𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧.
                         ~𝐙𝐢𝐠 𝐙𝐢𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫~

                             𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚
            

"Oh, my God! It's out. Luca's interview with VF." Alessa runs into the kitchen waving her phone, a cheerful smile lighting up her whole face.

"And the cover is spectacular. Listen to this," she adds—

"No, no, no." Sienna stops her in a loud voice that has all of us turn to look at her. "I want to read it myself, no spoilers."

Alessa rolls her eyes.

"It's not a novel or a show, Sienna. It's just an interview."

"I know that. And I still stand by my argument. I want to read it myself after breakfast."

Alessa throws her hands up, her shoulders dropping with disappointment as she sits in the chair she'd vacated to go upstairs when she finished eating her breakfast.

"Oh, you look good in all these photos." Serena chips in." of course she would have gone directly to the photos, she is a fashionista, a good one, so good Gucci has begun to see what an asset she is.

I look around to find everyone was scrolling through their phone, reading the interview even my mom—a tiny smile on her face. Sienna didn't even finish her breakfast as she had said, maybe she was afraid they might discuss the interview after reading before giving her a chance to read.

"Why didn't you say you're dating Lia? " Nicolo asks me, frowning.

"She doesn't want me to say it."

They all look at Lia, and although it rarely happens, she blushes. "I don't want to be popular because I happen to be dating the fastest driver in the world." I like how she says that. I'm not vain by any standards, but when the girl I love calls me the fastest driver in the world, I'm more than flattered. I'm fucking walking on water.

"Until when?" her mother asks. I haven't asked her because I don't want her to think I'm pressuring her into it, but I'm grateful for the question. I don't care much about broadcasting my personal life, but somehow, I want the world to know she is mine. I want to openly date her, dine with her without travelling in different cars out of fear some paparazzi might out us before she is ready.

"Until the release of the next season of Children Of Blood And Oil

I feel myself exhale, breathing in relief at the answer. I thought we would be dating in secret for months if not years, but the release of the show is in a couple of weeks.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you both on the red carpet." aunt Mia, says, no, squeals, bringing her hands on her cheeks as if she is imagining it. I can't wait to hold her hand in public is my only thought.

I'm delighted as aunt Mia is, but I don't show it, I don't want to, not in front of them even though they are my family. I want to show Lia, in private how grateful and impatient I am.

When the patriarchs leave for office, Sienna pulls Lia with her toward the gazebo. She is designing her Wikipedia page.

"We can't allow people to edit it," I catch her saying minutes before she sits down with Lia sitting beside her. I drop down opposite them wishing I had carried a bottle of water. It's about ten in the morning as I watch unabashedly as Lia's red hair glimmers ruby in the sunlight.

"Luc, if you continue gawking at her like that, I'm going to order you out of here. This is a business meeting." I suppress the urge to laugh, but I see Lia bite the corner of her lips. I'm not sure whether it's from fighting the same or flattered because I'm gawking at her.  I never seem to stop staring at her when she is in my sight.

Since I don't want to be caught ogling again, I get up, thinking I wouldn't mind joining the patriarchs at the office. I want to be busy in the next couple of hours so I can stop thinking about Lia finally being ready to be public with me. It's a conversation we will be having tonight, one I was sure will end with us having mindless sex. I couldn't wait.

Matteo is not at home, but Dev is. He is bored too and he jumps at the suggestion to go to the office.

"I thought I would die of boredom," he says when he slides in the passenger seat.

"I'm sure nobody ever died of boredom before," I mumble while I sensor the gate to open. There is a clinking sound, and a few small screens unroll to show us the outside view before it slides open. It's a security measure in case we are ambushed at the gate.

      
*************************
               𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫
************************

"It was extremely exhilarating." That is how Luca Bianchi describes Abu Dhabi referring to winning his fourth formula one world title for Mercedes.

It's a Monday morning and he looks wide-eyed as if he has been awake for a while. He has an easy smile, a mischievous look that edges at the corner of his mouth, an image so unlike that, which the world has known of him so far.

It's hard to pin a personality on a man that has accomplished so much within such a short time of his life without asking the most cliche question of all—what drives him?

He chuckles first, throws his head back for a moment before he turns his eyes on me. They're green, so vivid they are like emeralds you can drown in them. He talks about racing like a friend—a best friend or lover, and when he does, there is a glow on his face.

"Winning drives me," he says after a contemplative minute. "I love it." he lets out another short laugh, but this time it sounds self-deprecating. "I'm obsessive about it if I'm honest." he turns pensive again before he turns toward me.

