Chapter 26 Aurélie
aurélie
Restraint was never my strong suit. But fuck if I wasn’t making her my problem. -Callum
I stared at my phone, scrolling through the influx of messages. Most were congratulatory, but a few were biting. Dismissive.
Overrated. A one-hit wonder. Wannabe étienne.
I set my phone down, exhaling slowly. This wasn’t new. It wouldn’t be the last time either. But that didn’t make it suck less.
I reached for the phone again, thumb hovering over the power button—ready to shut it off—when another notification lit up the screen.
A name I hadn’t expected.
Callum
Tough day, Auri. But don’t let it get to you. Everyone has them.
My stomach tumbled.
I hesitated.
Callum Fraser didn’t do check-ins.
I stared at the message longer than I should have. It felt too easy, like he saw right through the front I was barely holding together. Like he knew.
And I hated that. Or maybe I didn’t.
Don’t be stupid, Aurélie.
I could ignore it. Leave him on read. Pretend it didn’t affect me the way it did.
But my fingers moved before I could stop them.
You’re annoyingly perceptive.
Callum
Comes with being a four-time champ. Now go rest. Bahrain’s coming up.
I let out a soft breath, shaking my head.
I wasn’t sure what this was—what we were—but I knew one thing.
Suzuka had humbled me. But I wasn’t done yet.
Bahrain would be different.