"Should I curl your hair a bit, or just make some soft waves? That would look amazing." Tina stands behind Stevie who is already dressed in her black cocktail dress.
She is now deciding on how to get her hair and make up done.
Luckily Tina is back from Maranello, so she has some help to get ready in time.
"Yeah that sounds good. It's something different than a braid or ponytail for once."
She looks at Tine through the mirror.
The Slovenian young woman has been a bit quiet since she got back from Maranello, but she hasn't really talked about how it was. Stevie decides this is the perfect time to ask her about it. Daniel is looking after the kids downstairs, so there won't be any interruptions.
"So how were things in Italy? The car launch looked pretty cool." She asks Tina who has started to work on her hair.
It's obvious that something happened while she was there, because as soon as Stevie asks her about it her face drops and her smile disappears.
"Oh eh, yeah it was fine. The car looks good." Tina answers, not giving anything away.
"Tina we are friends right?" Stevie asks her.
Tina nods, "yeah we are, why?"
"Because I know something is up. What happened while you were there? Did Charles do something to hurt you?"
If it was Charles, Stevie won't hesitate to have a little chat with him, it won't be the nicest chat, but he will hear exactly how she feels about him.
If it was him of course.
"Oh no Charles was amazing. He is really a great guy. It's just... it's not important." Tina shakes her head.
"It is, because something made you feel bad and I would like to know what. You know you can talk to me."
She hears her friend sigh behind her.
"Ok fine.
Everything was great. We spent a night in Monaco before driving to Italy. Charles bought me a beautiful bracelet with rubies in it to match the red of the car. The launch was great, everybody was so nice and they are all looking forward to the new season."
"That sounds amazing so far. So what happened?" Stevie is glad Charles isn't the reason Tina is sad. They are a really cute couple and they fit so well together.
"I had a headache so I told Charles I was going back to the hotel. He wanted to come with me, but he had to stay to do some photoshoots and interviews. I was fine with that, it's his job and I knew that when we started dating. So I told him it was ok, there was a car waiting in front of the venue to take me back to the hotel and he would come as soon as he was done."
Of course Stevie understands that. She knows that Daniel won't always be there with her because his job is very demanding, but that's also fine for her, she knew that and she is very capable of taking care of herself.
"When I walked out of the venue there were of course a lot of people standing outside waiting for Charles and Carlos to come out, but it was just me." Tina laughs without any joy in it.
"As soon as I stepped outside they were throwing insults at me, calling me a slut, unworthy of Charles, that I was a gold digger and he would soon realize I was wrong for him."
Stevie is shocked, even though she knows how brutal 'fans' can be. Hearing how mean people were towards Tina fills her with rage.
"What?! How dare they! What did Charles say?"
"I haven't told him. He doesn't need that before the season starts. He has other things to worry about."
She can feel Tina's hands tremble as she picks up a strand if hair to wrap around the curling iron.
Tina loves doing Stevie's hair, it's super long and soft. The deep black is something to be jealous off, her hair is just brown and she thinks it's boring. Although Charles seems to love it.
But as she is making sure Stevie's hair will look perfect for tonight, it's easier to talk about what happened in Maranello. It really hurt her.
"I really think you should tell him. I bet it's somewhere on social media anyways and he will get tagged in stuff like that. Why do you think he shouldn't know? You guys love each other. He would want to be there for you." Stevie tells her friend.
She's glad she doesn't have social media anymore, she really doesn't want to know what people have to say about her. Now she doesn't read it so it can't hurt her either.
So far nobody has called her any names like they did with Tina, she also expects if Daniel would ever hear anybody say something like that to her he would go after them.
Charles would probably have done the same if he was there.
"Maybe I should just listen and let him go to find somebody who isn't just a nanny. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but I guess men like Charles should be with somebody who is richer and prettier. I'm a nobody from a country that many people don't even know, I have nothing to offer him." Tina feels a tear running down her cheek.
"Hey! Don't say that. Do you love him?" Stevie asks her as she turns around, her hair can wait. Tina needs her right now.
"I love him more than anything, but sometimes when you love somebody you have to let them go right?" Tina sniffs.
"Not in this case. Charles adores you, it would break his heart if you broke up with him. Not to mention how much it would break yours. I totally understand that those words hurt, of course they do. But leaving Charles and both being miserable isn't the solution."
Stevie wraps her arms around her friend who starts to sob.
"Oh sweetheart, please don't let those people get to you, I know it's easier said than done. But in the end who is the one who gets to kiss Charles? Who gets to wake up next to him when you are together? Who does he want to be with? The only answer to those questions is you. The people saying things like that are jealous, they want what you have, but they can't because they are nasty and Charles would never be interested in people like that."
Stevie hopes her words will get through to Tina, because it would be madness if she would sacrifice her happiness and Charles's just because people feel the need to interfere with their lives.
