apocalypse | charles leclerc ✓

chapter 13 | father knows best

Her other friends...she rarely spoke to them anymore. Eleonora didn't even try to invite her anywhere anymore. Fairly, she'd brought that upon herself by always saying: I can't go or I'm too busy.

"We were wondering though...why didn't you date the Dutch one?" Lara questioned. "That would've been such great PR for you, Sloane. The Dutch model and the World Champion. You can't write it better. It would've been like Estelle and Donny!"

The correlation made no sense. "Jesus fucking Christ," She muttered under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That's not how it works. You don't date people because it's convenient or good PR."

Elke pointed a finger and smirked. "You date them because they're hot."

Sloane glared. "Doesn't work that way either."

"Not taking it from the model who is dating the super hot athlete." Lara took a sip from her sparkling water, giving her big eyes.

She shook her head, the chat wouldn't end well if they carried on with the topic. "We're not having this conversation at the dinner organised for our dead grandfather, okay? Drop it."

Elke pursed her lips and shrugged. "It's what he would've wanted, honestly. But I think Opa would've preferred for you to date a football player."

They meant no harm. Lara and Elke were nosy and dumb the same way Sloane believed herself to be. Plus those two had been living vicariously through her life ever since she accidentally told them the story about her first kiss when she was fifteen and the girls were around ten. Sloane was their direct line to entertainment, the one who provided enough material to create scandals on social media, and they enjoyed it far too much sometimes.

Eventually, she managed to steer the topic to something safer. All it took was the mention of designer brands and they fell into it with much more enthusiasm than the chattering about guys and romance. The girls asked many questions, they didn't see each other very often so every time they did, they let their tongues loose. They questioned her about work and how to get a Vivianne as if her manager was something people could purchase in a store instead of a real person. Sloane let them babble all they wanted. If she would be forced to spend time with her family, then she'd make the most of it and keep herself distracted in the meantime.

Everything went smoothly, and then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Lara and Elke cut it with the rambling, looking up with big eyes at the newcomer. Sloane glanced at the hand, and the wedding band around one of his fingers was not unfamiliar.

"I hope you two aren't asking questions about becoming models. We need real professionals in the family." Her father stated. Her cousins gave him a tight-lipped smile and shrugged to which he chuckled. For her own mental sake, she decided to ignore how he diminished her career. "Sloane, can you come with me? I'd like to have a quick chat with you before they serve dinner."

After a confirmation nod, her father let go of her. She pushed the chair back, watched as Lara and Elke tried not to snicker when she wrinkled her nose and followed her dad back inside the house. It didn't take a lot for her heart to start beating faster, and the anxiety levels to reach a new high. That was her father's effect on her. While her mother made her feel low, her father did the contrary, but not in a good way.

No words were shared as they headed in the direction of her grandfather's former home office. Once inside, Leo closed the door behind her and she took a moment to scan the place. There were a lot of books and pictures. With famous football players, others not so famous, and photos of family members. One of the bigger ones was of Sloane playing the piano back when she was a teenager.

Her father must have noticed where her attention set itself because he proceeded to point at the picture. "You should play the piano tonight. Your grandfather loved when you did that for him."