All Chapters of CHASING HIS EX-WIFE: My ex-husband wants me-too late: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The garage smelled like oil and dread.Jayda sat in her race car while Lucas made final adjustments, his hands steady even though his eyes betrayed the fear he was trying to hide. Outside she could hear the crowd gathering, voices rising and falling like waves, announcers testing microphones, other drivers revving engines in warm-up sequences that made the air vibrate."Remember the strategy," Lucas said, crouching beside her door so their eyes were level. "Conserve early, push middle, leave everything on the track in the final laps.""I remember," she said, her hands already gripping the wheel like it was the only thing anchoring her to reality.Her heart pounded against her ribs, adrenaline mixing with fear mixing with something that felt dangerously close to hope. She'd spent six weeks training for this moment, had pushed her dying body past every reasonable limit, had ignored every warning sign that screamed she wasn't ready.But she was here.In a race car.About to prove she was

Lap thirty-six her hands went completely numb, sensation disappearing entirely until she couldn't tell if she was actually gripping the wheel or if her hands had simply frozen in position. She steered by watching the wheel move, by trusting muscle memory when physical feedback failed, by faith that her body knew what to do even when she couldn't feel it doing it.Lap thirty-seven her vision went almost completely dark, just a small circle of clarity in the center surrounded by blackness that kept trying to swallow everything. She navigated by that tiny circle, by memory of the track layout, by pure desperate hope that she wasn't about to crash into a barrier she couldn't see.Lap thirty-eight she tasted blood with every breath, felt it coating the inside of her helmet, felt it drowning her from the inside while her lungs fought uselessly for air that wouldn't come. Her chest felt like it was on fire, each heartbeat painful, each breath agony, everything inside her screaming to stop be

Three days later the race organizers held the podium ceremony.Jayda watched from her hospital bed as Margaret held up her phone to stream the event live, her chest tight with emotions that had nothing to do with her failing lungs.First place stood on the highest step, a young driver whose name she'd already forgotten, his smile bright with victory.Second place stood beside him, older, more experienced, accepting his position with grace.Third place—her spot—stood empty except for her helmet placed there as a symbol, the black surface catching the afternoon light.The crowd erupted in applause that built and built until it became a standing ovation for someone who wasn't even there to receive it.Lucas stepped up to accept the trophy on her behalf, his expression controlled but his eyes red-rimmed in ways that suggested he'd been crying recently or was about to start."Jayda Marlowe wanted to be here today," Lucas said into the microphone, his voice carrying across the crowd. "But h

Two weeks after the race Jayda woke to sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, the view so beautiful it still felt surreal every morning despite having lived in Dess's apartment for over a week now.Her body ached in the familiar way that had become her new normal, her chest tight with each breath, her energy depleted before the day had even begun. The medications helped with the pain but couldn't do anything about the exhaustion that seeped into her bones, that made even the simplest tasks feel monumental.She forced herself out of bed, moved slowly through her morning routine, emerged from her bedroom to find Dess already awake despite the early hour, sitting at the kitchen island with coffee and her laptop."You're supposed to be resting," Dess said without looking up, her tone somewhere between concerned and scolding."I am resting," Jayda protested, pouring herself orange juice because coffee made her nauseous lately. "I slept for ten hours,

Dess stared at her in complete silence for several long seconds. "You bought a racing company," she repeated slowly. "You just got out of the hospital two weeks ago, you have maybe two months to live, and you bought a racing company.""Technically I'm buying it," Jayda corrected. "The paperwork takes time.""You're buying a racing company," Dess amended, her tone suggesting this distinction didn't improve the situation. "You're dying and you're making major business decisions, am I understanding this correctly?""I need something to focus on besides dying," Jayda said, moving closer to her friend. "I need a purpose, something that matters, Lucas gave me my last race and now I'm saving his company, it makes sense Dess, it gives me something to do with the time I have left."Dess looked between Jayda and Lucas, her expression shifting from shock to concern to something that might have been reluctant understanding. "This is really important to you," she said finally."Racing is all I hav