ONE YEAR LATER
Rosie
"Charles, come on its time to go!" I shout from the bottom of the stairs. "Chill! It only takes 10 minutes to walk to the factory" he tells me and I tug on my Red polo. He comes down the stairs a few seconds later and kisses my cheek "Come on then Mon Ange! Time for us to get going" I giggle slightly at the fact h is now hurrying me along. We step out of our house and walk towards the coffee shop we visit every morning. We have had the cutest routine since we moved her during winter break, living in Italy is a whole new adventure for us. I accepted the Ferrari job once the news of George moving to Mercedes was confirmed, there wasn't a suitable position for me at Mercedes so here I am in Italy! Maranello is the cutest Italian town and oddly Charles gets left pretty much alone here by the locals although they all know who he is. Getting the position of Carlos Sainz race engineer was exactly what I was looking for. Charles wanted me to be his but I thought if we had a weird situation like before it might make working together a lot more difficult. So we settled with me working with Carlos instead which I have been really enjoying so far. We get along well and he works really hard to settle himself into the team just like I have been. "Usual order?" Charles asks as we reach the cafe "Yes please, Oat milk today if they have it?" He nods and gives me a cheeky smile as he heads into the shop. I take my phone out and send George a quick message to see how he is settling in, I don't get to see him half as much as we used to.
"Right, I will be finished on the simulator at 5pm, when do you think you will be done?" I think "Later than that, we fly out to Monaco tomorrow for the race so I'm making sure everything is ready" he nods "I will stop by the engineering team when I'm finished and see how your are getting on" I agree and he gives me a kiss before we head our separate ways. I head towards my office and feel the now familiar twinge in my hip, its been around since winter testing but I haven't had a chance to go to see the doctor. I walk into the office and see Jake waiting for me, I pass him the Cannoli that we pick him up every morning "Morning!" He grins at me "Thank you! I told everyone I would come a find you, Adam is currently there, ready for your meeting , so lets get a move on" I grab my laptop and follow Jake out of the room. Him and Adam are still going strong, when I left for Ferrari, Adam decided to come too. Its been a god send having both of them here with me, it feels like home here. I walk into the mock garage that we do pit stop practise in and see the whole team, I can speak fluent Italian but its easier for the whole team if I speak in English "Hi Guys, Just a quick meeting today" I start and see the relief on their faces. I quickly let everyone know the plan for Monaco and we get ourselves sorted. It's a long day spent at the factory and I'm actually relieved to see Charles "Hey Mon Ange" he tells me and I get up from my desk "Hey, how was the simulator?" I ask and he smiles "Really great, been setting some decent times" I really want him to do well at his home GP. "Do you think you can leave with me?" I go to say no but Jake interrupts "Take her, she is done for the day Charles" he says and I shoot him a glare "Perfecto, come on then" he says grabbing my backpack off of the chair.
"I'm assuming you have already packed?" Charles asks and I nod but I'm confused "Of course I have why?" He grins "We are flying out to Monaco tonight" I know he has really missed his home so I'm actually not surprised "Great! When do we need to leave?" He looks at his watch "an hour?" I nod my head and rush upstairs to finish packing my things. He chuckles as he follows me into the bedroom "Sorry for springing this on you" I shake my head "Don't be silly, I know you have been missing Monaco" he pulls me in for a hug "Not as much as I used to miss you when you were in the UK last year" It was a difficult year, we spent a lot of time apart when I was living in the UK with Alex. "I'm glad that we live together, I really wasn't sure about taking this job" he traces my spine with his fingers "Everything happens for a reason" I agree "Right, lets get ready to go to the airport" he says and we both jump into action as I change out of my uniform and into something comfortable to wear on the plane. I don't need to pack too much as me still have Charles' apartment in Monaco and we both have clothes and toiletries there. "You look adorable" Charles tells me as I'm pulling my trainers on in the hall. "I just wanted to be comfortable" I shrug "Is your hip still bothering you?" He has been concerned as it hasn't got better "Just a little, it isn't much" I say blowing off his worries "you can go see the doctor in Monaco? Please?" I find myself agreeing "Okay, I will book one" he grins.
