6. Aurélie
Media Day in Monaco was all glitz and ego. Luxury yachts bobbed behind barricades while designer sunglasses glinted beneath the sun. Drivers mingled with celebrities, cameras flashed, and every smile looked expensive. Even the air smelled like a rich peoples’ playground.
And yet, all I could think about was damage control.
As I navigated through the crowd, I spottedKimiand sidled up next to him, plastering on a polite expression.
“Smile for the camera, love,” a reporter chirped, snapping photos as she passed.
“Charming,” I muttered under my breath. Love doesn’t sound the same when it wasn’t coming from Callum.
Kimichuckled. “Dubois, you disappeared on the float yesterday. You good?”
“Mmhmm,” I said, distracted, eyes scanning for the biggest reporter pack. The heat didn’t help my rising irritability. My skin already felt too tight.
“Good. Hey, I wanted to ask about—” he started, but a voice snagged his attention. He shot me an apologetic look and turned away.
I moved on, threading through bodies and finally making it to the press pen. It reeked of perfume, sweat, and desperation—as though all of Monaco had crammed itself into this one glittering square of hell.
“Here comes trouble,” a teasing voice called out.
I turned and foundCallumleaning against a wall, Marco beside him.
That same stupidly attractive smirk was on his face, and I couldn’t stop myself from picturing him between my thighs, even though I was still annoyed by his tour guide comment yesterday.
I made sure to wear a flattering pair of jeans today but still wore my sneakers. He could fuck off if he expected that every time he saw me.
“Did you come up with that all on your own?” I retorted, trying for nonchalant, but it came out brittle.
My mind was elsewhere, torn between the rumors about my seat and the email from a top team requesting a meeting.
It should’ve been a beacon of hope, but instead, it felt like a lifeline slipping through my fingers if I didn’t address the media soon.
“Still mad at me for yesterday?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. Still think I look like a fucking tour guide?” Yeah, that was pure venom in my voice, and I did not care.
He tilted his head, lips twitching with amusement.
A lock of hair fell forward, and my eyes latched onto it as if it could save me from the mediashitstorm I was about to endure.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,Dubois.
Rough night?” His voice was too smooth. It didn’t belong in the sea of voices surrounding us.
I forced a tight smile, my mind racing with a hundred thoughts at once.
“Just preoccupied, Fraser. You know how it is.” It seemed so much nicer to slip away to a private corner with him and let him work the tension out of me.
And then I was reminded that I was still walking with a limp from the strain I’d put on my body this week and thought better of it.
“Ah, yes, the crushing weight of brilliance. Must be hard.” His tone was laced with sarcasm, but there was an underlying edge to it that made my pulse quicken.
“At least I don’t go looking for it like you seem to do so effortlessly,” I fired back, unable to resist the urge to engage in our usual banter despite my muddled brain.
Marco gave a low whistle. “Now, now, children. Save it for the track.”
I was about to make a witty remark back to the two of them when I saw him in the crowd .
My ex.
Bile rose in my throat and sweat immediately broke out on the back of my neck and upper lip. I swiped a trembling hand across my face, forgetting about the makeup I’d put on, trying to erase the physical reaction.
His familiar smile cut through the crowd.
He was here, watching. Why? My chestsqueezedas panic surged, my thoughts spiraling.
Is he here to find a replacement for me?
To plant seeds of doubt inLuminis? MonDieu,I couldn’t breathe.
I could barely see. I became hyper-focused on him—the man who I’d gotten over romantically, but the pain of his words stayed with me every day.
He was here. He wasn’t supposed to be here.F2didn’t race here this weekend. Why was he here?
“Dubois?”Callumstepped closer to me, breaking my line of sight. He briefly glanced over his shoulder where I was looking and frowned. “What’s wrong? You actually do look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?”
“Yep. All good here.” I ducked my head around him, trying to catch another glimpse.
Sure enough, he was still there, his light brown hair streaked with gray, his facial hair gruff. I could see the depths of his black eyes from here, the same look in them that used to make me shrink without him even speaking.
No. He doesn’t have power over me anymore.
Something warm and firm was in my hand now. I swallowed, trying to force the panic down. I couldn’t do this, not here. Not with all these people around. I glanced down, realizing I was clutchingCallum’sforearm hard enough that my knuckles were white. I wrenched my hand away like he’d burned me.
“Seriously,Dubois, what’s going on? Talk to me.”Callum’svoice felt foreign, my brain splintering as it tried to process that both he and my ex were here. Sweat dripped down my spine, and my heart hammered in my chest. Fuck, I might throw up.
“He’s right,Dubois. You okay?” Marco asked, also stepping closer.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Please go away. Please. When I opened them again, my ex was walking toward me, all confident and smug with a team principal flanking him.
Merde.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t remember why I was even standing here.
“Dubois—”Callum’svoice was gentle, but it didn’t help. Rational thought flew out the window when my ex fixated his predatory gaze on me, and I was sent right back into the toxicity of our relationship.
“You’re mad,” he said, disgust dripping from his voice. “You think anyone would actually take this seriously? You’re a joke,Aurélie. A pretty face in a fast car. That’s it.”
The old poison was fresh again, winding through me. He was a narcissist, and hisgaslightinghad fucked me up in the head. I wanted to get back at him. I wanted to show him he couldn’t control me anymore, that I’d moved on.
