》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

Kez sat in the quiet conference room, thinking to herself. She wasn't an engineer, she only knew about cars to a certain extent. But she did know how to run a company, and this was probably the most stressful situation she had ever been in. She had seen the pictures and videos of Sang and Kallie at the race, so she knew they had talked and she brought him back. She wasn't happy with that, obviously. But her dedication to make this team successful outweighed her hate for him.

Kallie knocked on it three times before pushing the door open, Sang right behind her with his hands tucked in his pockets, looking around the empty and plain room, paperwork scattered across the table in front of his favorite niece. "You got the contract, Kez?" Kallie questions, deciding to get right into it before Kez and Sang got into it. Kez nods, taking a large gulp of her bourbon before setting it back on the glass table. "Right here."

Kallie raised a brow, moving to sit down on Kezie's right as Sang took a seat to her left, Kez at the head of the table. "You drunk?" Kez scoffs, "not yet." Sang watched Kez with squinted eyes as Kalle went through the contract. He knew she drank, that wasn't a secret, she was infamous for her party days when she was in her early twenties. But he could tell when something was wrong with her. Like her hands shook for a few seconds before she steadied them again. He knew she was in the early stages, but he wasn't gonna call it out. It was clear Kallie didn't know either.

"Looks good." Kallie comments, sliding the folder over to Sang for him to look through. He just skimmed over it before signing it, he knew Kez wasn't gonna slip anything in there, it wasn't like her. She liked honesty. "So, how many engineers do we have?" He questioned. Kez didn't look at him, staring forward as she answered, "enough." Sang shook his head, "no, from what I seen in that shop, it's not nearly enough. I need my team."

"Why? My team isn't good enough for you? Is anything ever good enough for you?" Kez finally turned to look at him, a sharp glare on her face that made him want to wince. "Not really, no. But if you want this to be a success, I need my team. They quit right behind me so they'll come back for me. I can get them all back by tomorrow. So, I'd gather up some contracts if I were you." He said, deciding he wasn't gonna give into her attitude.

"You think you can come into my place of work and give around orders?" Kez scoffs, standing up and leaning forward on the table with her palms against the glass. "Let's get something very clear. I am not my father, I will not let you take this from me. I got to where I am on my own, and I made sacrifices that I don't regret for one second, because it led me here with two amazing children. I made millions out of nothing. I bought this company for my father, so don't think because I am allowing you back into this life that you can take over what I am building. You work for me, not the other way around."

"Kez, that's enough, he gets it," Kallie warns, setting a hand on her shoulder that just shrugs off. "No, I don't think he does. I'm not that young naive little girl who gave you chances of redemption. I'm a billionaire, and I got here by not giving second chances to snakes like you. Don't think for a second that this means I want you back in our life. You mean absolutely nothing to me. So don't try to play favorite uncle with me, cause it won't work, you're not my family. You're lucky I allow you to be associated with my kids."

"Kez, enough, you're drunk. Go home, get some sleep, we'll talk tomorrow." Kallie pulls her away from the table, Kez scoffing, "of course you defend him. What'd he do? Promise he changed? Showered you with apology gifts?" Kallie huffs, dragging Kezie out of the room, she pulled out her phone, calling up Lewis, she didn't trust the driver's here yet, not around Kez when she was drunk. "Didn't I just drop you off? What's wrong? Did she kill him? Stab him?"

"No, no, she's just drunk and angry. I don't trust anyone here yet so can you circle back and take her back to the hotel." Kallie explained, pulling her stumbling sister into the elevator. "Yeah, of course, I'll turn around." Lewis agrees and Kallie sighs in relief, hanging up to hold onto her sister. "I hate him so much. He thinks he can boss me around? Like he's in charge? Nah, that's how this works." Kez ranted, letting Kallie drag her out of the elevator and down the halls.

They walked outside to the back, Lewis just pulling up. Kallie pulled open the door and helped Kez inside the car. "Just take her back to our room, I don't know where she's staying. Thank you for this." Kallie says, making sure Kez was all buckled in. "No problem, love." Lewis replied, a bit intimidated by the drunk Kezie who was trying to take her phone back from Kallie. "Take this, don't give it to her. Don't let her contact anyone." Kallie handed the phone to Lewis who took it and shoved it in his pocket.

"I won't be home until late now, cause I have to take over her work. So don't wait up. I love you." Kallie blew a kiss before shutting the door, Kezie flipping her off as Lewis drove off. "Can't believe she's giving him a second chance. That fucking bastard." Kez spoke in Xhosa, hitting her hand on the dashboard. Lewis's eyes widened slightly, he had probably never seen Kez so pissed off, unless you count that time she smacked someone for grabbing her daughter's arm.

