Chapter 34: 27.𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮

The two weeks passed by quickly, but if I be honest it wasn't easy with the exams. There were gaps between them so it would be easy for us to study. I did feel a little unwell after the rain but it recovered soon with few medicines. I am exhausted from pulling many nighter before every exam and looking like a total disaster on the next day. Yet all that was worth it, I did my best now I just need to wait for the results

During these days, I thought I wouldn't see Liam but I was wrong. He met me on every single exam. The first day I saw him in the morning near the campus main gate. Apparently he came to drop his brother who was also a business finance student like Jasmine.

On the next exam, Liam was at the same place after the exam. When I asked why? He replied that he is picking his brother up. And he brought me some Chamomile tea, again. It was sweet yet embarrassing because maybe he noticed my dark circles and red eyes

On the third exam, Liam was waiting outside my dorm and he brought me breakfast because I was skipping meals. I did try to slip away because I was already too stressed with exams that not even a drop of water was going down my throat. But-

He didn't let me go before I ate something, he brought a simple sandwich which was a quick bite

On the fourth exam, Liam picked me up after the exam and took me out for lunch. His excuse? That he was around because of his brother and nothing more. He was also hungry and needed company for lunch. I did enjoy it, I feel like it was mostly me talking about my exams or my books and he listened to it for 2 hours

But he didn't come today. It was my last exam, I didn't see him anywhere in the morning. As I am walking back to the dorm after the exam there is still no sign of Liam. Maybe he went early or didn't come?

I hoped to see him today

I look at myself. After surviving my exams in a simple sweatshirt, hoodie or sweater , I dressed up for the first time after the NYX'S party. I picked out a denim long skirt, a black turtleneck sweater and a leather jacket for aesthetics.

It's not that I dressed up for him but I had already embarrassed my name as a fashion Student with those outfits during the exams. But still many students dressed up so well , few of them woren the fits designed by themselves

Will I ever be able to do that too?

With all kinds of thoughts juggling inside my head, I finally reached my dorm, swinging the glass door open. I enter the building and head to my room.

Jasmine is not back yet, so it's just me and my loneliness

I remove my jacket and put it on the chair and sit on the bed. Should I text him? Wouldn't that be a bit Weird? But I am just texting, we always text. Taking a deep breath I take my phone and open our chats, the last chat was the day before yesterday when I asked him about CAD for my studies

What should I text him? Hi, how are you? No, that's so random. Should I start the chat directly? Where were you today? It sounds like I am investigating him .

Breath in

Breath out

Okay

As I was about to type my message, Liam's text popped on the screen first, I blanked out and throw my phone on the pillow and move away from bed, my palm on my mouth preventing any noise

After a few seconds i realise the way I am behaving. Like a high school girl trying to message her crush

Crush?

I shrug it off and pick up my phone and open his chat

Liam:

Hey!

How did your exam go?

I am in Melbourne for some work related issue, Couldn't visit you today, sorry for that

Take care of yourself and tell me about the next book you are planning to read next.

A small smile forms on my lips reading the last sentence, for the fast few days Liam has been taking interest in my books, and I have been telling him all about them without feeling judged, I enjoy all the amusing expressions he shows listening to the storylines.

Me:

When will you come back?

Liam:

In 2 days

Me:

Okay

After keeping my phone away, I freshen up and change my clothes. My desk looks like a mess of books and study material scattered on the table and on my bed. I gotta clean all this up so that I can work on the NYX project.

I stretch my arms and start cleaning around, arranging my books back to their places, collecting my materials and filing them together, keeping Jasmine and my clothes out for laundry and vacuuming the floor and tidying our bed. Mostly we take turns managing the hygiene but me being careless always spoils everything after a few moments of cleaning

Gotta change that habit

By the time I finished, the sun was already setting down the horizon. Jasmine would come back any time now and our room looks pretty and tidy, I could focus well in this environment. The sound of my phone buzzing due to a notification earns my attention. I quickly grab my phone and open the chats

My excitement goes down in vain as i thought it would be Liam but it's a message from Cami

Cami:

Hey! Stell

Zuri decided to go to the mall to look for some outfit for the party, wanna join?

Oh no! I totally forgot about this thing!

