🧡 ᴜɴᴘʟᴀɴɴᴇᴅ — ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 16: ᴀʟʟ ᴇʏᴇꜱ, ᴀʟʟ ᴀɴɢʟᴇꜱ 🧡
ꜰ1 x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ | ʟᴀɴᴅᴏ ɴᴏʀʀɪꜱ ᴀᴜ | ᴀɴɢꜱᴛ + ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ
⚠️ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ:
ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄ ꜱᴄʀᴜᴛɪɴʏ / ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ ᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴜʀᴇ
ɪᴍᴘʟɪᴇᴅ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ / ꜱᴜʀᴠᴇɪʟʟᴀɴᴄᴇ (ʟᴜᴄᴀ)
ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ꜱʏᴍᴘᴛᴏᴍꜱ (ɴᴀᴜꜱᴇᴀ, ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴘᴀɪɴ)
ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴀɴxɪᴇᴛʏ
ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴘᴀᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ ꜱᴋᴇᴘᴛɪᴄɪꜱᴍ
ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴇɴꜱɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ/ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘꜱ
ᴄʀɪꜱɪꜱ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀɪᴠᴀᴄʏ ɪɴᴠᴀꜱɪᴏɴ
There was something off.
Lando could feel it from the moment he stepped into the McLaren garage the next morning. The usual banter between engineers felt thinner, more strained. The subtle glances from paddock staff lingered longer than they should have. Even Oscar seemed unusually quiet, until they were alone near the sim room.
“You alright?” Lando asked as he scrolled absently through telemetry on the tablet in his hand.
Oscar gave him a long look. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
Lando didn’t answer immediately.
Oscar pressed, voice low. “There’s been talk. You and the girl from the boutique. People noticed after that photo you posted. The paddock isn’t subtle.”
Lando met his gaze. “You noticed.”
Oscar nodded once. “Yeah. And it’s not just me.”
Lando ran a hand down his face. “It’s complicated.”
Oscar leaned back against the wall. “You don’t do complicated. At least, you didn’t before.”
Lando said nothing, but the weight of silence between them spoke enough.
Oscar finally added, “I’m not going to ask you for the whole story. But if you need backup, or someone to throw the press off for a few days, I’m your guy.”
Lando managed a faint smile. “Thanks.”
Across Monaco, (Y/n) tried to keep her head down. But nothing in her world felt quiet anymore.
She was nauseous again, despite the bland crackers and tiny sips of water. Her back ached, and her mind wouldn’t slow down. She and Lando had talked, really talked, after Luca left the shop. The skepticism he’d shown, the way he’d questioned the baby’s paternity, had left a wound. But the way he had stayed after… offered support, not escape… That lingered too.
She didn’t want to get ahead of herself. Lando hadn’t made any grand declarations. But he had made one thing clear.
He wasn’t walking away.
And yet, being around Carla and Amara was becoming increasingly difficult. Carla, though more careful now, watched her like a sister would, knowing something was shifting but not pushing too far. Amara tried to maintain normalcy, but she’d been the one texting Lando updates after their scare. She was already invested.
Then there was the media.
No one had connected the dots publicly yet, but the moment someone did… everything would collapse. The boutique. Her privacy. Her control.
Back at the paddock, McLaren’s PR rep, Dani, was in crisis-prevention mode.
“We need a proactive stance,” she said briskly, flipping through a folder of headlines. “There’s nothing concrete yet, but the Luca guy has been seen near gossip reporters, someone tipped off RaceBlitz Weekly. And now people are speculating about a mystery girl in Lando’s life.”
Zak crossed his arms. “What do we know about this girl?”
Dani hesitated. “We’ve got partial ID. Boutique worker. No scandals. No socials. Pretty clean. But if Luca’s planning to stir things, we’ll have to be ready.”
Zak sighed. “Talk to Lando. Privately. No pressure, but we can’t afford a tabloid spiral in the middle of the European leg.”
That night, Lando stood on the balcony of his flat, staring at the city lights.
His phone buzzed.
Amara: Just a heads-up, Luca was back near the shop today. Didn’t enter. Just watching.
He gritted his teeth.
Whatever was coming, he wasn’t going to let Luca corner her.
And he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the media get to her before he figured out how to protect them both.
To be continued... 🧡 🧡 ᴜɴᴘʟᴀɴɴᴇᴅ — ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 17: ꜱɪɢɴꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡꜱ 🧡
📝 Note from the Author: It’s officially my seventh day here on Tumblr, Alarwynnites 🧡 and I still can’t believe how fast everything’s been moving, just like an F1 car on DRS 😭 I’m so grateful for every read, reblog, and little message. You all make this so much more fun 🥹
Don’t forget to like, reblog, comment, and follow for more stories in the future, we’re just warming up 😌
With love, me 🧡