Prevail - [Charles Leclerc]

Quatre

Sara unwrapped her wet hair from the towel after her shower. It was late, and she had locked herself in the guestroom the whole day after her father left her. Her luggage had arrived, but she had only opened one of the suitcases to get some leisure wear out of it. She was hungry, but that feeling faded away when thinking of sharing a dining table with Charles Leclerc. She'd rather starve. A fluffy robe was tied around her body, and after throwing the towels she used in the laundry bin, she wandered over to the windows that offered a nice view over Monte Carlo. Sara crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes fell onto the desk that stood next to the glass doors that led to the balcony, the envelope resting on the surface. Sara made her way over to the desk, slowly sinking down on the chair. Her fingers pried the envelope open, and she reached for the papers that were inside, held together by a paperclip. Sara scanned through the document, her eyebrows raising as it was the contract that Mrs. Leclerc and her father had set up.

A part of her didn't want to read it at all. She didn't have to know what kind of miserable situation caused an even more miserable situation. Another part of her was curious. Sara remembered how torn up Pascale Leclerc was about it, how offended and hurt she was about the way Charles reacted while she had done this to save the lives of her family. She let out a deep breath and started at the first page. The document described generously the financial situation of the Leclerc crew after the death of Herve. By the time, both Sara and Charles were three years old. The crew had a lot of debts, and it looked like Sara's family saved the Leclerc's a lot of times, which caused a good bond between the crews. Sara knew she would never have a normal life when growing up between the mobsters, and her father was right that she would never have a 'normal boyfriend', however, the fact that it was all laid out for her, that no one told her about this in the past twenty-one years, hurt her a lot.

Her family was tight, yet she felt pushed out now. Especially with the way she was left here in Monte Carlo. As if she only had a material worth. Sara placed the papers on the table again, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She didn't want to cry again, she didn't want to feel weak. A knock on her door made her lift her head with a rush, and she hurried to wipe her cheeks. "Ms. Abril?" A male voice she hadn't heard before sounded from the hallway. The door opened next, and a pair of kind green eyes rested on her. The curly haired guard had a gentle look on his face before he spoke up again. "I'm Lando Norris, one of Charles' men," he introduced himself first. Sara nodded slowly, she didn't care much. "You haven't eaten since you arrived," Lando continued. "I'm not hungry," Sara replied, her fingertips taking some more tears from her lashes. "Charles is out for some business," he added. "Do you prefer penne or spaghetti?" he added. She didn't have much of a choice, he wanted her to eat. A soft hush of air left her lips before she answered. "Spaghetti, please," she replied.

"Alright," Lando nodded, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth before he left, leaving the door ajar to invite her to follow him downstairs. Sara dropped the robe she was still dressed in, and reached for the sweater and joggers she laid out. Pushing her feet into some slippers, she opened the door and went downstairs too. There were more guards downstairs, at the doors, and they briefly looked at her when she walked by them. Sara directed her eyes in front of her, feeling a little awkward under their stares. Sara hadn't been past the hallway yet, and she looked around to see where Lando went. She heard his voice and moved towards the sounds, hesitantly standing in the doorway of the large dining room. "Take a seat, Sara," Lando told her, and she reached for the closest chair to shove it back. She felt uneasy and out of place, and if Lando thought the same, he didn't show it. A glass of water was placed in front of her, and not much later, a plate of spaghetti carbonara. "Enjoy," one of the maids beamed at her. "Thank you... Gisele," Sara said, reading her name from her little name plate.

The girl blushed a little, but went out without saying anything. Sara took a deep breath and picked up her cutlery. "Charles is out, you said?" she spoke up, noticing Lando was still here. "He is," Lando confirmed, not adding more details. She nodded slowly. "He will be back tonight," Lando added a couple seconds later. Her eyebrows briefly rose. She had no idea about his schedule, but the more often he was out, the better she could settle herself here. "I'll leave you be," Lando said. Sara looked over at him as he was about to leave. "Lando?" she spoke up, making him turn his head. "Thanks," she muttered. He curtly gave her another nod and then left her. Sara leaned her head on her hand while twisting her fork in the spaghetti. Eating after such a long, disastrous day was quite a good idea after all.