Without thinking twice, I turned toCallum. “Kiss me.”
His eyes widened in shock, the sun catching all the shades of pale blue. “What?”
“Kiss me,” I repeated, my voice wavering. “Please.”
His voice dropped, sharp with alarm. “Aurélie, there are cameras . You can’t be serious.”
I flinched. My composure fractured a little more.
He didn’t know—didn’t mean it like him .
It didn’t matter, though. I’d already slipped into the memory, into the shame, into the months of being someone’s secret.
The wound had already reopened, bleeding insecurity into every corner of my already fragile mind.
I wasn’t even sure if I was in the rightheadspaceto get in a Formula 1 car this weekend.
I couldn’t fall apart here. I just needed to reclaim the narrative, set the story somewhat straight, and put on a fake smile. I’d been doing it my whole life.
My breath hitched, and I stumbled back a step, shaking my head to clear the haze of panic and pain.
“Auri—”Callum’svoice softened, but I couldn’t look at him. Not now, when I was seconds away from crumbling in front of everyone. My eyes darted to Marco.Callumwould ask questions I couldn’t handle right now, but Marco wouldn’t overthink it. And right now, I needed simple. I needed control.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I turned, grabbed him by the shirt, and kissed him. Hard. It wasn’t soft or sweet— it wasn’t meant to be. It was raw and desperate, my way of screaming,“ Look at me now. You don’t own me anymore.”
Marco stilled for half a second before kissing me back, his hands finding my waist. His mouth was gentle, almost friendly. It lasted only a moment, but it felt like a lifetime. I pulled away as fast as I’d lunged in, and the whole press pen fell silent before exploding in camera flashes.
And just like that, I was no longer prey. I was a fucking spectacle.
That was one hell of a way to show the world that I wasn’t withCallumlike they thought, though I wished it was him I had kissed instead. It should have been, but here he was, protecting our peace in a way that I clearly wasn’t, and all because my ex had found a way to infect my mind again.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Marco murmured, his voice low enough that only I could hear.
My chest heaved as I stepped back, releasing him. My gaze involuntarily flicked toward my ex. His smirk had slipped, replaced by a dark, calculating glare that sent a thrill of vindication through me.
The satisfaction around us exploded in a frenzy of shouted questions.
Oh, yeah.
“Dubois! Is this a love triangle?”
“Callum, what’s your reaction to this?”
“Marco, are you andCallumfighting over her?”
One glance atCallumshowed a look akin to a deer in the headlights.
His jaw clenched, his gaze flickering between me and the sea of cameras.
Guilt wound through me, but I couldn’t focus on that right now.
The chaos was deafening, but my focus was suddenly sharp.
The cameras were on, the questions flying, but for the first time in days, I felt in control.
I could either let them write the story for me or take the pen back.
My pulse steadied, and with a deep breath, I rolled my shoulders back and turned toward the media pen, walking forward until I was front and center.
I held up my hand. “Enough.” The questions died. “Now that I have everyone’s attention. Enough is enough. These rumors and social media videos are out of hand. Fraser and I are competitors, nothing more. The same goes forBianchi.”
“Then why the cozy mornings in the lobby, eh?” a voice called out from the crowd.
“This is exactly what I mean. You see me in a man’s shirt, and suddenly I’m not a driver.
I’m a scandal.” My voice rose with each word.
“I’ve been in the points all season. I deserve to be here just as much as the other nineteen drivers on the grid.
But oneDNF, and suddenly my seat is in question. ”
The cameras clicked furiously as I continued, the weight of every injustice I’d faced as a female driver fueling my words.
“I get it. I’m in the spotlight and will face a lot of scrutiny from our millions of fans, but I’m a human just as the rest of you.
All of us drivers are, so when rumors like this spread, it hurts our careers and impacts us deeply.
And because of this gossip, I risk losing my seat for next year.
I am the target of these baseless allegations while Fraser stands unaffected.
Ask yourselves why that is.” I paused and took a deep breath.
“If I were romantically involved with Fraser, I wouldn’t have kissed his teammate, and the only reason I did that was to get your attention.” I gestured toward Marco, who shrugged and offered a cheeky wave. I didn’t dare look atCallum.
A murmur rippled through the press pit, but I wasn’t finished.
I hoped this was enough forLuminis. “The double standard is glaring. If I were a man, none of this would be happening. But because I’m here, because I’m succeeding, you want to tear me down.
This isn’t about gossip. This is about how women are treated in this sport. ”
I took a step closer to the cameras, my voice rising with conviction.
“This is sexism at its finest. I’m happy to talk more about this issue if any of you want to report on it.
” Silence in the crowd. I offered them all a curt smile.
“That’s what I thought. Take a look in the mirror. Call a spade a spade.”
I stepped back from the wall of microphones held by a multitude of reporters.
Then, as if on cue, the questions started again, louder and more frantic than before.
Some of them scribbled in notebooks furiously; others stood stunned and silent.
Most were shouting follow-up questions and grappling to get closer with their microphones.
I didn’t acknowledge any of them. I turned and walked away.
Marco stepped aside to let me pass. “It’s just a kiss,” he murmured. “Unless you want it to mean more.”
I rolled my eyes and kept walking, butCallumwas there watching. His expression was unreadable, blue eyes locked on me. I didn’t stop, didn’t look back. My chest ached like I’d cracked something open and left it on display.
Still. This time? The narrative was mine.