La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 50

November 2024

Las Vegas, Nevada. 3 races until the end of the season. 3 races before Charles becomes champion. November 22, 2024. The day I found out I was pregnant. My brain couldn't process it. Of course, I had suspected this for some time before I took the test, but I still didn't understand how it could happen. And right now? 3 weeks before the end of the season? We were so damn careful.

"Adri, is something wrong?" Kika asked me as we watched qualifying together. Rather, she was watching the qualifying and I was staring at my shaking hands. "No, nothing is wrong," I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled at my friend. She measured me with a look as if she didn't believe me. "Spill it out," she urged me and I looked at her desperately. "I can't," I shook my head. "What happened so terrible? Are you pregnant or what?" she laughed and I quickly looked away. I saw Kika turn pale, but she quickly recovered and grabbed my hand.

"So is it true?"

I nodded.

"There's nothing wrong with that, right? I'm sure Charles will be thrilled," she smiled. "What about you, Adri? How do you feel?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess I'm mainly afraid. It's not something I would count on. And certainly not now. Charles has other things to worry about now and I don't know how to tell him."

"Adri," Kika laughed. "We're both talking about the same Charles, aren't we? About that Charles who melts over every child he sees. About that Charles who told you he wanted to marry you and have children with you."

"Yeah, we're talking about the same Charles," I smiled, feeling the tension in my body slowly release.

"Besides, no one says you have to tell him right away. How far are you?"

"I don't know. It's very early. I won't be able to see a doctor until after Abu Dhabi. I don't suppose a gynecologist would be traveling with us," I smirked. The test I bought showed me I was over 3 weeks pregnant, which was the maximum it could tell, but with how often Charles and I had sex, it was completely impossible to tell when that might have happened.

"Then don't tell him at all until the doctor confirms it," suggested Kika and I looked at her frightened. "Are you telling me to lie to him?" I was horrified. Charles and I have no secrets. We always know everything about each other. "I forgot who I was talking to," Kika laughed and slapped her forehead with her palm.

Charles did not return to the hotel until the early hours of the morning after qualifying, in which he finished second. He looked terrible, and he had a triple-header ahead of him, that is, 3 race weekends in a row. He crept out of the shower into bed in just his boxers, gave me a light kiss on the cheek and wrapped his arms around my waist for a snuggle. "Congratulations on the first row," I whispered into the darkness with a smile. "Um," he grunted. Since he didn't say anything else, I assumed he had fallen asleep, so I just snuggled closer to him and fell asleep too within a few minutes.

I woke up before he did in the morning, so I spent the first few moments after waking up watching him and appreciating his features and thinking about how to break the news to him. Of course, I was aware that the first trimester is very risky and it's probably not even a good idea to tell anyone about it. But I'm pretty sure that doesn't apply to the father. After the qualifying, Kika and I bought 2 more tests to be sure, and shortly after arriving at the hotel room I was able to text her that both were also positive.

Charles stretched like a cat, whimpered like a child as usual, before opening his eyes. It was fascinating to watch his eyes soften every time he looked at me in the morning. "Good morning, amore mio," he smiled. I kissed him instead of greeting and hugged him again. "When do you have to leave?" I asked him to find out how today was going to go. "We have a lot of media activities, I have to leave in about an hour," he said as he looked at the watch on the bedside table. I sighed. So much for my plan to communicate important information.