Apex | Charles Leclerc

Chapter 22

Decided to update today because it's been 2 weeks and I'm feeling cheeky because of the news about Mattia 👀 hehe not yet confirmed but I hope it's true lol

Apologies in advance for any typos.

Enjoy!

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February 24, 2025 - Monaco

I have never been so tempted to push someone in front of a car until now.

Charles had even moved closer to me, hand settling on the small of my back. My hand immediately went behind me to push it away but he wouldn't budge.

"Charles Leclerc?" Nikolai repeated, eyes moving between the two of us. Behind me, I saw the light turn red and I was about to leave them both when Charles' arm snaked around my waist.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked him in a low voice while he only smiled in return.

He turned back to Nikolai and said, "If you'll excuse us, we have to go."

Without waiting for another answer, he turned around us and pulled me with him to cross the street. The entire time, I kept on trying to step away but he only pulled me closer to him. When we had crossed the street and were no longer visible to Nikolai, I pushed his arm away and glared at him.

"Have you suddenly lost all the brain cells in your head? Why would you tell him you're my boyfriend?" I cringed, crossing my arms over my chest as he looked at me calmly.

"You looked like you needed saving." I snapped before passing by him and heading in the direction of the coffee shop. There weren't that much people around but you could see a bunch of students studying at the far back. Since there wasn't a line, I was able to give my order immediately but I had another problem.

The cashier didn't speak English.

"Qu'est-ce que ce serait pour aujourd'hui?" He asked and I bit my lip, trying to understand what he just said but zero thoughts entered my mind.

"I'm sorry." I apologized and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Do you have any cold brew?"

He didn't answer and just repeated what he said the first time, making me sigh in disappointment. I was about to turn around and leave when someone from beside me spoke up, his French completely flawless. The cashier's eyes brightened when he heard Charles speak despite only the bottom half of his face being visible. After speaking, the cashier nodded his head and I watched as the two of them conversed and Charles passed him a black card.

An Amex Black Card. Holy shit.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him as the cashier returned his card and he placed it back inside his wallet. My eyes moved downwards where I found him wearing worn our black Converse shoes and a basic pair of jeans with a black sweater. The only expensive thing you could find on him was his watch and apparently, an Amex card.

I didn't bother thanking him and reached for the cold drink when it was already done. I was about to walk towards the exit when Charles blocked me, his own cup of hot coffee in his hand. "Got a few minutes?" He asked and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No."

"Great! Let's sit down." It was like he heard the opposite of what I said when he grabbed my arm and pulled me to a secluded part of the cafe. No one spared us a look since they were all busy with what they were doing. Charles noticed this as well took off his hat and sunglasses, ruffling his dark brown hair before flashing me a smirk.