Picture To Burn [CL-16]

28. Peace

All these people think love's for show,
but I would die for you in secret...

***

Aspen White

"You're brilliant, you know that?" Charles said, his voice full of admiration as he scrolled through some images I'd worked in for the Singapore GP campaign.

"You're biased." I replied, rolling my eyes, though I couldn't hide the blush creeping up my neck.

"Maybe." He said, leaning closer, his lips brushing my temple. "But that doesn't make it any less true."

The early morning sunlight spilled into the apartment, painting everything in soft gold. Charles' arms were wrapped tightly around me, his breathing steadying against my hair as the warmth of his body kept the coolness of the room at bay.

A few months had passed since I had moved in with Charles, and now, I was more than used to Monaco's noisy mornings—birds chirping, distant boat horns echoing from the harbor—but in our little bubble, it was perfectly quiet. Peaceful.

We had only four races left of the calendar. And I could say, that after what felt
like and incredibly long season, I finally felt like Charles and I had found our balance. The whirlwind of our relationship—the PR stunts, the misunderstandings with his family—had tested us, but we had come out stronger.

We had found "our thing". Yes, traveling from place to place could somehow be exhausting. But whenever we were at home, I had learned to love and appreciate those moments the most. We would wake up, spend some time in bed together, then Charles would make some breakfast for both of us before heading out to either the gym or a morning run while I worked in the following GP campaign. Then, he would arrive, spend some time in his simulator and when evening came, we would head out to have some dinner or walk around the city with hands intertwined just to go back home for him to play a little on the piano while I listened.

A simple routine, but it was mine. Ours.

Charles now rested his chin on my shoulder, his arms draped lazily around my waist as he kept scrolling through the images on my laptop. The warmth off his body pressed against mine was comforting, grounding me in the moment.

"You know," He began, his voice teasing. "You should be charging Gina double for this. These campaigns are better than anything they've ever had."

I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head. "After all the trouble I have caused her, I'm surprised she even pays me so generously." I admitted, "Besides, it's not that hard, I just make things look pretty and that's it."

Charles pulled back slightly, his eyes narrowing playfully. "Pretty? Chérie, this is simply next level."

"Stop flattering me." I said, though the corners of my mouth betrayed my smile. It felt nice to have someone that appreciated your job as intensely as Charles did with mine. "You're just trying to distract me so I don't notice the burnt croissants from breakfast."

"That's a low blow." He answered with mock offense, lean back on the headboard. "I worked hard on those."

"Did you?" I quipped, closing my laptop and turning to face him fully. "Because by the taste of them, I presume there was more smoke rather than effort."