Valeria and Seb had just arrived at their resort in the Maldives. The three days they spent in Rome had been possibly more overwhelming than the whole first half of the season. Valeria's family and friends were all way too excited to finally meet him that they never had a moment to themselves, except for when they decided to do some sightseeing in the historic centre. Even then, they were stopped by tourists/fans who wanted to have a picture taken with Seb. Valeria didn't mind, Seb was a lovely person to bump into and he never got annoyed at anyone for recognising him and trying to engage in conversation.

The sun was scorching already and it was only early in the morning. Valeria's brain, already jetlagged, could only concentrate on one thing: sunbathing.

'This is way too nice, Seb. How much did it cost you?' she asked. She already tried to pay him back for the holiday, but he had refused categorically.

'Doesn't matter. It's nice and private. This is just ours' he pointed at a bit of the beach in front of their sea view apartment. 'and there's also walks we can do, so it makes me happy too' he joked. Seb wasn't the biggest fan of the sea, but he knew how much Valeria felt at home on a beach.

'This is great.' She told him, again, kissing his nose.

'company is a lot better' he whispered, softly brushing his lips on hers.

It was perfect, Valeria thought, being alone with Seb, the only noise that could be heard was the gentle crashing of the waves on the nearby beach. They changed into their swimsuits and decided to kill the jetlag off on the beach.

'Do you need factor 50?' Valeria teased Seb. The German had spent a long time making sure every inch of his skin was protected by sunscreen.

'nah, 30 should be ok. Or not?' he questioned her.

'Dunno, Bärchen, I'm wearing a 5.'

'You have pretty Mediterranean skin. You don't burn to a crisp when you're in the sun'

'But you get the pretty blue eyes, up in the north' she smiled, grabbing his hand to walk outside to the beach. They grabbed a lounger each and laid down. Seb had already found the heat to be too much and was sitting in the shade, reading a Stephen Hawking book Valeria had got him.

On the other hand, Valeria was enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin and was already nodding off listening to the waves. She woke up an hour later. She stretched on her lounger and looked over to Seb who was still immersed in his book. She got up and walked towards him, she leaned on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. 'I'm going in. The water is calling me' she told him.

'I'll come too, I'm so hot' he replied, closing his book.

Last day

The week in the Maldives had been amazing for both of them. Valeria felt energised and ready to go back to work. She had completely turned off all of the technological distractions that week and felt renewed. Sebastian, himself, felt like he could put the first half of the season behind him and was ready to get back at it and fight.

'Where are we going?' Valeria asked him. Seb had been weird all day and, just before sunset, he had grabbed her hand and told her he was taking her out for dinner. Valeria had started to wonder what he meant by out as he had started walking on a trail leading up a hill, just behind where they were staying. 'Seb?' she asked again.

'mh?' he asked, still acting weird.

'Are you OK?' she asked him, raising an eyebrow. Maybe a week in the sun had been too much for him. 'I didn't realise we were going to hike to the other side of the island, I would have worn something more comfortable' she added, shaking her foot to get pebbles out of her sandals.

'Almost there' he said. The road had started to descend towards the sea again and, not long after, Valeria found herself on this secluded beach. Seb had laid out a picnic blanket, candles, champagne and a picnic basket. It looked so romantic, Valeria felt her heart skip a beat.

'I thought we could have a chilled meal here' he told her, as he had taken the bottle of champagne from the ice and had filled a glass for her.

'Seb this is amazing. This is so pretty. You didn't have to'

'Trust me, I did' he told her. 'I'll get the fire going, you just relax' he kissed her.

Valeria took her sandals off and walked to the water, wiggling her toes in the warm ocean. The light sea breeze wrapping her loose white sundress around her body. It was the perfect place on earth. If she could have chosen to be anywhere, that would have been the place. And she would have chosen Seb a thousand times over.

'Schatzi?' she heard Seb calling her. She turned around and froze. Seb was just behind her, on one knee, a little box in his hands showing a shiny diamond ring inside. Valeria started crying, not sure on what to do or say.

