James' POV
I wake up to Daniela on the other side of my bed and I don't smile.
I came to her this time. Why make her travel so I can break her heart? That is if she's opposed to it all.
I walk to the kitchen and serve myself a cup of coffee. I sip on it slowly, feeling my lungs about to collapse at the thought of what I was going to have to do. I've been going over and over it in my head for days now. The stringing along is endless and I think it's best we move along. For good.
"Good morning," Daniela says sternly as she passes by me and heads straight to the fridge. "Why the surprise, James?"
"You know why," I say facing her back.
"What happened?" she asks and I know she doesn't want an answer. "When did we get like this?"
"We?" I ask.
She looks back at me, despair in her eyes.
"We," I nod. "It's too early-"
"If it's what I think it's about then I want to get it over with," she chokes.
"Divorce? Is that what you're thinking?" I ask sternly.
She swallows back the tears forming in her eyes and I feel myself crushing the mug in my hands. I stand up and place the cup in the sink and lean against the counter.
"I didn't think it'd go down like this," I shake my head.
"I was warned," Daniela lets out a chuckle.
I clear my throat to give the inevitable speech. The words that I've been dreading but will lift the weight off my shoulders.
"Daniela," I start. "When I said I'd love you forever, I just want you to know nothing will ever change that. You'll always be in my heart."
She sits down at the table and opens her mouth a bit.
"You're no different," she whispers. "I'll always love you."
"I'm sorry things ended up like this," I say.
"I'm sorry too, I'm to blame too," she says in a shaky voice.
Please don't start crying on me now.
"We were just so young," I let out.
"Still teens," she nods her head.
"But I don't regret it for a second," I say. "Salomé and you mean the world to me."
"Salomé is the most precious thing- I'll never regret anything ever."
"I'm sorry I made you quit volleyball. I'm sorry I didn't let you finish your studies. I'm sorry I made you move halfway across the world with me. I'm sorry I was never there, always busy with work, the same goes for Salomé. I'm deeply sorry for dragging you off away from your family and friends-"
"It was my decision too," Daniela stops me. "I'm sorry for not being the best wife, stubborn as hell."
A smile creeps on my face at her humor.
"You were more than I could ever ask for," I tell her sincerely. "The sad truth is that we fell out of love."
"Nothing more," she says. "I chose to join you. Don't apologize, I put you before me and at some point that was a mistake for myself as a person, but I don't regret any of it."
"You tolerate what I do, Daniela. You don't respect it, you don't understand it."
She just nods at my comment, knowing I'm right.
"Is this really it?" I ask. "Do we just call up some lawyers now and move on? It seems a bit heartless to me. Do you really want this?"
"James, you and I both know it'd be freeing and the right thing to do-"
"What about Salomé?" I ask. "Let's not be selfish here-"
"We're not being selfish, James." Daniela stops me. "Do you really want her growing up with her parents in a loveless marriage, full of hatred by then? We can't put her through this. She's just two years old."
"How are we going to explain this to our parents? Families? Your brother," I scoff.
"We'll just have to sit them all down, explain to them it's all for the best. Let's not get too detailed."
"Let me ask you something," I start. "What's the real reason you never came to Madrid to stay?"
Daniela looks at me as she bites her lip.
"I was mad at you," she says. "You were way too happy for me."
She shifts in her seat and leans forward to address me.
"You got what you wanted, I got boxes to pack and business to do. I was happy for you, I still am. I wasn't in love with you by then," she admits.
I simply nod my head. This small exchange of words just changed my life forever. Just as the words 'I' and 'do' did a handful of years back. We're working backwards now, the cycle hit us hard. I honestly will always love her and will be forever thankful for everything she's done and brought me, Salomé will keep us together and we will work our hardest to have her living the life a child deserves, I'm sure of it. However, like Daniela said, this is for the best. We were headed down this path long ago, this time we stuck with it till the end and we've accepted where it's brought us.
"You've been happy James," she says. "I don't know if it's just the team and football, Madrid. There's a light in your eyes and I watch it fade when you're with me. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for," I uncross my arms. "Don't you dare. You have nothing to do with that."
Daniela stands up and walks toward me.
"I wish you the best," she says. "From the bottom of my heart."
"This isn't the last of it," I tell her. "You know I wish you more than the best. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"It was bound to happen, James," she speaks.
"I tore you from your life," I tell her before looking up and meeting her eyes.
"It's alright."