"You don't think he deserves redemption?" Lewis questions, he didn't want to fuel her up but he knew it wouldn't help her to keep everything bottled up. "Redemption? No, no, he doesn't deserve anything from my family. He doesn't deserve loyalty. He doesn't deserve forgiveness. Not after everything he put us through. He's just a selfish money hungry son of a bitch who can go to hell for all I care." Kez scoffed, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a small flask of alcohol.

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?" He looked at the flask with concern.

"I'm a working mother who never gets a chance to drink her sorrows away. Are you seriously going to stop me?" She deadpanned before taking a large sip. "Good point." Lewis mumbles nervously. "Thought so." Kez muttered and after a few minutes, they got the hotel, she was still drunk even though Lewis insisted on her drinking water. He helped her out of the car, "can you walk?" He questions.

"I'm fine." She muttered, just holding onto his arm as they walked to the front desk to check in. As he was checking in, he didn't notice her disappear from his sight. "Oh shit. Where'd she go? Kallie's gonna kill me." He stressed, taking the key card and rushing around the lobby in search for the singer. He finally found her at the bar taking a bottle of bourbon from the bartender. "Just charge it to the room under Kalliope Kumalo. Thank you." She smiled, and he nodded, still a bit shocked he was that close to Keziyah.

Lewis quickly snatched the bottle from her hands, "sorry about that, we won't be needing this."

"Yes I will." Kez snatched it back with a glare, storming off to the elevator. Lewis huffed, "can I get a two bottles of water please? Charge it to that same room." The guy nods, handing him the water and Lewis takes it before running after his drunk sister. He just made it into the lift before it could shut. He clicked the button for their floor and just glared at Kez who was opening the bottle of bourbon, unbothered by his glares. "Keep glaring and you'll get wrinkles old man." She smirked, walking out of the lift as it opened.

"I'm not even that old." He frowned, rubbing his face in offense.

He unlocked the door and she pushed her way inside, tossing her heels to the side. Kez scoffs, sitting on the bed, "I can't believe she's making you babysit me. You of all people. Could've at least sprung for Jamie." Lewis gaped in offense, "you're so mean. What's that even supposed to mean?" Kez chuckles, taking a large gulp of the alcohol. "It means, she left a drunk me with you, rather than Jamie who's not terrified of me."

"Good point, but that's only because I don't know you that well." Lewis shrugs, sitting on the bed and leaning up against the headboard. "If you want to know me, look up my name, you'll see my whole life reported." She said, tugging off her blazer and throwing it to the floor, she was in a suit so she unbuttoned the cuffs on her wrists to stretch out more. "That can't possibly be true. They don't know everything." Lewis denied, it actually made him sad that she felt that way, being exposed to the internet at such a young age, hearing all the criticism when you were still growing up.

"Maybe not all the details, but they know enough. They know I was groomed by a teacher I trusted, guess that's my fault for spreading awareness. They know I was drinking and smoking weed to get through my time in Nickelodeon and Disney, guess that's my fault for raising awareness to children exposed to such things. They know that I loved to party but they don't talk about why I was partying with grown ass men who preyed on me. They only talk about the things that'll get clicks, and not how I advocate for everyone mistreated by this fucked up system."

Kez laughs to herself, it didn't hold any sort of amusement, it was just a void laugh to cover up her pain. "You want know why I hate that man so much?" Kez sat up, and didn't even wait for a response before she continued to speak her running thoughts. "I came to the states at what, fourteen? Maybe a year after he left us. And I reached out to him, so many times, but no answer. I just thought, maybe he's busy, it's okay. And then, I reach out some more, cause I didn't have money, my parents were struggling to keep the house."

"No shocker here, he doesn't get back to me. I think, it's okay, he's busy, he's got a tough job. So I get a job at a yogurt shop, it's not much but it keeps me alive. And I didn't know it was wrong when my teacher asked me to come to his class after curfew. I thought, maybe he just wants to help me, give me a chance to succeed. I was so stupid, I was fucking naive to think that he actually cared about me. To this day, I still think about it. Cause how could I have been so dumb to fall in love with my teacher? It took my sister coming to visit for me to realize that it was wrong."

"But then she showed interest in racing, like I did when Uncle Sang and my dad would put it on. She told me about her dreams, and I just wanted to make them come true. He helped me, he had connections to the producer for Nickelodeon, and I didn't care what the cost was, as long as I got paid. I saved up so much money, and paid for everything so Kallie could succeed. Merida was catching on to us, and she told my mum when she came to visit. I denied it. I lied. If we got caught, everything goes down the drain, all the money."

"Turns out, I didn't need to worry about my mum, cause his wife found out. I wasn't his only favorite student. I blamed her back then, but little did I know, she did me a huge favor. And now she works for my company, she helped me make the movie about it all. Anyways, after he was caught, it didn't change much, I was still acting and doing everything I could to make money for Kallie. Lord knows nobody was gonna sponsor an African girl in a race car."

