The Bull Prince | Max Verstappen

SEQUEL - Chapter 36

Hello there. I'm dead. I updated, I guess you've seen that much. So yeah. Here it is. Don't kill me. I'm already dead. I was gone for so long and now I come back here with this lol. Enjoy. I really have no idea when I will update again. Fuck Grammar and Spelling. Cheers!

<><><>

"I'm sorry I'm late, it wasn't my intention to let you wait." Joanna rushed to say as she pulled the chair back and took a seat opposite her stepmother, who was quietly sipping on a cup of coffee but stopped to smile gently at Joanna.

"It's fine. I know you have a lot to do." Birgit told her while gesturing with her hand, that she really didn't mind the little moment of alone time. She rarely was alone as the mother of very energic twins.

The older woman let her eyes travel over Joanna's growing belly while she was ordering a cup of tea. The pregnancy looked good on her, the softly rounded belly and the radiant glow o her face. Joanna really deserved it.

"Well, congratulations are clearly in order." Birgit pointed out as the young waitress left. "I wasn't sure if I could believe the media when I heard the news about your pregnancy."

"I apricate it, thank you, Birgit," Joanna answered politely put stiffly, the younger woman always needed some time to grow comfortable in the company of the widow of her father. The loss always seemed to lay so heavily on the younger of the two. Her eyes a mirror to everything Birgit has lost, these bright intelligent eyes, just like Niki and Joanna was always so painfully aware of everything.

"It's very exciting welcoming a new life into the world." The older woman spoke with a smile on her face. Something rare these days, but she couldn't stop herself, not when these eyes were looking at her. "I hope you feel well, I still remember how terrible I have felt. The journey you're making now will turn your life upside down but in a good way, trust me on this."

"It's a tricky pregnancy but I'm alright," Joanna told her stepmother, searching for the right word to describe her pregnancy for a moment which worried Birgit. It was never a good sign when Joanna suddenly lacked something to say. The Austrian was known for finding the right words. "I'm alright now." The younger woman added, upon seeing the worry in the other woman's eyes. She wasn't here to scare her.

"That's good to hear. I am sure your father would be happy for you, and before you say something, I know you never had the best relationship, but he would. He would be happy for you." By now, Joanna believed so as well. She tried her best to believe in the good in people, in her father.

"I think I know that, or at least I try to tell myself that he would approve of this. I no longer feel this deep resentment towards him. I understand a lot of things now. I have found his diaries. It does not apologise for what happened, but it gives reasons and that helps with the forgiving."

"I'm glad you try to forgive him. He was never good at showing emotions, but he liked your Max even before he knew he was going to be his son-in-law, I can tell you that much." This was the very first time since Joanna had sat down since she had entered the tiny coffee shop in the inner city of Vienna that the Austrian smiled an honest smile.

"I know me saying this can never mean the same as your father telling you but ..." Brigit added, causing Joanna to reach over the table and settle her hand on top of her stepmother's.

"It means enough. I appreciate it greatly." She told the older woman honestly, the smile a bit dimmer but still present. "I could have asked you to meet me before. I'm sorry I didn't make room for you sooner."

"I've read what was going on in your life since... since he died. I can't blame you." It was still hard to say it. Birgit was still turning around to tell her husband something, she was still glancing over her shoulder where he normally would be, but he was gone and she had to get used to it. It was a long way to go, she knew that much, but she was ready to fight, she had two kids who relied on her fighting back.