Charlotte, a failed artist, finds herself stuck between the man she loves and her fiance who loves the power and control he has over her.
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Charlotte knew she had met the love of her life, Chase Sinclair, when she was only 20. Their relationship...
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Chapter 1
The sun was warm on her face as she sat outside a café just outside of the city. People were walking as they continued with their busy day, as she sat there with a hot cup of coffee and her book. A pair of large dark aviators covered her eyes as she crossed her legs, glad to be back in the warm, sunny weather. After years in England's cold and gloomy weather, she was happy to be back home in the warm sunny spring of Australia.
Charlotte placed her book down for a moment as she gently blew across the top of her coffee before taking a long sip, sighing at the taste of good coffee. She had only been back three months, and after many attempts trying to find the right café with good coffee, she finally found it. Located just outside of Bellevue Hill, where she now lived, she found this little gem. It was secluded enough for privacy while still out in the open that she could people watch if she felt like it.
Placing the china mug back down on the matching saucer, she ran her hands through her blonde hair that sat stylishly at her shoulders with natural highlights throughout. She glanced around the café and found businessmen tapping away at keyboards and a young couple having a late breakfast. The area screamed money, so it did not surprise her when she paid $8 for a cup of coffee. She looked down at her book with a sad smile and lovingly ran her fingers across the cover. It wasn't her usual type of reading, but she had been following the fantasy series for the last four years. So, when the previous book was finally released a few days ago, she knew she had to buy it, wanting to see how the series would end.
She closed her eyes as her fingers lingered on the cover for a few more seconds before she picked up her book again and read. She flicked through a few more pages as her eyes devoured every word on the page. She found herself drawn into the book that she had forgotten about the coffee sitting on her table, which was most likely cold. She flicked up the end of the next page and held it between two fingers as her eyes tracked every word. She was about to turn the page over when she heard someone call out a name she hadn't been called in a while.
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It had been an extremely busy morning for Chase. He was hoping to sleep in after the endless nights he had spent these last few months finishing his novel. However, the 5 am alarm clock, which was his Girlfriend, made herself known as she stumbled into the room just coming in from a night out. Chase tried to close his eyes and ignore her stumbling around, but after some time, he sighed, sat up in his bed, and rubbed his hands over his face.
"Any chance you could be a little quieter." His voice, husky from sleep, stopped his girlfriend, and the brunette turned around and nearly fell over.
"I just got in; okay, relax, go back to sleep." He watched as she struggled to unzip her dress and closed his eyes, knowing it was too early to deal with her shit on a Monday morning.
"That's hard to do with you clomping around all over the place. Where were you on a Sunday night?" He knew where she had most likely been, but he still asked.
