It’s been a long time since we said goodbye.

Her studies, my job. Two worlds that never quite found their way to each other.

We loved each other, yeah…but it wasn’t enough. Not amidst the traveling, exams and constant pressure.

Everytime meeting was short, rare…and whenever I had time, she had to study, work, push herself through.

It was as if life itself had done everything to break us apart.

And eventually…we had to let go.

But I never forgot her. Never stopped loving her.

And now she’s standing in front of me. A microphone in her hand, right in the paddock of Monaco.

Among asphalt, engines, people and cameras, wearing this beautiful white dress, shining brighter than everything around her.

Her damn radiant smile hits me like a punch.

She’s the new presenter for F1 TV.

Everything she worked for has paid off.

And I’m proud. Proud of her, of this moment she fought so hard for.

Her hair is longer, shining in the sun and she’s more tanned than she used to be. But her smile…that smile is the same.

The smile I searched for so often. The smile I falled for.

And me? I’m speechless. She makes me speechless.

Me..the guy who always has a witty answer ready, who throws sarcastic lines in interviews.

I say nothing.

Not a single word.

“Lando, congratulations on your qualifying result. How does it feel, knowing you’ll start tomorrow in the popular Monaco as the leader?” She asks, her tone professional and yet, there’s a slight shaking in it.

Maybe I’m only imagining it.

Her voice.

I haven’t heard it in so long. Not this close, not directed at me.

I should answer. Say something about the car, the team, the strategy.

Instead, I stare at the little necklace around her neck. The same one I gave her back then.

She’s still wearing it.

And that tiny detail is enough to throw my heart completely off track.

My thoughts are racing.

I see us again on my balcony.

Two glasses of wine, her legs resting on my lap while I traced little patterns on her skin, just to make her smile.

She told me about her day, so full of life, so full of energy and I thought..this must be what love feels like.

Free.

Complete.

Unstoppable.

And now I stand here, unable to give a proper answer.

“Uh…yeah…fantastic. I’m very nervous and I hope I don’t…ruin my chance or screw up the start tomorrow.” I finally stammer.

I can feel the heat rise to my face…and not just from the sun.

Her smile grows just a little wider and for a moment, she doesn’t look like the F1 TV presenter.

She looks like the woman who once fell asleep in my arms at night, as if the world outside didn’t matter.

She throws me off balance.

Completely.

I wish we weren’t here, surrounded by cameras and journalists. I wish we were alone, so I could say it.

Say that I never stopped loving her. That I know our past was complicated, but this love is far too precious to let go of.

She was always a miracle, and she still is.

I study her while she scans the next question on her card.

Maybe she still believes in us. Because how else do you explain that necklace around her neck?

No matter where I am, no matter what I do...she’s there.

In my head, in my heart, in every space in between.

I’m going to fight.

Not for a podium. Not for a title.

But for her.