Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

"What a shame," Joe murmured, shaking his head softly as the Reyes family's team packed it in. It was a real bummer, but rules are rules. "Come on, let's head inside," he said, leading the way into the venue.

Inside, people from all the big families were trickling in. Zachary, along with Luke and the crew, had arrived early. "Zachary, congrats in advance! This race is practically in the bag for the Jones family," folks were saying, convinced the Jones had it all sewn up. Zachary chuckled modestly, "The race hasn't even started. It's not a done deal yet."

"Oh, come on, Zachary! The Reyes family doesn't stand a chance against yours. Once this race wraps up, the Reyes team will probably call it quits," someone chimed in.

"Exactly! This race is just a formality. The Reyes should throw in the towel already. Zachary, you've got a real gem in your son. Young Luke's got some of the best racing skills around here," another added.

Zachary kept smiling, but you could see the pride all over his face. Luke, meanwhile, puffed up with pride himself. He was on the hefty side, and when he grinned, his tiny eyes seemed to vanish entirely. "Look, the Reyes are here!" someone with a keen eye pointed out as Karter and his crew walked in.

People turned to look, curious. "Who's that girl walking next to the head of the Reyes family?" someone asked.

"You haven't heard? She's Connor's fiancée, the recently discovered Miss Reyes, and she's racing for them too," came the reply.

"No way, are they really that strapped for talent? Letting a girl race?" a man exclaimed, baffled. "They're already not as strong as the Jones, and now they're adding dead weight? They should just pack it in." His buddy wasn't buying it. "I think she's got some skills. I heard she even brought in Youth. Maybe she knows her way around a track."

"I know her," said another with a

dismissive waye. "She's a med

student, probably never even sat in a race car. And Youth? No way Flora brought him in. Must've been

Connor's doing. She's only here. ne

because she's pretty and hooked up with Connor; otherwise, she'd have been booted off Lone Island ages ago."

Even though folks weren't too impressed with Flora and the Reyes, they kept their chatter low. Nobody wanted to rile up Connor.

Seeing Connor and Flora made Luke's blood boil, reminding him of the humiliation he felt with the Reyes. His chest heaved with resentment. "Keep it cool, Luke. Once the race starts, do what you gotta do," Zachary said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Luke took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger in check.

Meanwhile, over at the competitor's

area, Flora and her group settled in. The Reyes team was on edge, but Flora was as cool as a cucumber, her right hand tucked into Connor's jacket pocket, her left fiddling with her phone.

"Chill out, Adrian; you've got this!" Kruz said, trying to pump Adrian up. Despite his pep talk, he was more jittery than anyone, earning him a playful kick from Adrian.

"Relax, the Reyes family, you've got this," Youth said, lounging back confidently. With Flora in the mix, losing wasn't an option. Connor, on the other hand, had eyes only for Flora the whole time. He pulled out a pair of gloves and started helping her put them on.

The girl always had such cold hands. After slipping on one glove, he gently said, "Flora, your other hand."