𝕄𝕆𝕋𝕀𝕍𝔼. || Lando Norris

✨Part-60✨

Should he go speak to her or should he not? What should he say to her? Thoughts raced in his mind as he looked across the restaurant. It felt like life was playing a cruel joke on him, she was always so close yet miles apart. What were the odds of them dining at the same restaurant?

There was no way he could just stand up and walked to her table, besides it looked like they had company. Was she really ignoring him or actually unaware of his presence? She seemed to have stood up to leave the table, this was his opening. It was now or never, he nervously gulped and excused himself from the table, still tracing her path with his eyes.

"Claire!" He walked towards her, she was startled and just froze there. "How have you been?" He asked her nervously.

"Fine." She curtly replied, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I feel like we have a lot to talk about-"

"This isn't the place to talk about it Lando." She looked into his eyes, and it was all back. He felt like he was losing himself in those eyes all over again.

"Then meet me by the pool tonight," he fiddled with his watch, "I'll be waiting for you, I'll be there at eleven."

He walked away, uncertain if she was going to show up or not. He tried his best to not worry about it and have fun with the team, they decided to go clubbing. And that was his cue to leave, he did not want to be around alcohol and Claire at the same time, it never ended well.

The minutes blended into hours and he found himself sitting on a sun lounger by the pool, he felt defeated, almost certain that there was no way she was going to come to talk to him. But the odds really were in his favour.

There she was, right in front him, with the moon shining on her face. The moonlight made her look more angelic than she already did, her long hair pulled behind in a messy ponytail and the hoodie she was wearing- he couldn't be mistaken, it was his.

She awkwardly waved at him, he waved back and stood up to join her. The view of the city was stunning, a walk and a chat felt like a good way to ease into the chaos that was about to go down.

"How have you been?" She asked him.

"Miserable honestly." He scratched the back of his neck, he stole a quick glance at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing it's just, you're going to laugh at me." She blushed.

"Go on, I'm not going to laugh at you." He reassured her.

"Well, I was mindlessly browsing through tabloids and I came across photos of you and a model and I was just very certain you were happier." Her voice cracked, "and- and that you were over us." She blinked back tears.

"There's no way I'm really ever going to get over you." He sighed.

"Then, what was that evening? I feel like we reached our end way before the day I had to leave."

"To be honest, it's all a blur. What did I do? I can't believe that I let myself hurt you."

Just thinking about that evening made her chest ache, a strange soreness took over her body. "You cheated on me, and proudly told me about it."

Lando blinked at her in confusion, he was certain that didn't happen. And suddenly, everything clicked. "You're not going to believe me, but I'm willing to embarrass everyone involved."

"Okay then." She crossed her arms.

"I- I was so drunk, I kissed Charles that evening. Thinking it was you. Alex told me so. I assure you there was no other girl involved, it was just Charles and thoughts of you."

Claire burst into laughter, she wanted to stay mad at him, she really did. But hearing his account melted her anger away, she told him the incidents of that evening as she remembered them.

They spent some more time talking, he noticed she was getting tired and offered that they sit down. She gingerly took a seat on one of the chairs and he slid right next to her, she gazed into his eyes.

She drank in how celestial they looked in this light, they looked sad but they soothed her. A gust of wind blew, he reached out to brush the stray strands of hair out of her face, closing the gap between them.

Claire's heart was beating out of her chest, and so was his. Both of them were craving this, she clasped her arms around the back of his neck, she could feel his muscles tense up. He leaned in, and so did she.

"No." She let go of him. "I'm sorry Lando- I-I can't."

"Why not!" He blustered, there was a look of betrayal on his face. Claire buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breathe before continuing.

"We can't go a day without fighting, what keeps you attracted to me apart from the fact you have a child with me?" She cried.

"Claire, this isn't about Ophelia! This is about you! I miss you, I miss waking up to your voice, I miss cooking a big spread for you, I miss being welcomed by your big smile, I miss your kisses, I miss your touch-"

"Can we. Can we just agree to be there for Ophelia? We'll figure this-" she pointed towards herself and then him, "we'll figure this out when we're in a good place. Charlotte has my phone number, we'll work this all out. We'll be good parents to her-"

"Why won't you listen to me!" He cried in frustration, "I love you Claire! There aren't enough words to describe how I feel around you."

"No Lando you don't. Don't give me that hope." She wiped her tears away, "you're just used to the idea of having me around."

"It's so much more than that Claire," he consoled her, "you're more than the girl of my dreams."

"I'm tired Lando I-I can't do this right now. Can we start by just being good parents to Ophelia?"

"Yes, if that's what you want right now I can respect that." He smiled at her, "but I still need to know if you love me."

"I never stopped." She froze their for a second, she turned away and continued walking back into the building.

This is all he needed, he knew that sparks still flew between them. He was going to do whatever it takes to gain her trust again, go as slow as she needed, for the end goal of it was to make sure she was happy.

A/n: aahhh! We're so close to the end! I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you for reading my ramblings❤️ as I write this, I'm working on the final chapter of this story, I'm having some trouble drawing a good conclusion :/ all that apart, I'd love to hear what you have to say!