"But what if at some point he will realize he could do so much better than me? Maybe I should just break up with him to it so he can't break my heart."
"He won't, because he knows he can't do better than you. Charles is a romantic guy, I know he's not from France, but Monaco is still surrounded by France and very close to Italy. So I bet a lot of the French and Italian romantic influence is also found in Monaco. Charles doesn't go for status or influence. Charles follows his heart and he will go for the one he loves. Whether that is somebody who cleans toilets for a living or is the princess of Monaco herself. As long as he loves her and she loves him, that's who he will be with. And he loves you more than anything, he stood up to your mom for you, he introduced you to his family. He's serious about you."
Tina let's Stevie's words sink in and she knows Stevie has a point, but she doesn't know how much more of the hate she can take. It is so hard not to let it affect her and she doesn't want Charles to be bothered by it either.
Why can't people just accept the fact that Charles and her are together? They are in love and she wants nothing more than to be with him, but having all those hateful comments and gossip makes it a lot harder to believe it's meant to be.
"I will think about it. Now let's get your hair done so you can knock Daniel off his feet."
"Thanks. But please call Charles. He won't like it if he has to find out through social media or somebody else."
Tina nods as she pushes Stevie back on the stool.
Not much later Stevie admires herself in the mirror. Tina really did some magic, her hair is hanging down in soft curls, her make up flawless and her dress fits perfectly. She feels beautiful and sexy at the same time.
Daniel had already changed before Stevie went upstairs and he is wearing team gear for the launch, but he also brings some black skinny jeans and a light blue button up shirt for the party later.
Stevie comes down the stairs and he is just on the floor playing with Cole and Zara.
When he looks up from the race track he and Cole were playing with, his jaw drops.
Stevie looks absolutely breath taking, usually she has her hair in a braid or ponytail, but now it's hanging loose over her shoulders and back.
She has dark make up around her eyes which makes her look very mysterious and sexy.
"Woooow Cole look at mommy. She is so pretty!" Daniel nudges Cole who was too occupied with his cars.
The boy looks up and he smiles.
"Mommy! Wauwie!" He jumps up and runs to his mom.
"Yeah do you think I'm pretty?" Stevie picks him up and he gives her a tight hug.
"Yep! Super pretty."
"Thank you my sweet boy. Will you listen to Tina today?" She asks him and he nods.
"We will be fine, I think we will make some pancakes for dinner today. I'm sure he would like to help making them right Cole?"
Tina comes closer and Cole reaches over to her so she takes him from his mothers arms so Stevie can put on her shoes and coat.
"Have fun the three of you. I don't know when we will be home though."
Stevie puts on her black heels and then puts her arms in the coat Daniel is holding up for her.
"That's fine, when they are in bed I'm going to binge watch Bridgerton."
After kissing the kids goodnight, Daniel and Stevie grab their keys and head out.
When they step outside a car pulls up in front of the house and they look at each other. Both not expecting anybody today.
"Stephanie! Daniel! Is Tina in?" A young man steps out of the car.
"Charles? What are you doing here?" Daniel asks him, but Stevie has a feeling she already knows why he made the journey all the way here.
"She's inside, the door is open. Go talk to her, she needs some reassurance from you Charles."
She then hooks her arm in Daniel who is still confused about why Charles is here all of a sudden.
"I'll explain in the car, let's go."
She almost has to drag him to the car while they see Charles go inside and Stevie smiles. Hopefully he will be able to convince Tina they will work through it.
Daniel unlocks his car and they both get in.
Before he starts the car he looks at Stevie.
"What is going on?"
"Just drive, I'll tell you. I don't want to be late for the launch. It wouldn't look good if one of the drivers isn't there."
Daniel turns onto the road and heads to Milton Keynes. He knows the car livery will probably be exactly the same as other years, although there will be some changes on the technical side of the car.
But now he's more curious to find out what made Charles come all the way from Monaco to Towcester. Tina just came back herself, so they saw each other less than 24 hours ago.
"So how come you know why Charles suddenly showed up? Did he tell you he was coming?" He asks Stevie.
"I had no idea, but Tina did tell me some things that happened in Maranello which she didn't tell Charles about. Now he shows up, so I think he found out."
Daniel still hasn't got a clue what she is talking about. Sometimes he feels women really talk in riddles.
"Found out what?"
"Well after the launch Tina went to the hotel because she had a headache. There were some nasty 'fans' outside who called her names and were just really mean to her."
Daniel leans his head back against the head rest of the drivers seat.
Sometimes he really hates this whole Formula one world. Of course most people are genuinely interested in the sport, the drivers and their achievements, but some are just crazy.
He has read plenty of crap online about Stevie, but she doesn't want to hear it, so he doesn't tell her.
