Mask off - Mick Schumacher

Chapter 14: Slip-up

"I don't want you to come with me to Japan... I've had enough of these arguments. Please stay here in Switzerland so you don't distract me any further." Mick said while throwing his clothes into his suitcase.

"I beg your pardon?" Maia said, a look of anger and surprise on her face.

"You heard me. I'm sick of arguing with you all the time. I don't want you on my side during the weekend. It's too much for me." He sighed, zipping up his suitcase.

"You know they're going to start rumours, right? We've been everywhere together for months, they're just waiting for a slip-up." She narrowed her eyes.

"Then let them talk. It's about time we end this fake relationship. We're constantly arguing anyway, it doesn't make sense to pretend anymore." He said firmly, staring her in the eye. The stress of the past days was clearly visible on his face.

"You know what? You're right." Maia scoffed. "I wish we never agreed on this. I clearly can't waste my time with some reserve driver like you, who doesn't even have a seat."

"Oh, so now I'm suddenly just a reserve driver? Is that what you really think of me? That I'm not good enough?" Mick said bitterly, hurt by her sudden change in tone. This was exactly why he no longer wanted to see her. "Screw you, Maia, I'll see you when I come back." Mick grabbed his things and made his way to the door before turning back to her. "You know what? Gimme the keys, this is my house."

She let the keys fall beside his bags. "Well, there they are, as you wished. But before you leave, I want to know one thing: Were you ever sincere for a single moment? I mean, all this fake flirting, the fake laughs and smiles. Was any of that real?"

"Are you really that naïve?" He scoffed and opened the front door. "Did you forget this was just for money? Or you thought you might as well fall for me?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line. He was right, they had agreed from the beginning that nothing from their relationship was real. But it hurt her to know that she had been right and Mick had been lying the whole time. "Right... how could I forget," she muttered quietly, "this whole thing was a mistake from the beginning, wasn't it?"

"There you go. Now, do me a favour and get out of here." He said, "I don't want you alone in my house while I'm on the other side of the world."

She rolled her eyes at his request but didn't argue. Reluctantly, she picked up her bag and walked towards the door. As she passed him, she paused for a moment. "Fine, I'll leave. But you know what? I'm looking forward to finally having some peace and quiet in my life. Enjoy your travels, Mr. Reserve Driver."

He smiled falsely at her and waited for her to go away before he got into his car and drove to the airport. Mick's emotions were still running high as he sat in the car, gripping the steering wheel firmly. The argument with Maia was weighing heavily on his mind, and he was unable to stop thinking about the words they had exchanged. As he arrived at the airport and parked the car, he took a deep breath before getting out.

"Finally, I thought you had gotten lost." Sabine said as he walked towards her.

"Hey, Sabine," Mick greeted her, still distracted by the argument in his mind. "Sorry, traffic was horrendous. But here I am."

"I figured, it's pouring cats and dogs out there."

"Don't remind me," he muttered, shaking his head as he wiped some raindrops from his face. He felt a headache starting to brew and all he wanted was to just get on the plane and forget about everything.

"Is everything okay?" Sabine asked, taking one earphone out and looking at him. It was true that she had made herself busy with writing her thesis on her laptop, but he had not made an attempt to talk to her ever since they had gotten on the plane.

"Just... a bad morning. Had an argument with Maia. Guess you could say things aren't going well between us." He sighed, rubbing his temple as the memories of the fight came back.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." She said quietly. She knew that they were together only for the money, but she didn't expect them to fight.

"It's alright..." he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought about the fight again. They had disagreed on so many things recently, it was getting frustrating. Still, a part of him wondered if there had been more to it than just fake. But he quickly pushed that thought aside. They were doing this for the money, that was all.

"I hope so. Just get some rest, we have more than 12 hours on this flight."

Mick nodded silently, thankful that she didn't try to comfort him or ask more questions about his fight with Maia. He didn't need pity. He just needed peace and quiet to collect himself. "Yeah, I'll try. Thanks."

The flight passed in a haze for Mick as he slept the whole time. When he finally woke up, he felt rested and somewhat calmer than before. He glanced over at Sabine and noticed that she had been working on her thesis the whole time. "Hey, you haven't slept at all, have you?" He asked, realising how tired she looked.

"Yeah, no..." She said while turning her laptop off and putting it in her bag as they prepared to land. "I'm good though, don't worry."

"You sure?" Mick looked sceptical and frowned as he saw how exhausted she looked. "You should really try to get some rest. We've still got a long weekend ahead of us, you know."

"Yeah, I'll sleep now, it's past midnight anyway." She muttered as they made their way off the plane.

"Good, you should." Mick said, relieved that she finally agreed to rest. It seemed like she was the type to overwork herself a lot with her studies and job as his manager. "And no more working on your thesis until tomorrow, understand?"

"I've finished it." She chuckled. "Now I don't have a worry in the world."

Mick raised an eyebrow, a half smile making its way onto his face. "You actually finished it, really? That's great. No need for you to stress anymore, then."

"Yeah, I just have to wait for my final exam and then I'll be free." Sabine said as they got into the taxi that would bring them to their hotel.

"Seems like you've had a really productive flight then." Mick teased, feeling light-hearted once again. It was refreshing to talk about something other than his fight with Maia. It was all too perfect, until his phone buzzed with a notification from Instagram.

"For the first time after seven months of being by his side at every race weekend, Maia Rio wasn't seen land in Japan with Mick. However, there was someone else with him, his new manager Sabine! The only thing we know about her is that she's the daughter of the former racing driver Jacques Bonnet; her accounts on every social media appear private at the moment 👀" God, he couldn't catch a break, could he?