[3] MARANELLO || C. LECLERC

TWENTY

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CAMILLE

I chewed anxiously on my fingernails. I was dragging myself back into a habit which I thought I'd been over for years. I was simply too terrified to do anything else. I was perched in the corner beside Dilara with a headset on my ears, but I wasn't listening to anything which came through. The thought of Stefan was too distracting. I was safe, tucked up in the corner of the Red Bull garage and nobody would be able to hurt me here. I still struggled to remove the thought of Stefan from my mind. He terrified me and he knew it. He was getting exactly what he wanted.

Both Charles and Max were on the track this morning, so I promised my fiancé that I wouldn't leave the Red Bull garage until Max reappeared. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screens around the garage, the engineers focused on the data which was already coming through on the screens from Max in the car. I didn't want anything to do with it. I just wanted to be at the hotel, tucked into bed beside Charles, whilst hoping that Stefan would get bored and stop trying. He was the only thing on my mind and I hated him for that. I hated everything about him and it broke my heart into millions of pieces because I wanted to be totally invested in Charles. Stefan was just a distraction, one that I didn't need at all.

"Cami?" Dilara placed her hand on my thigh and I jumped, a soft gasp falling from my mouth as I forced the headset away from my ears. "I'm sorry for startling you."

"It's okay." I exhaled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Dilara lifted my hand between hers and she traced her fingers across my wrist.

"Max told me that it soothes you," her smile made me feel extremely warm inside and it provided me with a sense of security that I needed so desperately. "Are you feeling alright? You're quiet. If you're thinking, Camille, we can talk about something to distract your mind."

"I'm okay." I smiled, hoping that she would believe me, but it would never work. Dilara knew me better than I realised, so I looked down at my hands which were locked together on top of the bench top. I could feel the fear rising throughout my body.

I could feel Stefan's fingertips burning through the material of my dress as he pushed me up against the wall in the club. I jumped, shaking my head and brushing my fingers along my thighs, hoping to get rid of the awful feeling. I groaned to myself, shaking my head whilst glancing up at Dilara. She looked at me solemnly, the look on her face was soft and gentle, yet her brows furrowed as she caressed my skin.

"I hate him," I whispered, creating a fist with my right hand and rolling my eyes. "I don't understand what he wants. He'll never get me back."

"I know you're scared, but you are safe. The boys will keep you safe, and Stefan will never be allowed in here, no matter the circumstance," Dilara's voice was so relaxing. I could listen to her talk to me for hours, her accent so soft and delightful. "Max prefers you in this garage anyway."

"Max is a little shit," I rolled my eyes, shaking my head with a giggle as I tried to forget about Stefan's business. "Thank you for being here, Dilara. It really does make me feel safer. I never thought he would be able ruin something that was so important to me."

"He won't get away with it, Cami," Dilara sighed, but something told me that she meant exactly what she was saying to me. "What he did to you, it'll come out. He's disgusting. He'll get what's coming to him."

I didn't believe her. I knew that Stefan was a clever man and he had the power to hide things better than anyone else understood. I hated him with every single fibre of my body and although I'd accepted how he'd hurt me, I would never be able to forgive him. I would never lead a totally normal life again because it scarred me and it would leave me traumatised for the rest of my life. He wanted to hurt me. He wanted to make me remember exactly what he did to me. Every single moment affected my life on that night. Stefan changed my life by taking advantage of my intoxicated body and it tore me into pieces. Each word, every touch and all the time it took for him to rape me - it broke me. I still felt dirty, as if I could never rid of his touch. I was losing an eternal battle with myself and with him. Stefan was winning, and that's what he seemed to pride himself upon.