Hot Driver - S01 E53

Story 1 week ago

Hot Driver - S01 E53

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 53

{Ivory Fashion Empire – Ivory’s Office – Afternoon}

Ivory sobbed uncontrollably, shoulders shaking, face buried in her hands, when the door opened and Duane stepped in.

He froze in the doorway for half a second, taking in the sight of her — the golden trophy forgotten on the shelf, the tear-streaked face, the way she seemed to be trying to fold herself smaller behind her own desk.

“Ivory.” He crossed the room in three quick strides, dropping to his knees beside her chair. “Hey. Hey, what happened? Talk to me.”

She shook her head, unable to speak at first, the words tangled somewhere beneath the hiccupping sobs still wracking through her.

He didn’t push. He simply waited, one hand resting gently on her knee, patient in a way that slowly, gradually coaxed the words out of her.

It came out in fragments at first — the staircase, the voices, the word adoption echoing in a four-year-old’s memory for over two decades. Then, slowly, the fragments knit themselves into the whole story, spilling out of her in a rush she couldn’t stop even if she’d wanted to.

Duane listened without interrupting, his expression softening with every word, something protective and tender rising in his chest that he hadn’t fully expected to feel.

When she finally finished, breath still hitching, he reached up and gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“Celeste isn’t my real mother either,” he said quietly.

Ivory’s head snapped up, eyes wide, confused through the tears.
“She adopted me too,” Duane continued. “When I was six. My birth parents — I don’t really know what happened to them. Celeste never hid it from me, never made it feel like a secret worth being ashamed of. She just loved me. Completely. Like I was hers from the start.”

Ivory stared at him, something shifting behind her wet eyes.

“So you understand,” she whispered.

“I understand,” he said gently. “And Ivory — you shouldn’t feel bad. Not for a second. Arthur and Diana chose you. Out of everyone in the world, they chose you, and they loved you exactly the same as if you’d been born to them. That’s not something to grieve. That’s something to be grateful for.”

Fresh tears spilled down her face, but something in her chest had loosened slightly, the weight she’d carried alone for twenty-three years finally shared with another person for the first time.

Duane leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to each of her closed eyelids, then to the wet trail down her cheek, kissing the tears awag before pulling her fully into his arms.

She melted against him, letting herself be held, letting herself cry without holding anything back, his hand moving in slow, steady circles against her back.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured into her hair. “You’re not alone in this anymore.”
—

{Golden High – Last Period}

The final lecture of the day dragged on, chalk scratching steadily against the board as the teacher worked through a complex equation, most of the class following along dutifully.

Hazel wasn’t listening. She sat toward the back, twirling a pen between her fingers, attention drifting somewhere far outside the classroom window.

“Hazel Bennett,” the teacher said sharply, catching her mid-daydream. “Since you clearly aren’t paying attention, why don’t you come solve this for the class?”

The equation sprawled across the board, dense and complicated — the same one Princess, the principal’s daughter and reportedly the school’s most brilliant student, had been struggling with for the past ten minutes.

A ripple of quiet amusement moved through the room. Several students exchanged smug glances, clearly expecting Hazel to embarrass herself.

Hazel rose without hesitation, strode to the board, picked up a piece of chalk, and solved it in under a minute, her handwriting quick and confident, each step falling into place with an ease that silenced the room entirely.

She set the chalk down and turned back to face the stunned class.

Luis’s mouth had fallen open. Eloise and Jason erupted into loud, delighted applause.

“my friend is a genius!!!!” Eloise screamed.

“Wait, WHAT—” Jason started.

“That’s exactly right,” the teacher said, blinking in surprise at the board.

“This class is too boring anyway,” Hazel announced, already grabbing her bag. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

She walked out before the lecture had even officially ended, leaving the teacher too stunned to call her back.

From her seat near the front, Princess watched Hazel’s exit with open, simmering disgust, her jaw tight, her pride visibly stinging.

I hate her, Princess thought, glaring at the empty doorway. I genuinely hate that girl.

—

{Curtis Residence – Same Afternoon}

Curtis sat scrolling through his messages, staring at the unanswered text he’d sent Maeve hours earlier, asking her to meet him.

Nothing. No response. Not even the courtesy of a read receipt.

His jaw tightened, irritation curdling into something darker, colder.

She thinks she can just ignore me now, he thought. After everything I’ve given her.

A slow, villainous smile spread across his face as an idea took shape.

He dialed a number, waited for the pickup, and spoke without preamble.

“I need something done tonight,” he said. “Tyler Rodriguez’s mansion. I want it burned. With him inside it.”

He listened for a moment, nodded once, and ended the call.

She’ll come running back to me once he’s gone, Curtis thought, satisfaction settling warm across his chest. Where else would she go?

He reached for the small drug bottle sitting on his side table — a container labeled simply ART — and shook two pills into his palm, swallowing them down with a mouthful of water, entirely unbothered by what he’d just set into motion.

—

=Ivy Fashion Empire – Evening}

Duane drove Ivory out of the empire as the sun began its slow descent, the city glowing gold around them.

Her phone rang partway through the drive. Abigail.

