A Proposal
**Enrico**
Sarah asked the question I had been expecting.
"Why do you think that?"
She was trying to probe whether I was telling the truth or if my statement was just a bluff. As I gazed at her now, I felt as if I were living something very much like a movie or anything related to fiction, where there was the good twin and the bad twin. At the moment, I was facing the good twin, the one who was easily manipulable by everyone, precisely because she was too gullible and confident that people wouldn't be capable of doing things they were indeed fully capable of. In short, a bland girl with no attitude and no will of her own.
"I don't think," I said firmly. "I'm absolutely sure that it was Rachel I was with, even though that night didn't end exactly the way I would have liked."
Sarah stared at me with a visibly troubled expression, and I waited for her to insist on her lie again, but she probably concluded that denying the truth any further was pointless.
"What do you want to talk to me about, then?" she asked, curtly.
Finally, it seemed like we were making progress, and I chose to tell her as faithfully to the truth as possible about what was happening.
"Look, Sarah, when I saw that Fiori had arrived at Silverstone with Rachel, I immediately believed he was trying to play both sisters," I began to say. "So, I confronted the idiot, and he ended up confirming to me that he talked to Rachel and that even after telling her about what happened between you two, they still decided to stay together."
"He told you that?" she asked, looking anxious.
Sarah's eyes became brighter when she heard Fiori's name, but they turned dull immediately upon learning that he had told me he chose to stay with her sister.
"Yes, he did," I confirmed, not caring at all about her feelings. "Of course, he didn't tell me about it because we're friends or anything. It was only after, let's say, a brief argument."
I used my index finger and thumb, with minimal distance between them, to gesture that it had indeed been small.
Sarah didn't need to know all the details about the clash I had with my biggest competitor after training, as it was, in fact, just a minor disagreement between gentlemen that was quickly smoothed over when Fiori decided to collaborate by telling me, albeit superficially, about his conversation with Rachel.
"I understand."
I knew she hadn't understood anything, but she was too foolish to press on and confront me for the truth.
"So, the reason I insisted on us having lunch together today is because I believe that given the circumstances, we can help each other in a way that will be beneficial for both of us."
"What do you mean by 'help each other'?" Sarah asked, suspiciously, making air quotes with her fingers.
"I'll be very straightforward, and I'm sure you'll catch on quickly," I said. "I want Rachel, because I'm interested in her in every way, and unlike the idiot Fiori, I've perfectly understood who she really is."
"And you want my help to win over my sister?" she seemed confused now.
"I want Rachel, and I understand that you'd like to get to know Lorenzo better if he wasn't involved with your sister, right?"
"I'm not sure I want any kind of relationship with Lorenzo," she insisted.
"You say that now because you're upset, believing he chose your sister," I pointed out, as she failed to see something that was practically being shoved in her face. "Despite being around Rachel for so many years, you still have no idea how manipulative she is, how she convinces you to do anything, like pretending to be her, just to keep me from getting in the way of your romance with Fiori, the jerk."
"It's not like that!" Another futile protest on her part.
"Continuing..." I made sure to ignore her protest and proceeded with what I had intended from the start. "I've thought about it a lot, and I believe that if we pretend to be dating, Rachel will let go and realize that the man she truly likes is me."
Sarah stared at me with such a glaringly incredulous expression that I was certain she wasn't buying my words. After a few seconds of what seemed like shock, she burst into laughter.
"Where did you come up with this madness, Enrico? Rachel doesn't like you at all, I'm completely sure of that!"
"Well, I say she does like me and that she's just avoiding her feelings for me," I countered.
"You're crazy, completely insane, you must be."
She was still laughing, and I waited for her to finish and pay attention to me again because the only delusional one at that table was herself.
"Done?"
"Not yet, but... go on. It's actually quite entertaining," she said, teasingly. "You were saying my sister is in love with you and if we date, she'll finally realize it. Did I get that right?"
"You got it, but you're not taking me seriously," I pointed out the obvious.
"Definitely not."
"Then, let's date," I suggested abruptly. "You have nothing to lose, really. I'll take you to all the events, and I guarantee you'll have a great time keeping me company."
"I don't agree."
"At least agree so you can prove that Rachel isn't the person you think she is. Because it's very clear that she's always getting you into trouble."
She looked at me suspiciously again, as if I knew something she didn't, which was entirely true. I had realized, from the very first moment we were together at the car manufacturers' event in Montreal, that Rachel was extremely selfish and didn't care about her sister at all.
From the moment I laid eyes on Rachel, I couldn't take them off her enchanting figure. I'm attentive to everything involving Rachel, and I'm absolutely sure she is selfish and how little she cares about Sarah. But the main party involved hadn't even realized this and kept making excuses for her sister's behavior.
"I don't believe what you're saying, Enrico," she said to my face. "If you want a companion, whatever the reason, why didn't you just ask me? In the end, I owe you a huge favor, considering you're the one who got me the job on the team."
"If you're willing to help me, even if you don't believe what I say, then so be it. From now on, we're dating, and you'll need to be strong to keep up this lie for the most important person of all: Rachel!"
"We have a deal, then," she agreed.
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