Luckily so far she hasn't been the victim of bullying in person. It's only been on social media and people say whatever they want on there, but most are to much of a coward to say it in their faces.
It's really sad to hear Tina did get that kind of abuse when she was in Italy.
"Fucking hell, why can't people just leave them alone. All of us to be fair. Do they really think they would stand a chance if they behave like that? None of us want fans to treat the people we love like that. I'd rather have no fans at all instead of abusive ones like that."
Daniel shakes his head as he gets on the A5 towards Milton Keynes.
"I know, that's why I just stay away from social media. Maybe it's also different because we are older."
Daniel snorts with laughter.
"You are not older baby. I am. You are only three years older than Tina. But you fell for an old man who hasn't got as many teenage girls following him, hoping they will end up as his WAG."
"You are not old Daniel. But maybe you do have different fans. Although Tiffany did try it with you and she is twenty."
Stevie still gets mad when she thinks about her ex's little bitch who thought she could steal Daniel from her as well.
"Yeah but she's nuts and definitely not a fan. I meant more like when we first met I was afraid I would be too old for you, I would never even think about hooking up with a twenty year old."
"You are perfect for me. I just hope Tina won't throw away what she has with Charles because of those despicable people." Stevie sighs, looking outside to the cars they pass by. Sometimes living an anonymous life can be so good. Nobody feels the need to give you their opinion about how you dress, how you look, what you do.
But she loves Daniel too much to even consider giving him up over other people's opinions.
"Why would she throw it away? They love each other don't they?" Daniel asks her.
"They do. But Tina is afraid she's not good enough for Charles and that maybe he would be better off with somebody who is used to the world he lives in."
"I'm sure Charles will be able to reason with her. Ending a relationship over other people's opinions is the worst reason ever."
They drive past Stony Stratford and are getting close to the factory. He really doesn't want to do the launch, it's always just him and Seb having to look surprised at the car, admiring it and then talk to a shitload of media, answering the same questions a dozen times.
He probably won't see much of Stevie today because of it and he hates that. It's silly though, they are living together and since they came back from Perth they haven't spent one night apart.
He should be able to be without her for a couple of hours, but somehow he just has this urge to be close to her all the time.
A few minutes later he drives up to the entrance of the Red Bull factory where they have valets standing there to park the cars.
He gets out and jogs around the car to open the door for Stevie.
"How old fashioned of you." She smiles her bright smile which lights up her eyes.
"Only the best for you baby. I will be so busy today that I won't be much fun for you. I'm really sorry about that."
He holds out his hand and she takes it, their fingers intertwine as they walk inside.
"It's fine Daniel. Melissa and I will surely enjoy ourselves."
"I know, but I prefer staying with you." He gives her a kiss on her cheek as they put their coats on the wardrobe.
"It's just a couple of hours. You'll survive."
Of course he will, he doesn't like to be clingy and he isn't like that because he is worried about anything. He is just happier when he is around her, she makes him complete and he loves how he feels when she is close to him.
"Daniel! We need you to get ready." Charlotte comes up to them as soon as they walk inside and Daniel pulls a face.
"Duty calls handsome. I'll see you later." Stevie winks.
After sharing a short, but sweet kiss Daniel follows Charlotte behind the podium they set up with the car on it. Of course it's covered so you just see the outlines, but you can already feel the anticipation hanging in the air.
Seb is actually on time for once, that is probably because of Melissa being very punctual so he is already waiting for Daniel.
"Ready mate?" Seb asks him rolling his eyes.
"I don't have much choice. It's show time!" He sighs and then plasters a smile on his face.
Might as well get it over and done with. The sooner this is over, the sooner he can go back and enjoy the after party.
~~~~~~~~
Charles walks into the living room where he sees Tina just picking up Zara to go into the kitchen.
She hasn't heard or seen him yet, but Cole did.
"Charlie!" Cole loves the Monegasque driver. He always makes time for him when Cole is in the paddock, so he is very happy to see him.
"Hello petite amie, good to see you. Since when are you so big? You are almost big enough to go karting." Charles ruffles the dark curls on Cole's head, making the boy giggle.
When he looks up he stares directly into his beautiful girlfriends chocolate brown eyes.
She looks shocked to see him, which he can understand, he didn't exactly tell her he was coming over.
When he saw the videos of Tina leaving the Maranello venue and he heard what insults were thrown at her he didn't waste time. He booked the first flight here and rented a car at the airport.
He felt it was best to just see her in person, she needs to know he is there for her. That she could have told him straight after he got back to the hotel. But he also knows that she is not the type of person who wants to bother him with her issues.
"Charles? What are you doing here?" She asks him, her eyes opened wide.
As soon as she saw him her heart skipped a few beats and she felt all the love she has for him warm her from the inside out.
"I saw some videos of you leaving Maranello and I don't understand why you didn't tell me about it."