Kez knew Lewis would understand that last part more than anything, having a similar experience, of course it wasn't as harsh as Kallie's experience, but it was still bad. "But, all of that, everything could've been avoided if he had just picked up the phone. Instead he was just living his life like we didn't exist. All that pain I went through, he could've prevented that, he could've protected me. And even through all of that, I still had faith in him. When I had Kamari, I called him. He answered. I asked if he wanted to come meet her. You know what he did?"

Lewis sighs, afraid to ask cause he knew it wasn't gonna be good. "What'd he do?"

"He sent me a check for 200 bucks and said he wanted nothing to do with me." She wiped her tears, and took another large gulp of the bourbon. Lewis moved leaned forward and took her hand in his, "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." She faintly smiled, squeezing his hand back. "It kills because I would do it all again if it mean seeing that smile on Kal's face when she won her first race."

"You're an amazing person and even better sister, Kez. You don't get told that enough." Lewis says, rubbing her hand gently.

"You're a good person too. I'm glad Kallie gave you a chance." Kez chuckles, patting his hand sarcastically. Lewis chuckles at her words, leaning back into the bedframe, kicking his feet up. Kez huffs, moving to sit beside him, leaning up against the frame as she took another drink of the bourbon. "How's the cancer?" He questioned. Kezie shrugs, "it's there, doesn't really bother me, it just fucks with my nerves and weight right now. But I'm handling it. How's Kallie doing?"

"Uh, last checkup, there wasn't much changes, doctors think it's not working. But we're trusting the process as much as we can. But the way she's dropping weight is concerning." Lewis sighs, pulling off his hairtye and tossing it on the bedside table. "Mm, I had that same trouble, I'm gonna send you a list of these things to try. She won't improve if she doesn't have healthy weight on her body. And you two gotta chill out with the sex, it burns calories that she's going to need."

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" Lewis deadpanned. Kez chuckles, shaking her head in amusement, "I figured you'd say that. I didn't listen to those rules either. I mean, if you're dying, might as well spend as much time as you can gettin' it in." He scoffs, hitting her arm, "she's not dying." She shrugged, taking another drink, "obviously, but just in case, that's my logic."

"You wanna know the worst thing about being a celebrity?" Kez nudged him. "What?" He squint his eyes at her, wondering where this was going. She took another sip, "you can't get risky with your partner in public." She giggles, and he laughed, nodding in agreement. "I get that. It's the worst. There's always a camera on you." Kez laughs at his words, nodding in agreement, "right? I remember I was so wasted once, I started making out with this girl in the club. Next morning, I wake up with Neela screaming in my ear, and then it's known all over the world that I like women."

"I remember that! You made out with uh, what's her name? Kehlani?" Lewis laughed, and Kez nodded, slurring her words, "I was like, was it really that big a secret?"

"You know, you were quite the little party boy back then, eh?" Kez points out, causing him to nod, rolling his eyes in amusement. "Yeah, not my proudest moments." She chuckles, nodding in agreement, "I can tell. Remember when we crossed paths at a club once?" Lewis snorts, recalling that moment faintly. "I remember. I asked if Kallie came with you." Kez giggles, speaking her next words like an author with a british accent, "and the girl you were with stormed off in a jealous rage."

"And then you said, and I quote, "my sister doesn't go out with man whores, now if you'll excuse me, I don't like wasting my time on wannabe Usher's." Lewis says, and she laughed, running a hand down her face, "I was so mean to you back then, wow." He chuckles in amusement, scratching the back of his neck, "yeah, I didn't exactly give you much reason to like me."

"No shit. You hooked up with lots of my friends." She hit his arm, making his wince and rub at it. "It wasn't even that many," he denied. "I can give you a list right now to jog your memory," she scoffed. "Whatever. That's in the past. I don't need any reminders. I'm just glad Kallie finally gave me a chance after all of that." He said, smiling as he spoke her name.

"Yeah, she almost didn't. Honestly, she thought you'd never go for her." Kez announced, taking another large gulp of bourbon, and she was very good at handling her liquor after years of her partying days, which was why she wasn't black out drunk. He knitted his brows in confusion, glancing down at her, "seriously? Why not?" Kez glanced up at him with a incredulous look, "is that a serious question? Look at all the girls you hung out with back then. What do they all have in common?"

Lewis sighs, knowing the answer, "their skin color."

Kez hums, nodding firmly, "exactly, there's your answer."

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Lewis broke it. "Why didn't you release your version of the song about your experience with the teacher?" Kez exhaled deeply, "I wrote it, yes, but I couldn't sing it. Every time I tried, I just- broke down, I couldn't do it. So, I reached out to Melanie- Martinez, obviously, and sent her the song cause I know she sung about difficult topics. She related to it, so I produced it, she sung it, and we used it for the movie."

