RACE 2 - Max Verstappen

112

After spending the last few days in the UK, celebrating her birthday with her family, and working on the simulator at Bracklay, Daniella arrived at Circuit Paul Ricard, ready for the race weekend in France. Myra was by her side and they both were busy in a conversation as they entered the paddock, people asking for a quick photo with her as usual and wishing her belated birthday.

Carlos was sitting on the balcony of the Ferrari hospitality, having a cold beverage to fight the heat and talking to Charles when he noticed Daniella. His full attention was on her and what Charles was saying didn't reach his ears.

He missed her a lot and judging by the photos from her birthday party he can tell she is now on good terms with Max, which made him jealous. He is also pretty sure Max told Daniella about the call which never reached her and now is the reason she is not talking to him.

"Carlos? Are you even listening to me?" Charles asked his teammate as he noticed he was not getting any response.

Charles examined Carlos' face which had a jealous and angry look. Confused, Charles followed his gaze and looked down from the balcony. He understood what was going on. Daniella was right down there talking to Max and both were smiling. It looked like a friendly conversation and soon Alex joined them.

"Carlos..." Charles nudged his teammate. "I think you should move on from Daniella."

"Not possible," Carlos replied as he glared at Max who had his arm resting on Daniella's shoulder.

"But.. She is with Max and...they love each other."

"Feelings can change," Carlos said, jealousy laced in his voice and a bit of rage in his eyes as he looked away from the couple who left the scene and went in separate directions. He looked back at Charles who had a concerned look on his face.

"What do you mean?" Charles asked. "I don't think Dani is going to..."

Carlos didn't say anything and stood up, not letting Charles finish his sentence. He gave a determined smirk as he walked away, leaving Charles confused and worried.

***

The media conference went better than Daniella expected. It was not too exhausting and the questions were not boring.

"I will come over tonight," Max whispered in Daniella's ear and gave her a smile. They haven't spent any time together since her birthday party as she went to the UK the following day.

"I will be waiting," She smiles back as Max takes a few steps backward, his eyes beaming before turning away.

"Aww! You two are so cute," Yuki commented as Max walked away.

"But you and Pierre are cuter," Daniella teased the Alpha Tauri driver.

Yuki can't help but feel shy. He and Pierre are nothing more than friends and teammates but their closeness makes everyone question it.

Daniella made her way to her motorhome after Myra called her and asked her to go there. But to her unfortunate luck, she ran into the Ferrari driver whom she didn't even want to look at.

"Daniella..." Carlos called her name as she tried to ignore him and pretend as if she didn't see him. "Just let me explain..."

"I never want to talk to you again," She said sternly.

Carlos wanted to argue and make her listen to him but couldn't since there were people around.

Daniella didn't spare him a second glance and just walked away. Carlos was disappointed but he made up his mind to get her to talk to him one way or another.

***

A gasp left Daniella's lips as soon as she entered her motorhead. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. There were at least a dozen flower bouquets.

"Beautiful huh?" Myra had a smile on her face. "You are one lucky girl."

A smile slowly formed on Daniella's face as the surprise wore off.

"Is that from who I think it is?" Daniella asked as she gently touched the flowers.

"Mmhmm," Myra nodded as she handed Daniella a card.

Daniella smiled brighter as she opened the card but it immediately faded away. She thought the bouquets were from Max since he is the only one who has done this before many times, but she was wrong.

The message of apology and the declaration of love on the card were signed by none other than Carlos.

"What's wrong?" Myra asked as she noticed the expression on Daniella's face change drastically.

"Nothing..." Daniella mumbled as she ripped away the card. "I thought these were from Max but..."

"But luckily it's from someone much better than Max," Myra replied. "Carlos is a good guy Dani...just give him a chance."

Daniella shook her head, disagreeing with Myra as she started removing the bouquets to clear up the room.

She and Max promised each other that they won't hide anything from each other and now she can't help but worry about how he is going to react tonight once she tells him what Carlos did.

**********

A/N: I was missing Carlos in the last few chapters so... 

Thoughts on Carlos in this chapter? He sent a dozen bouquets to Dani to apologize 👀👀 and looks like he is never going to get over her.

 How do you think Max is going to react once Dani tells him?

 One slip up from me and Carlos will turn into a stalker 😅😅😅 I don't want that🤭

 idk why but I feel like in Max x Dani's relationship they are both equals but if (a huge IF) Carlos and Dani get together there will be an imbalance and Carlos will have more power. 

AND did you guys hear about the cheating rumors about Carlos? One of the Brazilian (i think) commentators were talking about it. Not sure if it's true or not  but I think it also quite unprofessional on the commentator's part. But what do you guys think about it?