Chapter 19
The night Riley left, Adrian destroyed everything in his penthouse.
He didn’t understand his own rage only that the space she’d filled had suddenly become a void.
He consoled himself that she was just acting out.
She’d be back.
Then he’d make her beg, make her swear never to leave again.
But he broke first, having his driver stake out Kate’s apartment the very next day.
He saw Riley taking out the trash, and the sight stopped his breath.
She wasn’t miserable or lost. She looked… lighter. Happier.
The realization terrified him.
Some deep truth whispered that between them, he was the one who couldn’t let go.
He reached out to his racing circle, asking how to win back an angry girlfriend.
His fellow drivers and team owners laughed it off.
“She’s obviously pushing for marriage. Don’t fall for it. Let her sulk – she’ll come crawling back when she realizes her game isn’t working.”
Marriage.
The word had always made him flinch. Riley had mentioned it before, her desire for a real home.
He’d always dismissed it, claiming he wasn’t ready.
But remembering her smile after leaving him, marriage suddenly didn’t seem so impossible.
If that’s what she wanted, maybe he could give her that.
He commissioned the ring, planned the perfect proposal for after his Monaco victory. He imagined her face lighting up in front of the cameras, imagined her finally being his forever.
Instead, she vanished.
No warning.
No goodbye.
Just gone.
Chapter 19
He abandoned the podium, raced to the airport like a madman, questioned everyone who’d ever known her.
No one knew anything or they wouldn’t tell him.
That’s when Adrian truly understood what Riley meant to him.
He locked himself away for three days until his mother had him hospitalized.
When he emerged, he was different. Racing became his only focus.
He lived between the track and simulator, mechanical and precise.
With two exceptions: he had her name re–tattooed on his collarbone, and spent days tracking down that worn bracelet she’d given him.
His mother tried arranging dates with Sophia.
He overturned the restaurant table and walked out.
Seeing Riley again felt like one of his countless dreams of reunion.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her, afraid she’d vanish if he blinked.
But her gaze held only indifference. No matter what he showed her – the tattoo, the bracelet, six years of regret – her expression said it all: she simply didn’t care anymore.
He would have preferred her hatred, her anger, even her screams. Anything but this calm detachment.
He followed her, ready to beg for another chance.
He’d have gotten on his knees if that’s what it took, sworn to never fail her again.
Instead, he found her in another man’s arms.
The butterfly earring in the man’s ear – her mother’s – gleamed like a final verdict.
“The Monaco Grand Prix is in seven days. Wait until after the race to leave.” His mother’s words echoed mockingly. He broke down, unable to take another step forward, watching them disappear together.
They didn’t invite him to the wedding, but he went anyway, hidden in the back.
He had to see her one last time in white, even if she was walking toward someone else.
She was radiant. The ceremony was everything she’d deserved – elegant, joyful, filled with love.
She glowed in her new husband’s arms, her smile pure happiness.
Adrian left satisfied, despite his shattered heart.
Everyone else had moved forward while he remained trapped in those three years with Riley.
Chapter 19
But he had no one to blame but himself.
