Showered, dressed and ready to face the day, Chloe ignored the curious look on Seb's face as she walked out of their bedroom and joined him, Britta and Antti at the dining table for breakfast.
"Morning all." She chirped as she sat down. Her hand wavered over the freshly brewed coffee in the cafetière and instead she opted for the jug of orange juice that sat in front of Seb.
"Morning beautiful." He leant in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "You're up early."
"Not that early, it's nearly half eight." She replied as she filled her glass and then placed the jug back down.
"Yeah, but I was letting you sleep in, I was going to come and see you just before we left." Seb exchanged a knowing look with Britta, with his wife dressed in a white and khaki striped t-shirt dress and a pale denim jacket, her hair blow dried and a little makeup on, he knew exactly why she was up early and so did Britta.
"Well there's no need, I'm coming with you today." She said breezily as she helped herself to toast.
"Liebe, you can't." He turned in his seat to face her, letting one hand rest on the back of her chair and his fingertips brush against her shoulder.
"I can't stay here Seb, it's driving me nuts being stuck in this hotel. I've had two days of it and I'm missing you like crazy." She put her slice of toast down on her plate. "I hate being apart from you." She added, pouting and trailing her fingertips up his thigh underneath the table.
"There's still press outside and they'll be all over you the second you enter the circuit, I'm only thinking of you." He glanced down at his lap where her fingers were getting dangerously close to forbidden territory. Was she really going to use sexual tactics to get what she wanted and in front of his PA and trainer too?
"If they didn't see me this morning, they'd only catch me when we leave this evening."
"Chloe, things have only just quietened down. If you....." Britta started to speak but Chloe was quick to cut her off.
"I'm sick of hiding away and I'm sick of being stuck in this hotel. I didn't travel all this way just spend the entire bloody weekend cooped up in here." She huffed, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms in front of her. Seb glared at her, slightly annoyed by her flighty response.
"Should have thought of that before...." He stopped himself, going down the Stephen route wasn't going to help matters. Unfortunately for him, his wife had already cottoned on to what he was going to say before he stopped. Rising from her chair, she shoved it back harshly and stormed towards the bedroom. Seb rolled his eyes as he got up also, knowing that he'd have some grovelling to do. By the time he got near the bedroom door Chloe came flying back out, complete with flat shoes on and her bag. "Whoa!" He stopped in front of her, grasping the tops of her arms. "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here." She hissed. "Like I said, I'm sick of being stuck in here. Hannah might have been happy to stay in hotels or back home but I'm not and I will not have you throwing Thursday back in my face just because you don't want me to come to the circuit."
"Ok, ok." He said, trying to calm her while he started to manoeuvre her back towards the bedroom door. "I'm sorry." Leaning past her, he opened the door and gently pushed her back inside, closing it behind them. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I love you." Moving his hands to cup her face, he covered her set, angry lips with his. She responded in a heartbeat, grabbing a handful of his white t-shirt before slowly pulling away.
"You can't just kiss me like that." She said breathlessly, still gripping his t-shirt.
"I can't?" He looked at her, bemused.
"You pissed me off."
"Then let me make it right." He went to kiss her once more and she let his lips almost touch hers before turning her head, making him smile ruefully.
"Let me come to the circuit." She slid her hand down from his chest.
"I'd rather you stay here, the press...."
"I can handle the press, please Seb, I hate being here on my own and I hate being apart from you for longer than I need to." She leant in and brushed her nose over the side of his neck, smiling as he leant his head to the side in encouragement and took a firm hold of her hips. When it became clear that she was waiting for him to answer and wasn't going to kiss him there until he said yes, he gave in.
"Ok."
"Ok?" She asked, just be certain, letting her lips linger against his skin.
"Yes, you can come." He leant his head back, fluttering his eyes closed in anticipation.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She said, following her words with open mouthed kisses, breathing in his intoxicating scent and sucking lightly on his pulse point.
"It will be in a minute if you keep doing that." He almost moaned the words out and slid his hands onto her behind. "Am I forgiven?"
"You're forgiven." Feeling a certain part of his anatomy starting to press against her, she stepped back from his hold and admired how undone he looked. "And I'm hungry." She licked her lips, turned around and left the bedroom, hearing Seb give a little laugh as she skipped back to the dining table.
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"Chloe!"
"Anything to say about your affair with Michael?!"
"How long did it go on for Chloe?!"
"Can you update us any further on Michael's recovery?!"
"Have you had any contact with the Schumacher family?"
"How has this affected your marriage with Sebastian, Chloe?!" Upon hearing this particular question, she felt Seb grab her hand and pull her along at a quicker pace.
