F1 Champion's Perfect Crash: When Love Takes The Final Turn novel Chapter 9

I spent the night at Kate's, drowning memories in expensive whiskey.

I didn't surface until noon the next day.

My phone screen was lit with Adrian's missed calls - thirty-seven of them.

I ignored them, focusing instead on the calendar notification: [Monaco Grand Prix: 5 days remaining]

I smiled grimly, deciding to pack my things today.

I deliberately chose afternoon for my return - his usual track time.

But when I opened the penthouse door, Adrian was waiting in his favorite leather armchair, still in his racing suit, eyes dark as storm clouds.

"Where the fuck were you?" His voice cut through the air like a whip.

I turned toward the bedroom, but his grip locked around my wrist. He slammed the check down on the glass coffee table. "What kind of game are you playing with my mother?" The words came through clenched teeth.

My heart stuttered. His mother's million-dollar check. I forced my face into practiced neutrality, my voice steady.

"Oh, that? Your mother's compensation. After three years of being your caretaker, it seems fair. The Chase family won't miss it."

His mother had left in tears, and Rain had held me all night, whispering promises about forever between desperate kisses.

Same check, different universe.

Back then, he'd chosen me over an empire.

Now?

I was choosing to leave.