DELILAH RUNS a hand through her long hair. Her eyes shift to Max, who seems to have sunken into deep thought. "Two years of radio silence, I appear on tv and boom," Delilah rambles, "that is too much of a coincident." "That seems a fair reason," Max mutters, "however, how can you assume his doings are mischief?" Delilah opens her mouth and closes it. She allows herself to fall on the chair before she covers her face with her hands. By her doings, the chair twirls in circles. "I don't know!" she exclaims, "I don't know what to do." Max rises to his feet and walks up to Delilah. He extends his hand, having the intention to pull her on her feet. Delilah moves her middle finger aside to look at Max through her hands. She groans and clasps her hand in his. "We will think of something," he says, "in the meanwhile, text with him and find out whether he is worthy or not." "You are a wise man, Oppa," Delilah sighs.
     "Verstappen!" A female voice calls their surname, causing both Max and Delilah to turn around. "Exactly the reaction I needed to see," Artemis laughs as she approaches them. "A few of us are having dinner and we were wondering if you'd like to come around," Artemis explains. "Who are we?" Max questions. Artemis smiles and counts on her fingers, "Alex, George, Lando, Charles, Daniel and me." Max feels his heart accelerate by hearing Daniel's name but he hopes to play it cool. He shifts his gaze to Delilah, "the choice is yours." "I would enjoy spending some more time with you," Delilah smiles. Artemis and Max laugh, "be careful or otherwise, you will be stuck with us-" "Forever," Artemis finishes Max's sentence and they laugh it off. "Are we going like this and be a mix of teams or are we changing?" Delilah questions. "I think we stay like this," Max answers unbothered. "It gives the press something to talk about," Artemis winks.
"But Max and I came by bike," Delilah then realises. "We can surely carpool," Max reassures, "wait near the entrance?" "Will do!"

"Can I hop along since I rode my bike," Delilah questions. Charles casually raises his arm, "you can hop along with me. I have a seat." "Great," Delilah smiles and walks up to Charles. She stands next to him and clasps her hands behind her back. "I assume you need a ride too Max?" Daniel questions. Max slowly nods and glances at the rest, "you are all covered?" He points at Lando and Alex, who point at George. ''Shall we get going then?'' George suggests, to which they agree.
Delilah follows Charles to his car. ''What did you tell me when I wasn't listening?'' Charles questions once they are alone. ''Hmm?'' Delilah hums, tilting her head. Her mind is figuring out what Charles means. ''Before Max and Valtteri joined us,'' Charles adds, hoping she would remember. ''Ohh,'' Delilah realises and thinks of her words. ''I think I said something about how impressive it was for you to race so soon after the accident,'' Delilah explains. Charles chuckles as he nervously scratches the back of his head. Charles opens the door to the passenger's seat, allowing Delilah to step in. ''What a gentleman,'' Delilah chuckles. A smile forms on Charles' face as he walks to the driver's seat.

"A table of eight," Daniel speaks. The waitress visibly panics once she sees the drivers. "O-of course," she stammers as she feels her cheeks getting hot. She leads them to their table and tries to pull herself together as they sit down. Charles sits at the end of the table. Delilah pulls back the chair next to him and sits down. George and Artemis sit across from them with Lando and Alex next to them while Max and Daniel take the remaining seats.
As soon as the waitress had taken their orders, Delilah sinks into her phone. She intends to write a short message, however, she doesn't expect him to answer right away.

𝖳𝗈𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝟣𝟪:𝟤𝟣

Hey Delilah,
Long time no see

𝖳𝗈𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝟣𝟫.𝟤𝟫

Hello, indeed not

How have you been?

Turbulent, and you?

I'm great!
I know this may seem out of the blue
but I noticed you on tv and I wanted
to check in on you

You saw me on tv ... right

Is there something wrong?

No, it's just funny how you haven't
'checked' in on me two years ago
probably when I needed it the most

I thought you wanted space since
you dropped out and so

And do you remember/know the reason
of my dropout?

No, I thought you grew bored of it

If you had 'checked' on me, you would
have known the reason
Anyways, was this an attempt to win me
back or something?

Perhaps yes, when I saw you on
the tv something just ... it felt
like those two years ago

Ah

Do I still have a chance?

