What if?
Fair warning ā this will be a long one.
During the holiday and New Year break, I found myself with a little more time than usual. Enough time to sit down and really look at my own stories. And one question kept circling in my head: what if things had gone differently?
This post is, in many ways, an analysis ā for my readers, and for those who have ever wondered how these stories might have looked if the plot had taken another turn. Different choices. Different timing. Different consequences.
Important note: this entire post is one big spoiler alert for my stories.
If you havenāt read them yet and want to read them without knowing what comes next, this is your cue to stop here.
Alright. Letās begin.
The Flame That Never Fades
What if Toto had let go earlier and allowed Victoria to walk away ā how would their story have unfolded?
Most likely, Victoria would have ended up with Lewis. She would have loved him ā perhaps not with the same wild, consuming intensity she felt for Toto, but in a calmer, more mature, more reasonable way. Lewis would have been a good partner, possibly a good husband. He would have understood her in a way few others could.
Toto, eventually, would have let go as well. He would have come to understand that what he felt was not only love, but also a deep obsession. Even if his feelings for Victoria never fully disappeared, he would have focused on Susie and the children. From time to time, their paths would still cross at F1-related events ā quietly, carefully, with everything left unsaid.
What if Victoria hadnāt died at the end, but survived the accident instead? Would she have given Toto another chance?
I think she would have. After everything, Toto would have changed. He would have understood that his love for Victoria had crossed the line into obsession, and after the birth of their daughter, he would have devoted himself to caring for both Victoria and the child without expecting anything in return. No control. No fixation. Eventually, Victoria would have noticed that change. And step by step, they would have found their way back to each other ā this time emotionally, not only physically.
Fallen Time
What if Emilia had never fought for herself and instead accepted her father terms, marrying Lance and rejecting Toto?
Realistically, this is highly unlikely. Emilia fell in love with Toto, and through him she learned that she had to fight for herself. If she had married Lance, she would have been deeply unhappy for the rest of her life ā and she would have regretted that choice forever.
What if Toto had died during the Titanic disaster and never returned to Emilia?
Emilia would have suffered for a long time. Eventually, she would have come to terms with his death and found love with Charles, who survived. Over time, they would have built a happy life together. Still, Toto would have remained Emiliaās first and greatest love.
What if George had survived, but Toto had not?
Assuming both George and Charles survived, I believe they would have cared deeply for Emilia ā and, in time, both would have fought for her heart. In the end, Emilia would have chosen George. They had known each other since childhood and had always been close. She would have loved George ā but never in the way she loved Toto.
The Arrangement
What if Toto had never come back to Lena?
They would have missed each other for a long time. But eventually, Lena would have stopped hoping that Toto would return. After her motherās death, she would have focused on her work at a law firm, helping other women. Somewhere along the way, she would have met someone kind ā perhaps another lawyer ā and built a life with him. A family. Children. Stability. And yet, she would never have truly forgotten Toto. From time to time, she would still check his social media, quietly following his life from a distance.
Toto, on the other hand, would have left Formula 1 and returned to business ā successfully, of course. He would have focused on his children. He would always know how Lena was doing; he would have people keeping an eye on her. Sometimes he would check her social media himself and smile sadly, seeing that she had built a life without him. He would never settle down with anyone. There would be brief romances, nothing lasting. His heart would remain with Lena. In his will, he would leave her a few things ā and a letter, confessing that he had loved her, and that he had never stopped.
Sins of the Wolffs
What if Toto had not survived the operation?
Susie and Alex would have suffered deeply. Alex would have blamed herself ā for not being there during his illness, and for not being told how serious it was. Over time, however, she would become Susieās greatest support. And the love that had always existed between them would have prevailed ā and the pain of losing Toto would only have deepened it. Alex would end her relationship with Max, choosing Susie instead. Their relationship would be mature, emotional, grounded in care and mutual understanding. They would eventually come out of hiding. There would be questions ā about the past, about Toto ā but they would keep their life as a trio a secret, treating it as a beautiful memory of the love they once shared.
What if Alex, Toto, and Susie had revealed their relationship to the world?
It would have been an incredibly brave decision. I imagine it would happen once they were absolutely certain of their love. When Alex and Totoās daughter was born, Toto would refuse to hide the truth ā he would give her his surname. Questions would follow. Media outrage. Opinions everywhere. But Toto would stand firm, saying that he loved Susie and Alex, and that they were a family. Susie would continue leading the F1 Academy. Alex would focus on motherhood, supported fully by Toto and Susie, living together openly at last. Later, she would return to Formula 1 ā perhaps as a team principal or a commentator. And despite everything, the three of them would be happy.
What if Alex ultimately chose Max and did not return to Toto and Susie?
Toto would recover from the operation. Alex would decide to stay with Max. It would be difficult for Toto and Susie, but they would accept it. Their relationship with Alex would change ā the illness would bring them closer again, but as family, not lovers. Max would accept this, though not without some initial jealousy. Alex and Max would marry and have a child. Toto and Susie would also be happy ā their love had always existed between them, and the years with Alex had only strengthened it. They would remain grateful to her forever, maintaining a close but no longer intimate bond. Alex would love Max as deeply as she had loved Toto and Susie. Still, Toto and Susie would always hold a special place in her heart.
