Holding Her, Loving You

Chapter Two: Making a Decision

“How are my two favourite girls?” Cesc asked as he walked into his home after training, it had been two months since Lia had come into the world and while the footballer was thrilled, he couldn’t help but think about the things that he had missed in his first child’s life.

Daniella smiled tiredly as she handed their daughter to him, between traveling back and forth from London where her two older children live with their father and caring for the little girl; she was exhausted.

“We’ve been good,” Daniella said softly as she watched him, it had only become more clear that Cesc was hiding something from her as Lia got older; she knew that he had been struggling lately and it worried her what was going on.

“That’s good,” Cesc said softly as he cuddled Lia close, he swallowed as he thought about the child that he had never held and he knew that he couldn’t go on like this; there wasn’t a moment anymore that he didn’t think about that child and he knew that he had to do something about it.

“Cesc is everything alright?” Daniella asked as she watched her boyfriend, she licked her lips knowing that she needed to do something in case she lost him; the brunette had risked everything for their relationship and she didn’t want to lose him.

“Of course amor,” Cesc said as he kissed her lips, he didn’t want to tell her yet that he had another child, not until he had found Belina and spoken with her; he had to be sure that the brunette hadn’t terminated the pregnancy or given the child away first.

Daniella looked at him, she didn’t believe him for a moment but nodded her head knowing that she would have to speak to him if this continued much more; she could tell that something was really bothering him.

***

“You want to do what?” Lionel asked as he looked at his friend, he glanced over at Daniella who was talking with Antonella completely unaware what her boyfriend was planning.

Cesc sighed as he sipped on his beer, he knew that this wasn’t going to be easy but he had to do this; he felt like he was missing something and he wanted answers, even if they weren’t what he was expecting.

“I want to find Belina… I need to know about the child,” Cesc said as he tried to explain what he was going to do, he looked at his friend hoping that he would help him; he needed Lionel and Gerard to support him on this, he had no idea where to start and he felt uneasy.

The argentine sat down next to his friend, he knew that this couldn’t have been an easy decision for the Spaniard; Cesc had made a mess of things when he had ended things with Belina and now seven years later, he doubted the brunette would welcome him with open arms.

“The question is why?” Lionel asked as he looked over at Daniella, who was holding Lia; he didn’t know what was motivating his friend but he hoped that it wouldn’t cause any damage, he hated to think what could go wrong by seeing Belina again.

“You have everything that you could ever want… why go and mess it up now?” Lionel said softly as he looked back at Cesc, he missed Belina and was sad that he hadn’t seen her in seven years but he knew that it wasn’t only Cesc’s life that would be messed up but hers as well if things didn’t play out well.

“I need to know Leo… I know it doesn’t make sense and I have no right to go looking for her after what I did but I was young and stupid. Every moment I’m with Lia it makes me think of what could have been,” Cesc said shaking his head mournfully knowing that he had no one to blame but himself for how everything was turning out right now.

Lionel sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, he nodded his head in agreement even if he didn’t like it; he knew that Cesc was right, there was a child that deserved to know their father out there.

“I take it you haven’t told Daniella?” Lionel said as he looked back at the Lebanese, who was still talking with Antonella; the argentine had known about Belina for years and was disappointed that she had never gotten the chance to meet the brunette that meant so much to her boyfriend.

“I don’t want to upset her yet… I don’t know what I’ll find when I see Belina again,” Cesc said as he looked at his girlfriend, he knew that she was going to be upset but he hoped that she would understand since she had two children of her own that lived back in London.

***

“Afternoon,” Belina greeted as she walked into the building, she smiled at the receptionist that she had greeted before she started to head towards her office; the brunette was surprised how much her life had changed in the last seven years.

When she had been a teenager, she had wanted to be a baker and own her own small café; she had so many plans for her future with Cesc and when he had dumped her, she had her whole world turned upside down.

It was only after Alejandro had been born that Belina had decided what she wanted to do with her life, it had taken some time and a lot of work but the brunette had graduated from law school and was now working as a paralegal for one of the biggest law firms in Barcelona.

Belina smiled as she nodded at a couple of her co-workers, she set down her black slouch shoulder bag down on her desk before she sat down; the brunette was dressed in a green top with origami peplum and black skinny jeans paired with black high heels.

She quickly logged on to her computer as she thought about how much her life had changed since her relationship had ended with Cesc; she only had two regrets, the first being that she hadn’t kept in contact with Gerard and Lionel and the other being that Cesc would never know his son.

Belina shook her head as she ignored the negative thoughts, she knew there was no point dwelling on the past; Cesc had a little girl now and a girlfriend that he was very happy with, even if it did make Belina slightly jealous.

The brunette quickly turned her attention to her work, she knew that she had to stay focused on her work; she had worked so hard to get to where she was and she’d had so little help.

Her mother had never approved of her decision to go into law and while she adored spending time with Alejandro, she wanted her daughter to take a move simpler job and become a house cleaner.

“Hola Belina,” one of the other paralegal’s greeted as she passed making the brunette look at her and smile, she knew that this was getting competitive and she hoped that she would be able to impress her bosses so that she could be offered a better position.

Turning to answer the phone, Belina smiled softly knowing that she would do anything for her son; she knew how much football meant to him and he played for one of the small local teams in the area where they lived.

“Hola Senora Gomez speaking,” Belina said as she turned her attention fully to her work, she doubted that she would ever run into her ex-boyfriend or friends and even if she did then they would never recognise her.