"Why didn't you wanna release Electric with Kallie?" Kez asked with a suspicious look, nudging his arm. "It's not because I'm ashamed of it or anything, it's just, I wanted it to ourselves. I didn't want anyone else to hear it. We poured our hearts into that song. Nobody except us deserve our version of that song." He answered, making Kez smile to herself, she truly admired the way he spoke about anything related to Kallie. He had so much respect and love for her, it was honestly admirable.

Kez sat up, crossing her legs under her and turning to him, "can you make me a promise?"

"Depends, if it concerns how big the kids presents are....I can't promise they'll be cheap." Lewis jokes, and she snickers, hitting his arm. "No, this concerns racing. Look, you and Kallie don't have the best track record of getting along. You're both very competitive, maybe a little too much. I don't want that to get in the way of your relationship, cause knowing my sister...she can make rash decisions, and you can too. So please, promise me you guys won't let the job get between you."

"I promise, I'd never let that happen." Lewis assured, taking her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Good, cause if I don't survive it this time, I want you guys to get custody of my kids. I love Michael, don't get me wrong, but he won't be able to handle losing me. He'll be a mess, and they're gonna need Kallie." Kez ranted, his eyes widening at her words. "Kez, please stop. You're not going to die." Lewis sits up, pulling her into his arms cause she desperately needed a hug. She needed someone to comfort her, and assure her.

"You will fight this, just like you did before. You're strong. I know you can. And I know we're not exactly best friends, but it's okay to break down sometimes, you don't need to be strong for everyone. You don't need to be strong in front of me. Just let it out, okay?" He assured, rubbing her back gently until she finally just cried, finally breaking down after months of pretending everything was okay. "Why does this keep happening to me?" She cried.

"I don't know, bad things happen to good people all the time. You just gotta make the best out of what you're given." He mumbles softly, her long curls covering most of his face but it didn't bother him, her hair actually smelled quite nice, just like lavender. As she cried softly, he gently removed the half-filled bottle of bourbon from her hand and set it on the bed side table.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, breathing on his neck. So very carefully, he laid her down into the bed and pulled the covers over her. He didn't want to leave her alone in this time so he slept on the couch in the room. It was extraordinary to him that someone with such a confident, bubbly and calm personality could be bottling up so much pain. He used to never understand why she partied, and drank/smoke so much, but now he knew. She was trying to escape reality.

Kallie came back, a soft smile on her face seeing Kez tucked into the bed and Lewis fast asleep on the sofa. She changed into something more comfortable and squeezed herself onto the couch, his arm instantly wrapping around her. He pulled her on top of him, hugging her tightly as she buried her head into his neck. And then she smelt the lingering scent of Kezie's lavender perfume. Now before you start, she wasn't gonna jump to those thoughts like most would, cause she knew they'd never do that to her.

All this did was concern her, cause she seen a smidge of Kezie's mascara on his neck. "She finally broke, didn't she?" Kallie whispered.

"How'd you know?" He opened his eyes to look at her, noticing how tired she was, which made sense, Kezie's work was not easy.

"I know when my sister's in pain. I just don't know how to comfort her in that state." Kallie sighed, she always felt so guilty when she noticed Kez was hurting, cause she wanted so much to comfort her but she never knew how. She and Kez never liked to talk about their feelings. They were the type to bury it and not look back. If they did talk about their feelings, they'd be stuck in a room for a week just crying it out.

"She just needs to be held, and told that she's doing a good job. She's got a lot of pain buried inside. It's hard to watch. I'm just glad she trusted me enough to open up, even if she was drunk." Lewis spoke, rubbing the small of her back softly. "Thank you for being that person for her. She hasn't had one in a long time." Kallie mumbled against his chest, her finger subconsciously tracing over his tattoo.

"She's my sister now. I'm always gonna be there for her." Lewis voiced in Xhosa so she knew he meant it. He reached for his jacket on the floor, tugging it over her to keep her warm as she only adorned a tank top. Kallie wore a smile on her face, as if she didn't think she could him more, he says something as beautiful as that. She loved how he immediately accepted her family as his without a second ounce of hesitation. Not many would do that with such certain. "I love you so much."

"I love you more." He pressed a kiss to her head, brushing her braids off her shoulder.

"Get some sleep. We're going house hunting with Kaylen tomorrow." Kallie giggles softly, she didn't even have to open her eyes to see Lewis wore a panicked look.

"Are you sure this isn't a nightmare?"