Charles
We just arrived at our apartment, and I could see the excitement in her features "Feels good to be home right?" I ask and she nods placing her suitcase in the living room. "We need to come here more often" she tells me and I'm glad that is how she feels. "I don't suppose you want to go on a walk along the costal path?" I ask feeling my nerves spike. Her face lights up and I know that today is the right day to ask her a question that has been on the tip of my tongue a few times now. "Can I quickly get changed, its much warmer here" she asks and immediately agree, as it will give me time to look through my case. She wanders into our room and I know she will have missed some of the clothes she keeps here, she is a very sentimental person. I find what I'm looking for just as she leaves the bedroom "You ready?" She asks and I nod "Absolutely, you look beautiful" I tell her and she blushes. We walk out of the apartment and down the many stairs "have you heard from George?" I ask her knowing how much she has missed him since joining the Scuderia "Yeah, he is good, excited for the weekend" George is second in the drivers championship only a few points behind Lewis, with me in P3. Red Bull are having a shocking season and Max really hasn't been happy about it. "Do you think he might want to go for dinner tomorrow?" I ask her and she nods "I'm sure he would, as well as Soph" of course, they are really happy together still.
We walk down the costal path to the usual spot we stop at, the place where she decided to give me a second chance and I couldn't be happier that she did. I stop next to her, she is gazing out towards the ocean. I pull out the box that has been feeling heavy in my pocket and take it into my hands before dropping onto one knee. "Mon ange?" I say to get her attention and she turns her hand flying over her mouth when she sees me. "I know you probably weren't expecting this but I have been wanting to ask this question for a while now. I know how lucky I am to have you in my life, and I can't ever be grateful enough that you gave me that second chance a year ago. You are the strongest woman I have ever met and I know life hasn't been easy but I adore my life with you, there isn't anyone else I could ever imagine by my side, through the ups and the downs and I want you with me for the rest of forever. You are it for me and you always will be. I love you beyond words" I look at her an she drops down onto her knees taking my free hand "Mon ange, will you marry me?" I ask the question and she nods with tears tricking down her face "Of course" she manages and i pull her in so i can crash my lips onto hers. I can't quite believe that I actually had the courage to ask "I love you" she tells me and I know there will be a few moments in life that will be as happy as this one.
Rosie
I stop at the usual spot and gaze out over the water, this spot brings back bittersweet memories from a year ago, I don't regret taking him back. Our life together is all I've ever wanted, although there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Juliette. "Mon ange?" Charles asks and I turn to see him on one knee holding out a ring. My hand flies to my mouth and I cant quite believe this is actually happening. I mean we are content and there were a couple of times before that I thought he might be asking. "I know you probably weren't expecting thin but I have been wanting to ask this question for a while now. I know how lucky I am to have you in my life, and I cant ever be grateful enough that you gave me that second chance a year ago. You are the strongest woman I have ever met and I know life hasn't been easy but I adore my life with you, there isn't anyone else I could ever imagine by my side, through the ups and downs and I want you with me for the rest of forever. You are it for me and you always will be. I love you beyond words" I find myself dropping down onto my knees in front of me and I can feel the tears trickling down my cheeks. If you had asked me 18 months ago if I ever thought I would feel this happy again I would've laughed in their faces. "Of course" I manage to get out feeling my throat close up and he pulls me in crashing our lips together. "I love you" I tell him and he smiles at me and right now, right here this is the most perfect moment.
"We should get home" I say as we have been sat on the cliffs for about 30 minutes now. We have been cuddled up to each other in a very content bubble. I look down at the ring on my finger and can't believe how perfect it is. It's a thin gold band with three small diamonds and its perfect. I touch it with the right hand and that grabs Charles' attention "when I saw it in this vintage shop I knew it was perfect" he couldn't be more right "it is, all of this is, Charles I don't know how I managed to get this lucky to be with you" he kisses the side of my head "As I said, I am the lucky one" He grabs my hand and pulls us to our feet "did you want to celebrate?" He asks and I nod "At home, with you" he grins and we make our way back to the apartment. We walk along the streets and I feel euphoric "Hang out" Charles says as we walk past a grocery shop. He runs in and I wait outside wondering what on earth he is doing. After a few minutes he comes out with a bottle of champagne "I'm an F1 driver, we celebrate our victories with champagne" he explains and I laugh "Of course! Well lets get home" I say and he grabs my hand as we practically run through the streets of Monaco.