tw: anxiety, anxiety attack
"I'm here!" A girl sitting at the café started waving at Adeline cheerfully. Her skin was like a hot mocha, and her smile could light up London in the dark. She saw her blonde best friend in a blue pantsuit entering the door, and she simply couldn't hold back joy.
"Hazel!" Adeline shrieked, running to hug Hazel. They had seen each other a week ago, but it felt like an eternity. Plus, Adeline had tons of news to tell her.
"So, how did the court go?" Hazel asked after the two girls ordered some coffee and cheesecakes. They were in desperate need of caffeine and sugar.
"It was a huge success. The company actually offered me a full-time job after I finish my course next year," Adeline replied with a smile on her lips. She was overwhelmed with emotions but didn't let it fully show—that was kind of a habit of hers. It was hard to read from her, but Pierre and Hazel recognized what was going on in her mind.
"What?! Addy, that's huge! I'm so happy for you!" Hazel shouted out, happy for her best friend. She wasn't able to hide her emotions at all—she was an open book, the total opposite of Adeline. They basically completed each other. "Your hard work paid off! Maybe if I worked harder, I'd get a job too."
"What are you talking about? You're talented as hell, Hazel." Adeline disagreed. She believed that Hazel would make it very far in her fashion design career.
"I'll design you a custom pantsuit." A smile appeared on Hazel's full lips. "But tell me, what about your weekend with Pierre?"
"It was terrific. The drivers are amazing, and the open bar and free food are even better," Adeline laughed. She had to admit that the race weekend had been really fun. "Something happened, though. I fucked up."
"You fucked up something? What the hell could Adeline Manon Edwards fuck up?" Hazel couldn't believe Adeline's words. Usually, she was the one to mess up, not Adeline. Her best friend had to drag her out of trouble more than several times.
"I got absolutely hammered. And embarrassed." Adeline bit her lower lip. She still felt a little bad because of what had happened.
"You got drunk? I can't believe that, miss Always-having-everything-under-control," Hazel widened her chocolate brown eyes.
"I did. Charles gave me his shoes, removed my makeup, and put me to bed. On top of that, I didn't even remember it!" Adeline let out a sigh. She couldn't even recall how many times she had apologized to Charles—but the fact that he wasn't making a big deal out of it made her feel a little better.
"Wait, is that the French Ferrari hottie?" Hazel gasped in shock. She almost choked on her cappuccino.
"You know him?" Adeline lifted her left eyebrow in surprise. "Also, he's Monégasque. Not French."
"I follow every driver on the grid on Instagram, duh!" Hazel exclaimed. She wasn't exactly watching every race, but since she had known Pierre thanks to Adeline, she liked F1 and rooted for Pierre. "And do you realize that you just agreed that Charles is hot?"
"I certainly didn't!" Adeline protested. "He's okay, I guess," she added, rolling her eyes in annoyance. She didn't think that Charles was hot. No, not at all. However, she couldn't get his mesmerizing emerald eyes and cute dimples off her mind.
Hazel shrugged her shoulders. "Honey, that means hot in your grumpy language."
"Gosh, can we stop talking about that guy?" Adeline groaned. She didn't want to focus on Charles, she wanted to focus on her raspberry cheesecake.
"You like him!" Hazel grinned, noticing that her best friend is blushing.
"Yeah, 'cause that sounds like me."
"Well, I wouldn't blame you. He's totally fuckable," Hazel said, playing with her hair. Her natural hair was almost jet black, but she dyed it quite frequently—right now, she had her hair dyed brown, along with rose-gold highlights in it.
"Hazel!"
Hazel let out a groan. "Sorry! I've been single for a long time."
"Don't you dare get back together with Camilla!" Adeline frowned.
Her best friend had a very bad habit—getting back together with her exes whenever she felt a little lonely. Hazel and Camilla dated on and off for a year. Their first breakup happened because Hazel had found out about Camilla's cheating. Hazel had forgiven her, just for Camilla to repeat it again. That was why Adeline wasn't a fan of this ship.
Hazel immediately shook her head. "Oh no, that's not happening. I think that I might start focusing on guys again."
"Guys are assholes, you're better off with a girl," Adeline chuckled. She was aware that not all men were trash. But sadly, that didn't include her exes.
"Well, and girls can be bitches. And they can be even worse sometimes," Hazel replied with a smirk on her face.
"Well, Camilla definitely is," Adeline nodded in agreement. A loud beeping noise interrupted the girls' conversation. Adeline looked at her phone; her boss was calling her. "I'm sorry, that's Janice, I gotta take this."
"Hey, Janice? What's up?" Adeline greeted her boss cheerfully after she had managed to leave the café. There was too much noise for a phone call, especially work-related.
Janice's voice wasn't as joyous as Adeline's. The moment she started talking, Adeline knew that something was going on. Janice wasn't only her boss, but she was also her lawyer. "Addy, I need to talk to you. It's about him."
Adeline's eyes widened in shock and fear at the same time. "What do you mean, him?" Her lips couldn't even pronounce his name.
"He's back in the UK. I got that information from his lawyer."
Janice cared about Adeline and her well-being like her own mother. She had known Adeline since the girl's not-so-sweet sixteen; that was almost eight years ago. She had helped her with some things in the past. That inspired Adeline to pursue a law career, which was also the reason why Adeline picked Janice's company to do her training.
"Are you kidding me? He's been in Australia for a few years, what is he doing here?" Adeline couldn't believe Janice's words. She didn't want to believe it.
"He wants to cancel the restraining order, Adeline. I'm so sorry." Janice's voice cracked at the end of a sentence. This was bad. So bad.
