Charles' already sour mood hit rock bottom when his car's engine malfunctioned on Lap 41, just as he was about to pass Max Verstappen and take the lead in the race.

Before the race began, he sat alone in his driver's room, still stewing over what he had seen on the garage screen. He knew he didn't have a valid reason to be upset. Valentina and Gabriel had been friends for years, growing up together and working alongside each other. Although Valentina knew Charles before Gabriel, she didn't remember their shared past in Monaco. Charles recalled every detail, but she seemed oblivious to it all.

So why did it bother him that Valentina claimed she and Gabriel were just friends, yet Gabriel behaved so familiarly with her? She didn't seem to mind, and Charles didn't have any reason to be bothered by it. Right?

A Ferrari team member knocked on his door, urging him to prepare for the race. He quickly unlocked his phone and sent Valentina a text: Hey Bubbles, you coming to wish me luck before the race?

And then, just before getting into the car, he checked his phone again, hoping for a reply from Valentina. Seeing the message still unread, he sighed and handed the phone to a nearby team member. Then, he climbed into the car and drove out to the formation line as the race was about to start.

Now, on top of everything, his car's engine had let him down. Just perfect. Fuming and annoyed by how the race turned out, Charles stormed into the Ferrari garage. Everyone cleared the way for him, sensing his sour mood.

Carlos was still in the race, currently holding the fourth position, which gave the team some relief. However, they understood the significance of the first race for Charles, especially after his performance in 2022 with the old car.

With his mood already soured by the race outcome, Charles was on edge, and any wrong move could trigger him. So, in silence, everyone observed as Charles made his way to his driver's room.

Entering his room, Charles unzipped off his race suit and flopped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he shut his eyes, replaying the race over and over in his mind. He had been doing exceptionally well, surpassing several drivers and reaching P2 by Lap 39. Just when he was on the verge of overtaking Max on Lap 41, his engine betrayed him.

He had been on the brink of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix, and it slipped away from him like sand through his fingers.

A knock on the door startled Charles. He opened his eyes and groaned, "Go away!" But the knocking persisted.

"Charles? It's me, Valentina," came a voice from the other side. Raising an eyebrow, he debated for a moment before sighing and giving in. "Come in," he said. The door opened, and Valentina walked in with a small smile.

"Hey," she said softly. Charles sat up and patted the spot next to him, signaling for her to sit down.

"Sorry about the race," she mumbled, unsure of what to say. Charles shrugged.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," he replied, looking down at the floor. Suddenly, Valentina's hands reached out to take his in hers. He looked up, meeting her eyes.

"It's not your fault either, Charles," she said gently, as if she knew he was blaming himself. He wondered how she knew and sighed again, closing his eyes and leaning back against the couch.

"I tried so hard," he said after a few seconds of silence. "I trained so hard during the break. They developed a better car, and I overtook everyone else. I was so close to winning and..." he trailed off. "Maybe what they say is true. I am cursed."

"Hey, don't say that," Valentina nudged him. "You're not cursed. This was just bad luck. You'll do better in the next races and make up for it, I'm sure."

When Charles didn't respond, she got up from the couch. He peeked to see where she was going. She opened the closet, grabbed a towel, and then took two soft drinks from the mini-fridge before returning to the couch.

"You're sweating in the AC, you'll catch a cold," she said, handing him the towel to wipe the sweat from his head and neck. She opened her can and offered the other one to him, but he shook his head.

"He doesn't need to know," she smirked, making Charles laugh.

"You're a bad influence," he replied. Valentina shrugged, offering her drink to him.

"Fine, don't have the entire thing, but you can have a sip from mine," she offered. Charles hesitated, then took the can from her and took a sip. Before she could take it back, he took another big sip. Valentina's eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly snatched the can from his hand.

"I said a sip, not the entire thing!" she exclaimed. "Andrea will kill me!"

Charles chuckled as Valentina set the can on the side table.

"Where were you before the race?" he asked, unable to keep the question to himself any longer. "I texted you."

"Oh, my phone died," Valentina explained, pulling out her phone and placing it on the table. "I couldn't find a charger."

"You can use mine," he offered, pointing to the charging port on the wall. Valentina thanked him and plugged in her phone.

"Where's your friend?" he asked, his tone betraying a hint of irritation.

Valentina's expression faltered for a moment, surprised by his tone, but she chose to ignore it. "He's still at the VIP club. We were watching the race from there, but then I saw you return to the garage and thought I'd check on you."

Charles hummed in acknowledgment. Before either of them could say more, a knock came at the door.

"Charles, you have a post-race interview in five minutes and then an interview with Lissie!" Sarah's voice called from the other side.

"I should go and let you freshen up," Valentina said, standing up to leave. Charles quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"No, it's okay, stay here," he offered, "You need to charge your phone, after all," he quickly added, "I'll go change in the washroom and be back in a minute."

