: ̗̀➛ part three of the
one for the road series
SNOWFALL / CL16
in which two childhood friends reunite. a formula one driver wants to learn how to snowboard and it just so happens that the daughter of his mum's be...
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✧ ˚ · . CHAPTER FORTY-TWO. · ˚✧ who are we to fight the alchemy?
18+ content NSFW 🌶️ warning! will commence after the emoji, skip to end of chapter after rain 🌧️ emoji if not comfortable!
paris, may 2023
There was a silence so deafening it cracked through the space like a flash of lightning. The slam of the door falling shut behind Charles, caging us in, was the thunder that completed the rainstorm. Here it was then, finally, what I had been waiting for. And yet I couldn't shake the feeling that it was about to go down an entirely different route than I had expected.
Charles took a couple of steps closer, stepping into the moonlight cascading through the windows. His hair was disheveled and there were bags under his eyes. He looked terrible, and at the same time more handsome than ever. My stomach twisted at the sight.
His next words were like a stab to the gut: "I can't believe you ran to him the moment it went downhill with us, who do you think you are?"
"Charles. It's not like that," I immediately shot to my own defence, mindlessly taking the towel Lorenzo had picked up from the floor and wrapping it around my body. Slowly but surely, Lorenzo moved away from me, away from Charles, looking deeply uncomfortable at the situation he had found himself in. I couldn't say I blamed him.
"Why are you in a goddamn towel then, Arden?" He spat my name as if it were poison, as if it killed him to even have to address me like that. My chest squeezed. I ached for him to call me ma jolie again, ached for his embrace and the smell of him wrapped around me. For the warmth and comfort that only Charles could give.
"It's a long story, but I promise Lorenzo and I were just talking. You know he's like a brother to me, Charles," I wasn't going to let him walk out of my life again. I would beg on my knees if I had to. "Please, you have to believe me. It was just stupid coincidence."
"She's telling the truth," Lorenzo backed me up, voice tight. Charles' eyes snapped to his brother, stared at him for a moment in contemplation, before they both seemed to reach some sort of mutual understanding. Charles' shoulders relaxed while Lorenzo's frown disappeared. I was the only one left with a white-knuckled iron grip on the towel wrapped tightly around me.
Charles pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. "Okay..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. "I think we need to talk?"
"I'll leave you guys to it," Lorenzo said quickly, hands raised as he slowly backed away from us, making a quick escape. I only nodded and offered a small smile, which he returned, before he spun around. The opening of the door brought in a chilly breeze, which sent goosebumps rising on my skin. Charles moved closer, eyes fixed intently on me. It sent a flush of heat through me—only Charles could make me feel warm when my entire body was freezing.
