[3] MARANELLO || C. LECLERC

EIGHT

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CAMILLE

After exiting the slopes after a busy day, I felt relieved to have the evening with Charles in our cosy little cottage. I was yet to tell him about Felix, and I knew that doing it tonight was the right thing to do. He told me to relax in our bedroom and make myself comfortable whilst he ran me a warm bath. I thought about asking him to sit in the bathroom with me to allow me to explain properly because I could not relax in the slightest as his reaction was playing on my mind. I knew he would be jealous because that's who Charles was, and I also knew that it wouldn't be half as bad as I was making it out to be in my head. I just needed to grow up and tell him that I was working with someone new.

I cleared my throat as I climbed off of the large and spacious bed, tiptoeing across the lusciously soft carpet and towards the bathroom. I could hear Charles humming to himself through the door which he'd left slightly ajar. I giggled, before pushing it open to find my beautiful fiancé standing there, in a pair of black jogging bottoms from his own range. His chest seemed to be a deeper shade of golden tan beneath this light, and I thought he looked absolutely beautiful. I stepped closer towards him and he smiled at me, placing his arms around my waist and pulling me into his chest.

"Bonjour, mon amour," the smile on his face grew wider as he watched my reaction to hearing him speak in his mother tongue. I loved it when Charles spoke in French to me. "Your bath is almost ready. Baby, what's wrong?"

He watched as the smile fell from my lips, a sigh tumbling out of my mouth as I scratched my head. I really was making a mountain out of a mole hill in my own mind, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to ruin our trip.

"Charles, baby, I need to talk to you." I closed my eyes and exhaled, trying to calm myself down. Charles looked at me with fear on his face, turning the tap off and walking towards me, placing his hands against my upper arms. He chewed on his lip and I could see the fear in his eyes. It wasn't even a big deal.

"What is it, mon amour?" Charles pursed his lips together, as I sighed, shaking my head for a second because I didn't really know how to tell him that I was working with a new man, and I'd already taken pictures with him whilst in my underwear. Even I didn't feel totally comfortable with it, but that was only because Charles would react in a way which showcased his jealous side. "Camille

I sighed, "there's a new guy at work, he's called Felix, from England, and we're working together more in the new year, but yesterday, we did a shoot together. It was mostly an underwear shoot; it was good, he seems nice and we worked well together."

I lifted my eyes towards his, watching as fires began to burn against his sweet hues. I chewed on my lip because I wasn't really expecting a calm reaction. Charles' hands dropped from my upper arms and he stepped backwards. The look on his face told me that he didn't really know what he was supposed to say, and I didn't blame him for that, because when Sara told me about Felix, I was speechless too.

"You did an underwear shoot with a man you'd only just met?" Charles' voice was shaking and he didn't sound too impressed. Internally, I was cursing myself for not calling him as soon as I found out that I was shooting with some man I'd only just met. I didn't think I would be so comfortable with showing my body to somebody else; a camera was fine, I was used to that, but having a new man so close to me, his fingers gliding over my skin as he cherished my body made me feel uneasy. "Why didn't you call me?"