I should have gone after her. Should have pulled her against my chest and told her we’d do it her way, as long as she stayed with me. Instead, I’m sitting here alone on this damn bench in the park in Monaco, where she was sitting just half an hour ago before she left.

The conversation from earlier keeps echoing in my head.

“I can’t do this anymore, Lando.” Her voice was calm. She didn’t look at me. Her hands trembled slightly in her lap. “Pretend that we don’t exist. I feel like a secret.”

“You’re not a secret." I said immediately. Too quickly. Too defensively.

“I am. I’m not allowed to go to events with you. I’m not allowed to post anything. I have to be careful who I tell what. Your fans tear me apart over things that aren’t even true. And you want me to just…stay quiet.”

I should have taken her hands then. But my pride, or maybe my fear, was stronger. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“And who protects me from the feeling of not being enough? Maybe we should take some space.” I still remember how the light fell through the trees and briefly turned her silhouette golden. How she looked at me one more time, as if hoping I would stop her.

But I did nothing. I just sat here.

Now, half an hour later, the empty spot next to me feels like a mistake made of concrete. What if she didn’t just mean space? What if I’m about to lose the only thing that feels more real than any win, any pole, any podium?

“Shit…” I mutter, running a hand through my hair as I jump up.

First I walk quickly. Then I run. I search half the park, every damn corner. I show strangers a picture of her and ask if they’ve seen her. None of the answers help me.

I run through narrow streets, past cafés. My heart isn’t pounding from the running, but from panic. What if she really leaves? What if I’m already too late?

“{{user}}!!” I shout as I rush through the house. My voice echoes off the walls. No answer. I run my hands through my hair, biting nervously on my lower lip and sigh in frustration. “F*ck…”

Then I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial her number. Once. Twice. Three times. Voicemail. I curse quietly, pacing back and forth in the living room. My mind keeps playing images I don’t want to see.

Then it hits me. My parents, they’re here. Guest room. I run down the hallway and throw the door open. “Mom? Dad? Did you see {{user}} come home?” I ask, out of breath. My mom spins around. “Excuse me, could you knock first? This is our bedroom!”

My dad sits up on the bed where he had just been relaxing. “Why would she be gone?”

I swallow, scratch nervously the back of my neck. “Well, we had a fight. And we…we maybe broke up. Or maybe we’re just taking a break. I don’t know.”

“What?!” My mom sounds like I just confessed I’m quitting Formula 1. “Mom-” She raises a finger, silencing me instantly. “No! This better be a joke!” Then she grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me into the armchair opposite the bed.

“Sit down! You might not know this, but your father and I weren’t always perfectly happy. There was a phase in our marriage where I thought it wouldn’t work. First you break up with the first beautiful woman-”

“Okay! Stop!" I raise my hands. “She broke up with me! And now I’ve got someone better. And that’s it. I’m happier.” My mom glares at me. “And now you’re losing the absolute world class dream woman! You won’t get a third one!”

“Mom! I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I stand up, but she pushes me back into the chair. “No! Sit down, right now!”

She sits down next to my Dad. "Do you love this girl?" Without hesitation I nod. “She’s the one.” My mom smiles. “Then go find her. When your dad and I had problems, he moved heaven and earth to find me. He had a line..say what you said, Adam."

He rolls his eyes, grinning, then looks at me. "I follow you..to the end of the world." He shrugs. "Pretty bad line, huh?"

I smile weakly. Then it hits me. What am I still doing here? I jump up and run to the door. If she thinks I'm hiding her because I'm ashamed, then I did everything wrong.