A Perpetual Estrangement — Alice B. Ryder

Anne has two wonderful friends and her own London bookshop, but she isn't happy. Ten years ago she was put in an impossible position and had to let go of the only man she ever loved, and she's regretted it ever since. She had to fight her way out of heartbreak and despair just to get this far. Now Freddie is back, and the wound is ripped open.

Freddie once loved Anne deeply, and she had even agreed to join him in his travels abroad. But her family and self-doubt made her back out, and to this day he still feels betrayed. Anne believes he's determined to remind her of that every day, and it's all the harder seeing the man he has become since then, stronger in spirit and even more attractive than before.

Whenever Anne is around him now, she sees only his disdain and bitterness. The only way for both of them to find happiness is to finally get over each other. Freddie seems to be trying; but Anne has tried before, and failed. What she fears most is falling back into the agony she felt all those years ago - a dark place she can't bear to think about.

A Perpetual Estrangement is a reimagining of Jane Austen's Persuasion.