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Mason swallows hard. Now I’m blinking back tears. “Mason, I don’t like this conversation,” I confess quietly. “I hate it. I don’t want to say these things to you. But I will say them. I will say them, even though I’m hurting you, because I care about you. I’m telling you what I see. What I hear. And I’m telling you this because you don’t deserve to be treated that way. You should be loved and accepted for who you are outside of the paddock. You should be celebrated for being a good man. A good son, a good brother. A good teammate, even when you have mixed emotions about strategies going on in the garage and are facing competition from my brother.

“All I want,” I say, my voice wobbling, “is for you to know that. To know you don’t have to drive for anyone but yourself. Because you’re brilliant. And I want you to have a chance to drive that way. With freedom from all of that. Because this is your life and your career, and most of all, you deserve it, Mason. You do.”

My chest rises and falls rapidly as I wait to see how he responds. My heart bangs against my ribs. I have been blunt. I know my words have hurt him. But he deserved to hear every single one.

Mason’s eyes grow glossy with unshed tears. But he says nothing. It seems like an eternity passes, and Mason won’t talk to me.

“Do you want me to go back to my seat?” I finally whisper, my voice breaking. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

To my surprise, his grip on me tightens. “No,” he says hoarsely. Mason lowers his forehead to mine, and I put my hands on his face, holding him. “I love you, Catherine,” he whispers. “I love you.”

Mason loves me.

He just told me he loves me. After I just had a very difficult conversation with him, telling him painful things he didn’t want to hear, he wanted to tell me he loves me.

Tears fall from my eyes, but they are tears of happiness.

And love.

Mason lifts his head, searching my face for a response to that declaration.

“I love you so much, Mason. That’s why I said what I said. Because I love you,” I confess.

“I know you do. You loved me enough to tell me the truth,” he says. “You didn’t know how I’d react to that. I could have been pissed off at you. Shut you down. Argued with you. But you loved me enough to take that risk. You’re the one who wants the best for me, no matter what it costs. I … I’ve never had anyone love me like this. And I’m so lucky. I’m so lucky to be loved by you.”

A tear slips down the side of my face, and Mason tenderly brushes his lips against my skin to kiss it away.

“All I want is for you to be seen and heard like you’ve made me feel seen and heard,” I tell him. “I want you to be supported and loved for who you are. I want everything for you that you have given me.”

Mason swallows hard, still fighting to hold back his own tears. “How could I have ever thought this wasn’t worth the risk?” he whispers. “How could I have thought you weren’t worth fighting for from the first day I met you?”

“No. You were always going to take a risk for me,” I reassure him. “We just needed the time to be right. It is now.”

He lowers his head to mine and brushes a gentle kiss on my lips. “I love you so damn much.”

“I love you so damn much, too.”

Mason kisses me one more time before lifting his head. “What are you going to do?” I ask softly.

“Make love to you when we get home,” he says mischievously.

“Mason, I’m being serious.”

“So am I. You have no idea how serious I am about that.” He playfully kisses the bridge of my nose to punctuate the point. But then he lifts his head again and exhales. “First, I’m going to make an appointment with Andrew to talk about all of this. We haven’t talked about Dad in a long time. We usually talk about managing the pressures of being a driver. But I think it’s time to revisit this.”

I nod. “I think that’s a good idea.”

“We only have a few races left in the season,” Mason says. “I’m going to get through those, then I’m going to meet my dad face-to-face for a long-overdue conversation. My gut says he won’t be open to it, but your words hit me, Catherine. I don’t want to drive for him anymore. I can’t. I’ll never be good enough, and he’s created that by design. But I let him. I let him because I want his approval so badly. I wanted to prove all the sacrifices were worth it.”

My hurt lurches when I hear the sadness in his voice. “You’ve already proven that. Over and over again. Just by being the man you are.”

His expression lightens. I don’t think Mason even realised how much toxicity he carried around from his dad on a daily basis until today.

“Thank you. But from now on? Starting in Singapore? I’m driving for myself. For the team.”

I’m so proud of him. For not only taking all of this in, but for believing what I said. For seeing the truth.

Mason is truly going to drive for himself. I know Andrew will have to help him with this transition, but it’s coming.