Valentina nodded and sat back down on the couch while Charles went to freshen up. A few minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom in a clean Ferrari shirt and black pants. He walked to the cupboard, grabbed a Ferrari cap, and placed it on Valentina's head.

"You look good in my merch," he said, making her laugh as she stood up. They headed out of the driver's room, chatting. Everyone in the garage noticed Charles' improved mood and knew Valentina was to thank for it. She had managed to lift his spirits in a matter of minutes. Charles walked to the post-race interview with a big smile, Valentina by his side.

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After wrapping up the post-race interview, Sarah informed Charles that his next interview with Lissie would be a joint session with the Ferrari boys and the costars of Culpa Mia. While Charles was excited to interview with Valentina, he wasn't thrilled that Gabriel would be there too.

Entering the room, Charles saw Valentina, Gabriel, and Carlos deep in conversation. As the door opened, they turned their attention to him. Charles approached them with a smile. "Hi, guys," he greeted, hoping to sit next to Valentina. When Gabriel didn't move to make space, Carlos caught on and scooted over, patting the spot between him and Valentina for Charles to sit.

"Do you know what we're doing for the challenge?" Carlos asked as Charles settled in.

"It's a challenge?" Charles asked, taking a sip of water. Valentina nodded.

"So, what are you guys doing tonight?" Gabriel asked, changing the subject. "I want to take this girl out for dinner," he said, playfully nudging Valentina, "but she feels bad about ditching you guys."

"No, it's not tha—"

"We're going out," Charles interrupted Valentina, his tone firm as he looked directly at Gabriel. "And Bubbles needs to be there. The boys want her to celebrate with us."

"You should join us too, Gabriel," Carlos offered from behind Charles. Charles resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't want Gabriel there but couldn't say anything outright. How could Gabriel think he could take Valentina away for dinner alone?

Before the conversation could continue, Lissie walked into the room and greeted everyone as the camera crew set up. She explained the challenge: The Blindfolded Ferrari Car Cake Decoration.

There were two car-shaped cakes in front of them, frosted with white whipped cream. The challenge was to decorate the cake to resemble the latest Ferrari livery within a time limit. One member of each team would be blindfolded while the other dictated instructions. Naturally, the teams were the Ferrari boys versus the Culpa Mia costars.

Valentina decided she would decorate while Gabriel dictated. Following suit, Charles opted to be blindfolded with Carlos giving instructions. Lissie handed them the blindfolds.

Charles playfully extended his hand to Valentina, saying, "May the best decorator win."

"She will," Valentina grinned as they shook hands. Charles laughed at her confidence as they both lowered their blindfolds and Lissie started the timer.

"Okay, Querida, reach for the red frosting bag on your right," Gabriel started, using a term of endearment that made Charles uneasy. Charles wasn't fluent in Spanish, but he understood enough to be bothered by Gabriel's tone. He tried to push it out of his mind and focus on Carlos' instructions.

"Okay, where do I put this?" Valentina asked, waving her hand around in front of her, trying to find the cake. In the process, she accidentally knocked off the box of sprinkles. Trying to help, Charles, still blindfolded, bent down to pick it up at the same time as Valentina, and they bumped heads.

"Ouch!" Valentina whined, taking off her blindfold. "Charles! Watch it!"

Charles removed his blindfold too. "You're the one who knocked off the bottle, Bubbles!"

"Whatever," she playfully rolled her eyes. "We need to bump heads again, or horns will grow out of our heads."

"What?" Charles laughed, confused.

"Yeah, it's an old superstition," Carlos agreed. Valentina nodded and leaned her head forward. Hesitantly, Charles did the same, and Carlos pushed him, causing their heads to bump hard again.

"Ouch!" Charles groaned, rubbing his head.

"Okay, blindfolds on again! Time is running out!" Lissie called from behind the camera. They nodded and quickly put their blindfolds back on.

They both messily piped the cake with the red frosting, missing a lot of areas and making a mess but they had to move on.

"Muy buena, Cariño," Gabriel said. "Now pick up the black whipped cream on your right. No, your right, Val."

Valentina reached out but grabbed Charles' hand instead of the piping bag. "Oh sorry," she mumbled, letting go. Charles smiled behind the blindfold and slightly nudged the piping bag towards her direction. She found it and continued decorating her cake.

"Deja de ayudar a los enemigos, idiota!" Carlos grumbled, making everyone laugh. Soon, the buzzer went off and Lissie asked them to stop.

They took off their blindfolds, blinking to adjust to the light. Their eyes landed on the cakes, which looked nothing like the Ferrari livery. Despite the mess, Valentina's cake was much cleaner than Charles', so Lissie declared Valentina and Gabriel the winners.

Valentina hugged Gabriel in joy, and he picked her up, swinging her around before setting her down. While Lissie filmed the outro, Gabriel kept his arms wrapped around Valentina's waist.

Charles noticed from the corner of his eye, not liking the display of affection. Gabriel was too clingy for Charles' liking, but he couldn't say anything if Valentina didn't seem to mind.