INVISIBLE STRING ☆ DANIEL RICCIARDO

thirty-nine

LOS ANGELES, USA; OCTOBER 9th 2022

Things between Isla and Daniel hadn't been quite the same since Milan. Neither of them were sure what had caused this rift; maybe Daniel had grown some doubt in her after the little mishap with Ramy, she wouldn't blame him if he had. Maybe Isla was falling back into her old habits, but she had seen Chloe a good handful of times since then.

The couple had been speaking on the daily, just like they were used to doing, there was just something that was a little off lately. Especially since they hadn't seen each other face to face since then either, Daniel was stuck in back to back races and Isla was stuck in work meetings and pre-planned photo shoots.

Isla had just arrived home from a meeting when her phone had rung with an incoming facetime call. Milo was barking loudly at his owners feet, having been locked inside for a few hours now, the dog was getting restless. Swiping right on her screen, Daniel's smile pops up on her screen, turning into a loud laugh as she tries to get Milo to shut up while she fixed his food bowl.

"Give me a second." she groans, pocketing her phone and grabbing the bowl. She quickly crossed her living room and pulls open the sliding doors to her backyard, the dog immediately zooming around in circles through the grass.

Isla places the food bowl down on the edge of the patio and takes a seat on her corner chair. Letting out a sigh, she finally picks her phone back up, a smile taking over her face as she glances at the man looking back at her.

"Sorry about that, I just got home." she speaks quickly, Daniel brushing her off almost immediately. "What time is it for you?"

"Just gone nine o'clock, Michael woke me up a couple hours ago for breakfast." Daniel hums, pulling his hoodie on top of his orange polo. They were currently in Japan for the Suzuka GP, and the time difference was severely messing with them. "Where were you?"

The question didn't come off as aggressive or controlling like Isla was used to, eliciting a soft smile from her that Daniel absolutely adored. "I had a meeting, figuring out my schedule for the rest of the year."

"Busy couple months?"

"Not really. I declined a bunch of offers, decided to stick to smaller projects for now."

Daniel lets out a mock laugh. "Are you actually taking a break? Who are you and where's my Isla?"

What she wouldn't tell him though is that she decided to take a little time off to focus on herself and their relationship, especially after the hectic year she has had so far. It was something that Chloe had suggested a couple of days ago and something that Isla was definitely not against doing.

The woman simply rolls her eyes at her boyfriends antics, Milo hopping onto her stomach roughly before she could reply, causing her to let out a loud 'oomf'. The man on the other side of her phone was hysterical as he watched the dog try to get comfortable as he licked at his owners face. Isla was laughing as she tried to get Milo to calm down, which he seemed to do slightly as he recognized the voice coming from her phone.

"I miss you too, buddy." Daniel chuckles as the dog continues to bark at the phone.

"Okay, Milo, shush!" Isla attempts, "I hope you're happy with what you've done now, Danny."