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

GROUP CHAT
"keziyah 🔛🔝 (in lando's dreams)"

riri knockoff [kalliope]
fruit warrior [kaylen]
kallie's bitch [lewis]
kezie fangirl [lando]
french fry [charles]
mad max [max]
pennywise snack [george]
checo chip [checo]
shoe sipper [daniel]
sideburns [pierre]
banando [fernando]
mickey mouse [mick]
sexy spaniard [carlos]

sideburns
GUYS
I just found out that Keziyah wrote the smooth operator song!

kezie fangirl
MATE???
It's literally her biggest song from her debut album

sexy spaniard
That physically pained me to hear.

mickey mouse
I don't understand how you just forget that Keziyah wrote that song
It's a very popular song

fruit warrior
nah that's insane pierre
i should crash into u for that

french fry
How you not know?

pennywise snack
I'm shocked.
How do not know her most iconic song?

sideburns
Mate her most iconic song is Beware with Big Sean and Lil Wayne?

mad max
WHAT

checo chip
Excuse me?

shoe sipper
I did not just see that
I thought we were friends?

kezie fangirl
NAH MATE
WE DONT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CHEATING FRAUD HERE
kezies best song is smooth operator and her best feature is with beyonce 🤨

fruit warrior
for once i agree with lando
i disown you.

banando
I agree!
I disown you Pierre.

sideburns
She has a lot of hits
How was I supposed to know??

sexy spaniard
Because smooth operator is the greatest song ever.
I vote we kick him out.
He shouldn't be in the presence of me and Kallie.

sideburns
All bc I asked a question??
That's insane

kallie's bitch
Why are we surprised?
He's French.

kezie fangirl
Who took Lewis's phone? 😰

shoe sipper
Yeah that wasn't very Lewis like to say 🤨

kallie's bitch
Haha
His name being Kallie's bitch is so funny cuz it's so true
These are some funny names
Who's sexy spaniard?
He's officially my fav xx

kezie fangirl
MATE?
Who is this??? 😭😭

sexy spaniard
I don't know but I like them already! ❤️
And this is Carlos!

kallie's bitch
Thank you Carlos 😘
I like you too!

riri knockoff
sorry guys
that's kezie!
she took lews phone bc he's in the shower

kezie fangirl
WHAT
OMG OMG
SERIOUSLY??
HI KEZIE
HEY BEST FRIEND
LOML 😍

kallie's bitch
Hello Lando 🤭🤩
Bestie <33

fruit warrior
friend zoned again is crazy 💀

kezie fangirl
FUCK OFF KAYLIE

sexy spaniard
Can we all just quiet down and acknowledge greatness? 🥰

kallie's bitch
Omg thank you Carlos
I always knew I liked you 😍

pennywise snack
Just seen Lando fall to his knees at the market xx

riri knockoff
haha

kallie's bitch
Ha
I love this group chat name
Who came up with it? 😭

pennywise snack
I did! xx

kallie's bitch
That makes so much sense
What's everyone's favorite song of mine?
Very curious bc u guys seem so defensive when Pierre didn't know 💀

mickey mouse
Mine is Bed Peace, the gf loves it xx

mad max
I like all of them ❤️

checo chip
I like your Spanish songs

banando
Stay ready is the go to!

french fry
I like your new one
Stranger it's called

kezie fangirl
I LIKE ANYTHING WITH YOUR VOICE 😍

sexy spaniard
This isn't about you Lando!
This is my time.
IM THE SMOOTH OPERATORRRR
🌶🌶🌶

kallie's bitch
OMG LOVE THAT
Yesss Carlos 👏🏽👏🏽
Kal said it's your favorite so I won't sue you if you sing it xx
Pierre on the other hand-

riri knockoff
no sueing people kezie.

kallie's bitch
Fine 🙄
But Carlos is officially my fav rn
Rooting for him xx
I hope he beats all of you 😘😘

banando
Wow
Now I miss Lewis.
When's he coming back? 😒

sexy spaniard
HAHA SUCKERS
SMOOTH OPERATORRRR
SMOOTH OPERATORRRRRRRR
😍😍😍🌶🌶🌶

riri knockoff
i love when carlos is happy
it makes my day 🤭

french fry
He's giggling on his bed rn
Now he's blasting her song

sexy spaniard
SMOOTH OPERATORRRRRR 🕺💃
😍😍🌶🌶
SMOOTH OPERATORRRRRRRRR

kallie's bitch
He's invited to my birthday
Gonna sing smooth operator for him xx

sexy spaniard
WHAT
SERIOUSLY??

kezie fangirl
I don't like this new friendship.

banando
I feel replaced.

riri knockoff
lewis took his phone back but yes, you're invited carlos 🥰
we'll send you all the details xx

sexy spaniard
OMG
YESSSSS
I HAVE WON AT LIFE 👏👏
Canceling all my plans for that day!

kezie fangirl
Tell Kez to answer her phone right now!

fruit warrior
haha
love when he's jealous
it's so sad
he's so delulu 💀

shoe sipper
It took Carlos this long to get a live performance of smooth operator
Good job mate 👏

kezie fangirl
He's never heard it live before?

