Prevail - [Charles Leclerc]

Sept

        Her mind was spinning slowly, her vision blurred a little, but it was carefree for the first time. Her skin was a little sweaty while dancing between the many people, and it made her move her hair away from her face multiple times. Sara smiled at Isa, moving the cocktail glass up to down it. The alcohol buzz in her brain made the evening more bearable. Carlos showed up behind Isa, his arms wrapping around the petite girl. A smile curled her lips instantly, and she turned around in his arms to kiss her boyfriend. "Sara." Charles' voice sounded behind her, his fingers curling around her upper arm. She looked between him and his hand around her arm. "We're leaving," he said. "Are they?" Sara asked, meaning Carlos and Isa. "I don't know," Charles shrugged, and she looked at the couple again. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly together, unsure if she wanted the same kind of connection as Isa and Carlos or if it was just the alcohol.

"I don't want to go yet, I'm finally having fun," Sara said, shrugging his touch off. "Sara..." his voice made her look into his eyes again. His fingers took a hold of her chin, his face was hovering over hers. "We are leaving." Charles saw some people eying them, to which he gave her cheek a soft caress before holding out his hand. The look in his eyes told her to take it. Sara placed her hand in his, and she waved goodbye to Isa and Carlos, following Charles outside. A car was parked right in front of the club and the driver opened the door for them. Sara pulled her hand from his and got in on one side, while Charles got in on the other. She was upset, seriously upset about how she felt tonight, and while she tried to control her feelings, the state she was in didn't allow her to keep her eyes from watering. The lump in her throat was hard to swallow, and every fiber of her being wanted to yell at Charles that she couldn't do anything about this, either.

There was no way she wanted to show him her tears, and her fingers trembled a little when they rushed to stop the tears falling from the corners of her eyes. Sara got a runny nose eventually, and the soft sniffling sound made him look up. "Is something wrong?" he asked while the car parked in front of the gate, which was opened by one of the guards. Sara didn't answer and reached for the handle to open the door and get out of the car once it was parked. "Sara, is something wrong?" Charles asked again, closing the door behind him. "Everything is wrong!" her voice sounded shrill. "And you don't get to talk to me like you did tonight," she snarled. The front door opened and the light of the hallway shone on them. Some of the guards looked at the yelling scene, not sure what to do. "You told me I make it harder for the both of us, but as long as you're not willing to accept that I can't act in love with someone I don't even want to be friends with-," Sara wiped her cheeks. "Then I'll continue to make it fucking hard for us," she yelled.

"Because I don't care about the consequences, your friends, or your reputation!" Sara finished, leaving Charles a little speechless in the opening of the door when she breezed past the guards to get upstairs. "Charles..." Lando started. "No," Charles shook his head, not wanting to hear it. "I mean, should I-." "She's the woman I'm supposed to marry next week, so stay out of it!" Charles' voice rumbled through the mansion, and Lando took a step back, nodding at the words of his boss and letting him by to get into his office. Lando couldn't help but feel bad for Sara, actually for the both of them. Neither of them wanted this, and the fact that their families never mentioned anything about the arrangement either made it all extra hard to take. The door of Charles' office slammed close and after that, the silence took over again. Lando was sure Mrs. Leclerc had been able to hear the yelling from her room in the other side of the house, and she wouldn't be happy about the fact that Charles and Sara had barely made any progress in their relationship.

The pressure is so high, and both Sara and Charles could feel that weight on their shoulders. The expectations of the couple were so high, too, and Lando even felt awkward when thinking that they had to act like a loving, engaged couple in front of so many people who had no idea what was actually going on. Lando chose to go upstairs, and he quietly approached Sara's room. His knuckles knocked against the door. "I don't want to talk, Charles," he heard her voice, so he opened the door. "It's just me," Lando said, entering her room. "That I even thought he'd come after me," Sara chuckled, her eyes bloodshot while she was wiping her makeup off her face. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked, leaning against the wall. "I'm fine, thanks," Sara replied. "Did I overreact?" Sara asked then. "I can't really judge the situation, sorry," Lando said with a small smile. She nodded. "Goodnight, Sara. I'm here if you need me," he said, leaving her room and closing the door behind him. Sara sighed, throwing away the makeup wipes and getting ready for bed.