Chapter 1
Rosaline SinClaire comes from a very rich and powerful family. For generations, they’ve owned one of the largest banking branches in the country. The current CEO is her father, George Sinclaire. In addition to bank ownership, her father was also a very successful investor. She may have lived a privileged life, but the reality was that her family life was anything but happy. George Sinclaire was a stereotypical, misogynistic bastard who believed the world revolved around him. Her older brother, Henry SinClaire, is heir to the empire and very much like his father. However, he is constantly being caught in a scandal (drugs, public intoxication, troubles with the law, etc.) Lucky for Henry, their father would always cover up Henry’s antics, or find a way to make the issues go away. When he’s not out causing trouble, he finds enjoyment in tormenting his little sister. The only love she got was from her mother, Rebecca. Tragically, Rebecca took her own life when Rosaline was 12 years old.
George was extremely controlling and abusive towards their mother. All George really wanted was a silent, obedient wife who took care of his physical needs. Despite the abuse, Rebecaa would always try to hide it and teach her children to be good, hard-working people. Henry never listened, as their father was training him to follow in his footsteps. Rosaline, however, idolized her mother. Years of abuse took a toll on their mother physically and mentally. She tried to stay strong for her children, but she was losing her will to go on. As a last resort, she ended up swallowing an entire bottle of painkillers, mixed with alcohol. Unfortunately, Rosaline was the one to find her mother. When word got out about Rebeccas’s suicide, George portrayed himself as a grieving husband whose wife lost her life-long battle with depression. Rosaline knew the truth and hated her father. However, she was also very afraid of him.
George’s abusive nature was eventually taken out on his daughter. However, the abuse was more indirect. As a young girl, he hired a tutor to teach Rosaline etiquette and how to be a quiet, submissive young lady. If she did something wrong, or upset George in some way, he would have her hold out her hands and he would smack them as hard as possible with a belt, leaving welts. Rosaline quickly learned that the best way to stay safe was to be the good, silent daughter. Her only outlet in life was painting. She adored art, but she had to hide it since her father believed art was “useless”. Despite the abuse and her hatred, a part of her still wanted his approval. She wanted to prove a woman was just as capable as a man. She made sure no scandals ever involved her, and she graduated business school with honors. She studied the family business and how it was operated. She held onto the hope that perhaps her father would pass down the business to her. Her brother wanted the money and prestige of taking over, but none of the responsibility. George had come to see the difference and recognize his daughter’s talents.
When Rosaline was 24, she had worked up the courage to ask her father to pass down the business to her. He agreed, to her surprise, but the surprise was short-lived when George came up with the condition that she had to get married to a wealthy man he approved of. He still believed that a woman was not capable of running a business by herself. She needed a smart man to handle all the “difficulties”. Rosaline absolutely refused. She saw how horribly a wealthy man could treat his wife, and she refused to fall victim to the same fate. She realized at that moment, he wasn’t worth her love or respect. She didn’t need him in her life. Her father said if she didn’t agree, she would get cut-off. Little did he know, she had a feeling this would happen. She was tired of being so controlled and living the glamorous but lonely life. If she wasn’t going to get the company independently, she was going to walk away. She had started saving her monthly allowance for months so she would have a way out. She told her father to go ahead and cut her off. She was done with him and the rest of the family. He laughed at her and said she’d be crawling back in no time. She stormed out and prepared to leave her current life behind. With the help of a family friend who was always kind to her and worked for her father, she had her name changed so she could start fresh. She deleted all of her social media accounts and practically disappeared. Then, she booked the first plane ride several states away.
