The Podium
The podium ceremony became the largest moment of Sofia’s strange new life. Rain covered the circuit, and the crowd roared as Lucien stood beneath the lights with the trophy raised above his head. Sofia watched from the garage as cameras searched for her, because the world had already decided the Paddock Princess was part of the victory story. When Lucien looked toward her instead of toward the photographers, Sofia felt the attention narrow to something private between them.
After the podium, reporters surrounded Sofia with questions about the strategy. She explained the tire-temperature problem and refused to take credit for work performed by the team. A journalist asked whether Lucien listened to her because of their engagement, and Sofia answered that good engineering did no
