Chapter 3

"Still sulking?"

Lucas had come up beside me at some point.

I locked my phone and looked at him.

He spoke like nothing had happened. Calm, collected.

"The wind shifted today. I already had someone mark the updated track conditions — you should take a look before the start."

I didn't take it.

Lucas pressed his lips together briefly, then crouched down beside the old backup bike and began running a pre-race check like it was the most natural thing in the world.

After a moment, almost as an afterthought, he said:

"You've been asking me to come meet your parents for a while now. I know we kept having to push it back — something always came up with the team. Once this race is over, I'll go with you."

Something caught in my chest.

I didn't know when it had happened — when the Lucas who used to look at me like I was his whole world had turned into this.

Every time he needed something from me, the pattern was always the same. He'd let me cool off first, wait for me to come around on my own. And if I didn't, he'd offer something small — just enough — and then act like the whole thing had never happened.

I looked down for a moment.

"We'll see," I said.

Lucas's hands paused on the bike. He hadn't expected that answer.

But a memory was already surfacing.

Every time I'd asked to bring him home, my parents would spend days getting ready. My mom would be up before dawn to get to the market. My dad would clean the house from top to bottom, inside and out. A whole table of food, kept warm from noon into the evening — and every single time, what eventually arrived was a message from Lucas saying something had come up.

They were always so disappointed. But they never let it show. They'd hold their smiles together and tell me it was fine.

"It's okay, honey. His career comes first — there's always next time."

But next time never came. They kept waiting.

My phone lit up with a notification. Lina's personal account.

I had never clicked on it before.

I don't know why I did this time.

My hands started to shake.

Every single time Lucas had canceled on my parents — none of it was because of the team.

The day he said he had a sponsor meeting, he was out shopping with Lina.

The day he said there was an emergency staff meeting, he took Lina to a theme park.

The day he said the training data had flaged an error —

There was a photo of him sitting at a dinner table. Lina's family's place. Her parents on either side of them, all smiling.

Lina was leaning into him, looking completely at ease. The comments were full of people asking when they were getting married.

Lucas had never said a word about any of it. He'd just quietly liked every single post.

My chest tightened. I kept scrolling.

The most recent post stopped me cold.

It was a close-up of a motorcycle.

I recognized it immediately. My bike.

Lina's caption read:

He said he had a special gift for me.

Starting today, this bike has a new name — "Little Bell."

I stared at the photo.

The name Lucas had carved into the frame with his own hands — my name — had been sanded away.

In its place was a small, freshly engraved bell.

Everything snapped into focus.

Giving the bike to Lina wasn't a last-minute decision. Neither was bumping me to backup. He had planned all of it.

I looked up and held the phone out to Lucas.

"Explain this."

Lucas glanced at the screen. Didn't even blink.

"It was a post-training activity for the new riders. Nora, if you want to be upset, fine — but don't go spreading rumors about her."

I held my ground.

"And the bike? Why was my name removed?"

Lucas finally looked up at me.

His expression wasn't guilty. It was something closer to patience — like he was explaining something obvious.

"Nora, you're thirty. Every other team in this circuit has already been talking about moving on from you. I'm the reason you've still been in the starting lineup."