Aeron...

Because you are a lovely woman

No

No, what?

No you don't have a chance anymore
I'm seeing someone, which is none
of your concern

It is indeed not
Don't you think I'm better than
him?

And what makes you think that?
Don't even answer that
I do not wish to hear from you
again, have I made myself clear?

Pff have fun with your new boyfriend
I bet he is as stupid as he looks

"Delilah?" Artemis calls, causing Delilah to snap out of her frustrated train of thought. She meets Artemis' eyes, who nudges her head toward the restroom. Delilah nods and rises from her chair. Artemis copies her actions and leaves for the restroom. Six men are left behind with stunned expressions. "Does anyone know what just happened?" George questions. "It's your girlfriend," Charles laughs, "you should know what is going on." Daniel glances aside and notices Max was rather quiet. He leans closer, which slightly startled Max. "You okay?" he asks softly. Max nods and replies, "I'm a little worried for Jeonghwa, that's all." Daniel raises an eyebrow, "Jeonghwa? Delilah?" Max then realises they don't know Delilah as Jeonghwa like he does. "Right, Jeonghwa is her Korean name."
     Artemis pushes the door to the restroom before she fired her first question. "Are you alright? I sensed something was off," Artemis adds. "I am not," Delilah sighs and hands her phone to Artemis, who eyes her while accepting her phone. The Austrian shifts her eyes to the screen where she is reading a conversation between her and a man. "When I started University, I had a fling with this guy," Delilah explains in the meanwhile, "and I really liked him. Then I was forced to drop out, because of my mother." Artemis nods while she frowns, reading the conversation. "He never texted or called ever again," Delilah sighs, "and now he dares to swoop right back in." "He certainly is bold," Artemis grunts and hands back her phone. "So, you are seeing someone?" "No!" Delilah cries out, "that is the problem, I do not. I was frustrated and angry, I wanted to let him know I was not available." "Understandable," Artemis says calmly, "does anyone else know?" "Max," Delilah sighs. "We will think of someone, sunshine," Artemis speaks, even though she knows the exact right candidate. "Thank you, Noona."

Once Delilah and Artemis sit down at the table, the men are watching them with question marks. "Lady stuff," Artemis simply replies, causing them to nod. However, Charles seems more interested in Delilah. He leans in closer and asks, "are you alright?" ''Not yet,'' Delilah whispers, causing Charles to tell himself to check up on her later. "If you need a clumsy Monegasque to who you can talk to, I'm right here," Charles whispers, followed by a chuckle. ''Thank you,'' Delilah mutters.
After several minutes, Delilah composed herself and shook off that nauseous feeling. Charles seems to be impressed, by what looked like turning off feelings. His eyes often shift back and forth between the group and Delilah.

Peals of laughter are shared, stories are told, food is eaten and the hours were flying by. Lando stretches and yawns, causing a few others to yawn as well. "I don't know about you guys, but my bed is calling me," Alex yawns. "I agree," Artemis yawns and rests her head against George's shoulder. He protectively wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Shall we get the bill then?" Max asks and adds, "dinner is on me." His added words are a relief to most of the men as if they aren't millionaires. "You are a good man, Max," Daniel smiles widely. His words succeed in flustering Max, who swiftly walks away. Delilah closes her eyes and slowly leans against Charles' shoulder, who seems to be caught off guard for a moment. He glances at the group with a panicked expression. However, the others were just smirking, knowing what the writer had told them. George gestures for him to wrap an arm around her shoulder. Following George's advice, Charles wraps an arm around her shoulder, causing her to open her eyes. She shifts her gaze to Charles, who panics and apologises. "I'm sorry," he blurts, wanting to remove his arm. "It's okay," says Delilah softly, "it's warmer anyways."
     "We'll see you in Germany," Alex mentions, "enjoy the week off." Delilah glances at Max, who sends a wink in her direction. "Perhaps, we could stream online again," Artemis suggests, "but we will see-" "How are you even gonna play," Lando interrupts, holding up his wrist. "It's not completely useless, dingus," Artemis scolds. Lando's eyes widen as he holds up his hands in defence. "George, keep your girl calm," Lando says, causing them all to laugh. "See you later then," Alex smiles and waves to Charles, Delilah, Max and Daniel. "I guess we bring home the Verstappens?" Daniel laughs at Charles. "I don't mind if you stay with us," Max comments, "I have guest rooms available to spend the night." Charles and Daniel lock eyes, and then shortly after they shrug. "Why not?"

