?Chapter 1640:

Taylor froze. His expression crumpled, rebuilt itself, and then cracked again. “Wait, wait a minute…” What the hell?

His mouth moved, but no words followed.

Fiancé? Did she just say Nate Hopkins?

His mind scrambled to assemble the pieces, but they refused to fit.

How had this happened? How had those two ended up together?

His thoughts spun in helpless circles.

If it had been anyone else, he could have made them back off, made them reconsider.

But Nate?

He fought the urge to take a drink right then and there.

Meanwhile, Nate watched the flicker of shock on Taylor’s face. He understood men—understood the look of one realizing, toote, that he’d missed his chance.

“Let’s talk inside,” Corrine offered smoothly.

Once in the private room, the three settled around the table.

Nate passed a cup of coffee to Corrine with familiar ease. Taylor’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She doesn’t take caffeine after six. You didn’t know that?”

Nate met his gaze calmly.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, not breaking eye contact. His words carried a clear message to Nate—he knew Corrine well.

Then, a slow, provoking smile curled on Taylor’s lips.

Nate smirked, unfazed by the provocation. “How’s your father doing these days?”

The questionnded like a stone. Taylor straightened, the tension palpable in the way his shoulders squared. “He’s well. He mentioned wanting to fence with you again, but he’s been swampedtely.”

His father—the current patriarch of the Charles family—didn’t extend such invitations lightly.

Corrine, quietly observing the exchange, suddenly understood the weight behind Taylor’s earlier reaction.

She had always known Taylor came from a prominent family, but for the head of the Charles household to mention sparring with Nate… it suggested a level of Nate’s influence far deeper than she had realized.

How many secrets was Nate keeping?

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The dishes began arriving one by one, filling the room with warm aromas.

The atmosphere remained surprisingly calm, likely due to Nate’s smooth deflection earlier.

But every so often, Taylor would steal subtle nces at Corrine, unreadable emotions flickering in his eyes. Then, abruptly, he asked,

“When’s the wedding?”

The question dropped like a stone into still water. Taylor didn’t ask out of idle curiosity—he asked because he knew the Hopkins family and its issues.

And if Nate ever hurt Corrine, he didn’t care what legacy or power the Hopkins name carried—he’d find a way to make the bastard pay, regardless of his position.

Nate understood the meaning behind the question clearly. He didn’t flinch. “I’m ready whenever she is.”

Corrine’s heart skipped a beat. She nced at him instinctively, and in his intense gaze, she saw something unshakable—a deep, unwavering certainty.

This wasn’t for show.

Every moment they’d spent together, he had treated her with nothing less than sincerity. And now, that sincerity wrapped itself around those simple words like a promise.

She returned to her meal quietly, but Taylor mistook herposure for shyness.

He gave a dryugh, lifted his ss, and drained it in one gulp.

At precisely eight, the three of them stepped out into the night, parting ways at the entrance of Serenity Garden.

Nate ducked into the backseat of the car, his gaze following the sleek Venom GT as it disappeared down the road. He squinted his eyes. “Find out what Taylor’s father has been doingtely.”

“Got it,” Saul replied from the front.

He hesitated, catching Nate’s expression in the rearview mirror. “Sir, one more thing—we’ve just confirmed it. Leif arrived in Nelting an hour ago.”

Those words dropped like a match in dry grass, igniting a taut silence inside the car.

Meanwhile, Corrine floored the gas, and she and Taylor headed straight for the racing club.

The staff, familiar with the drill, got them suited up in record time. Momentster, they were striding toward the track.

Taylor nced over his shoulder and made a mock throat-slitting gesture at Corrine, grinning like a rogue.

Then came the referee’s signal. The g dropped. And in a blink, a ck car and a white car exploded off the line like twin bolts of lightning.

The race wasn’t just fast. It felt inevitable—like destiny had thrown down a gauntlet.

At the first sharp turn, Taylor edged ahead—half a car length, no more.

But Corrine? She clung to his tail like a shadow fused to his bumper. No matter how hard Taylor gunned the engine, she never wavered. Never backed off. She was relentless.fn1444 The rightful source is find?novel/fn1444

Lap afterp, the pressure mounted. Corrine held steady, patient, waiting—until the finalp. Then she struck.

Her wheels kissed the groove on the turn. The rear fishtailed, catching the perfect drift as it flew sideways, graceful and brutal all at once.

Taylor, trailing behind her, was amazed by the bold maneuver.

He hadn’t expected her to go this hard—not today, not like this. By the time he blinked, the white car was already crossing the finish line.

Her car screeched, tires screaming sparks across the asphalt before sliding into a clean, dramatic stop.

In the rearview mirror, Corrine’s face remained untouched, unreadable—except for the gleam in her eyes. Sharp. Alive. Like a fire that hadn’t been stoked in years had finally been reignited.

She stepped out slowly, unhurried. Helmet under one arm, she approached Taylor with that same quiet fire in her stride.

“Three years apart,” Taylor muttered, scowling like a sulking teen,

“and you still won’t let me win, even once?”

Corrine arched an eyebrow. “A bet’s a bet, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” His irritation melted into a crooked grin. His eyes still sparkled from the thrill. “Let’s run it back. A few moreps. The contract’s already active anyway.”

It was the race that had lured him into signing that contract earlier in the meeting room. The deal was just paper. The real hook was Corrine—and the chase.

Taylor had been on a pro team once. He knew speed. Owned it. Until he met Corrine.

Every time he’d tried to outpace her, she’d left him in the dust. And still, it never stopped him from trying. It only made him want to beat her more.

That was why he’d said yes to the contract without thinking.

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