What if Max had joined the AlexāSusieāToto threesome?
Yes ā I received that question everywhere the story was published. Turning the threesome into a quadrangle is undeniably tempting. The emotional weight. The intensity. The sheer number of possibilities. Two alpha men and two strong, independent women? Surprisingly, it could have worked. At one point, I even considered writing a continuation of Sins of the Wolffs along those lines ā but it never left my head.
Would it have worked? Probably. Toto and Max would have ensured absolute security for their family ā private island, residences, protection. Would they hide the relationship? Definitely. To the world, they would simply be two couples who were close friends. What happened behind closed doors would remain theirs alone. If children appeared, it would never be an issue. All of them would be their children.
The Unstoppable Series
My beloved Unstoppable Series ā¤ļø
The main what if is, in fact, the most fundamental one: What if Susie and Jack had never died? How would Toto and Miriellās relationship have evolved? Would they have fallen in love at all?
This is a difficult path to consider, because the love between Toto and Miriell truly begins to grow after the tragic loss of Susie and Jack. She understands him like no one else, because she knows what it means to lose the people you love. He, in turn, becomes her source of safety and support ā something she had been missing for many years.
If Susie and Jack had lived, everything would have been different. Toto would have loved Miriell, but more like a daughter ā or at least that is what both of them would have told themselves. He would have been immensely proud of her, supported her at every step, knowing she had no real family of her own. Together with Susie, he would have tried to give her that sense of belonging: holidays, birthdays, shared vacations. A home.
Miriell, however, would eventually fall in love with him. Deeply. Quietly. Unhappily. She would suppress those feelings, convinced that loving Toto in that way meant betraying Susie, betraying him, betraying their family. She would throw herself entirely into racing ā championships, the team, the fight on track. And if those feelings became too heavy, she might slowly distance herself from both Toto and Susie, who would not understand what was happening to her. Guilt would consume her. She would believe her feelings were wrong ā that this was not how she was allowed to love him.
I think that, over time, Miriell would pull away completely and possibly accept an offer from another team. Only much later, after long conversations, would she finally confess her feelings to Toto. He would be shocked ā and perhaps, finally, forced to admit that his own feelings were not entirely paternal either. And yet, I believe Toto would ultimately let her go. He would know that staying close would only hurt them both. Miriell would go on to have a brilliant career, but she would be alone. Toto would remain with Susie and his family, still caring for Miriell ā even if only from afar.
Other āwhat ifsā for the whole series:
What if Miriell and Toto never chose to be together and kept their feelings buried?
This is entirely possible. Toto resisted loving Miriell for a long time ā just as she resisted loving him. He believed that loving another woman meant betraying Susie, and he did not want to burden a young, deeply wounded Miriell with himself. He knew their relationship would be difficult from the start: the age difference, the power imbalance, her scars, her inability to let anyone close. If they had never become a couple, they would have remained close. He would support her. She would invite him to the Bieszczady ā the only place where Toto truly felt at peace.
Perhaps, one day, Miriell would fall in love with someone else. I believe only Lewis could have been that person ā the only one she might have allowed close enough. Toto, on the other hand, would never truly move on. There might be fleeting relationships, brief romances ā as a wealthy, attractive widower, he would never lack interest. But he would love only Miriell. Quietly. In silence.
What if Miriell had died at Spa?
Miriellās death would have been unbearable for Toto. He would leave Formula 1 and disappear somewhere far away. From time to time, his adult children and Niki would visit him. It would be the final blow. Two women he loved would be gone. After Susie and Jack, Miriell had helped him live again ā she was his light. Without her, everything would lose meaning.
What if Toto had died from brain cancer?
For Miriell, it would have been devastating. After losing her parents, her grandfather, then Susie and Jack, she had kept everyone at a distance. Only with Toto did she allow herself to form a bond strong enough to become a great love. If Toto died, Miriell would spend weeks, months, in a state of numbness. Lewis would be the one by her side ā her support ā but she would throw herself into racing and the team. After a short break, she would return to Formula 1 with one goal: to beat everyone with Mercedes. For him. For Toto. Perhaps, years later, she would end up with Lewis. She would never allow anyone else that close. Toto would remain her great ā and only ā love.
What if Miriell never regained her memory after the accident?
Toto would struggle to accept it, but eventually he would understand that she no longer remembered him ā their moments, their love. For her sake, he would ask for a divorce. They would separate. Miriell would not return to racing, but would work for Mercedes as an engineer. Toto would step away from the team to avoid seeing her too often. Over time, they would meet again ā and in some way, Miriell would fall in love with him all over again. It would be a different love than before. But they would eventually reunite and marry again. And even though Miriell never remembered their past, Toto would be grateful simply to be with her ā to build a future together.
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Thatās it.
It turned out long ā but I needed to get it out somewhere, and where else if not here š
Thank you to everyone who made it this far.
As always, I invite you to discuss, ask questions, or share your thoughts about my stories!
