Forever and Always | Max Verstappen *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Chocolate Cake

Present day

Emma
I walked back into the apartment, still feeling the weight of Kika's words sitting heavy in my chest.

Max was sitting on the couch, phone pressed to his ear, speaking in quick Dutch.

I couldn't understand a word, obviously.

"Ja, ja... Bedankt," he said, laughing a little before pausing and then adding, "Tot straks."

I stood by the doorway, waiting for him to finish.

As soon as he noticed me, he quickly hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket like he'd been caught doing something secretive.

His smile was a little too forced.

"Hey, who was that?" I asked, crossing my arms as I walked towards him.

He shrugged, "Just my sister. You know... regular call."

I raised an eyebrow. "She was calling to wish you a happy birthday wasn't she? "

His face dropped for a split second, just a flicker of annoyance before he recovered.

"Kika told you, didn't she?" He sighed, clearly not thrilled. "I asked her not to."

"Yeah, she told me," I said softly. "But Max, come on, there's nothing to worry about."

He avoided my eyes, "Seriously, Emma. It's no big deal. Don't make it one."

I stepped closer, "I'm not making it a big deal. I just... I feel bad, okay? You've been covering it up all day."

He shook his head, "I don't need you to feel bad. I didn't want you to stress over it. I've had a good day."

"Really?" I challenged, "Because it seems like you've been sitting here alone all day."

He scratched the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at me. "I hung around the apartment, played a bit of the sim, ate some food... you know, normal stuff. It's been fine."

I gave him a look. "Max, that doesn't sound like a birthday. That sounds like a regular Tuesday."

I sat down next to him on the couch, feeling like there was more he wasn't saying. "Come on, what did we have planned? There was a big red circle around today's date, so it must've meant something before I forgot."

He hesitated, clearly debating how much to tell me. His voice was quieter when he finally spoke. "It's nothing. Just... we were going to go to Spain."

I blinked, "Wait, what? Spain?"

"Yeah," he said with a small sigh. "We had a whole trip planned. You'd booked this place out in the countryside—quiet, peaceful. Just the two of us for a few days. But after everything that happened... you know... I canceled it."

I stared at him, feeling like I'd just been punched in the gut.

He'd kept all of this from me so I wouldn't feel guilty?

"Max..."

He waved it off again, trying to keep his tone light. "It's not a big deal, Em. Plans change, that's life."

"No," I said firmly, "It is a big deal. I had no idea, and you've been sitting here, playing it off like today didn't matter."

His expression softened, "I just didn't want you to feel worse. You've had so much on your mind already."

"You didn't have to pretend, Max. You deserve to be celebrated."

"I had a good day, Emma, don't worry about it," Max said.