"Remember what I told you, Mia," Anna started as we stood together in the elevator. "Big smiles, happy faces, and throw some hugs and kisses in there, okay? I know it's going to be hard to be with him, but I swear this is all going to end soon."
The charity event was today and no matter how much I was dreading it, Anna was forcing me to go anyway. Marco was already here in Berlin and we'd be meeting soon. Anna and Vincent wanted us to show up together and look like a happy couple, even though it meant killing me inside.
The elevator doors opened and Anna led me out of the elevator. I followed her through the huge hotel lobby until I saw the back of Marco's head. He was talking to Vincent about something, and I didn't doubt that Vincent was giving him the same talk that Anna gave me before.
"Good evening, gentlemen!" Anna greeted as she leaned forward to give Vincent and Marco short hugs. "Looking sharp, Marco." she complimented him. My eyes briefly caught on to Marco's hazel ones before I looked away, giving Vincent a short hug as well.
"So, you guys know the drill, right? Happy couple. All smiles, no frowning and please - do not fight on the red carpet." Vincent said. Marco and I nodded and Vincent and Anna looked at each other before they both lightly pushed us towards the exit of the hotel.
"Go on and have fun!"
+
The minute the venue for the charity event came into view, I let out a breath of relief. The car ride was filled with awkward small talk that to be honest, neither of us wanted to put up with. I mentally thanked Anna for booking the hotel so close to the venue so that I wouldn't have to be trapped in the car with him any longer.
"Are you ready for this?" Marco asked me when the car pulled up outside the venue. I looked at him and nodded slowly. He shot me a small smile and turned away to open his car door. I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face before opening my own door.
I stepped out of the car and grinned at the fans and the paparazzi there. Marco walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. He waved at some of the people there before we walked down the red carpet and to the place where the paparazzi were gathered to take our pictures.
The moment we stepped onto the center, the paparazzi went wild. They snapped hundreds of our pictures, the flashes blinding me. Marco kept his arm wrapped around my waist while I leaned into his embrace, grinning and waving at some people.
After we were done, Marco and I made our way into the main hall where the event would be taking place. As soon as we were in the dimly lit hall, I let go of Marco's hand and dropped mine back to my side.
"Let's just find our tables." I told him quietly. He stared at me for a moment before nodding. He followed me until we found a table with our name cards on them. Sat around the table were Mario, Mats, Cathy, Manuel, Thomas and Lisa.
"Mia!" Cathy gasped, standing up and rushing over to me as fast as she could in her high heels. I smiled at her and brought her into a hug. She grasped onto me tightly and we hugged silently for a few moments until I pulled away. Before she could say anything else, Mario bounded over to me and pulled me into a hug.
"Hey, bestie!" he whisper-yelled into my ear. I laughed and hugged Mario back just as tight.
As we both promised that day in Mainz, we kept in touch after the match against Armenia. He was the first person to talk to me about the cheating articles and he even yelled Marco's ear off about it.
He let go of me and I waved at everyone else seated around the table and they both waved back at me. I sat down in between Marco and Cathy and leaned back on the seat as I waited for the event to start.
+
I took a sip of my champagne as I stood in one corner of the house I was in. We were currently in the afterparty of the charity event. The event itself was pretty uneventful (lol) but I got to see Thomas nearly jumping off the stage as a joke - so that was fun.
I finished the last few sips of the champagne and set it down on a nearby table before walking away from the large room and outside to the balcony. It was way too stuffy in the room and I needed some fresh air. Berlin was chilly at night and it definitely woke me up.
I leaned against the balcony and looked out at the view. The city lights lit up the sky and I could hear the honking of cars and the low hum of the city. I heard the door I just came out of open and close again meaning someone was out here with me.
I turned around to see Marco standing a few feet behind me with his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing out here?" I asked him softly. He moved closer towards me until he was directly in front of me. "Mia, we need to talk about it sooner or later."
I shook my head and turned back towards the view, keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon. I couldn't bring myself to look at him or even talk to him.
"Mia, you can't keep running away every time we try to talk."
"You've told me everything I need to know," I said, finally regaining the courage to talk again. "What else do you want to talk about, Marco?"
He exhaled softly and took his hands out of his pocket, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "I never got to apologize to your face. I want to do this right, Mia. Will you just listen to me?"
I bit my lip and looked up at his face and into his eyes before nodding slowly.
"I was a drunk mess that night. I never meant to hurt you like I did and I know that being drunk isn't an excuse to cheat on you with some other girl. We've only been really dating for 3 months and I know it might not seem like a lot, but it's enough for me to know and understand how much you mean to me." he said apologetically.
He reached out to take my hand in his - and this time, I let him take it. My blue eyes met with his hazel green ones and I felt myself falling even deeper. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes and I was trying my best to hold them in.
I let go of his hand and dropped it back to my side. I took a deep breath and wiped away a tear that rolled down my cheek, "I'm sorry," I whispered to him. "But...I can't do this. At least not right now."
"What?" he choked out, "What are you saying, Mia? I'll change, Mia. Tell me how I should be, I-"
I shook my head. "I'm heading to France tomorrow for the next stage of the tour and you have football to focus on. Please don't make it harder for me than it already is," I sniffled, biting my lip to stifle the sobs. "Reus, I love you. A lot. And it's killing me to let go. But it's come to a point where I love you so much that it hurts and we've gotta face the reality of it all again."
The look on his face made me feel like someone was tearing my heart right out my chest and the tears were now an endless stream cascading down my cheeks.
Before I could back out, I reached up and pressed my lips to his. Our salty tears mingled in with the kiss and it felt like time stood still until I let go of him.
"Goodbye, Marco."
I walked away from him, away from the balcony and away from it all. I walked through the room, careful not to attract any attention to myself. I made it out of the building where there was thankfully little to no paparazzi at all.
The car was waiting up front for me and I quickly got inside and slammed the door shut. The car got into motion and drove back to the hotel.
I pressed my hand to my lips to muffle the sobs that were racking through my body as the cold, harsh reality came crushing down on me.
I let go of him and I still loved him.
//
this chapter was intense guys
it literally took about 2 weeks to write
i kept writing it over and over and hating it so i had to restart everything from the beginning
but anyway this chapter made me really emotional :( and it might be a bit corny for you guys but yha ahaha sorry and this is probably the longest chapter i ever wrote
so this might as well be the last chapter of settle down besides the epilogue i'm going to write :( i cant believe this story is ending
anyway vote and comment telling me what you thought!
happy reading lovelies!xx