In The Darkest Hour

Part Two - Chapter Eighteen: Not Getting Better

Isla grumbled exhaustedly as she stepped into the house, it was late and she had not long finished her shift at the hospital and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and stay there. 

The last month had been far from easy for her and Gerard, the press wasn't letting up about what had happened and they were still printing stories about it even after Isla had revealed that she was the woman in the picture. 

Isla felt sick at the stories that were coming out and the women coming forward claiming to have slept with Gerard while she had been dating him; the claimed to have slept with him on nights that he had been with Isla. 

Isla had no idea what was going to happen but she could see that all of this was wearing Gerard down, she worried about her boyfriend and they had only been together for five months; she didn't think they would be able to survive if this continued. 

Isla headed upstairs and wondered why this was happening to them, she was sure that whoever had sold the pictures to the press had known it was her; she feared just what else they might have about the couple. 

Isla didn't call out for Gerard, she knew that he was home but he had been grumpy in the last few days; Isla feared that he blamed her for what had happened and she wished she knew what to do. 

Isla paused at the sight of Montserrat and Milan, she was a little surprised and she wondered where Gerard was; she had been expecting to find Milan and Gerard playing like they usually did. 

"Hola," Montserrat greeted smiling at Isla, she knew this was a surprise for her but Gerard had been called away to a meeting and she hoped that everything was going to be okay; she hated that someone had done this to Gerard and Isla. 

Montserrat didn't like the stories that were being posted about her son, she had no doubts that Gerard had never chested on Isla and she wished she knew who had spread the lies.

***

Gerard sighed walking into his home, his meeting with the club hadn't gone well and he knew that if things didn't turn around then they would be getting rid of him during the next transfer window. 

The rumours that were going around about him cheating on Isla hadn't made the club very happy, the women that had come forward claimed that he had slept with them before important matches. 

Gerard had no idea what was going on and he had a feeling that there was someone pulling the strings on all of this, he wanted nothing more for this to stop; he was happy with Isla and he knew he hadn't been in the best moods around her lately. 

Gerard shook his head, he had been pretty short with Isla and he had snapped at her a few times in his frustration at what had been said about him; he was going to make it up to her when he had the chance. 

Gerard headed up the stairs to the first floor, he could hear his mother and Isla talking and he smiled a little; he wasn't going to let either of them down again. 

Gerard had asked his lawyer if there was something that could be done about these women who were lying to the press to get attention; he was still waiting to hear back but he couldn't sit around and do nothing anymore. 

Gerard stepped into the main room and smiled at the smell of dinner, his stomach grumbled and he took a deep breath before heading for the kitchen were Isla and Montserrat were taking. 

Montserrat smiled at the sight of her eldest son, she was glad that he was home and she hoped his meeting with the club had gone well; she didn't want Gerard to leave Barcelona. 

Montserrat liked having her son around, he had spent four years in Manchester with a year in Zaragoza; it had been hard and she wanted things to remain as they were.

"How was your meeting?" Montserrat asked while Isla peeked at Gerard, she knew that things weren't getting better and she hated that she had caused all of this; she wished she had never suggested role-playing with him in public. 

Gerard spotted the look on Isla's face, he hated that she felt guilty about this and he had been working so hard to get this fixed for her sake; he didn't want this dragging out for longer than needed. 

"As expected," Gerard mumbled nodding at his mother as he moved to wrap his arms around Isla, it wasn't going to be easy but he was going to fight to stay in Barcelona. 

Gerard wanted to spend the rest of his career at the club and he wanted to ensure that it happened, he didn't want to be forced out because someone had decided to mess with his life like this. 

Isla closed her eyes and hugged Gerard back, she cuddled into his arms and held onto him; she wasn't sure what was going to happen but she would stand by him no matter what. 

"Have you heard from William and Nidia?" Montserrat asked changing the subject, Milan's third birthday was coming up and Isabel's parents would be coming into Barcelona with a couple of her siblings at the end of the month. 

Gerard had already warned that Tonino wouldn't be welcome, he didn't want the man that had tormented Isla into trying to take her life; he wasn't going to forget that and he certainly wasn't going to forgive. 

Isla squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath, she knew that they would be coming into town but she wasn't sure how to feel about that after what Tonino had done to her. 

Gerard shook his head and kissed the top of Isla's head, he didn't want anyone upsetting her when she had never done anything wrong; he was sure that Isabel's parents and welcome siblings would be fine with her.

***

Tracy set down her phone and smiled to herself knowing that it was only a matter of time, she was sure that this was going to work and she just had to push a little more to get what she wanted. 

Tracy hadn't told her husband what she was doing since she knew that there was no way that Theodore would support her in what she was doing; she was trying to get Isla to see that Gerard was wrong for her. 

Tracy had taken out a massive loan so that she could make it look like Gerard was cheating on Isla; the pictures that she had taken of him with Isla in a wig had only been the start. 

Tracy had been hiring random women to pretend that they had slept with Gerard on important dates; she was sure that if things carried on like this then Isla would break things off with Gerard and come home. 

Tracy peeked over at her husband as he walked into the kitchen, she smiled at him knowing that he was coming to accept the fact that Gerard was now an important part of Isla's life; a fact that Tracy herself was never going to accept for anything in the world. 

"What do you fancy for dinner?" Tracy asked wondering what Theodore would do if he found out that she was putting them in debt, she was sure he would be furious but she would pay off the money as soon as she could. 

Tracy would carry on her secret campaign to make Gerard suffer for messing with her family, she was going to make him regret ever dating her daughter.

Theodore stared at his wife, he didn't know what it was but he had a feeling that she was keeping secrets from him; he wanted nothing more than to make amends with Isla.