[3] MARANELLO || C. LECLERC

ELEVEN

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CAMILLE

The panicked look on Charles' face was yet to disappear. Since he returned home two hours ago, his facial expression refused to change once. I could see the unease on his features, the fear which lingered in his eyes as he constantly chewed on his lip, acting as if he was walking on eggshells. I knew something bad went down in Maranello and my mind could only wander to one person, but I didn't want to admit that to myself. Maybe Charles was just tired and his lack of communication was down to that. Of course, he'd kissed me plenty and told me just how much he'd missed me whilst he was away, and I reciprocated all of that, but even after showering and eating dinner, the mood between us was still a little sombre, maybe even bitter, but I was too afraid to ask Charles anything. I was so afraid of his goddamn name coming into conversation.

"Did you enjoy staying with Max?" Charles lifted his Burberry shirt from over his head and I glanced at him whilst pouting, hoping that he would realise I wanted to sleep in the shirt he removed so swiftly. He sighed and tossed it in my direction with a soft smile on his lips. I placed it over my head and pulled the duvet back with a sigh, climbing into our comfortable bed and waiting patiently for him to join me.

"It was nice. I felt comfortable there whilst you weren't around," I nodded, placing my head in the centre of the pillow after I lifted it so that I could partially sit up. Charles stripped himself from his jeans so that he wore only his underwear and I smiled to myself as I admired his beauty. I'd missed him so much whilst he was in Italy, a trip which we were yet to discuss. "What about Maranello? What happened whilst you were out there?"

His relaxed demeanour quickly disappeared and his face turned to ice again. I could feel the discomfort he was experiencing and I didn't like it either, but we needed to have this conversation. I knew exactly what we would end up talking about and it was frightening, but there was nothing I could do about it. We needed to have the conversation because I could read Charles like the back of my hand and I'd already figured out that he'd faced Stefan whilst he was in Maranello, but I needed him to confirm it.

"Charles, I know he was there. I had a feeling before you left," I shook my head, sighing as he finally crawled beneath the sheets and wrapped his arm across my shoulders, pressing careful kisses all over my temple and my forehead. His reassurance was heartwarming, but I still felt nauseous as I thought about the words which would fall from his lips. "We just need to talk about it, I won't get upset. I have time to come to terms with knowing that he'll be around more than he should be."

"Mattia introduced him to all of us in one of the meetings on my first day there," Charles looked at the television which stood on its stand at the bottom of his bed, my heart sinking as he confirmed it, my whole world moving in slow motion for a brief second. I couldn't be upset because I was expecting this, but it hurt to hear the words come from someone else's mouth. I hated myself for dragging Charles into all of this bullshit business with Stefan. I hated myself for being such an easy target, but I think I hated myself more for keeping my big secret from Charles and I didn't know how much longer I could hide it for. "It was horrible, because I couldn't tell anyone that he's not the person he claims to be. You should've heard him, Camille. He made it seem as if he was an angel and he would be the best addition Ferrari would ever see."

"Did you speak to him?" I chewed on my lip with one hundred thoughts spinning through my mind, my fingers finding their way to Charles' wrist beneath the duvet. His skin was warm and I'd missed not being able to feel him so close to me like this. He was silent for a few seconds too long and I could feel the overwhelming tension which grew between us. "Charles."