Save Myself From Desperation by Cara Agnes novel Chapter 176

However, Ryan quickly dismissed this thought.

He thought, 'Everyone knows Ava, the Racing Legend is a man. And Ashley is a woman. How could the two be connected?'

Ryan then quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He pondered, 'How can it be like this? Frankie's search for Attelia led to Ashley, and Matthew's mentor Ash is also Ashley. It is making me paranoid now. But thankfully, Ava, the Racing Legend, is a man. Ashley can't possibly be Ava.'

The tension inside Ryan then finally eased.

Yet, he still looked at Ashley curiously. "Mr. Lawrence just said he thought you were returning to racing today. How come I didn't know you could race?"

Ashley responded indifferently, "There's a lot you don't know."

"Ashley!" Ryan immediately felt irritated, thinking, 'What kind of attitude is this toward her brother? Doesn't she have any respect?'

Ryan took a deep breath and stared intently at Ashley. "Since you can race, why not have a competition with me right now, here at the racetrack?"

He wanted to see just how good Ashley's racing skills were.

If her skills were mediocre, then it was even less likely she was Ava.

But to Ryan's surprise, Ashley, with a slight raise of her eyebrows, decisively refused his offer. "I don't want to."

With a look of confusion, Pullan turned his gaze to Ashley, silently asking why she refused to compete.

To Pullan, it seemed like a good opportunity to teach Ryan a lesson, especially after his rude behavior toward Ashley.

Sensing Pullan's query, Ashley chuckled, yet with a barely noticeable bitterness, "Have you forgotten? I promised someone that I would no longer participate in racing competitions."

Upon hearing this, Lester immediately understood and pondered, 'This is the deal Ashley made with that doctor! Ashley announced her retirement to get the doctor to agree to operate on Ryan's injured leg and promised the doctor she would never race again. For Ryan, she sacrificed her own racing career without hesitation...'

Hearing Ashley's words, Pullan suddenly remembered that Ava had indeed said he would no longer participate in racing competitions when he announced his retirement.

However, Pullan only knew that Ava had suddenly retired, not aware of the specific reason behind it.

Pullan thought it was such a shame.

For whatever reason, Ashley had to end her racing career at its peak, its most glorious moment.

But it was Ashley's choice. All Pullan could do was support her.

So after Ava's retirement, Pullan, overwhelmed with regret and heartache, never paid attention to racing again. Only when he heard Ashley was here today did Pullan come specially.

At that moment, Ryan, hearing Ashley say she had promised someone not to race again, scoffed derisively, "You're not scared, are you? You're afraid to race against me, so you found such an excuse?"

Ashley's gaze then turned ice cold as she looked at him indifferently.

Seconds later, she looked away with a poker face. "Feel free to interpret it however you wish."

Ryan's eyes flashed with more profound scorn. "Just admit it if you're scared to race. There's no need to give me such a ridiculous excuse, saying you promised someone not to race again. Aren't you embarrassed?"

With that, Ryan deliberately let out an exaggerated and mocking laugh, which was particularly grating.

Lester's expression instantly turned grim, his gaze toward Ryan carrying a chilling, almost lethal edge.

At that moment, Pullan glanced disapprovingly at Ryan and then at Ashley's retreating figure. Suddenly, Pullan remembered something and quickly chased after Ashley.

"Ashley!"

Ashley stopped upon hearing Pullan's voice.

Pullan quickly approached her, saying, "Ashley, I just remembered.

"When you agreed not to race again, it meant not participating in official competitions. Right now, a private match between you and Ryan doesn't count as an official race!"

Ryan arrogantly walked over with his arms crossed and taunted. "Mr. Lawrence, I know Ashley is your friend, but it's useless to find excuses for her if she herself doesn't dare to race."

"Shut up!" Pullan cut him off with a cold glare. "Let's get this straight. If you want to race Ashley, this match will just be for bragging rights. The winner gets no prize money, nor will it affect any racer's points or standing on the leaderboard!"

The so-called leaderboard was a system where racers earned points for winning in official races.

Even though Ava had retired two years ago and hadn't raced since, he still held the top spot on the leaderboard, with a substantial lead over the second-place racer.

Even after giving other racers two years of opportunities, no one had managed to catch up, with Ava still dominating the highest record.

Looking mockingly at Ashley, Ryan sneered, "I agree with Mr. Lawrence's terms. It's just a friendly match. Now, do you dare to race me?"

'Do I dare?' she echoed in her mind.

"Ha..." Ashley lowered her gaze and chuckled. Her eyelashes lifted slightly, and her eyes gleamed mysteriously. "Ryan, since we're going to compete, let's raise the stakes. Whoever loses has to beg for mercy. Do you dare?"