The guys in the pit stop are running towards my car. I can't hear them, but I know they're screaming like crazy. And I also know that the guys who came in second and third are very angry. On the track, being behind the best is like being the worst. Believe me, the only place that matters on the podium is the top.The sports car stops meters ahead of the finish line and, at that moment, euphoria hits me. Now I can feel the adrenaline in my veins. I can assure you that the feeling of a victory is always the same, it never changes or becomes common. It is always as if I were a god, and that has really boosted my ego.When I get out of the car, my team bombards me with jumping and screaming. I could jump with them, but my legs are still shaking. This is the only moment in life that makes me feel good, that makes me like who I am.- "Fuck, that was amazing!" Will screams.All I see around me are camera shots, people jumping in the stands, some drivers parking in their cockpits. All I hear
Blair got out of the car in one swift movement, without even looking at her father. She ignored any attempts to say goodbye and headed toward the building, the weight of an exhausting day stamped on every dragging step she took.The doors to the building closed behind her, and the silence of the hall enveloped her for a moment. Stepping into the elevator, she let out a weary sigh, taking off her high-heeled shoes that felt like they weighed tons and leaving them on the floor beside her.Finally feeling a little freer, she unbuttoned the first few buttons of her dress, allowing the cool air to soothe her hot, tired skin. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to gather the strength to climb the rest of the way.“Ethan…” she sighed.Blair picked up her phone with trembling hands and, without hesitation, looked up Spencer's contact information. She pressed the call button, but the call did not even beep once before it dropped.She stared at the blank screen for a few seconds, feel
One after another, the tears became a steady stream, growing more intense, until the first sobs escaped, shaking her shoulders uncontrollably.She opened her mouth to try to speak, but it was as if the words had become trapped somewhere between her throat and her chest, crushed by the weight of guilt and fear. Sobs choked her voice, breaking it into inaudible fragments as she desperately searched for a way to explain, to justify everything she had done.But nothing came out but small, broken sounds, her breathing ragged as her pleading eyes searched for some reaction from Drake, something that could soothe the storm of emotions raging inside her.Blair felt her face wet and the tears continued, relentless, making every attempt to speak a failure. She knew she needed to say something, or at least ease the hurt she saw in his eyes. But regret, sadness, and despair were all mixed together in such a mess that words seemed impossible to form."Yes," she whispered, the word barely audible,
"Ethan did not seem that dangerous, did he?" Carter asked with a cold smile as he walked over to the couch to pick up his briefcase. With the same disturbing calm, he walked toward the door, as if the whole threat was a routine formality. "But he is."Blair looked at Drake, who stood in the corner of the room, his posture defeated, his shoulders hunched, like a cornered animal."Or what?" The question escaped Blair's mouth before she could stop it, an impulse of desperation and defiant curiosity.Carter stopped, a few steps from the elevator, where the doors were already open. He turned, his gaze curious and cold. "What?""Ethan is going to destroy my life," Blair whispered, letting out a deep sigh, filled with resignation and a hint of uncertain hope. "And what's the other option? What can I do to stop it?"Carter stared at her for a moment, weighing every word, every expression. Slowly, the elevator doors closed, and he took a step back into the apartment, his face lit with a calcul
“Every day will be bad for you,” he murmured, his voice a whisper laden with menace. “It’s a one-sided negotiation. But you can deny it and see what happens.”He leaned closer, his lips almost touching her ear. “And if you must know, I’d like you to deny it, just so I can watch Ethan raise hell to Earth.”Blair closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the gravity of the situation. What Carter was saying was true, and the thought of denying his marriage proposal paralyzed her. What she was about to make was a choice that could bring everything around her crashing down. But at the same time, the sight of Drake, the pain and desperation in his eyes, reminded her of what was at stake.What would become of her if she couldn't protect the ones she loved?Carter’s voice rang out again, sharp as a blade. “Think, Blair. Think about what you really want. The choice is in your hands.”The conflict inside her intensified, Carter's every word sounding like a synonym for doom. She was about to be th
“do not look at that, Blair,” he says, his voice firm but gentle.“You were the one who was looking,” I accuse him, frustration dripping from my voice, as if that could dispel the feeling of helplessness that washes over me.“I was expecting it by watching the news and… well, he’s always news,” Drake stammers, visibly uncomfortable. “It was a mistake.”“Do you always do this?” I ask, my voice firm. “Do you always see things about him?”“Whenever you are not around,” he replies, and the guilt-ridden tone makes me feel a mix of anger and sadness.“Why?” the question escapes, filled with desperation.The answer I want doesn't seem to come, and that frustrates me even more.“Blair, leave it,” he says, looking away, as if trying to escape the conversation. He walks around the room and into the kitchen, looking for a breather and a way to avoid the confrontation. “Juice? Cookies? Fruit?” he tries to divert attention.“I do not want food, I want answers!” I reply, the intensity of the situat
Slap!As my mother-in-law Dora's heavy hand collides with my face, a searing pain shoots through my cheek, jolting my head to the side. A surge of redness flushes my skin, intensifying the agony. Struggling to maintain my balance, I stumble backward, eventually collapsing onto the softness of the bed behind me. Instinctively, my hand darts to my throbbing cheek, the pain radiating through every fiber of my being."You pathetic excuse for a woman," she sneers, her words dripping with contempt. "My son's birthday is in two days, and you dare to show such incompetence by not having the party prepared?"She towers above me, her presence intimidating. Dora embodies the essence of Italian aristocracy, her tall, slender figure accentuated by a sharp nose and angular features."I've hired a party planner," I retort."As a Banks, you should be capable of organizing a celebration yourself!" Her words are laced with venom, each syllable dripping with disdain as she delivers her cutting remark.
Collapsing to my knees, I clutch at my hair, fingers tangling in the strands as if to anchor myself to reality. The weight of Ethan's deception crushes me, leaving me gasping for air amidst the wreckage of our shattered marriage. Every sound of their exchange feels like a cruel echo of my own naivety, a reminder that I was nothing more than a pawn in his game. As Ethan's footsteps echo up the stairs, each one carries the weight of our broken trust.Ethan never loved me! We got involved a few years ago. I was a young girl trying to make it in the big city. He was a famous billionaire. I tried to do the right thing at the time, but the right thing was to betray Ethan's trust.I did it.I paid the price for it.**The relentless rain in Los Angeles mirrors the turmoil in my heart as I shuffle towards the kitchen. Each drop that splatters against the windowpane echoes the tears I've shed since discovering the bitter truth about my three-year marriage — a illusion crumbling before my eye