"Are you going to be making a public apology to Michael's family?!" The questions were coming thick and fast and as they got close to hospitality she finally looked up from the ground and at Seb. As per usual he had his RayBans on, hiding how their intrusive questions were making him feel but his tensed jaw and firm grip on her hand told her all she needed to know. Thanks to Antti's great timing in bringing the Maserati to the hotel's entrance, Chloe had managed to dart outside and into the car, escaping the press there with only a couple of questions being shouted at her but she hadn't been so lucky when they'd arrived at the circuit and she was internally applauding herself for wearing flat shoes that enabled her to keep up with Seb and was beyond relieved when she got inside the relative privacy of hospitality. She barely got to say hello anyone as Seb pulled her along and through the back to his changing room, shutting the door firmly behind them.
"Well that was.....interesting." He breathed as he put his rucksack down.
"Yeah." She stood awkwardly watching as he checked his phone, expecting him to moan and say she shouldn't have come here. "Well at least that's over with."
"Not quite." He turned to open his rucksack and pulled out his Ferrari team shirt and cap.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Mick's here this weekend, I was kind of hoping that by not coming here you'd maybe avoid him. We're lucky he hasn't been knocking on the door of our suite, he's in the same hotel."
"So now who's been keeping secrets?" She huffed.
"You can hardly compare that to what you haven't been telling me." He retorted as he changed.
"Cheers for reminding me, yet again." She moaned.
"Sorry. You know my feelings on the subject of Michael, I wanted to avoid you having a confrontation with Mick."
"I can't just avoid him, hows it going to look?" She stepped closer to him and took hold of his hands. "Let's not get into an argument, I came here to support my husband and because I can't bare to apart from you. If Mick wants to talk, I'm not going to run and hide, ok?" She felt herself relax as Seb gave her a small nod and pulled her close, enveloping her in a hug.
"It is good to have you here, it hasn't felt right not having you around. I've missed you as much you've missed me."
"Then I'm glad I'm here today." She smiled as she pulled back from him. He was just about to kiss her when the door opened and Antti walked in.
"Ready to get the day started? They're ready to start when you are." With Britta tied up on the phone dealing with a flurry of calls following Chloe's appearance, Antti had taken it upon himself to try and keep Seb on time.
"Guess I'll see you later." He stole a quick kiss from her and headed for the door.
"Bis später! Ich liebe dich!" She called, making him stop and smile in response.
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Chloe wasn't surprised when Mick appeared before her but was relieved that he'd at least waited until she was alone. Towering above her as he stood and leant on the table, he looked the image of his handsome father, especially when he wasn't happy. She could only imagine that Michael was probably pulling the same expression right about now.
"You wanna talk here or somewhere more private?" He asked. Taking a last look at the screen as it showed Seb currently running in third, she rose from her seat.
"You'd better come with me." She was instantly aware of people staring as she walked through to the back with Mick following behind, but then she'd got used to people staring and whispering all day so she didn't let it bother her. Once inside Seb's changing room she picked up his t-shirt that he'd been wearing earlier on. Feeling on edge and as though she was about to be interrogated, she held it close to her for comfort.
"Now I've finally seen you, I just don't know where to start." Mick sat up on a table and flexed his fingers. "You know my dads been trying to call you, right? And Sabine."
"Yeah." She looked down to the floor, feeling guilty. "It's not that I didn't want to speak to him, I just couldn't. How is he?"
"How do you think?!" He yelled suddenly, making her flinch. "He's fighting to save his marriage and keep our family together while being faced with accusations and images from a night he remembers nothing about and has the press camped outside his property. Have you any idea of what you've done?! They're not going to leave him alone until they've seen him."
"I'm sorry." She mumbled feebly.
"So was it just a one night thing or did it go on for longer? Were you and him carrying on when he was at Ferrari?"
"No. It was just one night, just one day. We were drunk and I know that sounds like a really shit excuse but that's how it was."
"You were drunk when you kissed him in the motor home?"
"I really don't want to go in to details."
"Tough shit, because I do. My mum is heartbroken, she needs answers and you owe her that much at least! Now sit and talk!" He pointed to a grey fold out chair and she did as he asked.
"The kiss just happened but we both knew it was a mistake, we'd both made a bet with each other over two crew members who we thought could be seeing each other, he won and was trying to wind me up about it so I threw a cushion at him. We ended up having a cushion fight and it just happened. He didn't want things to be awkward between us and so he turned up at my hotel room that night with two of bottles of champagne. We got drunk, we ordered more champagne on room service and..... I don't know, it all just happened but at the same time I wanted it to happen. I loved him and I wanted to please him."
"You were in love with him?!"
"At the time, yes." She looked up at him, he was looking back at her as though she'd suddenly sprouted another head.
"So you leaked all this shit just because....?"
"It wasn't me that leaked it, I can't go into details but you have to believe me when I say it wasn't me. Your father will know that. He'll know exactly where it all came from. You really think I'd want to rake all this up now and reveal the real state of his health to the world? Would I really want to risk my own marriage as well as Michael's? Think about it Mick, who else did your father trust with the real condition of his health and fiercely guarded private life?"
