Complicated Relationship

Chapter One - The Beginning

Maya Nadal

"Make sure you land safe, Maya. I can't wait for you to come back to Monaco after."  Charlotte speaks through the phone as I arrive at the airport.

"Yeah, me too. I promise I'll pass by as soon as I come back. By the way, how's your architecture project going?" I ask.

Charlotte's been working on a small contract for three months now, and she's hardly gone out ever since. She's been so focused on it that she constantly crashes at a coffee shop near her house. Who does she call? Me, of course. Every time.

"I haven't slept in two days, but it's almost done. I'll just need someone to double-check it. Anyway, how's the university on your side?" She asks as I run through the doors with my bags.

"It's been fine. But between practice and studies, I don't have any time for myself. And my dad is pressuring me so much, my head will explode. I've been going to every meeting Charles had in the last two months and we made public appearance at least once a week for the last three months." I start to explain as I sit in the waiting area with my legs crossed. I take a deep breathe and continue, "I am tired, Charlotte. And we've got two more years to go. The worst part is that he used to be the one I looked up to. On TV, and in real life. He didn't even know me, and now he hates me."

For my whole life, I watched Charles through karting, and then through F4, F3, F2 until he finally got into Formula 1. I continued watching him from afar. Until I didn't. Until he was standing in front of me, but not looking at me. He started hating me the day he heard my name. And I hate this. I wish that through this fake relationship, we could have a friendship, but he chose to despise me first. The only thing I can do is pretend to hate him even though I know I'll never be able to.

"I am so sorry, Maya. I wish I could say everything will be fine, but I don't know that." She whispers through the phone, sorry for me. "I just entered the library, right now. I'll have to hang up. Talk to you later, bye."

She hangs up before I can add anything. I slip my phone in my back pocket and stand up.

As I sit in the plane, I have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's here with me everytime I'm about to see my husband. Is it nervousness? Maybe. Is it eagerness? I hope not. It would be crazy for me to be eager to see the man who hates me the most in the world.

When the pilot informs me we're about to land, I open my phone. My thumb hovers over Charles's icon. I hesitate one last time before pressing on it. Even if our relationship is fake, he's still my husband. If I act like his wife, he'll have to act like my husband.

Maya: Hey, I'll land in Bahrain in like ten minutes. Do you think you could come pick me up?

Charles: You're annoying me, Maya. No, I can't, I am with Alexandra right now. Call a fucking cab.

Maya: Ok, sorry for bothering my husband.

I close my phone and breathe through my nose, holding back tears. I get it, he loves Alexandra, his real girlfriend but, can't he for once care about me? I mean, fuck, I am trying to be understanding. I get that he is forced into this marriage, but I am too. I feel like I can't breathe, as if he has his hands around my throat and he's squeezing a bit harder everytime I see him with her or that he talks about her. It's making me crazy how badly he's treating me even though I do it with the respect he doesn't deserve.

I open my Twitter and post on my main account. I don't care about the rosk or the rumours it'll cause.

"Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much. But maybe this thing was a masterpiece, 'til you tore it all up." In my Swiftie era again.