Lock Up ⏐Charles Leclerc

Chapter 3

I've been updating every day lol let's see how long this lasts haha

Enjoy!

*****

I grew up in the limelight so I've always been accustomed to flashing lights and people calling out my name to ask questions. I was a nepotism baby, the only child of the famous Hollywood Actress, Clara Carter, and French Director, Philippe Bellerose.

Their romance was a story that some people talk about until today. My mother and father met through a chemistry test that was happening for one of his movies. My mom didn't end up getting the part but it wasn't much of a loss for her since she had other offers waiting. The relationship went back and forth for months, with them starting off as penpals that would exchange letters from Paris to Los Angeles. They saw each other once again at a charity event in New York where my dad invited my mom to be the center of a short film he was making and they managed to complete it within three days of spending time with one another. In a span of three days, they fell for one another and got married after two years of being together. Honestly, it seemed like it was too good to be true, but when you grow up seeing a love like theirs away from all the cameras, you can't help but believe it.

I was fifteen when I landed my first acting role. I only had about a handful of scenes in the movie, portraying the daughter of a drug addict who was also a schizophrenic. It was a heavy film for my first role, but that experience was what set off my career. Since then, I've been trained how to answer questions asked by fans or the paparazzi as well as react to the weirdest or most embarrassing stuff that has been said to me.

Today, it's like those experiences flew out of the window.

I looked up from my seat to be met with green eyes. He had a small smile on his face that gave him a soft look– one you wouldn't normally see in guys. From the slight upturn of his lips to the small amount of facial hair he had, one would say that he was good-looking and I would definitely agree. Coming from the guy who looked so tense yesterday, who would've thought his face showed the opposite. Despite only meeting him for the first time, there was something about his face that led to a sense of familiarity to run through me.

A look of amusement passed through his face and my gaze on him was cut off when Aurora spoke up. "You were shopping for condoms?"

My cheeks reddened and I cleared my throat. "I wasn't. I was just standing in front of the shelves."

The guy chuckled and took the seat in between mine and Aurora's, placing his sunglasses on his right side of the table. "You've only been here for a day but TMZ would have a field day with everything that's happened to you."

"TMZ?" The guy asked and I could sense a heavy French accent from his lips.

"It's this gossip website that follows people around in L.A." Aurora explained and the guy nodded in understanding. "This is Charles, by the way." She told me, gesturing her thumb at him before turning to Charles. "And this is Valentine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Valentine." Charles said, offering his hand. From the corner of my eye, I could sense Aurora watching us.

I didn't want to seem rude so I took the hand he was offering and shook it in return. "Same here." I said, before letting go. A phone began vibrating on the table and we all turned to Aurora's side where her phone was flashing Leo's name. She stood up and excused herself with a sheepish smile before taking the call and walking a few feet away.

Charles and I were wrapped up in a few seconds of silence before he opened his mouth to break it. Thank god because awkward silences was not something I'm in favor of experiencing.