LOGINMy fingers were wrapped snuggly around the paper takeaway cup, the warmth of the coffee inside keeping me from crashing out. It felt like every minute was a struggle, I just had to push myself through it. My head and my heart were at war. My head was telling me to stay strong, to fight off the feelings I have, knowing it will get better but my heart is aching, convincing me that only he can take this pain away. Then I remind myself that he cheated on me with the dragon. There's no coming back from that. “Thank you for the coffee,” I say to Benji, after finally taking my first sip. The warm liquid does little to cure my heartache but it may help wake me up a bit so that I can process. “I knew you'd need something strong after the night you had,” he replies, watching me from across the table like I'm fragile, threatening to break apart again. His small act of kindness is the one small light of joy in my shitty day. I just hate that he had to see Charlie and me at our worst. “I’m s
Charlie It was as if a punch to the gut had winded me. She wishes she'd never met me? I knew that keeping the secret about sleeping with Francesca was bad but to completely write us off over it? “What the fuck, Nortica? You seriously want to erase our relationship because I slept with someone two years before I even met you?” Surely she can see how irrational she's being. The guilt I had been wrestling with is slowly morphing into anger. I thought we were strong, that we’d get through this but now I know she just wants to not only end us but wipe our entire relationship. “You really expect me to believe you did fuck her again the day she came to the office?” She lets the accusation fly and becomes clearer about why she's so hung up on this. “I hate Francesca, why would I have slept with her during our meeting?” I point out. The thought alone makes me want to vomit. “Don’t lie to me Charlie, I know you fucked her to save your company,” she says, so calmly. I think I preferred
The water in the shower had gone cold, but I was too numb to get up off the floor and shut it off. Instead, I sat on the tiled floor, empty inside. I don't remember hearing Tess barge through the bathroom door, or the water getting turned off. I don't even recall her wrapping a towel around me and helping me walk from the bathroom to my bedroom. I know that she dressed me and lay in my bed, holding me as I sobbed uncontrollably. Time passed by but everything stood still. I kept going over our entire relationship in my head, taking it right back to where it had begun. I’m a smart woman yet I ignored all the red flags he boldly waved in my face. “I'm not boyfriend material,” that's what he had stated early on and I just didn't listen. The only time he had been honest and I ploughed right past it, thinking I could be the one. I believed I was special, the one woman who he wanted to commit to but now I know, it was all a lie. My exhaustion must have won out just before dawn but I wa
Acid, milky liquid burned my throat as it expelled from my mouth into the gutter out the front of Shenanigans. I was aware that Charlie was holding my hair and rubbing his hand over my back. I wanted to scream at him to get the fuck away from me, but every time I tried, my words came out as vomit. “Let it out baby, let it all out,” he consoles me, his voice smooth and comforting but it feels like a razor-sharp knife, slashing at my heart. I had drunk a fair bit tonight but my intoxication didn’t cause my vomit. My lying, cheating, piece of shit boyfriend literally makes me sick. “Get away from me,” I finally managed to scream, once the waterfall stopped flowing. My face is soaked with tears and my hands feel clammy. I turn and look at him, wanting him to see what his deception has done to me. “Let's just go to my office and we can talk about this,” he suggests but I shake my head. He thinks he can charm his way out of the hole he dug himself into but not this time. I look past h
CharlieI spent all day just obsessing over her going out tonight. I trust her, wholeheartedly but I know what men are like. The fact that she has a boyfriend wouldn't stop some drunk guy from hitting on her, and it would make her seem like a challenge to those competitive dicks. I had to be there but I didn't want her to know that I was watching her. I snuck in the back just after midnight, wearing all black to not draw attention to myself. I stood next to a fire exit and watched the drunken patrons fawn all over each other like it was a conquest to get laid. I used to be them, seeking out someone to end the night with. Looking at them now made me realise I had something missing in my life, her. I weave through the crowds and lift the hatch to the bar. It's the best spot to get a direct view of the dance floor and if she catches me in here I can just say I was doing a stock order.Not that I do stock orders, I have a manager who handles the running of the club but it's the only e
CharlieMy employees may have been accepting of my relationship, but I spent the week taking no-so-subtle insults from my father. All aimed at getting inside my head and convincing me that Nortica was just with me for my money. Gwen was right though, Richard was bitter about losing everything and needed to drag me down as well. I just had to rise above it and wait for the right time to fire his arse. The more he tried to turn me against Nortica, the more I wanted to be around her. Every time he threatened my control, my Goddess would restore it. I wanted to thank her for giving me what I needed and show her that I appreciate her. “I’m taking you out for dinner at Piazza tonight,” I announced to her over breakfast. “I’ll book the penthouse at the Rochester too, make it special.” “I can't tonight, I've got plans with Tess and Bailey,” she says, putting a roadblock in my own plan but I don't want to be that boyfriend who stops her from hanging out with her friends. “That’s cool bab
I'd only ever signed a handful of contracts in my life, the majority of which were for a loan of some sort and there was the one for the house that Tess and I rent. I'd never actually read the terms and conditions of those contracts either; I just signed them, knowing I desperately needed the money
Charlie’s mansion is huge, with an open floor plan downstairs and four spacious bedrooms upstairs, each one with an en-suite and every room styled to reflect Charlie’s love of the beach. There's a spectacular kitchen that overlooks the ocean below, a dining area with more seats than I have family
“Good morning Nortica,” Charlie greeted me at the elevator on Monday morning, keeping his tone professional in front of Cassandra. “Good morning, Charlie,” I reply, matching his professionalism. I swipe my sign-in pass and press the up button to call the elevator. “How was your weekend?”“It was s
CharlieI may have had sex with an unbelievably large number of women but I'd never actually slept next to one. I make a point of getting out once the deed is done and I've made it a solid rule with any woman that I regularly fuck, that there's no sleeping over. Most women I've been with understan







