Hate To Love You || Charles Leclerc x OFC

Chapter 5 - Fool Me Twice

Pierre: You got a few minutes to meet up before the party?

I looked down at the text on my phone and sighed. I knew Pierre probably wanted to check in about Louis, but I was tired of everyone constantly "checking in". I was tired of this entire debacle. Frankly, I was just tired. I left Pierre on read receipt and decided to text him back after I had relaxed in my nice bath, but by the time I had finished getting ready, there were only a few minutes left before I had to head downstairs.

Me: See you downstairs x

Pierre: *thumbs up*

I made my way downstairs and caught sight of Lando, who immediately saw me and pulled me into a warm and inviting hug, before continuing his idle chatter that he was so good at. Out of the concern of my eye I saw Charles and Pierre make their way out of the elevator. Pierre had a huge grin on his face and he waved at me, while Charles looked like his usual salty self.

"Lily, good speed today." I looked over to Charles and frowned at him. I had no doubt that there was an insult hidden between those words – there always was with Charles. As I went to return the favor, an even more horrific sight crossed my path – Louis had arrived with some skank clinging to his arm.

But as I looked closer I realized it wasn't just any skank – it was the same girl that was in his bed this morning. A beautiful blond bombshell with tits that seemed to pop out of her dress. Great, just great.

Could she be more desperate? Unlikely. I rolled my eyes as several of the drivers greeted her, each one of their eyes staring directly at her tits versus her eyes.

I turned around give Pierre a 'what the fuck' look, but he only announced to the group, "Let's go" before grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to walk with him, not caring to look back to see if the other drivers were following us to the bar.

When we arrived at the bar, Pierre asked me what drink I wanted before pointing to a booth that would be ours for the night. I followed Lando and George over, plopping myself into the booth as I listened to their idle chatter about Lando's inability to see the curbs at Bahrain. As I sat there listening to them, I let my eyes scan the bar, and they quickly found Louis and his new... girlfriend? I internally fought with myself as I debated back and forth on whether I should confront Louis over text - ask him what the hell he was playing at – but as I pulled out my phone, I felt Pierre put his hand on it, stopping me – as if he knew exactly what I was going to do. I looked up at him and then back down at my drink – a vodka soda with lime, my go-to. I nodded a small thanks to Pierre, and then picked up my straw, swirling it around my drink with the ice.

Fuck, is this what my life has come to? I thought to myself. How was I so gullible to not think that Louis wasn't going to cheat on me if I didn't make this public? I could feel my stomach start to twist but I put my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down to stop myself from crying, a trick I learned back in my karting day. I wasn't going to cry in front of all these male drivers; I refused to prove them right, refused to let them see me as weak.

As soon as Charles sat down next to Pierre, I tensed my shoulders up, ready for the onslaught of nastiness that I was sure Charles had ready for me this evening. He had beaten me at preseason testing, and I was sure that he had a slew of comments to make about that horrific fact.

Georgia often asked me what had changed in Charles and I's relationship to make us so hostile to one another. Once upon a time, I had considered Charles a close friend, but after that night, I knew I couldn't trust him anymore. I had felt used, betrayed even. Charles had taken the one thing that made me feel vulnerable on the grid, and ignored it. And now here he was, staring at me as if I was an animal backed into a corner, ready to engage in battle. I could see the words forming on his lips, and I internally braced myself while keeping my face stoically neutral.