'I haven't known you for long, but I have known I wanted to be with you since the first day I met you seven months ago. You have turned my life around, you have let me reconnect with a side of myself I thought I had lost years ago. I love you. So much. And I want to love you for the rest of our live, if you'd let me.' He took the ring out of the box and looked at her. She was still sobbing uncontrollably 'mi vuoi sposare?' he asked her.

Valeria's heart was beating out of her chest. 'yes. Yes. Of course I do. Oh my god' she tried to make a sentence. Seb jumped up, smiling from ear to ear. He grabbed her shaking left hand and put the ring on her ring finger. He grabbed her face and pulled her towards him, kissing her passionately. Valeria could feel tears on his face too. 'I love you, Seb.' She whispered, trying to control her sobs still.

'you're my forever' he whispered back, kissing her lips once more.

'What would you have done if I said no?' she asked him, after having calmed down. They had sat on the blanket, drinking champagne and nibbling on the food Seb had brought out.

'Probably tried to hide my shame by swimming back home?' he joked. Valeria was still staring at her left hand, in shock.

'Is this the reason why you took my dad out "for lunch" before we left Rome?' Valeria asked. She had wondered why Seb had decided to go out with her dad when she and her mum were left at home.

'Yeah, I wanted to do it the proper way. He seemed surprised, but he also said he'd never seen you as happy so I took it as a compliment and as his blessing'

'damn. We're engaged. Damn. How? What? I still can't believe it'

Seb chuckled, she looked even prettier, he thought, the moonlight caressing her dark skin and reflecting in her eyes. Seb bent over towards her to kiss her.

'what are we going to do with work? I mean, I can't go around the paddock with this rock on my finger... people will talk

'We'll worry about it tomorrow, let's not think about work right now. I only want to enjoy this moment with you. The best moment of my life'

'don't lie. You've won four championships. This can't beat that feeling.' She joked.

'you're right. Not as good as that' he teased her right back.

'Thought so' she laughed, stretching on the blanket to put her head on his lap.

The couple stayed on the beach for a while, until Valeria had started feeling quite chilly. They walked back to their place where they had another drink before putting themselves to bed.

'Ich liebe dich, Herr Vettel' she told him, wrapping her arms around his waist

'Ich liebe dich auch, Frau Vettel' he told her, kissing her sweetly.

'it's got a good ring to it. I like it.' She smiled, nesting herself on his chest and falling asleep immediately.

Valeria woke up alone in bed the following morning. She wondered if anything had actually happened the night before. She instinctively looked at her left hand, the ring looked even more beautiful in the light.

'morning, princess' Seb said, walking in with a cup of coffee for her.

'morning, handsome. Last night really happened, uh?'

'Yes it did.' He smiled 'I made breakfast' he gave her the coffee.

'You're amazing' she told him, getting up. She grabbed her phone to find the replies to the picture of the ring she had sent a few people the night before.

Noemi: fuck yeah! Congrats you beautiful people!

Mamma: so happy for you, baby! Can't wait to go dress shopping.

Papà: I kinda knew it, but congratulations, baby! I'm so happy for you, but I already told Sebastian that if he hurts you I will make sure he's dead.

Noemi: Dad! Ffs!

Papà: 🤷‍

HoneyBadger: Damn! That thing looks heavy. Congratulations, Taz!

(Do I have to get you guys a present?)

Pietro: oh my god! What? Why am I not seeing you until Spa? I need details. Many. Oh my god. I'm planning your hen do. Right now. Stefano says congratulations too.

Charlie: daaaamn! Congratulations! I'll need details in Spa 😉

Valeria put her phone down on the table as she looked over to the sea once more. They only had a couple of hours left in paradise. She felt like she didn't want to leave, it had been great having Sebastian just to herself, no media obligations, no fans, no prying cameras judging their every move. For one week, they acted like a normal couple would and it felt amazing. However, she knew that real life was just peeking around the corner.

'I feel like I don't want to go back' he told her.

'I was thinking the same. It's been nice to have somewhat of a normality, but i guess we have to go back?'

'To start our new chapter' Seb concluded, giving her a smile.