Chapter 84: What does Dami know?
Alaric
"Are you worried about Nico Park?"
Dami asked yet again, and the words sent a sharp chill straight down my spine. My heart started pounding heavily against my ribs as my mind instantly began to spiral.
Does he know about us? Or see us together? Or was it related to the interview we did together?
I couldn’t help but wonder. I had been so incredibly careful. Nico was brilliant at hiding things, always coming to my place thoroughly in disguise. We had only ever met twice at my penthouse and I had been at his villa just once.
So how the hell did Dami know I was thinking about him?
"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, forcing my voice to remain even. "There is no way you actually believe I am wasting my time thinking about that man. Pfft... that’s Nico Park, I don’t care what happens to him.’’
Dami raised his brows, a knowing chuckle slipping past his lips. "I know both of you are bitter rivals, but there is nothing wrong if you’re worried about him."
I scratched the back of my damp, sweat-cooled hair, a forced smile plastering itself onto my face. "I..." I wanted to formulate a lie, to construct some flawless excuse, but the exhaustion made me speak the raw truth instead. "Yes, you’re right. I want to see him. Even if it’s just a fleeting glimpse. It’s not as if I am doing anything wrong. I just have to find out for myself if he is fine. Besides, as my rival on the grid, we have to fight this out properly until the championship ends. I can’t have him not racing this season and then everyone label my winning to his injury.’’
Dami gave me a long, lingering look, searching my face for something deeper before he finally nodded. "I heard he was taken over to the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital here in Jeddah. Do you want me to come along with you?"
I shook my head immediately. "It’s not like I am actually visiting him because I want to keep him company. I just want to see if he is doing alright."
"Oh, okay," Dami murmured, nodding. He still gave me that unnervingly perceptive look before finally raising his hands in mock defeat. "If you say so, I shall take your word for it."
"Let me get back to the hotel and get dressed then. I’ll see you afterward," I told him.
I turned and started walking away, but I kept my eyes locked on him over my shoulder, so distracted that I practically tripped over my own feet.
Dami gave me a questioning look before bursting into a loud laugh. "Watch where you are going! Don’t get hurt—your rival needs you back on the track in one piece. After all, both of you are just rivals,’’ he said, chuckling.
The specific way he said it, paired with the subtle arch of his brows, gave me the sinking confirmation that he absolutely knew something. He was just playing dumb.
"I—" Before I could even attempt to defend myself, he was already walking away.
That annoying pest.
I gritted my teeth as I watched his retreating back. Once he was completely out of sight, I heaved a massive, heavy sigh and ran a hand through my hair.
What exactly does Dami know about us?
And even if he does, how did he find out about us? Just how? Was he trailing us? Reading throough my messages or maybe he heard conversations between me and Nico?
I heaved a deep sigh and finally gave up finding out how he knew. As long as he didn’t tell me, I will pretend I also didn’t know.
Looking around to ensure no stray photographers or team members noticed me, I pulled out my phone and quickly booked a private ride through a discreet local transport app, sneaking back to our team’s luxury hotel along the Jeddah Corniche under the radar.
The shower in my hotel suite didn’t even take ten minutes. Normally, after a grueling, sweaty race in the desert heat, I would spend at least an hour soaked in the jacuzzi just letting my battered muscles recover. But right now, a restless urgency consumed me. All I wanted—all I needed—was to see Nico.
Why the hell was I so deeply concerned about him? Why did I care what happened to him?
The thoughts fiercely consumed my mind while I pulled on my clothes.
I chose a low-key, entirely unpresuming outfit: a pair of dark, oversized cargo pants, a heavy black hoodie pulled low, and a pair of dark sunglasses.
"Oh, Nico Park, you are absolutely fucking with my brain," I groaned aloud to the empty room, running a hand through my hair one last time.
Heaving another deep sigh, I pulled a black medical mask over my face to complete the disguise, slipped out the back entrance of the hotel, and stepped into another booked ride.
My phone rang relentlessly all the way to the hospital. The screen lit up constantly with incoming calls from Dorothy, alongside my engineers, mechanics, and various other team members. They were probably calling to drag me to the paddock celebration party. After all, this was my first major win after a brutal dry spell, but none of it mattered to me right now. The trophy felt meaningless.
All I could think about was seeing Nico’s face. Maybe when I see him, it would feel as if I had won something.
Unable to tolerate the vibrating phone for another second, I quickly fired off a message to Dami:
Just tell them I went for a solitary walk and I am going off to sleep after that.
Dami’s response came almost instantly:
Copy that. Have fun with your mon cheri.
Mon Cheri? I let out a groan but didn’t fixate on that because the last thing I wanted was someone else annoying me like Nico.
After that message, the calls finally stopped, and I was finally able to take a clean breath.
