Chapter 2

2.

I was lucky.

There was a creek at the bottom of the cliff.

The water and the slope broke my fall just enough to keep me alive.

Even the doctor who examined me called it a miracle.

"Falling from that height and only coming out with fractures? You're incredibly lucky!"

Lucky? I didn't feel lucky.

I could feel that my legs were no longer the same.

My entire body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. I gritted my teeth and asked him the only thing that mattered.

"Doctor, I'm a racer. Will my legs ever be able to handle a car again?"

The doctor went silent. After a long moment, he sighed.

"Sir, your life isn't in danger, but the nerves in your legs were severely damaged during the fall."

"You'll be able to walk, but high-intensity professional racing... that's going to be very difficult."

That one sentence destroyed everything.

Lyra and Luna said Dustin was insecure and that racing was his only light. What about me?

When I first arrived at the Lennox estate, my foster parents were good to me.

They gave me the best tutors, hoping I would become someone impressive.

But I had spent too long in the group home. I had missed the best years for academic foundations.

No matter how hard I worked, my grades were always just average.

I watched the light in my foster parents' eyes fade. I heard the whispers of the people around us.

"No wonder he was abandoned. If I spent that much money on a kid and got these results, I'd be furious."

"Why be furious? Just throw him back where he came from."

"Actually, with his IQ, he'd fit better in a center for the disabled!"

Those insults filled my ears every day.

My foster parents went from defending me to having tired, blunt conversations.

"Skyler, the Lennox family has a reputation to uphold. Being mediocre at everything just embarrasses us."

"Maybe you should go abroad. Get a degree from some easy school just to save face."

I lowered my head and agreed to whatever they wanted.

But Lyra and Luna threw a fit.

They cried and held me, saying they never wanted to be apart.

If I left, they would follow me.

At the time, Lyra was a rising star in mathematics. Luna was already making waves in the financial world.

I didn't want to hold them back. I tried everything to find a way to shine, and finally, I found racing.

They told me I was a natural, but I wasn't.

I was slow.

I had to practice the simplest maneuvers thousands of times to get them right.

But for them, I was willing to endure any pain.

I would practice until I collapsed. I would crash until I was bleeding. As long as I could stay by their side, I was happy.

I always thought the three of us would be best friends forever, even if we never became lovers.

But for Dustin Creed, a random intern at Lennox Corp, they destroyed my only pride.