I can't .

~22~

POV Carlos:

Since seeing Isa again, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her—or what she might've said to Y/N. We left Miami days ago, but the feeling hasn't faded. I haven't spoken much to Y/N since; she mentioned going home to see her mother, and I figured she needed the space. Or maybe I did.

Now I'm sitting in the backyard with Rupert, the sun warming our skin after a long run. He tosses a tennis ball idly from hand to hand, studying me out of the corner of his eye.

"You okay, Carlos?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

He squints at me like I just tried to lie about the weather. "Come on, I know that look. You're thinking about something."

I exhale through my nose, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "You know me too well."

"So, what is it?"

"I saw Isa last weekend," I admit.

Rupert raises an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair.

I tell him everything—how Isa showed up in the greenroom, how furious I got, how shaken Y/N was afterward. And how ever since, I've felt... unsettled. Like part of me is still stuck in that room.

"I'm having a hard time letting it go," I confess. "And it's messing with my head. With Y/N. I know she's got her own problems—she walked away from Mercedes, from her father, for me."

Rupert shakes his head, half amused, half exasperated. "Carlos, you're impossible sometimes."

I shoot him a look. "What?"

"First, you chase after her like she's the only girl in the world. She makes a massive sacrifice for you. And now? You're hesitating because you saw Isa for five minutes? Come on."

"I know," I mutter. "But it doesn't feel fair to Y/N if I'm not fully present. If I'm still carrying old baggage. And you know her dad's never going to accept us. Eventually, when he comes around, the drama's going to flare up again."

"You think too much," Rupert says with a grin. "Seriously, man. Stop trying to predict the storm. Just focus on what you have now. She's not asking for perfection—just honesty."

Maybe he's right. Maybe I do overthink everything. But still, I need to figure this out in my own way. If I'm going to love her properly, I have to be sure I've let go of everything else.

And that might take a little time.

POV y/n:

I love being back home with my mom and Jack, even if it's just for a week. There's a sense of calm here that I didn't realize I'd been craving.

"How's your dad?" she asks casually over breakfast.

"I wouldn't know, to be honest," I say, focusing a little too hard on my cup of tea.

She pauses. "Is everything okay between you two?"

I hesitate, and that's all the answer she needs. She sighs, shaking her head.

"Not again, Y/N. What was it this time?"

"Carlos," I say flatly. "We talked about him... and then he fired me. I'm with Alfa Romeo now—working with Bottas."

She blinks. "You're kidding."

"It's not my fault he loses it every time I care about someone."

"Are you two even speaking?" she asks.