Worlds Apart

Chapter 17

"Arsenal will be good for me."

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We'd been in Italy for a few hours and decided on making homemade pizza for dinner. So, after unpacking some of our things, we went to the grocery and bought a week's worth of food. I was putting bits of flour into the dough Alessia was kneading and drinking whiskey as we cooked.

"So, I got some news yesterday." Less said. "Also, hand me the pan." I set my glass down and grabbed the pan from the other countertop.

"What kind of news?" I leaned back against the counter.

"Arsenal is putting in a bid for me during the transfer window next month." She put the pizza on the pan. "For a lot of money."

"How much?"

"Management is saying £500,000."

I choked on my drink. "Jesus. Are they going to sell you for that?"

"I don't know yet. I don't even know if I want to go to another club, let alone another city."

Alessia opened the oven and put the pizza in and told Siri to set an alarm. She grabbed her glass of wine and leaned against the counter opposite from me.

"Maybe change will be good?" I offered.

"Maybe. I'm not sure I want to leave yet."

"Why?"

"Well, if I do leave in January, United will get a majority of the money and I'll get, I don't know, ten percent maybe—which is still a lot."

"But?"

"I feel like if they're considering the transfer without really telling me, I don't want them to get anything from it."

"Okay?"

"I become a free agent in early summer, so I could leave for free."

"Are you really considering that?" She shrugged. "I can tell you this," I downed what was left of my drink and set the glass down. I grabbed Alessia's hand and pulled her into me. "I will support you with what you decide." I kissed the tip of her nose. "We can sell our house in Manchester and buy one in London. If you decide Manchester is where you're meant to be then we'll stay. Don't let it pressure you too much."

"I always thought I'd stay in Manchester for the entirety of my career."

"And you still can. They can't make you leave."

"They can." She seemed frustrated now. "You know what?" Her arms wrap around me. "I'm going to go. Arsenal will be good for me. I'll have Lotte there. We went to uni together. Then there's Leah and Beth too. Let's get through this season and move to London."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She seemed confident in her answer. "It'll be good for me."

"As long as you're happy, I'll be happy."

"What happens with the people you work with at the studio when we're permanently here?"

"I'll work from here. I'll most likely go there to record since it's a studio—" I stopped.

"What?" Alessia put her hand on my cheek.

"I could build my own studio. My own recording company. I have the money to do it."

"What about your management team?"

"I've been wanting to leave Mark for years. He's an asshole. I could build a studio in London, record my own songs and bring some local artists in to help boost them. If it goes well, I can set one up in Manchester and Liverpool and so on. Set some up in America. I can travel between studios as needed and Less," I squeezed her hips. "If we were wanting to start a family one day, we both wouldn't constantly be traveling."