The vulnerability in his voice unraveled me. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.
“You said ‘maybe in Monaco,’ and now you’re standing in front of me with literal tears staining your cheeks and needing someone by your side more than ever. I have no idea how to help. Let me help. Let me be here for you.”
Instead, I shook my head, retreating back to the couch and pulling my knees to my chest. Callumdidn’t press further. He didn’t leave, either. He sat down in the chair across from me, silent and steady, his presence filling the room with a quietunderstanding I hadn’t expected. For a moment, the sight of him—steady, unshaken—was almost jarring against the chaos in my head like spotting a yellow flag mid-spin. Too late to stop but too stubborn to steer away.
He didn’t belong in this mess, yet here he was, fighting to stay close to me. And now the silence didn’t feel empty. It felt like maybe I wasn’t entirely alone.
She hadn’t saida word in what felt like an eternity, and I didn’t dare break the silence. Instead, I sat across from her, the cheap chair creaking beneath my weight as I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees. Multi-billion dollar industry, and the chairs looked like they hadn’t been updated since the first Grand Prix.
Auréliehad her knees drawn to her chest, her head resting on them as if she could disappear into herself. The room was dark, save for watery light from the small window above her and the faint glow of her phone screen, which she’d abandoned on the couch beside her. Her breathing was uneven.
I’d never seen her like this. This was a woman who stared down cameras and cars with equal intensity, who could rattle off telemetry while throwing back a tequila shot. Seeing her now—so small, so vulnerable—felt wrong. It twisted my heart, mademe feel something I wasn’t sure I had a name for. Concern? Guilt? Possessiveness? All of it, maybe.
The image of her kissing Marco flashed in my mind for the hundredth time today, and my teeth gritted instinctively. I had no idea why she did it. But even if I did know, it wouldn’t make it easier to swallow. It had ignited something primal in me—a jealousy I wasn’t proud of.
Possessive. Yeah, thatwasthe emotion I was feeling, but she wasn’t mine. Not in the way that mattered. But God, it had felt like she was when we were together… and watching that kiss had felt like betrayal, even if I knew better.
To be fair, she had asked me to kiss her first, and when I questioned her, I saw her physically withdraw from me.
A soft sniffle brought me back to the present, and I forced myself to focus on her instead of my own tangled emotions. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and I had to grip the edges of the chair to keep from reaching for her. She didn’t need my sarcasm or biting remarks right now. She needed… something else. Someone willing to sit in the dark with her until she was ready.
The minutes dragged, her silence pressing down on me. My fingers itched to do something—to fix whatever was wrong, to make it better, to drag her out of this room if I had to. But I waited, letting her set the pace.
“I can’t stay here,” she finally whispered, her voice raw and barely audible.
“Here?” I asked softly.
“The paddock. This… room. I don’t want to…” Her voice broke and she buried her face against her knees. “Pasici.”
Whatever was eating her alive, it was big enough to make her retreat from everything. From her sanctuary, from me.
I nodded slowly, even though she couldn’t see it. “Alright,” I said. “You’ll come with me. Anywhere but here, yeah?”
She didn’t respond, but I caught the faintest movement of her head. A nod or maybe just an acknowledgment that she’d heard me. My mind raced, trying to come up with a way to get her out of here without the press hounding her or the team gossiping about it by the end of the hour.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, glancing at the screen. An idea started to form—half-baked, maybe, but it was better than nothing. I started a group chat with Marco andKimi, my thumbs flying over the keyboard. I’d told them I was coming to find her and would let them know if she was alright.
Need backup. Her suite in the Luminisgarage. Get her out discreetly.
Kimi
What happened?
She’s not herself. Don’t ask questions. Just…help me.
A moment later, Marco chimed in.
Marco
Does this mean I get to carry her like a damsel in distress? Please say yes.
I rolled my eyes, though I smiled despite myself.
Fuck you.
Marco
Do you think I’ll get another kiss?