"I don't get where the photos and videos came from though." He said, looking confused.
"I had an old laptop that's since been destroyed, it got hacked earlier in the year."
"You kept all that shit?!" He rose his voice again. "What....are you fucking stupid or something?!"
"I had nearly five years of not knowing anything about your fathers health! And before I met Seb, he was still the man I loved, I was grieving for him! I missed him so much that I grieved! I was cut off by your family, it's all I had left!"
"Yeah and now I know why they got rid of you! Because you were trying to split them up, even back then! Because they couldn't trust you and the poison that's out there now, that just proves it!" He spat, pointing angrily at her.
"It wasn't me!" Chloe yelled in despair just as the door opened and Britta appeared, looking far from happy.
"You're needed outside Chloe." She said sternly, knowing she needed to be rescued. Chloe rose from her seat.
"No!" Mick snapped. "We're not done here!"
"You are done here Mick, now please both of you, leave Seb's room before I have to call for security." She moved and held the door open. Mick stepped out first and as Chloe followed, Britta gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Chloe felt herself sag with relief, for a moment she'd been worried that she'd really pissed Britta off and that maybe Seb had given his PA strict instructions not to let herself and Mick talk. Mick loitered, keen to finish having his say. "Go Mick, you've taken enough of Chloe's time, I'm sure you've got the answers you needed."
"She needs to apologise to my parents for fucking up their marriage! Twenty-four years they've been married, and you've destroyed it!" He lurched forward, prodding Chloe's chest angrily.
"Chloe will be apologising to no one." Britta replied, a hint of anger in her voice as she put her arm out to separate the two of them. "Now go, or I really will call for security and have you escorted from the circuit." She pointed in the direction of the exit and Mick glared at Chloe and then at Britta before stomping away. "Are you alright?" She asked softly as she ushered Chloe back out into hospitality.
"I guess I deserved that and should think myself lucky that he wanted to talk behind closed doors." Chloe stopped to look at the screen, the number of laps remaining was into single figures now and Seb was behind the Red Bull of Alex Albon with Charles right behind him.
"Want me to get you a drink?" Britta offered as Chloe's gaze became fixed to the image of her husband being passed by Charles. "Charles is on fresher tyres. Wine?" She added as Chloe's chest rose and then fell sharply as she sighed.
"No." She replied, tensing as the two red cars got very close, Seb was not going to relinquish his place to Charles that easily, and there was the briefest and what appeared to be the lightest of touches between them. It was only a kiss, but the effect it created was far, far greater as there was a flurry of sparks and Charles' front, right suspension failed putting him out of the race. The chatter in the room had changed to gasps and then silence as everyone realised what had unfolded on the screen in front of them. Within seconds it became apparent that Seb hadn't escaped the incident without damage either, suffering a rear, left puncture that started ripping chunks out of the side and floor of his car and causing too much damage for him to continue. With just another five laps left before the chequered flag both cars were out, this was a disaster for the team. Sitting back down at her table, Chloe leant on it with her head in her hands. "Oh Seb." She muttered sadly. This was bad. She'd had a feeling for most of the season that something like this would happen, that neither driver would want to give in. Just when she thought the day couldn't get any worse, it had. Seb had been right, she should have stayed at the hotel like he'd wanted her to. Instead she'd insisted on coming here, put herself in Mick's firing line and seen her husband clash on track with his teammate. The day had certainly been one to forget, in fact this whole weekend had turned into one to forget.
"I'd better go and find Antti so that we can meet Seb when he gets back." Britta muttered quietly as the safety car came out and Seb could be seen climbing out of his car, angry and bitterly disappointed.
"For once, I don't envy you." Chloe replied, not lifting her head from her hands. "He's gonna be absolutely fuming."
"Wish me luck." She said, patting Chloe's shoulder.
