Katherine's POV:
I still remember when Cameron and I first got together. There was a time when he was picking me up, and my best friend, as usual, sat in the passenger seat, but he stopped her.
He looked straight at me and said, half-serious, half-dramatic, "In my car, only my other half rides shotgun. Katherine, my front seat will always be yours."
I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. I thought, this was a man who truly put me first. I’d been a fool.
His "always" turned out to be quite short-lived.
I stared at him now, giving Marilyn what was supposed to be mine. I didn’t argue. I simply shrugged it off and got into the back seat.
Marilyn then hopped in, acting like the hostess, casually tossing my bag from the passenger seat over to me.
The bag came flying right at my head, and I quickly ducked to the side.
"You almost hit me!" I snapped, a bit annoyed.
"It didn't hit you, did it?" Cameron glanced back at me. "I've told you, Marilyn and I are just friends. Can you stop being so jealous? Honestly, your insensitivity just makes it more annoying."
I reiterated, "She almost hit me!"
"She didn't do it on purpose," Cameron said, defending her. "Marilyn's not like that."
"So, are you saying I’m falsely accusing her?" I shot back.
Cameron pressed his lips together, and just as we were at an impasse, Marilyn suddenly exclaimed.
"I can’t believe after five years, you still have my favorite cherry soda in your car!"
That threw me off. I’d always thought cherry soda was Cameron's favorite. Apparently it was Marilyn's.
Marilyn casually flipped down the visor and squealed even louder when she saw the sunflower sticker there.
"This sunflower sticker I put up years ago, and you never peeled it off!"
Cameron smiled at her, taking the opportunity to take credit. "I still have the golden ribbon you tied around the rearview mirror!"
I cursed him under my breath.
All the things I thought I knew about Cameron turned out to be tied to Marilyn.
From his favorite flowers to his lucky color—it was all just a way for him to keep another woman in mind.
I felt ridiculous, especially seeing how close they were, how easily they slipped back into that rhythm. It made me feel like a real fool.
I told myself I was going to break up with him today.
So with thoughts of ending things, I chose to ignore their flirtation throughout the drive.
Cameron wasn’t attending the practice race, so we headed straight to the venue for Marilyn's welcome-back party.
By the time we arrived, it was already dark.
Cameron got out of the car and said to Marilyn, "You may go in first. I need to talk to Katherine."
Marilyn shot me a reluctant glance and leaned in to hug Cameron right in front of me.
"Fine,” she said lightly, “but don't keep me waiting."
Once she left, Cameron turned to me. "Katherine, Marilyn just got back, so I've been accommodating her."
"You could stand to be more gracious, you know," I said, a bit sarcastically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
I was being generous by handing her my boyfriend, and I wasn’t even hinting at that.
I let out a cold laugh. "Nothing, it's fine. It doesn't matter anymore. We need to have a good talk after the party."
The color drained from Cameron's face, and he hesitantly asked, "You… want to marry me?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you interested?"
After a lengthy pause, he finally replied, "I'm still young, and the team is still developing. I don’t want to get married so soon."
The first two were just excuses, but the last one was the real reason.
I knew he didn’t want to marry me. He just wasn’t ready to commit to his practice girlfriend.
"How about you wait a few more years?" he suggested casually, as if my youth was something he could take his time with.
I felt anger rising within me, but somehow, I managed to laugh.
"Wait a few years? For what?" I asked.
Without skipping a beat, he casually replied, "Five years."
Five years. He sure had some nerve.
If I waited five years, I wouldn’t get the outcome I wanted anyway.
I smiled at him, almost in a way to reassure him. "Don’t be so scared. Don’t worry, I’m not here to talk about marriage."
Cameron visibly relaxed. "Then what is it?"
"Let’s… break up."
"Ms. Katherine!" Rex's voice suddenly interrupted us from a distance. "Cameron, the food's ready. Let's go eat!"
Cameron smiled as if he hadn’t heard what I said and started moving toward the entrance.
