Surprising
**Sarah**
In my humble opinion, Enrico's strategy wasn't yielding results, something I had warned about from the beginning. However, if he wanted to persist in this nonsense, I wouldn't try to convince him otherwise.
The truth is, I was even enjoying pretending to date a Formula One driver. Besides enjoying the perks he insisted I have, I discovered that behind the cynical facade and sarcastic demeanor, Enrico was a fun person.
While having breakfast together, Hillary was commenting on this fun side of Bianchi.
"I don't understand why he always tries to maintain that jerk facade when he's such a sweetheart, isn't he?" she said.
"I believe he doesn't want people to see him as a kind person, Hillary. It wouldn't be good for his image to be labeled that way. It would help if you understood that better than anyone since you're responsible for managing that aspect of the team," I pointed out the obvious.
Hillary sighed as if she were tired of the situation, and I became curious about why she was acting so strangely. After all, she always showed enthusiasm for her job.
"Lorenzo has been so irritable lately!" she explained. "Everyone's talking about it, and he didn't perform well in this week's practice sessions either."
"I talked to Rachel yesterday, but she didn't mention anything about any problem," I commented, finding all this quite strange.
Hillary looked at me assessingly, and after a moment of contemplation, she decided to speak her mind.
"Most of the team is saying that Lorenzo's bad mood started when he found out about your relationship with Enrico," she revealed, leaving me completely bewildered.
"But that's absurd!" I protested, feeling indignant about these comments. "It's very malicious of all of them!"
I expected Hillary to agree with me immediately, but her expression betrayed something different, and I couldn't contain myself when I realized that she seemed to agree with these absurd ideas.
"You can't be thinking the same as them, Hillary!"
"I have to agree with my colleagues, Sarah," she said, undeterred. "I was with Lorenzo when the news started circulating during Friday's practice, and I can confirm that he couldn't hide his anger."
I really couldn't understand how Lorenzo could act this way when he was the one who chose to continue with Rachel, even though I was initially willing to go against my sister and be with him. But I had to admit that in the end, moving on would have been complete madness since I realized that my feelings for Lorenzo were just a momentary excitement and that I had already moved on.
"I don't understand why he acted like this when whether I date Enrico or not has nothing to do with him," I pointed out.
"I agree with you on that aspect, but based on the contact I have with them, I can say that Lorenzo and Rachel don't seem like a couple," Hillary revealed.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, curious.
"They don't touch each other, they don't kiss, they don't exchange affectionate looks," she began listing on her fingers. "I would even say that they don't even seem like friends."
"I don't understand what you mean," I said, seeking more information.
"Friends have more camaraderie than Rachel and Lorenzo, that's what I mean," she explained.
"I think I'm starting to understand a bit better now," I said.
"I have to go," Hillary changed the subject. "We have a new investor interested in the racing team, and we need to gather appealing information for him."
She finished her coffee quickly, got up, grabbed her bag, and blew a kiss in my direction, leaving me alone with my thoughts. So, is Lorenzo jealous? Of me? If this is true, I can only be upset with him for all this indecision. I would never agree to be in the middle of a situation like this.
However, being in a fake relationship with Enrico keeps me immune to Lorenzo's "love" because the fact that I'm dating him prevents him from trying to get close to me again. That way, I wouldn't be tempted to be with someone just because he was declaring his love for me, which was the result of a great need.
However, I was feeling lonely, and needy, and maybe it was a good idea to go out a bit, maybe even kiss someone and try to get people who didn't treat me well out of my head. I shook my head as if telling myself to forget about it and followed my friend's example, finishing my meal quickly, grabbing my bag, and heading to the nearest subway station.
I had barely taken a few steps outside when I felt my phone ringing, it was a call from Ryan, which excited me. I missed my friend, even though talking to him also made me miss Seattle and reminded me of the person I needed to forget the most: Kael. Before answering, I checked the time, and that indeed left me puzzled.
"Hello, my friend!" I greeted him when I answered the call. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be calling me?"
Although it wasn't even 9 AM in London, Ryan was in Seattle, where it was still midnight on a Sunday, and he didn't usually stay up late on this day.
"I missed you," he said, with a smile in his voice. "Can't I call you when I miss you?"
"You can call me whenever you want, Ryan," I replied sincerely. "I'm just finding it strange that you're still up so late."
"I'd say it's still pretty early for me," he said, surprising me.
"So your habits have changed quite a bit since I left Seattle," I teased.
"Everything's pretty much the same."
He was enigmatic now, and I started to feel a strange anxiety, even though I didn't understand why, I felt that something was off about our conversation.
"I see," I said, and decided to change the subject. "But tell me, are you still seeing Madison?"
"We're dating," Ryan told me, making me extremely happy.
"I can't believe it!" I celebrated. "I need to talk to her urgently and complain that she didn't tell me before."
"What do you think about having lunch together?" he suggested.
"I think you're not feeling well at all, my friend," I said, laughing. "Did you forget that I'm in London now?"
"So are we," Ryan said, leaving me speechless.
Hearing that Ryan and Madison were in London completely surprised me. This fact added another element to the strange anxiety I was feeling during the conversation. I started to wonder if it was a coincidence or if there was something more to it.
"Wait a minute, you're in London too?" I asked, trying to better understand the situation.
"Yes, we're all here," Ryan confirmed.
His confirmation only increased the feeling that something was happening beyond what I knew.
"All of you? You mean you, Madison... and someone else?" I inquired, my voice filled with suspicion.
There was a pause on the other end of the line before Ryan replied.
"Well, actually, Kael is here too."
The news hit me like a punch. Kael was in London. The fact that he was so close, after all the effort I had made to try to forget him, left my heart racing. Now the anxiety I felt was completely justified. It wasn't a coincidence. Kael was in London, the same place where I was trying to move on with my life.
We ended the call after scheduling lunch among us, without Kael, of course. As I looked at my phone, I felt a mixture of conflicting emotions. Kael's presence in London was something I didn't expect, something that would force me to confront feelings I was trying to leave behind.
As I tried to process the news, a myriad of thoughts ran through my mind. Memories of Kael resurfaced each one a bittersweet reminder of our past together. I couldn't deny the wave of longing and apprehension that accompanied the knowledge of his proximity.
With a heavy sigh, I put the turmoil aside and concentrated on the practicalities that lay ahead. Meeting Ryan and Madison for lunch would be an opportunity to catch up and perhaps find out more about Kael's unexpected presence.
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