Chapter 7

By the time Alex and Winona reached the scene, they realized that they were too late. A few of Estelle's close friends had their eyes trained on the live feed that was broadcast on the huge monitor. Their hearts were about to leap out of their throats. "You're too late! She's already on the track! How are we going to explain ourselves to Mr. Jeffries if anything happens to her?" "Shush! Stop it, you doomsayer!" "I knew it! As long as Jared is involved, Estelle will definitely act like a brash lunatic! No one can ever convince her to change her mind! "In the past, she'd just get into fights. The worst that could happen to her was a punishment. But now, she's risking her life for him! She really is crazy for him!" Upon hearing her friends' complaints, Winona quickly nudged them with her elbow despite still trying to catch her breath. The women turned around to see Alex. Only then did they shut their mouths. Twenty minutes later, two roaring engines could be heard coming from a distance. The roars gradually became louder and clearer. Alex stared at the two cars, which were fighting to be in the first place on the monitor. Then, he looked at the last two miles, which was the final stretch of the race. His brows remained tangled in a deep frown. A few minutes later, two race cars appeared in front of everyone's line of sight. This also meant that the race would come to an end soon. Estelle's car was in the lead at the moment, but the margin between both cars was quite small. During the last thousand-yard-dash, Estelle's friends kept staring at the figures, which kept changing rapidly on the monitor. They were so furious that they cursed Estelle out on the spot. "Estelle Jeffries, are you fucking insane?" Alex followed the friends' line of sight. He saw the black race car speeding down the track like a bolt of lightning. It was going so fast that all he could see was a blurry silhouette. The last 300 feet… 150 feet… 30 feet… Estelle didn't slow down at all. She was the first one to cross the finishing line. Of course, she had to pay the price of her victory by crashing into the barrier that was meant to cushion the crash. Then, her car flipped sideways, sending her flying out the window. That marked the end of the race. Estelle's friends, who were waiting at the finishing line, bolted over to the crashed car. They managed to rescue Estelle, who was reduced to a bloodied mess due to the fall. She vomited lungfuls of blood, the sparkle in her eyes slowly diminishing. "Carrie… give… give the tea set… to Jared… Don't tell… him what happened… today…" That was the only thing Estelle said before losing her consciousness. That message was meant for Jared. It had nothing to do with Alex, who was present at the crash scene. … Estelle's left arm came extremely close to suffering from a communited fracture. Her career as a racer would've ended if that were the case. She remained unconscious after the operation, but she kept mumbling Jared's name repeatedly. As Alex observed how uneasy and frightened Estelle was despite being asleep, he averted his gaze quietly after a while. The next day, Estelle's anesthesia completely wore off. She opened her eyes to see the exhausted and wretched-looking Alex sitting next to her bed. Her heart softened immediately at the sight. "You watched over me last night… Didn't you rest at all?" Alex rubbed the spot between his brows as he hummed in response. Estelle noticed the fatigue in Alex's eyes. Her heart throbbing for him, she raised her hand to ruffle his hair. "It must have been difficult for you." Alex replied calmly, "Not really. You're Clara's best friend. As her brother, I'm obligated to take care of you." Something about his words felt off. Shouldn't he claim he was taking care of Estelle because she was his girlfriend? How did she get reduced to Clara's best friend instead? Estelle realized that Alex was mad at her for participating in a death race for someone else's sake. She was about to explain everything to him. But when the words were gathered on the tip of her tongue, she felt nothing she said worked as an explanation at all. Fortunately, Alex didn't ask her any questions. Just like that, she was able to change the subject. "Who else has visited me during this time?" "Your friends as well as the clubhouse's manager." Estelle's smile slowly faded away. All that was left was a cold look on her face. Still, she refused to give up. Her lips soon curled into a small smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Were they the only visitors? Did no one else visit me?" When Estelle saw Alex nodding, her expression grew icier. After that, she no longer spoke a word that morning. Alex knew who she was waiting for, yet he never said anything to her. … Alex remained by Estelle's side throughout her time in the hospital. The day Estelle got discharged, she looked at Alex's gaunt face. For a moment, her heart throbbed for him. "Thank you for taking care of me, Alex." Alex picked up Estelle's luggage for her. He remained calm and composed. "There's no need to thank me. Since my college days here in Jhecmel, you've been taking care of me under my sister's request. Think of this as my way of repaying you for your benevolence. "Although a few days' worth of labor isn't as much as the few years you've spent taking care of me, I don't think I've caused you any trouble during my time in Jhecmel. I suppose we don't owe each other anything now." This was Alex's second time glossing over his relationship with Estelle. She kept feeling that something was wrong. She couldn't resist glancing at Alex. "We're a couple, so why are you talking about repaying me for my benevolence? I still have to continue taking care of you in the future, right?" Alex avoided looking at Estelle. His response came out in an extremely faint tone. "There won't be a next time anymore."