“Wait, Cameron, did you hear me?” I asked but he simply waved me off.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said. "Now come on, let’s eat first."
Watching him walk away, I opened my mouth but stopped. He wasn’t even listening.
We were going to end things tonight, so it didn’t matter if I held off for a little longer.
I sought dignity—both in how we began and how we would end.
Tonight's gathering was filled with the team talking about past memories before I became the coach, leaving me with nothing to contribute.
So, I focused on the platter of shrimp before me.
Cameron used to love these. Back then, I would peel them one by one for him while he drank and talked.
I’d made sure he ate enough, reminded him not to drink on an empty stomach, quietly hovering like a built-in caretaker.
Now?
I peeled the shrimp for myself.
After a few drinks, Marilyn cleared her throat. "Remember five years ago when we would come here to celebrate every time after a race? Such great memories!"
Rex glanced at Cameron, kind of testing the waters. "Marilyn, you're not leaving this time, right?"
"Yeah, Marilyn, come back to the team! We can’t have a full team without you!" Rina, another teammate, chimed in.
Marilyn glanced my way, smiling faintly. "Oh, I don’t know if you guys really need me."
They practically jumped over themselves, begging her to stay.
Instead of gloating, she turned to me, feigning interest. "Ms. Katherine, who are you peeling those for?"
Her question was obviously bait.
“Oh, I bet it’s for Cameron,” Rex chimed in. “She usually makes sure Cameron eats something before drinking.”
He wasn’t wrong. His stomach issues had been pretty bad at first. He’d nearly doubled over in pain, going pale in the past.
It took me years of cooking for him and making sure he took his medication to improve a bit.
“Ms. Katherine takes really good care of him,” Leo said. “He’s really lucky.”
Right? Lucky to picked as his practice partner.
Cameron didn’t acknowledge them or me for my good deeds.
Marilyn scoffed, teasing Cameron. "Wow, Cameron, ever since you got a girlfriend, you’re like a whole different guy. All pampered and cared for!"
"Before, you were the one peeling shrimp for me," Cameron shot back with a grin. "Do you want some shrimp? I can get some for you."
He reached out lazily, fingers hovering toward my plate. I placed my hand over it.
“No,” I said calmly.
His hand froze midair. The table went quiet.
“I’m peeling these for myself.”
Cameron frowned slightly, as if this minor inconvenience offended him. “Katherine, really?”
I peeled another shrimp and popped it straight into my own mouth.
Turned out, shrimp tasted better when you weren’t serving them a man who wasted five years of your life.
Cameron scoffed, clearly bothered before rolling up his sleeves. “Don’t worry Marilyn, I can peel some for you.”
He started peeling shrimp for her while everyone watched.
Marilyn raised an eyebrow at me, clearly looking for a reaction. "Ms. Katherine, he used to take care of me like this all the time. I’ve just gotten used to it."
So, this was the angle she was going for. Inside, I almost laughed.
She leaned forward, clearly unsatisfied by my silence. "So, Ms. Katherine, do you know anything about racing?"
"Not really," I admitted.
"Then what qualifies you to be a team coach?"
Rex jumped in to defuse the situation. "Four years ago, our team investor pulled out unexpectedly, and Ms. Katherine stepped in to cover the funding."
"While she might not know racing, she understands management. Ever since she took charge of the team, our performance has skyrocketed. We're finally up to international competitions."
Cameron added, "Marilyn, if you come back to the team, it’ll definitely make it easier for us to win the championship!"
"Marilyn, come back to us!"
"Yeah! Come back, Marilyn!" others urged.
"Everyone's been hoping for your return!"
Funny, I thought cooly. She’d been missing from the racing scene for how long now? Four years? Five?
Long enough that results mattered more than reputation.
Yet here they were, acting as if time had politely waited for her to come back.
Marilyn shifted her gaze to me, smiling sweetly. "So, Ms. Katherine, are you welcoming me back?"
All eyes were suddenly on me.
Was she serious?