Chapter 5
The broken glass and our photo were still in the trash bin. He slowly knelt down and retrieved the photo.
Looking at the background, he remembered – this was taken eight years ago at a concert we attended together. He recalled the promise he made to me that night at the venue. Since Alyssa became his assistant, he hadn’t taken me to a single concert. Perhaps that was when he began gradually distancing himself from me.
Yet even now, he couldn’t understand why I’d left. After all, whenever he’d wronged me, he’d compensate with gifts. Like two days ago, after attending the concert with Alyssa, he’d bought me a Louis Vuitton bag.
With this thought, he went to the bedroom and opened the closet, searching for proof of his generosity. But he froze when he saw three identical Louis Vuitton bags alongside cheap bracelets and fifteen–dollar scarves.
He recognized everything. These were all gifts from him. Cheap, repetitive – even the fifteen–dollar scarves were duplicates. He’d never noticed this before.
His mind wandered to the gifts he’d given Alyssa. Van Cleef & Arpels necklaces, Hermès bags, Cartier bracelets… Each gift was worth far more than what he’d given me, and more importantly, each was thoughtfully chosen, never duplicated.
He sank deep into contemplation.
Minutes later, he took out his phone and sent a message: “James, I want to request the Monaco Grand Prix held in Paris.”
“What?” “Blaze, did I hear that right? You want to Paris? After the crash in the Paris race, didn’t you swore never compete there again, even threatened to quit if the team insisted. Five years ago, I had to specially request FIA Approval about this – they gave me hell for it.”
The call came less than a minute after his text, the voice filled with shock and disbelief.
Five years ago, after the crash at the Paris circuit, Blaze swore he’d never race there again, even hreatened to quit if the team pushed him.Every veteran at the racing team knew this story. His sudden request to fly Paris now was astounding.
19:02
9
Fast & Furious
Chapter 5
“I’m serious, James. Please submit another request to headquarters. It’s urgent!” His voice was unusually determined.
“What’s happened?” the voice on the phone pressed.
“James, let me ask you something. These past three years, has everyone thought I crossed a line with Alyssa? That I’ve wronged Callista?” Blaze asked after a pause.
His question was met with silence – sometimes silence is the clearest answer.
“I understand,” Blaze said bitterly. “Since Alyssa became my assistant, I haven’t properly dined with Callista, haven’t celebrated any holidays with her. Even the gifts I gave her were carelessly chosen, often duplicates. I just counted – I’ve canceled our marriage registration over a dozen times in these three years.”
&
“But even so, I never thought we’d actually separate.”
“But today, Callista resigned and left for Paris.”
As Blaze finished, the other end of the line finally responded.
19:02
