Mask off - Mick Schumacher

Chapter 11: How long has it been going on?

She, she ain't real
She ain't gon' be able to love you like I will
She is a stranger
You and I have history
Or don't you remember
Sure, she's got it all
But, baby, is that really what you want
Bless your soul, you got your head in the clouds
She made a fool out of you
And, boy, she's bringing you down
She made your heart melt
But you're cold to the core
Now rumor has it she ain't got your love anymore

- Adele, Rumour has it

August 2023, Geneva, Switzerland

"Clara? Could you help me out for a moment?" Sabine called out from the bathroom. It was the night of the event and Sabine was slightly running late. Her dad was, in fact, waiting downstairs to drive her there.

"What's the matter?" Clara said as she walked to the bathroom.

"My dad's downstairs and I can't get the zipper of this dress." She was wearing a long, off-shoulder, olive dress.

"Jesus, I thought you had hurt yourself." Clara chuckled and walked over to her, zipping up her dress.

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver." Sabine said and hurried out of the bathroom and grabbed her purse before making her way to the door. "I'll text you how the night goes, bye!"

And with that, she made her way down the stairs, trying not to sprain one of her ankles - she wasn't very used to wearing heels.

"Oh, tu es trop belle." Jacques muttered as he saw his daughter coming down the stairs.

"Merci, papa," Sabine smiled and hugged him before doing the same with her mom, Isabel. "You look good, ma."

"You too, liebling, you look like a model." Isabel rubbed her arm.

They all got into the car and drove towards the location of the event, which was one of the many villas her family owned and used for these occasions. Once there paparazzi didn't hesitate to snap tons of pics of them. She had forgotten how much attention her dad got in public. They posed for some pictures, along with some people from Mercedes like Toto and his wife Susie.

Sabine was about to walk into the building when she heard some of the paps shout: "Here they come! Mick! Maia!" Maia? She was there too? Sabine turned around and she would've been lying if she said that the sight didn't make her feel a pang of something in the pit of her heart. Jealousy? Nah, after all he was just a past fling, right? Why would she be jealous...? Then again, Maia was drop-dead gorgeous. Of course she was, she's a model, you genius. Well, at least things wouldn't be awkward now that he was taken. She pushed those thoughts away as she saw the couple start walking and her eyes met Mick's for a brief second that felt like a lifetime. She turned her heel and walked into the villa - what a way to start the night.

Sabine spent half of the night talking with people from the team and trying to avoid Mick, she didn't want to have her night ruined. However, fate had other plans that night. She was walking out of the bathroom when someone bumped into her, making her lose her balance. Damned heels. She managed to hold onto a small table so she didn't make a fool of herself any further, but her ankle hurt like hell. She managed to stumble towards the kitchen, good thing she knew this house like the back of her hand. She pushed the door open and froze in her tracks when she saw the only person she didn't want to: Mick.

"What happened?" Mick asked as he saw she was holding her heels in her hand and she had a bit of a limp.

She sighed and closed the door behind her. "Nothing, just stupid shoes making me fall like an idiot." She muttered.

"Does it hurt?" There it was his golden boy attitude, it got on her nerves sometimes.

She was about to brush it off and say she was fine, but as she tried to step on the hurt foot, she felt a sharp pain go through it. She cursed under her breath and leaned against the wall for support. "Okay, maybe it hurts a little, yeah."

"Easy..." He took her hand and helped her sit on the floor, against the wall. He then grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it up in a cloth and sat down in front of her, pressing it against her ankle.

"Ah, that feels good. Thank you." She mumbled as the cold ice pack was pressed against the skin around the ankle, the cold feeling soothing the soreness. She leaned her head back against the wall, her eyes falling shut as she tried to relax again. However, once she opened her eyes again, she found that she was face-to-face with Mick, who was sitting in front of her, and she had to swallow thickly before she could speak.

"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" Sabine asked, her tone colder than she had intended.

He scoffed and lowered his eyes to glance at her swollen ankle before looking back up at her. "You mean Maia? She's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, and my brother is Lewis Hamilton." She rolled her eyes. "There's photos of you two everywhere-"

"She's not my real girlfriend," he cut her off, "it's just for PR, she needs more visibility as a model and I need more content on social media."

"I beg your pardon?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at him surprised.

"There's nothing to explain, it's an agreement that benefits both of us. It'll be over in a few months anyway." He shrugged, he seemed to have gotten colder as well at the mention of Maia.

"How long has it been going on?"

"Seven months I think." He muttered.

"What do you mean you think?"

"I have better things to think about than keep track of this thing."

Well, he wasn't that golden boy anymore now. He was more of a careless idiot, how could someone not even know how long he has been in a relationship?