"Good luck." Chloe lifted her head as Britta walked away. The cars were slowly snaking around the track now behind the safety car while Seb could be seen, his crash helmet in one hand, rubbing his eyes and then pinching the bridge of his nose. His stress, frustration and anguish was clear to see and her heart ached at the sight of him standing there while waiting for help to get back to the paddock. She wanted nothing more than to be able to go to him, hold him and make him feel better and she spent the next ten minutes looking anxiously to the door, waiting for him to come back, waiting for her chance. When he did return, he swept into the room with Antti carrying his helmet behind him and she was left unsure if going to him was the right thing to do. He looked like a ticking time bomb, his gaze was fixed ahead of him, he looked at no one as he walked through the room and his dark, glowering expression meant that no one dared to speak to him. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing when she got up and walked through the back to his room, even Antti hadn't stayed with him, he just gave her a weak smile as he passed her. Getting to Seb's door, she opened it slowly and stepped inside, pushing it shut as quietly as she could. He was standing there, breathing deeply, looking to the floor with his hands on his hips. His expression was dark and full of anguish, he looked ready to explode. Chloe's mouth went dry, although she'd put herself in this situation, his presence was intimidating. She stood in silence for a couple of minutes, she daren't speak, she daren't move from her spot in front of the door. Lifting his head he looked up, his eyes settled on her, there was no love there, just cold, hard anger. She felt herself go cold and goosebumps formed on her body as she looked into his eyes. He looked like a predator and by coming in to this room, she'd become his prey. Half of her wanted to open the door and make a bolt for it, the other half wanted to stay because the way he was looking right now was intoxicating and exciting. In a blink her back had hit the door with a bang and his hands had slammed on to it either side of her head, making her gasp in fright. He had her pinned to the door and he leant in towards her.......
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It was nearly half past five when, along with Antti, she was escorted into a waiting people carrier that was already loaded with Seb's, Antti's and her own luggage after someone in the team's travel department had worked their magic and got them changed onto an earlier flight. Although the usual team press conference was still going ahead, Mattia had requested that neither driver attend and after a de-brief and a meeting with the FIA stewards both drivers were now free to leave and Seb had earlier sent a member of security over with the request that she was to wait in the people carrier with Antti. She knew why, he wanted no more questions like the ones they'd faced this morning and was keen to make a swift exit from the circuit.
"You've no need to be so nervous and stop looking at the media headlines. I thought you'd given up looking at bullshit like that." Antti said from his seat in front of her. "I can feel that you're jiggling your knee and let's face it, you've seen him in a far worse mood than this over the time we've been here." He turned around to look at her.
"Cheers Antti." She muttered back, not wanting to be reminded, yet again, of Thursday's events. "Shit, this is awful." She added as she showed him a rather brutal post-race headline on her phone.
"Then stop looking at it. He'll be fine when we get to Italy, he'll sleep it off on the plane." He watched as Seb approached the vehicle, accompanied by a rep from Formula One's own travel team. Maybe it was her who'd got their flights changed? Wait, hang on, did Antti just say Italy? Before she had the chance to ask him about it the door slid open and Seb climbed in to take the seat next to her. His sullen mood was immediately obvious as he dumped his rucksack down on the floor by his feet and huffed as he put his seatbelt on. Chloe could only think that his post-race de-brief with Charles, Mattia and other senior members of the team had resulted in both drivers getting a stern reprimand. As the people carrier started to move and leave the circuit behind she allowed herself a little glance at him, hoping he'd look her way but he stayed staring straight ahead. Wanting to try and break the heavy feeling silence she decided to ask Antti if they really were going to Italy instead of their home in Switzerland? Leaning forward and waiting for Antti's answer, she was aware of Seb briefly looking in her direction.
"Yes, we're flying to Bologna. Change of plan." He muttered, sounding as pissed off as he looked.
"Right, ok." She sat back in her seat and turned to look out of the window as silence resumed and the atmosphere in the vehicle became tense, as though he was going to explode with anger at any moment. Obviously what had happened between them in his changing room earlier had done little to soothe him and just as he'd done on Friday; he'd pulled out at the last second as he came, leaving her frustrated and feeling as though he was holding back from her. Although he was sitting close to her, letting his thigh brush against hers, he was distant, lost in his own world, miles away from the one they shared. He was clearly still hurting over the collision with Charles and the fact that they were now flying to Italy instead of home told her that for him, the repercussions of today weren't quite over yet. Not for the first time this year, she worried about his future with the team. This felt like a new low and with a year still left on his contract she found herself wondering if he'd see it out. She turned her head to look at him; with his brooding stare, a slight pout on his lips and a gorgeous profile, even from the side view he looked stunning, like a model for a top fashion house - and he was hers and she hated that he was hurting and was so distant from her. Glancing downwards and seeing his hand in his lap, she reached across and gingerly took hold of it. It felt like an instinctive reaction as his fingers linked with hers and he turned to look at her, his expression softening and their eyes meeting. "I love you and I'll never stop loving you, supporting you and being proud of you." She murmured, just about loud enough for him to hear. "Never, ever forget that." Seb gave her a small smile as her words started to melt away some of the anguish he was still feeling. Keeping hold of her hand, he rose his other hand and placed his palm on her cheek. In that one small moment he'd never been so grateful that she was by his side. She anchored him, she made him feel safe, she made him feel loved and she lifted his spirits when things weren't going his way. He leant in and gave her the gentlest of kisses, a complete contrast to how he was earlier. Right now kissing her was the only way he knew to show his gratitude and when they broke apart he nestled into her, feeling her slip an arm around him and letting him rest his weary head on her shoulder for the rest of the journey to the airport.