This Is a Love Story

By Leslie L. Stevens

Everyone in town knows what kind of man Thomas is.

A respected police officer. A careful, attentive husband. The sort of man neighbors point to when they explain what a good marriage looks like.

Only Clara knows what it costs to be loved by him.

For years, she has measured her life in small acts of survival: receipts hidden at the back of a closet, ceiling-fan ticks counted through sleepless nights, the precise weight of Thomas's footsteps outside a closed door. He has never needed to raise a hand to make himself understood. His reputation protects him. Her silence protects her.

Then Jonah, a painter, comes to town-and Clara feels present in her own body for the first time in years.

Thomas notices.

He always notices.

In a town that mistakes control for devotion, Clara must decide what reclaiming herself will cost-and whether she can survive being seen.

This Is a Love Story is a literary psychological suspense novel about coercive control, reputation, and the private architecture of a marriage no one else can see. It is the first book in The Clara Precedent series.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H2YC76TV
• ISBN13: 9798198502772
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"