Tina turns to go into the kitchen. She wanted to get the pancakes started so the kids can go to bed on time. Very soon they will have to travel to Bahrein and she wants to make sure they stay in their own rhythm as much as possible.
She puts Zara in the high chair before grabbing the box of pancake mix, milk and eggs.
Charles and Cole followed her and Charles puts Cole on a chair with his iPad.
"Tina please, why didn't you tell me?"
He can see his girlfriends shoulders sag and his heart aches for her.
"Because I don't want you to worry about me. I will have to grow a thicker skin somehow." She says and he shakes his head.
"No mon amour. These people have to keep their nose out of our business. They have no right to treat you like that and if I knew about it I could have done something."
She turns to him, tears in her eyes.
"What? What could you have done? It will happen no matter what you say. I didn't see the point in telling you, because you can't change it anyways."
Charles knows she is right, of course he can put a message on his social media begging people to stop harassing Tina, but that doesn't mean they will listen to it. But he can at least try.
"Maybe not, but I can try right? Even if I can't change it, I still would have wanted you to tell me about it. I love you and I want to support you when you are hurting."
Charles puts his hand on her arm, he doesn't want to see her cry especially not because of people who call him his fans, but who he doesn't see as fans.
"I just don't know if I am the right person for you. What if I am not strong enough for this world? I love you so much, I truly do. I'm just scared that at some point it will be too much, or you will be done with me getting hurt about it and you go find somebody who can handle it."
Even though she is crying, Tina manages to get the pancake batter done.
She puts a special pancake pan on the stove and turns on the heat underneath it.
After putting a bit of butter in the pan to make sure the batter won't stick, she pours in some of the batter.
"I don't want anybody else. I love you and I want to be with you. I don't want to be selfish though, but I will never be done with supporting you when you need it. So please don't end things because you think that's what's best for me.
Being with you is what is best for me. I will put messages on my social media to tell people not to harass you, I will do that every day if I have to. I will get a team of people to track down the ones who say things like that and warn them to stop. I will do whatever it takes to stop them from hurting you. But please don't break up with me unless you don't want me anymore, unless you don't love me anymore."
Charles practically begs Tina to stay with him and he has never begged a girl for anything. But he has also never felt this strongly about a girl before either. He knows Tina is his future, he knows she is the future mother of his children and the one he will one day call his wife.
But he doesn't want her to stay in a relationship with him if she gets hurt and harassed every time she goes anywhere. He can only hope she won't end things with him, it would absolutely break his heart.
"I don't want to break up with you. You know how much I love you. It's just hard. I know I said I knew what I was getting myself into when we started our relationship, but I guess I didn't know how much it would really affect me."
She sighs before flipping the pancake to the other side.
"Maybe you could try putting a message like that out. Maybe it helps, I don't know. Stevie also told me that I shouldn't let it get to me, after all I am the one you love, I am the one you kiss and I am the one you wake up with when we are together. She is right, I know she is right. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. I wish I was as strong as her and Melissa. They don't seem to care most of the time. I really don't want to break up with you Charles."
Charles feels a bit of relief and he is determined to do whatever he can to make sure Tina won't get hurt for being with him again.
It won't happen overnight, but maybe, bit by bit he can make people aware that their words are harmful and could cost him his happiness.
"Will you please talk to me next time something like this happens? You don't have to go through it alone. We are together and I am not just here for the good times, I'm here for the bad as well."
He puts his arm around her shoulder as she puts the first pancake on topa plate.
"I know. I will really try not to listen to those people. I shouldn't let them decide whether I'm worthy of you. You and I are the only ones who can decide that. I'm not saying I will get there right away, but you and Stevie are right. You stood up to my mom for me, I can somehow stand up for myself and for us as well."
She doesn't know how she will manage, but she does know she wants to fight for her man, how could she even think about leaving him just because other people say she should.
He came all this way to talk to her while he should be getting ready for Bahrein and testing. Instead he is standing her, in Stevie's kitchen, telling her he would do whatever it takes to make sure she wouldn't be harassed anymore.
"So we are good?" He asks her for his confirmation.
"Yes we are good. I love you Charles. I can't believe you actually came here. You could have called."
He shakes his head firmly.
"Some things you don't discuss over the phone. But do you think Stevie would mind if I stay the night? I don't have a ticket home yet."
Tina laughs.
"I'm sure she won't mind. But that does mean you are helping me with the kids tonight."
"That's fine, it would be good to practice for when we will have our own family someday."
Tina turns to Charles and pulls him close to her.
"Not yet though. We have plenty of time for that."
With her hand in his neck she pulls him down until their lips connect in a soft, loving kiss.
"Tina!! Pancake!" Cole suddenly shouts.
Tina and Charles look at each other laughing. They will have time for this once the two little ones are in bed.
But first, pancakes.