After Gia closed the store with Mariska, she said goodbye to her and finally went home with using a taxi. On her way home, she couldn't stop thinking about her meeting with Seb. She regretted that she couldn't control her emotions when she talked to him. She was also considering about what Mariska had suggested to her. She wanted her to accept his apology and start over their friendship.

But Gia felt that she needed to talk about it to her mother first. She would tell everything about what she had talked with Seb at the restaurant. And she was also thinking if she should tell about that meeting to her brother. As she knew that Gilbert was really disappointed at him.

A few minutes later, Gia arrived at her house. Adelina had been waiting for her outside. "Mom, why are you here?" Gia asked after kissing her mother's cheek.

"I'm waiting for you, Gia. I also want to feel the air at night."

"Now let's go inside. I don't want you to get sick."

Gia embraced Adelina and both of them entered their house together. She helped her mother to lock the door. "Mom, I want to talk to you," she told her.

"Okay, Gia. But I think that we should have dinner first. You should take a shower and change your clothes as well."

Gia nodded. "Yes, of course, mom. See you at the dining room!" she said before running a little to her bedroom.

Half an hour later, they both had finished their dinner. After Gia washing the dishes, she brought Adelina to the living room. She had no idea what her daughter was going to talk about. She would gladly listen if it had to do with Seb.

"So Gia, what do you want to talk about?"

Gia was taking a deep breath. "I talked to Seb."

Adelina knew it. It must be about him. The time for them to talk had indeed come. "How was it? Where did you talk with him?"

"Just after Mariska and I had lunch, we went back to the store. Then, Claudia gave me a note, but she didn't want to tell me who it was from. When I opened and read it with Mariska, we were surprised that there was Seb's autograph."

"Mariska read it too?"

"She did, because she was curious as well."

"Okay. Please continue."

"On that note, Seb said that I had to meet him at a restaurant at 2. If I didn't come there, then he would come to the bookstore. So, I decided to go even though I wasn't prepared."

"What was Mariska's reaction?" Adelina asked. She knew that Gia hadn't told anything about Seb to Mariska.

"She was confused, but I didn't have time to explain. So, I promised that I would tell her everything after I came back. I finally went to the restaurant and I found him."

"Was he alone?"

"He was. Thankfully the restaurant was quite empty. He was the first to talk. He said that he remembered me, even though he hesitated at first because my look has slightly changed."

"And then?" Adelina had prepared herself. She was expecting that Gia would hardly control her emotions.

"He said that he has a feeling for me. But, because he wanted to focus on his racing career, so he decided to try to forget me. He was afraid if I could become his distraction."

Adelina immediately rubbed Gia's back slowly. "Oh, Gia. What did he say next?"

"Based on what I caught from his explanation, he asked his parents not to tell anything about me to him. And vice versa, he also didn't want me to know anything about him since he moved."

"Oh my God," Adelina kissed Gia's head to comfort her. "What he did is completely wrong. I believe that there were many other ways that he could do. Did he apologize to you?"

Gia wrapped her arms on Adelina. "He did. He told me that he really regrets it. He can't even forgive himself for this. Am I wrong to ask him to give me time?" she said, asking for her mother's opinion.

"No, you aren't, Gia. I believe that you feel hurt. You indeed need some time to think. At least we finally know his reason." Then, Adelina was thinking for a moment to ask her another question. "Do you think that he still loves you? You said that he has a girlfriend, right?"

"He said that he loves me and he will always love me," Gia replied while wiping her tears, "but he has a girlfriend though. I don't want to expect him to be with me."

"We never know, Gia. Then, you told everything to Mariska?"

Adelina could feel her nod. "Yes, mom. I told everything to her. She was definitely surprised. But she could understand why I kept this secret for a very long time. She suggests me to accept his apology."

"Mariska is your best friend, Gia. I believe that she will always help you for every problem you have."

"I agree, mom. By the way, should I tell Gilbert?" Gia asked.

"Of course you should, Gia. Let him know the reason why Seb didn't get in touch with us all this time."