Is it pressure from your team, perhaps? I ask.

"Nope!" He shakes his head.

From your family, then?

A wry amusement stretches across his mouth, and then he touches his lips, rubbing a finger across the bottom one.

"No."

But they love it when you win?

"Definitely."

A delightful grin curves on his lips when he adds, "they bet on my races every single time."

On whether you win or lose?

"Neither. How many laps it will take me to win."

Luca is young, ambitious, meticulous and downright focused on his job. But even though he likes winning, he tells me losing is not something that would destroy him, he knows he might lose someday, that it's not set in stone to be a winner in every race, just like when his career began. However, he intends to enjoy winning. It's a good place to be, he tells me, the triumph he feels, the hope he brings to his Mercedes team as well as his fans.

"I'm competitive. I thrive in competition, perhaps that's why I love racing so much because it's the only thing I can do almost to perfection."

But you're also very smart. You speak more than five languages.

He shrugs, "I don't think Italian and English count. I consider both to be my first language. Although, technically English is my second."

He doesn't say much to that. He is a private man with a public persona, one he knows he cannot escape from because it is attached to his passion which is one of the reasons he agrees to interviews, why he is seated in front of me in sky-blue jeans, a white hoodie, sneakers and a baseball cap.

He talks about the backlash he received when he first came out as an Italian race car driver. Some people, mostly Americans said he was disloyal to his home country, others rallied to have him denaturalized.

"Im privileged to have two home countries. I'm honoured that they both claim me, but unfortunately, I can only drive for one of them.

Did you choose Italy because it's your country of birth

"No. I chose Italy because I moved there when I was fourteen. I was a teenager and I wanted to be away from home. Racing kind of fell into my lap. I didn't go looking for it, it found me even though it was something I wanted to do since I could remember. It happened in Italy.

Were you rebellious when you're a teenager? Is that why you moved away from home?

"No. I have never been rebellious. But perhaps I wanted to be more independent."

There are different ways to describe Luca Bianchi. He is cool, confident, bold in ways that most twenty-three-year-olds are not. He is magnetic, he has a sense of style that he says he gets from one of his sisters.

How many sisters do you have?

"Three and two brothers."

Although he doesn't say too much about his personal life, he alludes that he might be dating. He prefers to talk about his career, it's why people know him, he urgues. But he might not understand that the same people might want to know a little bit about his personal life.

There are a million rumours about the origin of his family's wealth. His father is one of the three owners of triple B wines, which is one of the biggest wine companies in the world.

I ask him about it, expecting him to blow me off as he has done in the past. But Luca seems to be relaxed around me, he is not on edge though the the guy in the room with us seems to be.

I glance at him, and he gives me a rueful grin, maintaining eye contact with me as if he could read my mind. His name is Matteo, Luca's fan base refers to him as his shadow, perhaps he is because he has been with him since the world was introduced to the magic that is Luc Bianchi.

"My family started by buying small struggling companies and then selling them off."

Do you mind if asked where they got the initial capital?

"No, I do not. They got it from a small bank in Italy with the help of a Catholic priest. He raised my father and my two uncles. "

This has never been said again in his interviews, ever. And it makes me wonder why now? Why with me? He is a fascinating man, he has more than one facet to him. He recognizes his privilege, it's a sport that requires money to harness, and Luca is neither hypocritical nor does he hide behind faux humility. He doesn't believe lying to his fans to seem more relatable is the way to go.

He doesn't have to be relatable in that respect, he tells me. But he works hard, vigorously, consistently.

"I get so tired sometimes I collapse on my carpet for hours before I can gather enough energy to get up. It's draining, tiresome but racing is in my blood, I can't run from it, I can't quit, and I don't want to. "

While he comes from privilege, Luca is grateful to Mercedes for giving him a chance to be their driver, for the support they give him on and off the track and of course his fans.

"It's a novelty for me to have fans," he grins. "I have millions of people following me on social media, people who are religiously following my every move, it's unnerving, but an honour nonetheless.

Are you ever scared?

"No. Never. I get a thrill when I strap into the car, those few minutes before that green flag is waved, my stomach is usually in knots from excitement."

He is so much put together that I wonder whether there is anything that fazes him.

Do haters get to you?

"No. I have a thick skin for that. I don't give much of a fuck about what haters say about me. I'm a damn good driver, not the greatest, but I'm doing my damndest."