Holding Her, Loving You

Chapter Sixteen: Make Your Decision

Cesc slowly dressed as he thought about everything that had happened the day before, he hadn’t slept well the night before and he knew that after his talk with Daniella that there would be no going back.

The footballer had been thinking long and hard about not only what had happened but what he wanted; he knew that he couldn’t continue to ignore his feelings and it was time for him to make his decision on who he wanted more in his life.

Cesc took a deep breath as he walked out of the spare room where he had been sleeping, he ran a hand through his hair as he headed for the kitchen; he didn’t have training until late that afternoon and it gave him enough time to sort out his personal life.

“Morning,” Daniella said softly as she spotted Cesc, she was in the middle of feeding Lia and knew that things were going to take a while to settle down; she just hoped that what Joseph had done hadn’t pushed Cesc away from her.

The footballer nodded at her as he headed for the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, he closed it before he turned to face her; he eyed her for a moment knowing that he had to do this otherwise it wouldn’t be fair on him or her.

“We need to talk,” Cesc said as he unscrewed the lid on his drink and took a sip, he looked at Lia wondering how this would affect her life; he knew that Daniella wasn’t going to like what he was about to say and he hoped she wouldn’t do something rash.

Daniella nodded her head as she shifted her hold on Lia, she smiled knowing that she was going to do whatever it took to make things up to Cesc; she didn’t care what it took as long as he didn’t learn of her involvement in Joseph’s bullying of Alejandro.

“Of course my love,” the Lebanese purred as she moved to put their daughter down, she turned her full attention to Cesc before she noticed how tense he looked; she wondered for a moment if something was wrong.

***

“You can’t be serious,” Daniella whispered as she stared at Cesc, she was shocked at his words and she knew that if he was being serious then all of this had been for nothing; she had left her husband for him and now he wanted to break up.

The footballer nodded his head as he watched her, he had thought long and hard about this all night and he had begun to notice that Daniella had been far from welcoming to Alejandro when he had accepted Maria and Joseph with open arms; he had done everything he could for her children but she had shunned his.

“I afraid that I am… I think it’s best if we put this to bed Daniella, things have changed for us,” Cesc said as he tried to do this as gently as possible; the last thing he wanted was for Lia to be caught between two warring parents, he loved his daughter and would do anything for her.

Daniella continued to stare at him, she didn’t know what had brought this on but she knew that it had something to do with Belina; she had hated the brunette from the moment that her boyfriend had learnt that he had fathered a child with her.

“I left my husband of thirteen years for you… I left behind my life in London so that I could be with you and now you do this,” Daniella spat furiously as she glared at him, she frowned slightly when Cesc didn’t even flinch at the harshness in her words; she couldn’t believe that he didn’t seem to care how much she had done to be with him.

Cesc stared at her, he had known that she would hit him with that; he had never asked her to do anything like that and he regretted that he had allowed their love affair to go on like that.

“Your son broke my son’s arm… he’s spent god knows how long bullying him, I can’t just over look that Daniella,” Cesc argued back, he knew that Joseph was somewhere in the house and was avoiding him; he didn’t know what he would do if he came across the boy after what he had done to Alejandro.

Daniella opened her mouth before she closed it, she knew he was upset about what had happened and she didn’t blame him; she had a feeling that Belina would have some choice words for her if she ever ran into her.

“This isn’t just about that… you know we have been drifting apart even before I mentioned that I had a son,” Cesc said softly as he ran a hand through his hair, he had been in denial about what was going on with them; they hardly spent much time together and she seemed more interested in racing around in his Ferrari 458 Italia or spending as much of his money as she could.

Daniella watched him, she knew that he had clearly been thinking things through and she could tell that whether she wanted it or not this was how her relationship with him would end; she frowned sadly knowing that while she hadn’t truly loved him, she didn’t want anyone else to have him.

“I’m sorry,” Cesc said as he watched her, he glanced over at Lia knowing that no matter what he was going to support his daughter; he was already planning what he would do now and his first stop was going to see Belina after training.

***

Belina furrowed her brow confused as she heard someone knocking on her front door, she glanced at Alejandro who was curled up on the couch watching a movie; she sighed as she pushed herself from her seat and padded over to the door.

“Cesc?” the brunette asked confused as she eyed the footballer, he had a bag of clothes at his feet and she was surprised that he was standing outside of her apartment; she looked at him as he offered her a small smile.

“I’ve left Daniella and I was wondering if you’d take me back?” Cesc asked nervously, he had broken the news during training and a couple of his team-mates had congratulated him about what he had done; everyone had been able to see that he was still in love with Belina and they knew that Daniella wasn’t the woman that he wanted anymore.

The brunette stared at him speechless as she realised that he was really there, she swallowed as he shifted nervously as if waiting for her to say no; he knew he had a lot to make up for but he hoped she’d have him back.

“Cesc…” Belina whispered unsure what to say, she knew they’d only slept together the day before but it had shown her that he had matured so much since they had first ended their relationship; she did worry about the backlash of his decision though.

“I know that I made a mess all those years ago… but I want to make this right, I meant what I said yesterday,” Cesc said as he stepped closer to her, he was determined to win back the one woman that he had ever truly loved; he had made his choose and now he needed her to make hers.

Belina watched him for a moment as if thinking about everything that they had been through; she was sure that Daniella was going to be far from pleased about this but she knew that there was something else.

“Okay,” Belina said gently making Cesc smile, he was aware how much a risk this was for the two of them but this time he was determined not to make a mess of things.