Adrenaline: A Lestappen Story

𝟏𝟑 - 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬

After his discussion with his chief engineer that revealed the mole in Ferrari, Max concluded the strategy meeting and left the paddock, making his way anxiously to the hotel. In his thoughts, he envisioned the moment he would finally share the news with Charles when they crossed paths that night. Beyond that, his mind raced over the unsettling idea that perhaps his championships weren't truly his to claim.

Max wrestled with conflicting emotions—a blend of anger, disappointment, and a profound sense of injustice. The very essence of competition, the raw spirit fueling his passion for racing, now seemed compromised. Yet, amid this turmoil, a newfound excitement stirred within him as he looked forward to the intense competition that awaited him and Charles for the remainder of the season. This was what he loved about racing.

However, upon finally arriving at his hotel room, Max was surprised by an unexpected presence. At the door, he found a large luggage bag that wasn't his own. His gaze immediately lifted and landed on the woman sitting on his bed across the end of the room—Kelly.

Noticing his entrance, the older woman offered a faint smile and rose to her feet, walking towards him with a slurred greeting and intending to give him a kiss.

"I thought you were coming tomorrow," Max commented before Kelly could press her lips against his. His remark immediately threw her off, prompting her to take a step away from him, her thick eyebrows furrowing in a frown.

"I decided to come today. Is there a problem?" she questioned him, crossing her arms defensively.

"No, I just had some things to do still, tonight," Max confessed, dropping the room keys and wallet over the entrance counter.

"What things?" she narrowed her eyes, her words dripping with anger.

"Things," Max insisted.

"Why can't you tell me?" she asked again. Sensing her change in behavior, Max paused, the room now consumed by silence as they stared directly at each other.

"Max, what are you hiding from me, you need to—" Kelly began to argue, only to be cut off in the middle of her sentence by Max, who attempted to walk past her to reach the closet. "I'm not hiding anything," he said in a monotone voice.

"Max, you barely talk to me anymore, and it's been almost a month since we've had sex!" she pointed out, observing Max as he reached for one of his rain jackets in the closet. "I needed to come to see if you were seeing anyone else... Where are you going?"

As Max walked past her, Kelly grabbed his arm, stopping the taller man in his tracks to capture his attention. "Max, I know you didn't take Josh to his home that day after the yacht party," she whispered, her eyes beginning to well up as she spoke.

Max's body froze, adrenaline coursing through him as he scrambled to conjure up possible excuses for the situation. Yet, Kelly was faster.

"I don't care what you did that night, Max," she looked down at his chest, allowing her grip to slip away from his arms. "But please tell me it was just one night... tell me you aren't still seeing her."

Without a response from Max, Kelly foresaw the worst, and her tears began flowing down her cheeks. "You can't leave me, tell me you aren't... I love you, Penelope loves you, Max," she whispered, her words engulfed in tears as she leaned her face against the driver's chest.

In the quiet moments of reflection, Max couldn't escape the profound sense of guilt that engulfed him. Penelope—the family they had painstakingly built together, Kelly's daughter whom he had helped raise almost as his own. Even if the love he had begun to feel for Charles was much deeper than what he could ever feel for Kelly, she had given him something for which he would always be grateful—a family.