I'll Be Thinking of You

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Family Dinner

“You look fine,” Neymar whispered leading his girlfriend up the path to his parents’ house, he knew that she was nervous since she was about to meet his father and he didn’t blame her.

Meena nodded her head, she didn’t believe him for a moment since she wanted to make a good impression; she already knew Nadine liked her and she hoped that his father would be the same.

Neymar sighed knocking on the front door, he held Meena’s hand so that she couldn’t run back to his apartment; there was no reason for her to be scared.

Meena nibbled on her lip, she had chosen to wear a grey frill box top and black skinny jeans paired with black chain detail ballet pumps for the dinner; she had opted against wearing heels because of the weather and incase she needed to make a quick escape.

“Relax,” Neymar murmured drawing his girlfriend close, he hoped that his father had calmed down since they had last seen him; he didn’t want Meena feeling unwelcome when she had done nothing wrong.

Meena took a deep breath, she wished that things had been better when they had arrived; she had seen the way that Neymar Sr. had looked at her and she had a feeling that this wasn’t going to end well.

Nadine opened the door to the couple and smiled, she was glad that they had still come; he knew that this wasn’t going to be easy, Neymar Sr. was far from impressed by their son’s decision to date Meena.

“Come in,” Nadine said with a small smile, she hoped that everyone was prepared for dinner since it was going to be a long one; she had no idea what would happen if Neymar Sr. didn’t get his own way.

Neymar smiled at his mother, he was hopeful that this family dinner would go better than the last one; there always seemed to be a fight whenever his mother insisted on these meals.

***

“So how long have you two been dating?” Neymar Sr. asked as he stuffed his mouth with beef, he stared across the table at Meena; he hadn’t said a word to the brunette until now and everyone stopped eating to look at him.

Neymar frowned at his father, he had no idea why things just couldn’t be simple; it wasn’t as if he was dating an escort or something, he really liked Meena and he wanted his father to respect that.

“Six weeks now,” Neymar replied glaring at Neymar Sr., he didn’t want his father making this awkward and driving his girlfriend away; he rested his hand on Meena’s leg wanting to comfort her in a small way.

Meena messed with her food, she couldn’t believe that it had only been six weeks since she had started dating Neymar; it had felt longer and she knew that this was going to make Neymar Sr. more determined to get rid of her.

“How much have you managed to con out of my son so far?” Neymar Sr. asked staring right at the nanny that had managed to ensure his son, he couldn’t imagine why Nadine had allowed this to happen.

Nadine closed her eyes wondering why for once they couldn’t have a nice dinner without anyone fighting; she should have known that Neymar Sr. wasn’t going to let this go and make this all about what he wanted.

“I haven’t taken anything from Neymar,” Meena denied, she had no idea what to really say to the man that already seemed to have an opinion on her without having ever met her.

Neymar nodded his head in agreement, he wished that his father would let this go; he had always done what his father had told him and it was time for that to stop.

Meena was one of the good things in his life and Neymar wasn’t going to let his father ruin it for him; she had been through a lot in her past and she trusted him.

Neymar Sr. sighed, he had no idea what his son in someone so plain when he could be dating some attractive model or actress that could boost his publicity; he had been so sure when he had sent Gabriella to Barcelona that it would be a done deal.

“Why do you insist on ruining everything that I have created for you?” Neymar Sr. asked looking at his son, he wanted the best for Neymar but the twenty-one year old seemed determined to ruin everything by dating someone who would only bankrupt him.

“Meena isn’t ruining anything… she makes it better,” Neymar spat through gritted teeth, he couldn’t believe that his father was being like this when he was happy; it was almost as if that fact didn’t matter.

Meena sat quietly, she didn’t know what to say and by the look on Nadine’s face this was a regular fight between the two; she wondered what had last brought this on.

“You’ll be a laughing stock for dating her,” Neymar Sr. continued to push, he wanted his son to see that he could do so much better than the woman that was sat next to him; he wanted his son to have the best of everything.

Meena might have been a nice woman but no one cared for the footballers that didn’t have decent spouses; he wanted his son to be up there with the best.

“I’d rather be a laughing stock than make the same mistakes you did,” Neymar spat making Rafaella shift nervously, she knew that her brother was pushing it and she worried what he might say or do; they didn’t need another blow out like last time.

Neymar Sr. frowned at his son’s words, he knew what Neymar was talking about and he couldn’t believe that Neymar was talking back to him like that.

Nadine sat quietly, she was sure that her son had a good reason for speaking out and she hoped that her former husband would listen; she crossed her arms knowing better to get involved.

“Ney…” Rafaella whispered hoping to shut her brother up, they had been over this enough and she didn’t think that this was going to end well for anyone; she had a feeling that no one wanted to repeat what had happened.

Meena looked at Neymar, she had never seen him this angry before and she feared what he might say and do if he didn’t calm down.

“No you ruined your marriage by letting the money go to your head… apparently it matters more to you now than your own children,” Neymar spat knowing that it was the source of all their problems, he hated that his father had pocketed £33million from his transfer.

Neymar was disgusted with how his father had handled his transfer, he knew it would mark his transfer now that it was slowly coming to light that money had been given to his parents to sign for Barcelona.

There were horrible rumours stirring and Neymar knew it would stain him not his father, he had no idea how to deal with any of this.

“I am your agent and I want what is best for you,” Neymar Sr. defended himself, he glared at his son knowing that he would do anything to make him see that he did care about him.

Neymar gritted his teeth and shook his head, he carefully got to his feet and took a deep breath; he needed to get out of there before he said something that he might come to regret.

“Maybe I don’t want you as my agent anymore,” Neymar murmured staring at his father, he knew that maybe it would be for the best if he got himself a proper agent; he could see that this wasn’t going to work if his father continued to act like one.

“Come on Meena… let’s go home,” Neymar said looking to his girlfriend, he needed to get out of there and he couldn’t leave her behind.

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Author's Note:

There's only a couple more chapters left xxx