Delilah sits outside, dressed in her jogging pants and a hoodie, with her hands wrapped around a mug of hot tea. The men are inside, deciding who will be where sleeping. It was then that Max realised he had one more guest room, he had forgotten about Delilah occupying one of them. "I might have a problem," Max mutters, "I have one guest room left. I forgot that Delilah had one now." He feels a heat creeping up his neck out of embarrassment. "I could share a night with Delilah," Max exclaims, yet Daniel stops him. "I don't mind if Charles is taking the spare guest room," the Aussie speaks. Charles simply nods and searches for Delilah, leaving the two alone. Max scowls, showing wrinkles on his forehead. "Where will you be sleeping then?"
"There you are," Charles' voice makes Delilah glance over her shoulder. "Hi," she smiles. Charles chooses the seat next to her and gazes where she gazes. The stars. "I don't know if it is the right time to ask, but may I ask what happened during dinner?" Charles questions gently. Delilah takes a deep breath and questions, "Do you really want to listen to my tragic life story?" Charles didn't laugh or chuckle. He thought of her question as a serious matter. "Yes," he simply replies, "if you feel comfortable enough." Delilah now chuckles, glancing at the sky once more. "I think it is easier to tell a stranger who isn't close. Yet or not," Delilah says and lowers her voice to a whisper, "since Max doesn't know either." "If it helps you to tell me, then I would sit here all night listening to you," Charles speaks. Her gaze shifts from the sky to Charles. His words feel warm, warm hugs for a damaged soul.

"After graduating high school, I went to University," Delilah starts, "that is where I met Aeron Westfall. We had this fling and on my part, I even fell in love with him. It was until then that my mother, Sophie, grew ill. I was forced to drop out of school to take care of her. He never contacted again, until now." Charles attentively listens to her words and nods, noting Delilah he is following. "I guess he saw me on tv and suddenly wanted to get together," says Delilah. "What a loser," Charles speaks. "I rejected and said I was seeing someone, which isn't true at all ... but back to my mother. When she wasn't with us anymore, something in my father snapped. He acted as if I was a waste of space in the house."
"Why can't you be more like your sister?" Jos grunted, chugging his beer. "It's been difficult after mom's-" "Don't you dare say it!" Jos snapped, raising his voice. "Don't you dare say her name! She was the only reason I agreed on adopting a child." Each of his words felt like a bullet being shot at her, piercing her body. It was then, that her heart broke and Jos' abuse started. "A husband would fit in this family," he continued, "but who'd want a helpless orphan whose parents abandoned her."
"Delilah?" Charles questions concerned. He lays a hand on her shoulder, causing her to snap out of the memory. Delilah's eyes shift to Charles and there he sees it, a tear rolling down her face. "He wanted a son-in-law," Delilah speaks, her voice trembling. She pulls her knees to her chest and her arms around her legs. The woman rephrased her father's words, "a husband would fit in this family, but who'd want a helpless orphan whose parents abandoned her." Charles feels his heart sink and break the slightest. "No," he sighs helplessly. A wave of compassion engulfs his body. "I'm sorry," she cries, "I didn't mean to break down like this." Charles raises from his chair and crouches next to Delilah, wrapping his arms around her. "Tears are no sign of weakness," Charles whispers, "and if you'd like to know, I'm glad for meeting you. Speaking on the grid's behalf as well." Her eyes shift to Charles and sends him a faint smile. An idea forms in Charles' head, yet it is risky. "May I present my possible, maybe crazy solution?" Charles asks gently. "Hmmhmm," Delilah hums approving. "Have you ever heard of the term fake dating? That is where a couple pretend to be in love to fool people? What if we did that?" He explained excitingly, yet gently asked the question. "You want us to be fake dating?" Delilah asks, her voice raw from crying. "Oui," he replies, "you could both fool that weird man and your father." Delilah lowers her knees and stares at Charles as if he has gone mental. "You would do that for me?" she asks carefully.
"Yes. Yes I would'.''