The month of October went by with a mixture of sun and rain, the Halloween season got forgotten because of exams as everyone was busy studying. This time there was no decoration pit around the campus. The central university of Sydney is one of the biggest institutes in Australia and hence even the celebrations are not ignored

It's already November now, but the head decided to keep a halloween theme party before our break. And it's a costume party and I don't know what I will be, it totally slipped off my mind until Cami messaged me. It's a good idea to join them and search for something good

2 days later

It's been a few hours since I landed back in Sydney from Melbourne. After the NYX new collection launch the demand has increased all over Australia for the new designs . Alice, being our team manager, decided to make me go to Sydney to check Melbourne's management. Even though there is a whole different department for it but she made me tag me with a bunch of strangers, despite the fact I am of no use there.

I just had to check the designs being made perfectly according to the original styles. It is important and part of the business, as I felt everything was going smoothly i decided to fly back because the other team could handle the rest

In between this i couldn't visit Stella on her last exam which was two days ago. I was sneaking around her campus during her exam, well not sneaking because I did meet her without hiding like some stalker. Giving an excuse that I came for Lucas was really lame. Because that guy would never like to appear beside me. Why? Because no one knows he is also Emily Carter's son, only my identity is known by the world not his. And he would like to keep it that way

He did notice me around Stella's department waiting for her but ignored me

I tried my best to feed her properly during her exams, if not in the morning then in the afternoon because she is so stubborn to forget her health for her studies. I learnt how to make Chamomile tea so that it could help her as she looked worn out and out of sleep due to exams

I made some sandwiches for her too and seeing her reaction I think I did a good job with putting some bread and vegetables together.

Before going to Melbourne I took her out for lunch, which was by listening to her excitedly talking about her books she is planning to read next. These two weeks I finished all of the books Jasmine brought from Stella, which she doesn't know about. I returned the books back to Jasmine and Stella didn't know anything. I will tell her this once the time comes

Reading all of them gave me a mix of emotions, I had to create a diary which is now filled with her favorite book names, favorite scenes and quotes and uncountable things she wanna re-create once

I wanna meet her soon, I decided to go invite her to lunch again but my plans crashed when Jeff called me for a race.

The place is crowded with people, already wagering on their favorite racers. One race is already taking place on the track with four bikers speeding up trying to suppress each other. The track is surrounded with trucks and carries which are filled with bikes provided by Jeff to the other racers. Few tents are arranged near the tracks for medical needs or mechanical needs.

My bike is already ready parked inside one of the tents, noticing that the mechanic leaves me alone. I check my bike to make sure nothing has been done with it. Being satisfied I witb everything I place my helmet on the seat and start wearing my gloves, as my bike, my suit is also black with a few white designs

"You are here"

Jeff walks in with a carriage in his mouth taking a long drag of smoke, in his casual attire which happens to be a suit. How does he stay in that thing while suffocating?

"You are up next" he informs. I take my bike outside and walk near the start line. The last race hasn't ended yet so I gotta wait, the crowd is still cheering and shouting for their racer to win.

Here money matters more than life

Jeff stands beside me as he continues to smoke "So, How is it going with the blonde?" He questions

"Her name is Stella" I emphasize Stella's name because this guy always avoids taking her name, listening to me he rolls his eyes and glances at me waiting for my response "Nothing much"

He doesn't try to push the topic

"You know who you are racing against today?" He asks "It's a rookie"

I frown at this information. A rookie? Seriously? "Why would you put me against a rookie? How much are you making others bet?"

He throws his cigarette down and crushes it with his foot "They are betting on the Rookie instead" his words make me more shocked. It's a stupid move to bet on a rookie without even knowing his abilities

"You have been away for too long, Liam. Your fans are now getting diverted to others and now they think that rookie will take your place"

Jeff smirks as he mocks me. Trying to make me regret leaving the contract

"It's better than, so what shall I do? Should I lose?" I ask. It's very rare for people to pay for the person to lose for them instead of winning. And knowing that people are hoping on that unknown rookie more is obvious that someone wants me to lose tonight

"They bet 700k for him"

My eyes widened, 700k? "Are you serious?" I inquire "But why? Is this a joke or something that they are randomly giving up so much for an unknown person?"

"They are trying to tempt you Liam, they wanna see you on the track again, they want you to win at any cost"

This is stupid, because just to see me they will lose a wholesome amount. But here most people who bet are rich, losing this match won't affect them much. I notice the other biker getting off the track as it's time for my race already.

