“Then you’d better start now.”
Alex studied me for another moment.Then he turned back to the screen.“You know, I’ve been asking you for an exclusive for two years.I always figured it’d be about lap times and championship battles.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“Disappoint?”He smiled.“Championship leader admits to mental health struggle, finally decides to talk about his therapy journey?This is the best human-interest piece I’ve ever been given… and who knows, maybe you’ll pass me that other piece from Lily.”
I scoffed.“Typical journalist,” I muttered.“One story at a time.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Lily
I hated how everyone looked at me when I arrived at the garage this morning for free practice.Pity was written all over their faces.I didn’t want to be pitied.
I didn’t want anything but to crawl back up to my hotel room and cry.I climbed out of the car, pulling off my helmet.At least the Friday free practice sessions were done, and soon I’d be back at my hotel.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked back toward the garage.Georgia’s name lit up the screen.
Georgia:
Have you seen this?
A link followed.I almost didn’t tap it—I’d had enough of articles about myself for one lifetime.But the preview thumbnail showed Henri’s face, not mine, and the headline beneath it stopped me mid-stride.
Formula 1 Champion Opens Up: “She’s the Reason I’m Still Racing”
I leaned against the concrete wall outside the garage and opened it.A major sports outlet.Not the small magazine Ollie had used—this was one of the biggest platforms in European sports media.Published forty minutes ago.
My eyes caught fragments before my brain could process them.Anxiety attacks.Hidden struggle.After Miami.Then my own name, threaded through his words like a pulse.
“She’s the bravest person I know.”
My thumb hovered over the screen.The concrete pressed cold through my race suit.
“She walked into a sport that was designed to exclude her, and she didn’t just survive the sport.She’s winning in it.”
I read that line three times.My vision blurred on the fourth.
Georgia:
Lily?Are you reading it?
“Lily!”Felix’s voice cut through the garage noise, and I turned to see him beckoning me toward his office, a smile on his face that seemed oddly genuine given the circumstances.I followed him, grateful to have a proper reason to escape the chaos of the garage.Felix closed the door behind us, and the sudden quiet was almost jarring.
“Well, here’s some good news.”He picked up his phone, scrolling through something.“Look what I just got sent!”Felix began reading, his face lightening up as he reached a particular passage he must have liked.
“‘Henri Dubois has long been considered the golden boy of Formula 1.Talented, the kind of good-looking face sponsors love, and with a successful career to back it up.But behind the carefully crafted image lies a struggle that Dubois himself has only recently begun to acknowledge: the debilitating anxiety following his near-fatal crash in Miami earlier this season.’”
My breath caught in my chest.
“‘In an exclusive interview, Dubois spoke candidly about his battle with anxiety, the intrusive thoughts that plagued him since the accident, and his determination to face these demons rather than run from them.“I could’ve hidden it,” Dubois told Alex Muncy.“I could’ve pretended everything was fine, like I’d been doing.But I realized that hiding it was making me weaker, not stronger.If I want to be the driver I know I can be, I have to be honest about what I’m fighting.”’”
Felix paused, glancing up at me.
My hands were gripping the armrests of my chair as my brain tried to catch up.I couldn’t speak.The words had stolen my voice, replacing it with something hot in my throat that might have been tears if I had any more to cry.
Felix set his phone down, his expression softening.“I haven’t seen an article spread this fast in years.Who knew Henri was going through all of this?”
