𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 Juliet Hernandez, daughter of retired Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez, left her dream team to sign with Manchester City after the loss of her mother and her father's distance. Ten years later, she returns to Barcelona and starts off...
Collapsing onto her bed in tears, Juliet felt that she was being unreasonable towards her father, but she couldn't bring herself to forgive him for what he had done. She would never wish that kind of pain to anyone. As she laid in her room, exactly as she remembered it, Juliet couldn't help but cringe inwardly at the sight: pink and butterfly-inspired everything adorned her space, reflecting a taste from her past that she had outgrown but still found oddly endearing. The same old pink blanket still laid on her bed with her favourite stuffed animal that her dad bought her when she was five on it. Her old football kit hung on the door. Her mom had been nice enough to get it steamed for her so she would look her best back then.
"What I wouldn't give to see her once." She thought to herself.
After a couple of minutes, she felt her eyelids becoming heavy and her mind drifting into sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be better than today. When she woke up, she felt the light shining in her eyes, which caused her to wake up. Contemplating whether she should go outside or not, she stuck to the choice of staying inside. She remained in bed until three in the afternoon, spending time on a video call with her best friend, Sira. They had been best friends since their mothers were.
Just as she settled into her routine, her father entered her room and took a seat at the foot of her bed.
"How was your sleep?" her father asked, sitting at the foot of her bed and trying to engage with her.
"Fine," she replied dryly. The lingering hurt from their previous conflict was still palpable, making it difficult for her to look him in the eyes.
"Juliet, I was thinking, would you like to come to practice tonight." her dad insisted, trying to bridge the gap between them. She didn't have anything else planned, so why not join her father at practice to see what he had been up to all these years?
"Okay, sure," she said as she saw his smile creep on his face. Xavi closed the door, and Juliet continued her conversation with Sira.
"-Sure, he was nice on the eyes, but that doesn't excuse his rude behaviour," Juliet said to Sira on the phone, still annoyed about last night's incident. "He didn't even apologise and just walked away like it was no big deal. I mean, who does that?"
Sira chuckled on the other end of the line. "Right? Some guys just think they can get away with anything if they're attractive enough. But don't let him ruin your day. You deserve better than that."
Juliet sighed. "I know, but it's just frustrating. I just can't deal with guys like that."
"I hear you," Sira replied. "But there are plenty of good guys out there who won't spill coffee on you and walk away like it's nothing." Sira chuckled.
As she walked down the stairs, Juliet bumped into someone for the second time since her arrival. It seemed like a curse. "I'm sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" the person asked with concern. For some inexplicable reason, Juliet felt like she knew him.
"I'm fine, don't worry," she said while trying to stand up. The stranger offered her his hand, and she accepted it. She looked up to meet a pair of chocolate brown eyes, and they were staring at her like an open window, directly piercing through her soul. She didn't like it when someone looked straight into her eyes for more than five seconds, and this guy was staring for a good minute, which felt like an hour.
Then, she examined his face and realised it was the coffee jerk standing just inches away from her. She was right. It was the same one that she had seen at the airport. She stared in shock. "You! Wait, why are you here?" he yelled instantly, letting go of her hand and making her stumble a little. His voice was laced with bitterness as he recognised her face immediately.
"Me? This is my house!-" She said, sounding a little offended.
"Hello Juliet, are you there, hellloooo!!!" She averted her eyes from him when she heard Sira calling her name."Um, yeah- Um, I'll call you later. Bye."
"Oh, I see you've met my daughter, Juliet. Juli, this is Pablo, one of the players I coach." Her father interrupted him. Pablo knew that Xavi had a daughter abroad, but he just was not expecting her to be her. From the photos he had seen whenever going to Xavi's house, she had blossomed into a beautiful woman. "We've already met," Juliet said bluntly, grabbed her stuff, which fell on the ground cause of the bumping, and passed him with a push. She walked upstairs to change.
"Please don't mind her. Some douche spilt coffee on her late mother's top."
Pablo instantly felt guilty as he watched Juliet walk away. He realised that he was the one who had spilt coffee on her and had been the cause of her bad mood. He couldn't believe that he had been so careless and rude.
After a five-minute drive, they reached the practice area. Everyone was already there, so Juliet felt quite awkward being the only girl. As they walked in, all eyes were on them.
"Coach, what is Juliet Velasco doing here?" a random player yelled.
"Everyone. This is my daugher, Juliet Isla Velasco Hernandez. She recently moved back here to play for Barca Femini and the Spanish national women's team. I invited her to be here today and watch us practise." Xavi spoke up and introduced her to everyone.
They all smiled at her. Pablo's eyes widened, finally realising where else he had seen her. She was a key player for Manchester City. Everyone started to walk away to start practising while her father showed her where to sit and led her to the benches. Juliet couldn't help but notice the pride in his eyes as he spoke about the sport that had brought them together. Despite her anger towards him, she couldn't deny that her father was an excellent coach.
By the practice's end, Juliet felt slightly more relaxed and in a better mood. Watching her father coach his team and how much he loved the sport reminded her of the good times they had shared before the incident that had caused their current rift.
Pablo, on the other hand, had tried to avoid her during practice, feeling guilty about what had happened earlier, but he couldn't help stealing glances at her every now and then. There was something about Juliet that he couldn't shake off. He was drawn to her in a way he had never found himself being drawn to anyone before. Whenever she was around him, his heartbeat quickened. Pablo knew that he had to talk to Juliet and make things right between them. He needed to face her and apologize for what had happened.