Gia sighed. "You are right, mom. I think that I'm gonna call him tomorrow. Is that okay? I'm afraid if I speak to him at the wrong time. His mind is already full with his job. I don't want to add to the burden of his mind with this problem."

Adelina pulled away from Gia to cup her daughter's cheeks. "Gia, Gilbert is your brother. He cares a lot about you. I believe that he won't mind to hear everything from you."

Gia took Adelina's hands on her cheeks and held it so tight. "Thanks for everything, mom. I didn't know what to do if you weren't here."

"It's my duty as your mother. I will always help you whenever you need me. Use your time to think. Remember, Seb is a very kind man. He left you for a reason and he was encouraged to admit his mistake. Now, it's up to you whether you want to forgive him or not."

Gia thought to herself that she would definitely forgive Seb. But the big question was about the right time for her to do that. Her heart was still broken. She very much needed it to heal first.

---

After meeting and talking to Gia in Vienna, Seb flew to Hungary a day after, to be precise on Wednesday. He went to Vienna a day after the German GP, as he thought that it would be better if he came there as soon as possible.

Seb was once again in a row with Bernadette. After they arrived home from Hockenheim, they had a fight as she couldn't understand him who needed time to calm himself down with being alone after the retirement on his home race.

Bernadette decided to go to Amsterdam, to visit one of her clothing stores there. So, Seb didn't have to find an excuse to go to Vienna. On his way to Hungary, he was thinking back about his meeting with Gia on the previous day. He understood why she was so furious to him. He also understood why she cried, although he didn't have a heart to see that. He also remembered how surprised she was when he told her that he was falling for her. He knew that she loved him, but she didn't expect that he loved her back.

He couldn't wait to arrive in Hungary, as he wanted to phone his parents. He wanted to tell about his meeting with Gia and he also wanted to ask for advices from them about what he should do next. In the evening, at the hotel room, he was sitting on his bed. Then, he took his phone from the nightstand. He was dialling his mother.

"Seb?"

Seb was surprised as it was his father's voice. "Dad?"

"Sorry, Seb. Your mother is sleeping, so I pick up the phone."

"Ah yeah, I'm sorry I didn't know." Seb thought that it was still the same whether he talked to his mother or father. "Dad, there's something that I want to tell you."

"What is it, Seb? Is it about Bernadette or-"

"It's about Gia."

Norbert didn't expect that Seb would talk about her. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"I met her yesterday. I talked to her."

"Really? But your mother said that you would come to Vienna during summer break," Norbert said, remembering what Heike had said to him.

"Yeah, at first I planned to go there on summer break, after the race in Hungary. But last Monday, Bernadette went to Amsterdam. So, I didn't have to find any excuses to her. I decided to go to Vienna."

"Did you come to her bookstore?"

"I did. But, I came when she wasn't there. She went for lunch. So, I wrote a note and gave it to one of the employees. I asked her to meet me at a restaurant."

"Then, did you reveal everything to her?"

"Of course. I told her everything. She was definitely furious at me." Seb still remembered how angry Gia was at him and it made him sad and even hopeless that she would forgive him.

"And then, did you apologize to her?"

Seb sighed. "That was the main thing I did yesterday, dad. But unfortunately, she hasn't given me the answer. She needs time."

Norbert nodded. "I understand that. You should give her time. It's the best thing to do."

"Yes, you're right, dad."

"Don't worry, Seb. It will take time but I believe that she will forgive you. Just be patient," Norbert suggested his son.

"Thank you very much, dad. I promise if she has forgiven me and my relationship with her is getting better, I will bring her to Heppenheim."

"Yes, Seb. But the most important thing is that she accepts your apology first. And then you should talk to Mrs. Hassler and Gilbert."

"I will do it. Okay, dad, thanks once again. Don't forget to tell this to mom. I'll call you again next time."

"I'll tell her tomorrow, don't worry. Good night, Seb."

Seb hung up the phone. He felt quite relieved after explaining about it to his father. Then, the next thing he would do was arranging his time to go back to Vienna during the summer break.

There were some things that he wanted to do. Asking Gia again to forgive him, meeting her mother and brother if that was possible, and there was another thing he would do which he still kept it for himself.