips as she heard her husband say that because she couldn't help but agree...

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Oooohhh there she goes, writing when shes supposed to be starting on her assignments.

Do you feel like there's something brewing......?