High stakes

twenty-two.

I didn't want this race to end, it would mean I had to end things with Lando as well. If I waited even longer, then he was gonna fall in love even more, if that was even possible.

Originally, I planned on letting him dump me, just like I did with Max, but I couldn't wait for that. Lando fell way harder than Max ever did.

"Mrs. Norris" Max Fewtrell whispered as he stood next to me in the garage. I quickly looked around, no one knew about that yet. "Don't worry, no one heard. I whispered"

I rolled my eyes but I also couldn't contain a little chuckle.

"I heard you're in charge of some big hotels now, congratulations" he smiled as he nudged me a little. Lando was the only one who knew, so he must have told him.

"Lando can't stop talking about you, that dude is so in love with you" Max confirmed what I was already suspecting. "But I have never seen him happier, so I must thank you for that"

Fuck Max, you were making this way worse, way harder.

I just smiled, but I couldn't respond. I just couldn't.

"You're not gonna break his heart, right?" he tilted his head a little, but the smile on his face revealed that he was actually joking.

Little did he know.

Zak saved me in that moment, because he walked up to us and stood beside us, breaking our conversation apart. "He's doing an awesome job" he said with a proud smile on his face.

Max and I both nodded, but I could feel how he was staring at me, he was already suspecting something.

—————————

After the race, Lando wanted to come with me to the Monaco hotel. He probably wanted to support me as well, but this wasn't gonna be a happy time.

I had to do it here, I had to do it now.

He smiled at Nora as we walked passed her to my office. My heart was beating so fast right now, my hands were shaking.

I wasn't gonna break his heart, I was gonna destroy it.

"God, I'm so proud of you" he said as he closed the door behind him, he wanted to walk up to me, to hug me, kiss me but I stopped him.

"I'm not in love with you Lando, I used you to get this, I used you to convince my dad I changed" I spat it all out, as quickly as I could, I had to get it over with. "I was never in love with you and I never will"

"W-what?" he stopped walking up to me and I think he stopped breathing for a while too.

"I cheated on you so many times Lando, with a random Red Bull mechanic, with Rhett" I left out the part that I actually cheated on him in his bed. "I-I used you"

Lando looked at me like I shot him in the heart over and over again. He looked at me but he could hardly stand. He was looking at me like he wanted to say something but every time he tried to speak he failed.

"I'm s-sorry" I stammered. "I'm so sorry"

But he wasn't listening. He was shaking his head over and over again, like he couldn't believe what I just told him.

I felt sick, confused because I felt my heart break as well. I've never felt more like a monster than I did right in this moment and I did some pretty fucked up shit.

The pain was so visible on his face and it was killing me.

"I-I don't think I understand" he stuttered. "You never loved me? All these months, it was just a joke?"

He was biting the inside of his cheek. I could see the anger and the pain, mostly the pain.

"Y-yes"

He was now biting his lower lip, probably fighting back the tears because his eyes got more red every second.

He ran a hand across his face, then both hands through his hair, biting even harder on his lip.

"I fell for you all the way to rock bottom" he said in a whisper. It looked as if he wanted to say something else but he stopped.

"Good bye Rae"

I don't know why it was killing me. I don't know why I was asking this question that wasn't really a question at all. "I won't see you again?"

He turned back to me for a slight second before turning back to the door. It was enough time to see the tears in his eyes and I immediately understood why he didn't want to look at me.

I watched him fight to speak, fight back the tears, fight back the tremor in his voice. "I certainly hope not"

He opened the door and walked out, he didn't look back, he didn't look at Nora, but I could see how his hand wiped away his tears.

I was standing in the doorway, watching him walk out the hotel, my life.

He left nothing behind, only his shattered heart.