sexy spaniard
No 💔💔
Every time I go to her concerts, she never sings it!
It's usually a surprise song
I left with a broken heart 💔

riri knockoff
that broke my heart omg
i'll make her sing it just for you xx

sexy spaniard
THANK YOU THANK YOU
SMOOTH OPERATORRRR YESS 😍

sideburns
This is ridiculous
But I get laughed at when I request her to sing I know? 😒

kezie fangirl
YES BC FUCK THAT GUY
HE HURT OUR GRID MOTHER

kallie's bitch
Grid mother? 🤨
(This is Lewis now 🙄)

mickey mouse
That's actually quite fitting
She's like a mum

shoe sipper
True
She knows everything about us for some reason 💀

sexy spaniard
This is true!
Kallie knows my full name!

pennywise snack
I hate to say this but Lando's right
She knows everyone's names, ages, birthdays, etc
I don't even remember Kaylen's birthday and we're best friends

fruit warrior
can't even remember my own birthday either tbh

riri knockoff
it's december 29th! 🥰
and thank you lando
that's a sweet compliment 💞

mad max
Wouldn't call her my mother tho
More of a best friend ❤️

kallie's bitch
Okay that's it
I revoke everyone's privileges to speak on my girlfriend xx

kezie fangirl
But I wanted to ask what she was doing with Sang??
I'm still shocked that he's back

mickey mouse
I miss him tbh
He was nice to me ❤️

shoe sipper
Sang being back has every team freaking out apparently

mad max
True!
Christian called a last minute meeting! He wasn't very happy with it

banando
Nobody's happy with it except the drivers

sideburns
Sang is really cool
I like that guy
Glad to have him back!
If he does come back anyway

kezie fangirl
I'm getting distracted
Kallie answer me!
Why were you with Sang?!

kallie's bitch
Don't yell at her.

kezie fangirl
Oh 😰

riri knockoff
thank you mhle
anyways, i was with him bc as u probably heard, maserati is rumored to join the 2023 season 💞
he will be our team principal, and he's also my uncle!

kezie fangirl
UNCLE??
THATS INSANE
I KNEW IT
SANG AND JAE LOOKED LIKE TWINS
ARE THEY TWINS???

kallie's bitch
No
Sang is younger than Jae by four years

pennywise snack
Asian genes are insane bc that man looks like he's in his thirties 💀

riri knockoff
Genes go hard when u mind your business and aren't white xx

kezie fangirl
Did Kez steal your phone too??

kallie's bitch
No that's just Kallie being Kallie ❤️

sexy spaniard
She told no lies tbh
You would never know Sang is pushing fifty

fruit warrior
lol
just like how lewis is pushing forty xx

kallie's bitch
That was uncalled for mate
What'd I ever do to you?

fruit warrior
date my sister 😇

kezie fangirl
U keep up that back talk and he's gonna kick you out the house mate!

riri knockoff
settle down pls
don't listen to him mhle, he's just mad his acne is actin up again xx
you look sexy ☺️

mad max
Throwing up!

kallie's bitch
Didn't ask!
Thank you my love ❤️
And yes, that's what he gets for not washing his face

fruit warrior
fuck off
im not good with routines

kallie's bitch
Maybe if you actually tried routines, you'd grow into them ❤️

kezie fangirl
He's right Kay
How do you expect to get a partner if you're lookin a mess? 🤨

fruit warrior
FUCK OFF THE LOT OF YOU

pennywise snack
Again, my mind goes back to that conspiracy tweet abt Kaylen being a secret european 😍

riri knockoff
As someone who remembers his birth, I also question this!
Wondering if he was swapped as a baby xx

fruit warrior
i hate all of you.

"Neela sent you a list of houses you can check out. She scheduled a meeting for each of them throughout the day." Kez explained, sliding her heels back on. "Sounds good." Kallie nods, crossing her legs as she sat on the bed. "Kaylen will be here in thirty minutes. Uh, that's it. So, thank you for uh, watching me. I have to get to work now." Kez awkwardly cleared her throat, Lewis just giving her a comforting smile. "Don't let him get to you, okay?"

"Yeah. I won't." Kez smiled faintly before leaving the room.

Kallie cleared her throat, turning to Lewis, "We should talk." His eyes widened, trying to think of anything he had done in the past week that might have upset her. "You're not breaking up with me, right? I promise I won't be so jealous, but it's hard when you're so oblivious to it, not that I'm blaming you- cause it's not your fault." He rambled nervously. "Hey, I'm not breaking up with you!" Kallie assured, grabbing onto his shoulders.

He sighed in relief, "thank God. That would ruin my life."