"Oh no." Adeline covered her mouth with her hand. The restraining order was set years ago, and yet he still wanted to meddle in her life.
"Listen, he can't get close to you now. He shouldn't. But if I were you, I'd take some long vacation somewhere else before I dismiss his request at the court. They'll probably shut it down anyway, he has no chance." Janice tried to comfort Adeline, but she was telling her what she was really thinking.
"He's a delusional idiot," Adeline mumbled, feeling a burning pain in her chest. She didn't feel this sharp pain in a very long time.
Janice wanted Adeline to feel better, and she knew that Adeline wouldn't feel good or safe in London right now. "You can have a vacation as long as you want, then we can work via Zoom before you get back. Do you have somewhere to go?"
"I think that I do," Adeline replied. "Janice, I'll call you later, okay? Thank you for the heads up."
Adeline ended the phone call, pressing a red button. The pain in her chest was getting worse, she felt like she couldn't breathe. It felt like drowning. Her anxiety attack was always beginning like this. She had her anxiety under control for a very long time; it took only one phone call to shatter it.
No. She refused to go back to her old ways. She had gone too far in her life to be controlled by that asshole's actions.
"Think, Adeline, think!" She started talking to herself, forcing herself to put a stop to the anxiety attack. Having her phone in her shaky hands, she tapped on Pierre's name.
Thankfully, he answered immediately. "Daddy Addy, good to hear you!"
"Pi-Pierre?"
Pierre quickly recognized that something was happening. Adeline's voice was shaky. It was never shaky. Only during her anxiety attacks. "Addy, what's going on? Talk to me, okay?"
"He's back in the UK. Hunter is back." Her lips were finally able to let out his name.
The moment Pierre heard Adeline say that name, blood started boiling in his veins. "I swear that this time, I'm gonna fucking find him and kill him. He's not going to fucking destroy you again. I'm not letting that happen. Mérde!"
"I need to get out of here, Pierre, please," Adeline's pulse was becoming more stable and normal while talking to Pierre. He was her rock, the brother she never had.
"I'm getting you a plane ticket to Nice right now, and an all-access pass for the whole season, you'll be staying with me," Pierre said. He seemed very tense, but he was trying to stay calm. He knew he had to stay calm for Adeline. "I'm gonna send you the ticket in ten minutes. And I'll book a car to get you from Nice to Monaco. Is tomorrow's early morning flight okay for you?"
"Yes, that's perfect." Adeline let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Pierre."
——
"Hazel, you didn't need to help me pack." Adeline looked at her best friend who was putting Adeline's skincare into a pink cotton bag. A blurred memory of Charles doing her skincare came back; the thought of Charles felt extremely calming at that moment.
"Addy, I'm not leaving you alone. You had an anxiety attack after many years," Hazel shook her head, watching her best friend occupying herself with packing stuff. That was Adeline's way to deal with anxiety and stressful situations—she suppressed it and occupied her mind with work or basically any activity. It was kind of a coping mechanism of hers, even though it wasn't ideal.
"It's better now, I had a chance to process it. Plus, he has no chance at the court, like zero." Adeline said as she was folding one of her favorite pantsuits.
She had no idea how long she'd stay with Pierre. It could have been two weeks, a month, or two months; it all depended on the court and Janice's ability to shut Hunter's request down. It was hard for Adeline to pack her stuff into one large suitcase.
Hazel sighed for herself. "Still, I'm staying with you overnight."
"Thank you," Adeline looked into Hazel's eyes, thankful to have such a friend in her life.
"You did the same thing when I was in trouble. That's what I'm here for," Hazel gave Adeline a cheerful smile. She knew that Adeline was a strong person, but very soft on the inside.
A sound of notification on Adeline's phone interrupted the girls from packing. Adeline reached for her phone, seeing an incoming Instagram message.
charles_leclerc: hey, how did the court go, ma chérie? :)
"Who are you and what have you done with Adeline Edwards?" Hazel exclaimed, watching Adeline's reaction to the message carefully. Adeline didn't even realize that an honest smile appeared on her lips.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're blushing! You never do that, especially not smiling at a message!" Hazel laughed. "Who's texting you?!"
"It's just Charles. He's asking me about the court," Adeline said, trying to hide her excitement.
Hazel, on the other hand, didn't hold back her enthusiasm. "I knew it! Answer him!"
adelinemedwards: hey! it went very well, mon chou x
charles_leclerc: i'm happy for you!
adelinemedwards: also, is your offer of showing me the land of no taxes and expensive water still on?
charles_leclerc: of course!
charles_leclerc: are you coming to Monaco?
"He's double texting!" Hazel shrieked, looking over Adeline's shoulder. "He's into you. I'm sure he is!"
Adeline rolled her eyes. "He definitely isn't."
adelinemedwards: oui :) i need to know where to hide my 60 million pounds, you know. that's why i need a monaco tour.
charles_leclerc: can't wait :)
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hi loves! this chapter was full of drama, i'm excited that something's happening—'cause i have so many things prepared haha.
also, please, if you are experiencing anxiety/anxiety attacks/any other mental health issues, seek for help and speak to someone. speak to a therapist, your family, loved ones, friends, anybody. it's really important. <3
everyone has a different experience, yours can be different than Adeline's (or mine), but the important thing is just to talk about it! also, my dm's are always open if you need! 🫶🏻
btw i've got finals in january, there probably won't be weekly updates, but i'll post once in two weeks for sure! <3 i'll keep you guys updated! (you can follow me on my insta: zuzistorxs)
enjoy your new years eve, thank you all so much for the support i've recieved from you this year, i love you all!!
do you have some plans for the new years eve? i'll be spending it with my bf at our friend's house, plus lunch at my mom's haha!