In the shadow of Love

n in tears kneeling as h

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t's not wher

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ter

ended with relentless ambition, one that Madison carter wasn't sure she could keep up with. But here she was, try

hind. Her past wasn't a place she often visited, not if she could help it. There were many shades of black and darkness that stung like open wounds, and as if to punctuate the m

that served as both a bed and a silent witness to sleepless nights, a make

ew message from Rachel, her boss a

ts crucial. And for heaven's sake, wear something

ssing the phone

trophe." She pressed her fingers to her head, longing to skip to the time when she felt gr

assisting with exhibits and managing donors, but it was hers. After years spent behind the domineering p

rabbed the opportunity desperate for something of her o

t else do you need? New York will break you, and when i

apon with each passing s

e nothing withou

define her. She was far from being the little girl who cowered beneath his harsh wor

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the gallery the following day. Her boss, a burst of enthusiasm, had

rd in an hour. Ready to work yo

a smile. "I'l

oncern crossing her sharp features. "You

her about her feelings. Most of her life had been spent perfecting the

she said, her voice carefully e

ained for a while as she breezed off, leaving Madison with

stepped out of the gallery. The sun dipping below the skyline, washing the city in it's hue. She pulled

he thought of cooking in her tiny apartment was exhausting. Across the road stood a little

ess as she slid into the booth by the window. The diner felt like a refuge, th

a conversation from the booth behind her, the vo

d at cooking, I almost burn

uckled. Definitely the kind of

on curled up in the couch, a blanket draped loosely over her shoulders. Her eyes drifted on the blank wall, where she i

on the table, sha

d her reluctance, and she reached out for it. The

to talk.

the area code made her eyes fre

fear, her thou

ould i

second, she considered erasing what she felt, but she couldn'