Kallie chuckles softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he squint his eyes at her in suspicion. "So...what did you want to talk about?" He questions. "Uh, well, I am going to be in Italy more often now to work on the car with the team, and to train as well. I just- I don't want to be away from you a lot, so..." Kallie ran a hand through her hair, trying to gather the right words. Lewis just smiled, he knew her too well. "Are you asking me to live with you in Italy?"

"Yes? Would you want to? You don't have to, I know you love Monaco, and we'll still go back there but for the rest of the year and next year, I'm mostly gonna be in Italy so-" Lewis cut off her rambling by pulling her into a kiss, his hands finding her waist and pulling her to straddle his lap. "I'd love to live with you in Italy. I don't have any problem with it, darling. Your future for F1 depends on this, I'll support that over anything." He expressed, brushing her braids from her face.

Kallie just smiled, pulling him back in, sharing a sweet but messy kiss with him. She grind her hips into his, making him groan into her mouth. He flipped Kallie onto her back with ease, grinding his hips into hers, a soft moan escaping her lips. "Don't be a brat." He warns, causing her to smirk. "I like being a brat," she whispers. "How long did you sister say Kaylen would be?" Lewis questions, sitting up and pulling his shirt over his head.

"Thirty minutes," Kallie answered, pulling her shirt over her head and discarding it with his.

"That's enough time to punish you." He shrugs, flipping her on her stomach.

"Seriously? We're still on that?" She whined.

"Shouldn't have teased me in the car."

"You started it." She retorts, a soft sigh escaping her lips as he pressed his chest to her back.

"If you didn't entertain Max, I wouldn't have. So take your punishment like a good girl."

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"I like this one, it's got a nice space for my setup." Kaylen says, examining the large bedroom of the penthouse. Lewis rolls his eyes in amusement, it was quite entertaining to see Kaylen judge every single place like he was going to live there. They knew for a fact, Kaylen was going to be residing in Monaco majority of the time. "Not sure I enjoy the floors though. I'm not a big fan of carpet." He said, which made sense because Kallie felt the same way. Growing up with hard flooring, you kinda get used to it.

"I agree. Let's check out the next one. It's closer to headquarters." Kallie says and they left.

Kallie drove by herself this time as Kaylen wanted Lewis to ride with him, so they could talk without Kallie present. "What'd you want to talk about?" Lewis questions, adjusting the seat to be more comfortable. "You're hiding something from me," Kaylen states. "What do you mean?" Lewis glanced over at him, praying he wasn't talking about Kallie. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't that lucky. "You know what I mean. The way you and Kallie think you're so good at hiding it. I know she's sick, I'm not stupid, the signs are all there."

Lewis exhaled, not expecting for Kaylen to have figured it out. It wasn't that he thought he was stupid, but Kay didn't exactly pay attention to things long enough to come up with solutions. Still, he couldn't just fess up to Kaylen, not when he promised Kallie that he wouldn't tell him. "I don't know what you're talkin' about mate."

"Yes, you do. Don't lie to me. All right. Kallie may not have been sick before but Kez was, and I witnessed it. I was a baby the first she got it, but I remember the second time. I know the symptoms. I know when they're in pain. Kez is sick too, but she won't tell me cause she's tough like that, she doesn't want to worry me. Now please, just tell me the truth. Is she gonna make it?" Kaylen stopped at the light and glanced over at Lewis for an answer.

"It's not guaranteed, but I know she's gonna get through this. She's working her ass off to fight this. It's gonna go our way, it has to." Lewis answered, finally just giving in and telling Kaylen what he already knew. It was bound to happen. He just wished it had been Kallie to tell him. But maybe this was for the better. Kallie wasn't very good talking about her feelings so this was the best way to do so.

Kaylen let out a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding. He hoped he wasn't right. "I can't lose her, man."

Lewis set a hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic look, "you won't."

A few minutes of silence consumed the Mercedes, until Lewis broke it. "I know why Kez hates your uncle, but why do you?" He queried. Kaylen sighs, he was still processing everything from yesterday, seeing his uncle back into the picture pissed him off. He went to celebrate with the guys on the grid, most of them went to a club and he got incredibly drunk to where Kallie had to send Jamie to pick him up and take him back to his hotel safely.

"When I joined Formula 2, I was super fucking excited, cause everything was going my way. But, my uncle was a huge part of my interest in racing, as he was with Kez and Kallie. But, I looked up to him, all his work in Formula 1, designing these incredible cars, it was amazing. He was a huge inspiration to me, and I wanted so badly for him to be proud of me, to recognize my work, put my name out there for people to hear. Kallie warned me too, she said he was selfish, that he only cared about himself. I didn't believe her."

"I uh, I got ahold of his address. I showed up to his huge house in Monte Carlo. When I see his house, how big it was, how rich he was, I started to think my sister's were right. Ya know, maybe he was just some money hungry asshole who left his family behind. But, I still wanted to give him a chance, it's what my dad would do. I knocked on his door, some girl answered, she let me in, said she seen me in some family photos. Walking in, I saw pictures everywhere, he had every single one of our achievements on his walls."

