Gentle with me | MAX VERSTAPPEN

XXI

I stared at Avaluna, wondering whether she had lost her head or not. 

"Are you insane?" I asked. If you were to ask me, it was a reasonable question. 

"Now, little sister. Don't look at me as if I have lost my mind. It's a reasonable proposition." My sister didn't look at me. Instead, she was stirring her coffee with a spoon while looking at the people that walked by the window where we both sat in a café in Monaco. 

"A reasonable proposition?" I scoffed at that. What she had told me was not a proposition. It wasn't even a suggestion. "Do you even understand the definition of what a proposition is?" I asked her. I wanted to find out what was currently running through her mind. 

"Of course, I know the definition of proposition. However, you can't deny that being engaged to Anteros would do you good." Avaluna moved her gaze away from the window to instead place attention at me. Her eyes scanned me up and down while her mouth formed a small smile. 

"You're still young and beautiful. And if rumours are right, Anteros is still a young, handsome, and wealthy man." 

"Just one question, though: what brought this up? We both know that our family and the Belamour family have always had good relations with each other. Why would I need to date and be engaged with Anteros? Besides, isn't he currently having some kind of situationship with Estelle Larsen?" 

My sister let out a scoff as she crossed her legs and put one of her elbows on the table to rest her head on her hand. 

"Don't be stupid, sister dearest. Estelle Larsen will never be good enough for Anteros Belamour. He's the heir to one of the biggest and wealthiest families just like we are. No, Tatiana, it is, as you mentioned, just a situationship. Nothing serious." 

"Do you hear yourself?" I asked her, disbelief slipping through my voice as I stared at her. "Estelle Larsen is good enough for Anteros! She's the heiress to Larsen Corporation, a famous and successful company that deals with casinos and hotels. Anteros Belamour might belong to an old family with wealth that has a family company that deals with a lot of branches in the world but that doesn't mean that he will be a good match for our house." 

"And you believe that a certain Formula One driver will be a good match for the house of Sinclair?!" Avaluna scoffed. 

"What Formula One driver?" I stared at her, wondering what the hell she was talking about. 

"Max Verstappen. Good friend probably, but he can never be anything more." 

"Do you even hear yourself? Oh my god, Avaluna. Max has a girlfriend!" I said exasperated. I hated these kinds of conversations. I was only twenty-three and my oldest sister has decided to yet again take up the mother role and is pushing for me to find someone to marry that is from a good background matching the one my family name has. I always found it funny that Avaluna focused more on this than our mother would ever do. Not even my dear old father had ever had this kind of talk with me. 

"I was talking about a certain Ferrari driver that bears the number sixteen on his helmet and car." 

"Charles Leclerc is nothing to me, Avaluna! And could you please stop trying to meddle into my love life, please?" I yelled. I was getting tired of this, and I could feel myself getting close to leaving my bothersome sister alone in the café and ditching her for a walk to clear my head. 

"You know what, Tatiana?" My sister said after a few minutes of silence had passed. "I don't think I will stop meddling with your love life. Because, you see, your past dating history seems to show that you are incapable of choosing your partner." 

"I can't do this anymore." I muttered before I stood up to grab my jacket. I quickly walked out from the café ignoring the burning glares that my sister seemed to dig into the back of my skin. I sighed quietly to myself as I hurried through the streets towards Max's apartment while trying to ignore the cars and people that were on the roads and pavement. The Monaco Grand Prix was approaching, and the streets seemed busier as more people from around the world travelled into Monaco.