Later that night, I found myself a little too relaxed after drinking at the bar. Lando and I were sitting next to each other, a secret bond between us. It was more than just our teammates, but not everyone needed to know. Especially the paparazzi. But a few camera flashes and microphones pointed at me made things even more complicated.

When a paparazzi asked about my relationship with Lando, I would normally ignore such questions. But at that moment… under the influence of alcohol, my tongue had become too loose. I couldn’t help but laugh a little defiantly:

“l’m every woman he knows exists l’m his main, l’m his side l’m every woman that’s in his mind.”

My words echoed and everything around me went silent. Lando’s gaze fell on me, trying to figure out what I was doing. He was looking at me with a frown and a slight panic. He had a look on his face that said, “What do you think you’re doing?” and grabbed my hand and quickly led me out of the bar.

As the cold air hit my face on the street, I began to come to. I felt both relief and rising panic. Lando remained silent for a moment, but when my phone started ringing, we both knew what was coming. McLaren Team. It wasn’t hard to guess who the caller was.

I didn’t dare answer the phone in my hand. “I won’t answer,” I said defensively, but Lando pulled the phone from my hand without a moment’s hesitation.

“If you don’t answer, I will,” he said, answering the call.

He locked eyes with me before speaking, silently urging me to calm down. There was silence on the phone for a few seconds, then the team manager’s angry voice said, “Is this true?”

Lando took a deep breath. As I watched the confused expression on his face, I sensed that everything was going to get even more complicated. My eyes were on his face, my heart pounding in my mouth. The alcohol had worn off, but now I was in a different kind of high: fear and adrenaline.