Part 23

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You both walk out of the driveway and begin your walk. 5 minutes later, you realise you didn't actually know where you were going. Lando had just said to watch the sunset and you agreed. "Where exactly are we going, Lando?" You ask. "Just up a hill, it's not that far." He replies, looking across to you. "You never said anything about a hill?" "I didn't?" He says laughing. "You know you didn't." You say, laughing as well. "Maybe I left that but out on purpose." "Lando!" You say whilst he is just laughing. "If you can't do it I can carry you." He says as a joke. "You think I can't climb a hill?" "No you brought that bit up. But I guess we will see." Lando says as you reach the bottom of a hill.

Lando points at a small brown bench at the top of the hill. "There's a small bench there and that's where we are going." You look up, holding your hand above your eyes to block the sun that was soon going to disappear. "It's not far, but slightly steep." Lando adds and you nod. "I can't believe I have never been here, I always go to the one on the other side of the city." "This one is less crowded, barely ever anyone here." He says. "Shall we go up then?" "Yes we shall." He replies holding out his hand. You place yours on top and he closes his hand around it.

You both begin walking along the path up the hill whilst you and Lando talk about your favourite places in Monaco. "What's your dream country to go to?" Lando asks. "Honestly, I don't know. Brazil is an amazing country and I've never been. So probably that. How about you?" "Dubai definitely. I've just never been able to go near that time of Qatar." "You should go this year then." "Would you come?" "If you wanted then of course." You say smiling, dimples on show."

By now, you are halfway up the hill and it begins to get a lot windier and colder. "Lando, are we nearly there?" You both pause from walking and he looks up at the path ahead. "How long have we been walking?" You look at your watch. "About 15 minutes" "Probably about 10 minutes, we should get there a few minutes before the sun set starts." You nod and you both carry on walking. Well Lando was pulling you up with him. The hill was a lot steeper then it looked. You both walk in silence for a few minutes.

Once you reach the top you look out and see the most gorgeous view you think you have ever seen. You freeze where you stood and stare out at the horizon in awe. "Do you like it?" You hear from behind you, knocking you out of your daydream. You turn around and look up at Lando's smiling face. "I love it, Lando. My new favourite spot." You say smiling, dimples on show. "Well now whenever you come here, you will think of me." He replies. "I hope that will be a good thing then." "Come on, sit down." He says, walking towards the bench and sitting down. Patting a spot beside him. You sit down and he places his arm around your shoulders, pulling you to lean on him. You both sit there, watching the sunset. The deep orange reflecting into the calm water below. The boats black floating away into the horizon. "Lando, I think this is the most beautiful view I have ever seen." You say, still looking out at the sun set.

"I think mine is better," he whispers, just loud enough for you to hear.  You couldn't see where he was looking, but you could feel eyes full of happiness looking down at you. You blushed slightly, butterflies running marathons inside your stomach.

All of a sudden you feel a chill shiver down your spine, giving you goosebumps along your arm. As you tremble in the cold, Lando looks down at you. "Are you alright?" You nod, and give him a smile attempting to reassure him. "No you're not, here" he says, as he begins to take off his hoodie. "What, no Lando then you will be cold!" You say. "I'll be fine, I promise." "Are you sure?" You ask. "Yes of course." He replies after getting the hoodie over his head, handing it to you. You take off your white thin jacket and put the hoodie over your head. "Better?" He asks, with slight concern in his eyes. "Yes, so much better. Thank you." You say smiling. He repays the smile and you can see a light in his eyes. A light of true happiness. And you were sure, you had that same light.

"Tell me about you, like actually you. Here now, I feel like I have known you for years. But I barely know anything about you." He says, wrapping his arm around shoulder once again. "Aw Lando, I don't want to bore you." "You will never bore me Lia." "If you're sure?" He nods. "Okay, well, my favourite flower is a peony, my favourite jewel is a diamond but I don't have any. I love to read, and I play piano. I have three brothers but you know that and well they try to replace papa, and believe me they try. But nothing can recreate a fathers love. My best friend lives in Spain so I don't see her much. I went to school in London for fashion design. And I want to be a model and I got my first job accepted today." You finish and look up at Landos eyes, and you could tell he really listened. "Wow"

You both stay silent. "You really are a golden girl." You look up at him confused. "What do you mean?" You ask, with a slight laugh. "You're perfect. You're gorgeous and so is your personality. You care about people around you. I've seen that in the few days I have known you. You're like the sunset. I could look at you for hours and not get bored." He says then goes silent. "I-I'm sorry" he says looking away from your gaze. "For what?" "I made you uncomfortable." "No, no you didn't. Believe me, I haven't had many people tell me that before. Well, other than family." "But you had a boyfriend for a year or something didn't you?" You sigh. "Yeah, yeah I did." "What did he do?" He asks, a hint of anger in his voice. "Calm down Lando, he's hopefully in the past now." You said, or lied. Straight to his face.

You knew he was very much not in the past, but the present. He was ruining your life again, but everyone around you this time. Your mother's, by keeping her away for longer. Charles' by worrying him, which was definitely the last thing he needed with how his formula one year was going. And not to mention, putting Oscar and Lando in danger, as well as anyone close to you.

Without realising, a tear fell down your face. "Lia?" You hear from beside you, saving  you from  being drowned by your thoughts. "Yeah?" You reply, with a tone of sadness in your voice. "What's wrong, love?" He says, as he wiped the tear from your face. "Why are you crying?" "No reason." You say, putting on a fake smile. "Don't do that." He said softly. "Do what?" "Fake smile." You laugh slightly. "How could you tell, I always thought it was impossible to see through." "Maybe because I care." "You do?" "Of course Lia, who wouldn't?" "Believe me Lando, no one cared"

"Cared?" "It doesn't matter, Lando. Can we just leave the subject of me alone?" "No, no we can't." "What?" "You need to talk about it if you want help." "But I don't want help, I can deal with it myself." You say loudly , anger growing inside of you. "Calm down Lia." "Who are you to tell me to calm down?" You say, getting louder. "You're right, I'm sorry." He replies, staying calm. You realise what you have done, and your eyes soften. "Lan, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I shouldn't have." You begin to say as Lando holds his finger up to your lips. "Don't apologise, please." You nod, smiling at him. "So, tell me about you." You say, facing Lando with a smile on your face. His face lights up and he begins to tell you about himself. You learn so much and really listen.

You both talk for ages, getting lost in time when you both pause  and realise that it was getting quite dark.. "What time is it?" You ask with a slight laugh. "8" "We have been here for so long, it's going to be pitch black soon. And freezing." "Let's go then." He says smiling whilst standing up, holding out his hand for you to take. And once again, you take it.

|| authors note ~ hope you enjoy the  Lando & Lia content 🧡 and ofc hope you enjoyed this part. ||

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