Page 117 of Break My Heart

Heythrop is already speaking rudely to the group with an expression that suggests the next person to ask Leo a question may be buried beneath legal briefs for the next year.

Once he’s back behind the curtain, Leo’s gaze finds mine. I read the grief still so fresh. But there’s also determination with a hint of anger. After all, some scars don’t fade cleanly.

But beneath them, I see something stronger. Peace.

Leo didn’t just free himself from the weight of inheritance. He freed himself from the fear that he had to earn love, suffer for it, or lose it.

When he reaches for my hand, I realize something that steals the breath from my lungs.

This is where we really begin.

EPILOGUE:

GREEN FLAG: RACING CONDITIONS RESUMED.

Location: Yas Island

Five Months Later

The roar of the crowd feels different tonight.

Maybe because, for the first time all season, I’m not standing in a garage with my heart lodged somewhere in my throat, praying a strategy call doesn’t destroy weeks of work. Maybe because, after everything—Silverstone, Leo’s brother’s death, and the title drama—I learned that as long as I’m with Leo, we’re victors whether we win or lose.

Fireworks explode over Yas Island, streaking gold and white over the dark waters surrounding the circuit. Beyond the track, the skyline glows against the December night while music and cheers rise from every direction.

It’s the final race of the season, and for the first time in a long time, I’m simply happy to be where I am, which is in Leo’s arms. On the podium in front of us, champagne sprays into the air while cameras swing toward the drivers lifting trophies.

Leo isn’t one of them.

Months ago, he would still be standing next to me, but he’d be filled with tension and pretending he wasn’t disappointed at missing the podium.

Tonight? He’s leaning against the railing beside me with one arm draped over my shoulders and a smile on his face.

A real one.

The kind I spent the rest of the season ensuring. The kind he fought for.

“You’re staring.” His voice interrupts my thoughts.

“I’m noticing important things,” I counter.

“Dangerous,” he murmurs.

“It’s literally my job.”

His arm tightens even as the crowd erupts again.

The F1 World Champion—Copse—has just been crowned. Leo puts his fingers to his mouth and whistles his approval before applauding like the rest of the crowd.

It wasn’t his time this year, but we’re already working on plans for next year and beyond.

I think back to where we were a year ago—barely speaking because of a past that wouldn’t loosen its hold on Leo. The Leo from then would’ve believed a trophy would have earned him love.

Since his brother’s death, I know for a fact he doesn’t care about the standings the way he used to. He cares about me and driving cleanly. I question whether he even knows he missed the podium by fifty-three points.

What I do know is that after the race tonight, he sought me out, then Dario, then my father. In that order. That, more than anything, shows what Leo now considers a win.

A burst of laughter sounds behind us. I glance around Leo to find my father approaching with Dario right next to him. The two of them, thick as thieves.