"I waited about an hour, he finally showed up, and he wasn't very happy to see me. He completely shut me out, tried to write me a check like he did to Kez. I didn't want his money, and after that I wanted nothing to do with him. I went to Kallie's place, she was waiting for me, she knew. That day, I finally understood why my sister's wanted nothing to do with him. Honestly, I still don't even understand why Kallie brought him back."

Lewis nodded in acknowledgement of his words. "I don't really have much of an opinion on this, cause I got nothing against the guy personally. He's actually come to my defense many times in the past, which I can understand why you would disdain that. I think, Kallie just wants to fix what your father never got the chance to. As far as I've seen, he's making the effort to change, I mean he left in her honor and he's returning in her honor, and your father's honor. I think he's truly trying to repair his mistakes. But I understand why you're against that."

Kaylen nods, taking Lewis's words into heavy consideration. "What would you do in my situation? Genuinely, would you give him a second chance?"

Lewis inhaled sharply, it was tough predicament, and Kaylen's reasoning was far different from Kezie's. "Honestly? In your position, I would give him that second chance for the sake of Kallie. If she gave him a second chance after everything he did, then it's gotta be serious." He answered. Kaylen sighed, he did make a good point, if Kallie was giving him a chance at redemption, the least he could do was be civil. "You make a good point. I guess...the least I can do is be civil, see where it goes."

"I uh, I have something to admit, and it's gonna sound crazy, but I'm really serious." Lewis spoke, Kaylen glancing at him with knitted brows. "You didn't knock my sister up, right?" Lewis's eyes widened for a split second, "what? No, definitely no, not that I'd be opposed to that but- look, that's not what I'm going to say." Kaylen sighed in relief, "good, good, cause I swear I'd kill you if you did. The amount of fucking assholes who get their girlfriend's pregnant to fuck with their career is too many and it pisses me off."

"No, yeah, I get that, but I'd never do that to her." Lewis assured.

Kaylen cleared his throat, "so what did you want to admit?"

"I want to marry Kallie, like for real." He revealed, glancing at Kaylen who's eyes widened in shock. "Before you say it- I know it sounds insane cause it's only been a couple months, but like, she's the one. I've waited for her all my life, she's perfect, she's everything I've ever wanted in a partner, a best friend, a wife. She's amazing. And I really hate calling her my girlfriend, cause girlfriend isn't permanent, and I don't at all plan for this to be temporary. I genuinely want her to be my wife. I'm ready for it."

Kaylen chuckles, he was surprised that he was actually okay with it. Nobody had ever spoke about Kallie the way Lewis did. It was something he respected. He knew Kallie was genuinely safe with Lewis. "I mean hey, mate, you got my permission, completely, you know that. But, like why are you telling me this? Why not just buy her a ring and pop the question?" He asked.

Lewis sighs, rubbing his jaw in deep thought. "Look, I know like everything about her, I know her favorite food, I know where she grew up, how she grew up, what she went through, how she got where she is, but there's one thing I've never been able to figure out. I have no idea how she feels about marriage. She doesn't talk about it. She doesn't mention it. She doesn't even acknowledge marriage. It's like it doesn't exist to her. I don't want to pop the question and she freaks out and leaves me."

Kaylen furrowed his brows, genuinely surprised Kallie hadn't told him about it. Obviously Lewis knew she was engaged before, but it wasn't like a real genuine engagement. Kallie said yes because she thought it would repair her broken relationship with Sean. She thought marriage would fix them. She didn't think "no" was an answer. "I'm actually surprised you don't know, figured she would've told you. She doesn't really see marriage as an option for her. She has trouble seeing herself in happy relationships, being stuck in an unhappy one for most of her life really fucked with her perspective on relationships and marriage."

"Every day, I'm given more reason to hurt this guy," Lewis mutters.

"Before we resort to violence, just think about it, she's happy with you, the happiest we've ever seen her. I see her smile more with you than when she won her first podium. Yeah, maybe she hasn't thought of marriage, but that's cause it's not in her head. If you put it in her head, she'll get the message and her response after that is what you go by. But, I swear if you break her heart, I will cut out yours." Kaylen parked the car next to Kallie's and climbed out.

"What's up this family and death threats?" Lewis mumbles, climbing out of the car.

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a/n: made this chapter after carlos won the aussie gp if u can't tell 🤭 THATS MY SMOOTH OPERATOR 😍🌶

i feel like marriage just makes sense for them bc they're literally so in love with each other they can't see a future without each other in it and it's so wholesome and cute 😭 plus if she doesn't beat the cancer he doesn't want to waste the opportunity to call her his wife at least once 🥲

kallie won't die (i hope so)

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