I glance at Jeff one last time and wear my helmet securing it "If they want my win that badly then I will give it"

I line up my bike on the start lining, the other biker my opponent does the same, he is covered up in a red suit . Our faces are hidden due to the helmets. Here people don't know the racer's names , we are identified by the names of our bikes. I named my bike Ace, and everyone knows me here with that name only

And Jeff told me he goes by scar, and I could see when because his bike is covered in scratches which look like scars. He catches me looking at his bike and forwards me his hand for a handshake. There is not much to think about, I accept the handshake as a sign of sportsmanship

The crowd goes silent as the lamps are turned off and the track signal lights up Turning yellow from red. My grip tightens as I focus on the lights, everyone waiting anxiously for the race to start

Once the signal is given, I accelerate off the line followed by the loud cheering of the crowd. This is a one lap race, which won't take much time to finish or have curves that means I can keep my speed maximum without worrying yet I need to be careful

Both of us jostled for the position, passing each other with mere centimeters. This guy couldn't be taken as a joke , if he wins that bet is worth his talent. It's been a while since I raced here and having a good opponent to race against is a good feeling. But that doesn't mean I will let him win

I push my bike to the limits, it can handle that much pressure. The wind swift sound is ringing in my ears without the protection it could cause some damage to me and if I don't balance I am gonna crash

I pushed the throttle as hard as they could, taking advantage of every small opening to gain ground. As the finish line approached, I had managed to pull slightly ahead of the others

The crowd cheered and screamed as I drove past the finish line in first place, breaking at the correct time and stopping myself.

The crowd goes wild, many seem happy but few are already leaving, maybe the one who bet on the other racer. As I get off my bike I glance at the red suit , his bike is taken away by a few assistants, he is still wearing his helmet as I couldn't see his face . He gives me a small nod and leaves the track.

The crowd is still cheering. A wave of satisfaction takes over me feeling the contentment is still alive in me after every race.

I walk back to the tent as the mechanic takes care of my bike. I remove my helmet and jacket, feeling the sweat because of the heat of the thick material of the clothes. I grab a bottle of water and splash the water on my face, as the sweat slips down my neck to my black t shirt

I run my wet hand through my hair, racing after a while did tense my muscles

I sigh and sit on the chair trying to relax a bit before leaving. As I thought I got some peace Jeff enters again with two cans of beer and passes me one. "I am driving back" I reject the drink. He shrugs it off and puts the can way

"Well done, your payment will be transferred to your account as always"

I nod

"So did you have fun? Racing after so long?" He asks. I sit up straight and look at him, as he stood in front of me at a distance with his one hand inside his pocket

"It was fine as usual. Nothing new" I give a blunt reply because I don't wanna hear his nagging as I am already tired with work, traveling and now this. He simply nods as we stay in silence before I break it "Tell me Jeff, why did you start this? I know you wanted to rebel against your father but this was really random you know?"

This question has been going on in my mind for so long. Jeff always disliked his father and hated to run his company as the CEO. Being rich wasn't enough for him. He wanted something self-made and which resulted in one of the biggest illegal racing events in the world

He keeps his beer can aside and answers "Indie liked it" he speaks with a small smile which I have never witnessed in years. Indie his ex-girlfriend

"She liked to watch racing?"

He shakes his head and Chuckles "No-, she liked Racing" I raise my eyebrow at his reply, she liked Racing? That's fascinating "She wanted to race on a higher level but the world being discriminate, there wasn't a position for female bikers, so if it wasn't done that way, I made it possible my way" he explains with the smile never leaving his face

He started this event for his girlfriend to race here but he never stopped after she left, maybe because this place has her memories. He is was really a softy for her

"Did she enjoy it?"

"Yeah. She loved it. She was the blue bird" he said. I was taken aback with the revelation . Indie was the blue bird? A biker named blue bird was famous when I was a rookie, but not in my wildest dream I imagined that it's indie. She was the best racer on the track, even better than me

"So she is your ace of heart huh" I say with a teasing tone, because before me I thought she was the real ace here. He shakes his head again says "She is the Queen of my heart instead"

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Author's Note

I remember few readers asked for more racing sences so here it is. Hope you liked it

I noticed that everyone took interest in Jeff's past so i decided to drop something, everyone used to hate him but now you all like him- 😭

Decide on one thing!

Don't anyone dare to ship Jeff and Jasmine. That ain't happening in a million years

Guys! If you want me to stay motivated so please vote and make me happy 🙃

Voting target - 260+ votes

-If you are holding something to yourself let it out and tell someone, your family, friends or anyone. Don't suffer keeping it all inside. okay?

Have a nice day/ night 🌷