Standing in front of you |ON HOLD|

Prologue

January 2021.

Another winter break had come and gone, another emotion filled Christmas that marked an incredibly sad anniversary - the death of his wife. It had now been over two years since Olivia's best friend had tragically lost his wife. Two years since the fatal car accident on Christmas Eve, 2018, that had broken his heart and shattered his life almost irreparably.

It meant that 2019 had been a tough year for Sebastian Vettel, one that had seen him miss the first few races of the season as he'd tried to piece his life back together to the extent that he could get himself mentally and physically strong enough to carry on. Going back to racing had certainly helped him along the road to recovery but the fact that he'd got back into a Formula One car at all had been down to the love and support of his family and his best friend - Olivia Jones.

The following year, 2020, had turned out to be a hard year for everyone with a (still ongoing) global pandemic but it had also been another tough one for Seb with a delayed season and relations at Ferrari hitting an all time low after their decision not to renew his contract in May. It had been an unexpected blow and one that had knocked his still fragile confidence, leaving him unsure of what would be his next move or if he'd carry on racing into the next season. The car had been dismal and the morale in the garage low and his relationship with certain members of management at Maranello was just as bad. Fingers were pointed in blame, accusations made and questions asked about his ability and performance, the mental stress and pressure often feeling like it was too much but there had always been one constant in his life, one reassuring and comforting presence race after race, day after day - Olivia.

Olivia Jones was, in Seb's opinion, the most kind hearted, caring and funny person that he knew. They'd first met at the British Grand Prix in 2010 when he drove for Red Bull and he'd first started riding high on the crest of a wave of success that would span four seasons. She'd just joined as part of the travelling team and was part way through an apprenticeship course that saw her working with his mechanics. She'd been one of the shortest people in his team at just five-feet-two, something which the others had delighted in pointing out to her and jokingly but affectionately mocked her for, often putting things on high shelves so that she couldn't reach them but she'd laughed along with everyone and often gave back as good as she got. Her wicked sense of humour and her beautiful looks had made her stand out from the crowd with her thick, long red hair, big green eyes and loud raucous laugh and in his words "they'd just clicked" and had struck up an instant friendship, one that had gone from strength to strength and seen her leave Red Bull with him to join Ferrari in 2015. Their families had met in Germany in 2011 and struck up friendships too and she'd even become close to Heidi, Seb's girlfriend, and had been one of the few guests invited to his wedding when he'd married her in secret, in August 2017.

Olivia had stuck by him, defending him when others accused him or slated him, rooting for him at every race, cheering the loudest in the garage when he'd won or had a good result, she'd been there at every high point and had consoled him and cheered him up during every low. She'd helped to guide him through changes in both his personal and professional life (most notably through his years with Ferrari), she'd known exactly when to back off and give him space and exactly when he'd needed a hug and an encouraging pep talk. Aside from his family, his late wife, Britta and Antti, she was his biggest supporter and closest confidant.

Then in January, 2019, Olivia had been by his side during his hardest day, his wife's funeral, holding his hand tightly in her own throughout. She'd watched with tears streaming down her cheeks as he'd been one of the six pall bearers to carry Heidi's white, lily covered, coffin into the church and she'd been waiting next to his parents, exactly liked he'd asked her to be, ready with a tissue and a shoulder to cry on. She'd barely left his side since.

It had been a long road to recovery and a lot of love, listening, understanding, hard work and patience had gone into rebuilding her heartbroken best friend.

At the funeral, she'd promised his mother, Heike, that she'd look after him from that day on, that she'd be his guardian Angel and that she'd always be there for him.

And she had been, even on the rare occasions when she couldn't physically be there, she was only a phone call away.

And to this day, she'd kept that promise and she always would.

But throughout the years of her friendship with Seb, one solitary cloud had always hung over her. He'd never seen it, she'd always vowed never to let that happen. He knew her just as well as she knew him but there was one thing that he didn't know about Olivia Jones....

She was madly and hopelessly in love with him.