Part 1Passing Through His World

It was the celebration party for Cole’s third consecutive Southport Racing Championship victory. It was also the night he had promised to propose to me.

Instead, with a bright smile on his face, he pulled a petite, shrinking girl into the spotlight.

"Let me introduce the real hero of the night," Cole announced, his voice booming over the music. "If Sienna hadn't guided me through my rehab training, I would never have returned to the track."

He pulled her closer, his arm draped casually around her waist. "From today onwards, she will be my exclusive physical therapist. The twenty-four-seven kind of companionship, you know?"

My eyes widened in shock. Cole caught my gaze, a mocking smirk playing on his lips.

The crowd erupted into rowdy cheers, though a few people shot me teasing, sympathetic looks.

"Twenty-four-seven? Won't Cindy have a problem with that?" someone shouted.

Cole just laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Cindy is very generous. Aren't you, babe?"

I stood there, frozen in silence.

Halfway through the party, I pulled him aside. He reeked of expensive alcohol.

"Cole, stop this. You need to stop messing around."

He reached out, his fingers gripping my chin. He let out a dark chuckle.

"What? You're allowed to have your male best friend, but I can't have a female one?"

…

Fury flickered in my eyes. "That is enough."

"I have told you countless times. Gabriel is just my brother."

"Brother."

Cole chewed on the word slowly, his eyes darkening with something unreadable. "Sounds so intimate, doesn't it?"

His grip tightened slightly. "Cindy, you barely ever call me 'babe' anymore. You always claim you're too shy for pet names, yet you seem perfectly comfortable being so sweet with someone else."

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe such insulting words were coming out of his mouth.

This was the man who used to call me his innocent angel, untouched by the world. Whenever anyone cursed around me in the past, he would instinctively cover my ears and whisper, Cindy, don't listen.

A sharp pain pierced my chest.

Seeing the redness rimming my eyes, Cole froze. A flash of regret crossed his face.

He opened his mouth to say something.

But in the next second, my phone started ringing.

The name Gabriel flashed relentlessly on the screen.

I turned away from Cole immediately and answered it. Behind me, I heard a self-deprecating scoff.

"I'm such a damn fool."

His heavy footsteps faded into the background noise of the party.

"Cindy? Is everything okay?" Gabriel asked, instantly picking up on the tremor in my voice.

I swallowed hard, forcing down the lump of acidity in my throat. "I'm fine. How is my mom?"

"Her condition is stable for now, but she'll need another round of chemo. Don't worry, Cindy. I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure Aunt Sarah recovers."

I murmured a soft thank you and hung up.

Six months ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I ran into Gabriel at the hospital by pure chance. My mother had once been married to his father, making us step-siblings for a brief period. After their divorce, we lost touch.

I never expected him to become an oncologist.

For the past year, Cole had been suffering from severe PTSD after a horrific crash on the track. I didn't want to add to his burden, so I kept my mother's illness a secret.

Because of a few late-night calls from Gabriel, Cole became convinced I was cheating.

He started making snide remarks, turning paranoid. He even started showering other women with attention just to get back at me.

Now, he had overcome his trauma and won the championship. I decided it was time to tell him the truth.

I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart.

Suddenly, a loud commotion drew my attention to the other side of the room.

I looked over just in time to see Cole gently wiping red wine off Sienna's dress with a napkin. He then looked up, glaring fiercely at a woman holding a wine glass.

"An accident? Are you blind?" Cole snarled.

The woman stamped her foot in frustration.

Sienna waved her hands frantically, her voice trembling. "I'm fine, really. I can clean it myself."

She grabbed the napkin, dabbing at her dress. She said she was fine, but huge tears began rolling down her cheeks.

Cole immediately panicked. "Hey, don't cry. I'll make her pay for this, okay?"

He stepped forward, his eyes cold as ice as he stared the woman down. "No one bullies my people and gets away with it."

The woman panicked. "It wasn't me! She bumped into me!"

When Cole got angry, he lost all sense of reason. Afraid he would cause a scene that would ruin his career, I rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

"Cole, calm down. Don't make this a big deal."

He violently yanked his arm out of my grasp. His voice was absolute zero.

"Since when is my business any of yours?"

My hand hung suspended in the air.

The entire room fell dead silent.