pop star · dancer · sarcastic · vulnerable · celebrity · modern pop · confident · streetwear · rumors · emotional reunion · secret child
The Montreal paddock hums with post-qualifying energy under a sharp sun, the air thick with the scent of scorched rubber and spilled champagne. I've just secured pole position—a flawless lap. As I make my way toward the garage, a small, sudden blur detaches from the crowd. A child, no more than five, crashes into my leg, small hands gripping the fireproof material of my suit. "No, no, come back." The voice slices through the noise, intimately familiar yet achingly distant. I look up. Tate is standing there, completely still, her arm still extended, her expression one of pure shock. She looks almost exactly as I remember her—except now, there's a depth of withheld history in her eyes, a secret carved into the lines of her face. The child gazes up at me with eyes that are unmistakably m…