After Dating My Biker Stepbrother, I Dumped Him

Audrey's POV: Nolan's guarded gaze lingered on my face for 2 seconds. "Sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else." Just then, the deputy editor traveling with me said, "Nolan may have seen Audrey in one of her articles. She's been writing a column for Cycle World for years. Last year, she even interviewed Ducati's winning rider at the Montavia Grand Prix." Nolan gave a polite nod, his tone distant and restrained. "Ms. Lane has accomplished a lot for someone so young." I lowered my eyes. A dull ache settled in my chest, but a faint sense of relief softened it. I was glad I had used heavily edited photos while Nolan and I were dating online. Even the name I had given him was fake. I was also glad I had gone from 220 pounds then to 110 pounds now. I looked completely different. It made perfect sense that Nolan didn't recognize me. The interview began. I sat across from him and worked my way through the questions on my script. We were nearly finished when a voice suddenly came through my earpiece. Once I realized what they were asking me to do, my heart skipped a beat. I looked at Nolan. "Nolan, we just received a question from a fan. What is the one thing you could never forgive in a relationship?" His gaze sharpened as he looked straight at me. "Lying. Breaking promises. Disappearing without a word." Pain tightened my chest. I had done every one of those things. Once, I had told Nolan, "No matter what happens, I'll stay with you." But I had broken that promise. My mom had decided to marry Nolan's dad. With no other way out, I cut off all contact with Nolan and left the country. He tried everything he could think of, but he was never able to reach me. I forced my emotions back under control. "Thank you, Nolan. That's a wrap." Backstage, I removed my earpiece and sank into a chair as memories rushed back without warning. Nolan and I had gone to the same university. I majored in journalism. Because I loved motorcycles, I once wrote a piece for a campus motorcycle column. A few racers took one look at my weight, decided I couldn't possibly know anything about bikes, and mocked me relentlessly. Nolan defended me in the comments. Then he sent me a private message, telling me my perspective was original and that I shouldn't care about what anyone else thought. That was how we started talking. At first, we only talked about racing. Gradually, our conversations spilled into every part of our lives, and eventually, we began dating online. Later, when I learned that Nolan had become one of MotoGP's youngest and most decorated champions, I chose journalism as my career because I wanted to document his career and everything he achieved. I attended as many of his races as I could and watched him from a distance. But I never dared to let him see me. Back then, I weighed 220 pounds and was painfully self-conscious about my appearance, while he was one of the brightest stars on campus. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. I was terrified of losing everything we had. Once insecurity took root, it only grew deeper with time. A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts. My assistant poked her head in. "Audrey, the director said everyone's having dinner with Nolan and his team. He wants to know if you're coming."