“Hey,” Ivory answered, still slightly puffy-eyed from earlier, though her voice had steadied considerably.

They talked for several minutes, and then Abigail’s voice dropped slightly, hesitant. “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Tyler and I— we’re back together. Fully. And I know you probably think it’s a bad idea, but—”

“I already suspected,” Ivory cut in gently. “When he bid thirty billion on my dress at the ceremony, it wasn’t exactly subtle.”

Abigail laughed, relief evident even through the phone. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m happy for you,” Ivory said, and meant it. “Truly. As long as he treats you right this time.”

“He does. I promise he does.”

They talked a little longer before hanging up, and Ivory sat back against the seat, a small, genuine smile lingering on her face.

{Bennett’s Mansion – Evening}

Duane greeted the family warmly as they walked in, Hazel immediately barreling into him for a hug, as had become tradition by now..

Ivory followed close behind, smiling in a way that hadn’t quite left her face since the drive home.

They gathered around the dining table together, plates passed, conversation flowing easily. Hazel dominated most of it, recounting in vivid, dramatic detail her meeting with Luis, insisting repeatedly on how cute he was.

“Duane,” she said finally, turning to him with wide, curious eyes. “Does handsomeness run in your family’s genes? Because Luis is really cute too.”

The whole table erupted into laughter, even Arthur cracking a rare, genuine smile.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Duane said, grinning.

“It absolutely was one,” Hazel confirmed solemnly.

Arthur watched the exchange quietly, something shifting in his chest as he observed Duane laughing easily with his daughters, patient with Hazel’s endless chatter, respectful without being obsequious.

Maybe he’s not so bad after all, Arthur thought, surprising himself with the admission. Maybe it’s time I let go of some of this old prejudice I’ve been carrying around.

He said nothing aloud, but something in his expression had softened, just slightly, watching Duane across the table.

—

{Celeste’s New Residence – Same Night}

Celeste and Luis sat counting the day’s earnings again, and this time, the pile was even larger than the day before.

“We’re doing better every single day,” Celeste said, shaking her head in continued disbelief.

“Word’s spreading,” Luis said. “That’s all it is.”

“Tell me more about your day,” Celeste prompted, curious. “How’s Hazel?”

Luis’s ears went slightly pink again. “She hugged me this morning. Just randomly. Said good morning and then ran off before I could even say anything back.”

Celeste smiled knowingly, saying nothing, letting her son enjoy the moment without teasing him too hard about it.

—

{Morales Mansion – Same Night}

Maeve walked through the front door with a wide, genuine smile still lingering from the afternoon spent at her mother’s private mansion, the first real peace she’d felt in weeks.

She found Ron already seated in the dining room, eating a plate the new maid had prepared for him.

Maeve settled into her own seat, turning to the maid expectantly. “I’ll have the same, please.”

The maid hesitated, glancing nervously toward Ron. “I’m sorry, ma’am. Mr. Morales instructed me to only prepare his meals.”

Maeve’s face twisted in confusion, then anger. “Excuse me?”

The maid, torn, took a small step toward the kitchen as if to correct the mistake regardless.

“Don’t move,” Ron said flatly, not even looking up from his plate. “If you take one more step toward making her food, you’re finished here. Do you understand me?”

The maid froze, terrified, and nodded quickly, retreating without another word.

Maeve opened her mouth, fury building rapidly in her chest, ready to launch into a full confrontation — but something stopped her cold.

A wave of weakness crashed through her body without warning, and she sank back into her chair, her vision briefly swimming. Sweat broke out across her skin almost instantly, and when she glanced down at her arms, she noticed angry red rashes spreading across her forearms that hadn’t been there that morning.

Ron glanced over, unbothered, and simply hissed under his breath before standing and walking away without a word, leaving her alone at the table, shaking, confused, and increasingly afraid.

—

{Bennett Mansion – Same Night}

Ivory slipped quietly out of her room later that night, tiptoeing down the hallway toward Duane’s door.

She didn’t notice Hazel’s door cracked slightly open, didn’t catch the flash of movement as Hazel peeked out, watching her sister disappear into Duane’s room with wide, delighted eyes and a hand clapped over her own mouth to keep from squealing out loud.

Inside, Ivory climbed onto the bed, on top of him and within moments, their lips met, like both had been wauting, the kiss deepening quickly, her hands roaming across his bare chest as he pulled her closer, his own hands finding the curve of her @ss as he pressed the flesh between his hands with familiar hunger.

The room fell quiet except for soft murmurs and the rustle of sheets, both of them lost in each other, the weight of the day melting away entirely in the warmth between them.

The hot kiss and caress continued.

—

{Beauty and Gemma’s Residence – Same Night}

Beauty sat alone in her room, phone in hand, taking another set of nûdes photos of herself, carefully angling the camera to keep her face out of frame.

She sent them to Duane’s account without hesitation, the same as she had before.

Then she waited.

The message sat there, unread, the little indicator refusing to change no matter how many times she refreshed the app.

He’s just busy, she told herself, though doubt gnawed steadily at the edges of that thought. He’ll see it eventually. He has to.

She set the phone down and curled up on her bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for something that didn’t come.
—