My Husband Was a Stand-In, Now I Race Free

Chapter 5

Vivian's POV:

The next morning, after dropping Luke off at kindergarten, I asked my best friend, Mia Parker, to meet me at a cafe.

In the private room, Mia looked at me with teasing eyes.

"What is it? Can't keep living with Evan anymore, so you came to me for comfort?"

My fingers tightened around the coffee cup until my knuckles turned pale.

"I've decided to take Luke and settle in Calder. I asked you here today because I wanted to say goodbye."

In a few simple words, I told her I had decided to walk away from this marriage and from Evan. I didn't mention anyone else.

Mia listened, then stopped stirring her coffee and let out a heavy sigh.

"Back then, you carved a championship badge for Evan because you wanted to marry him. Your hands were covered in cuts. You even prayed on your knees at St. Anselm's Chapel just to get him a blessed charm before his Formula 1 race. I told you not to lower yourself like that, but you refused to listen. Now you even have a child together. Are you really ready to leave?"

The past five years flashed through my mind, and my chest felt heavy.

"Five years have taught me one thing. If something doesn't belong to me, I should let it go. If I keep holding on, it will only rot in my hands."

After Mia heard me out, her expression softened.

"As long as you understand that. When you get abroad, take care of yourself. When I have time, I'll go to Calder to visit you and Luke."

I nodded softly as my eyes grew wet.

After I got home, I began clearing out the house, packing away the matching outfits Luke and I had never worn, the acrylic covers for Evan's trophy display, and all the razors I had once chosen so carefully for him.

Every item had once been something I had picked out with care.

Now, I packed everything into boxes and cleared it all out without leaving a single piece behind.

After filling two large boxes, I took an old laminated photo from the bottom of the cabinet.

In the photo, a man and I were wearing matching black-and-white flame-patterned racing suits. We leaned close together, smiling brightly.

I touched the red mole on the tip of the man's nose and the gold racing badge in the photo. For a long moment, I couldn't look away.

"Mommy, you can drive race cars too? That's so cool!" Luke's voice came from beside me.

My thoughts drifted for a moment.

'Yes. Five years ago, I had been a racer too. But after I decided to marry Evan, I left that world behind and never touched a race car again.'

I looked at Luke and smiled with a nod.

Luke pointed at the man in the photo.

"Is this you and Daddy?"

I looked at the young man in the picture, and a soft smile rose to my lips.

"Yes. Back then, Mommy and Daddy were the best partners on the track."

Luke tilted his head.

"But why does this Daddy look different from the Daddy in our house?"

I froze. A brief shadow crossed my eyes.

"Your Daddy was still in school back then. Of course he looked different."

After that, I carefully placed the photo at the bottom of my suitcase.

Just as I finished putting everything away, Luke snuggled into my arms.

"Mommy, can you take me racing on Saturday? I want to see you drive a cool race car."

Looking at his eager eyes, I hesitated for a moment before I agreed.

"Okay."

On Saturday morning, Luke and I arrived at Hillcrest Public Circuit.

A giant poster hung at the entrance to the track. The man on it wore a black-and-white flame-patterned racing suit that caught the sunlight.

I stared at the poster for a long time. Only when Luke tugged my hand did I snap back to myself.

I changed into a racing suit, then helped Luke into a child-sized one. After that, I took him into a red-and-white Ferrari rally car.

"Hold on tight, Luke."

The tires screeched against the ground. The engine roared.

I stepped on the gas and shot forward. The scenery around us blurred into shadows.

I passed car after car with thrilling precision, swept through one curve after another, and stopped steadily at the finish line.

"Mommy, you're so cool!"

Luke unbuckled his seat belt, still buzzing with excitement. His eyes were shining.

I took him toward the spectator stand, only to see Evan and Julian Hawthorne, the third son of the Hawthorne family, reviewing footage of my run.

"A high-risk drift under pressure from multiple cars, followed by consecutive overtakes through several turns. Only your Uncle Caleb could pull that off around here. Too bad he died in Calder five years ago."

Julian looked regretful. Then he asked Evan curiously, "I heard your uncle once had a young girlfriend who was also his racing partner. Do you think the woman we just saw could be her?"