For 24-year-old tennis player Naya Morgan, all that glittered certainly wasn't gold. In her relentless pursuit of victory, she had strayed far from the joy of simply playing the game she loved.
Naya's life takes an unexpected turn when she crosses p...
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The fact that Naya was willing to sit with her hurt and uncertainty until after Jude's football match spoke volumes of her character. The last thing she wanted was for Jude's mind to be jumbled going into a game that decided the fates of so many.
Although she was willing to give Jude the chance to explain himself, she hadn't seen him since the night before when he came to her hotel room.
Admittedly, Naya had grown used to Jude's presence, but it was in the middle of the night as she lay alone in bed that she missed his touch. What made this worse was that he was literally in a room one floor up from her.
The next morning as Naya made her way down to one of the hotel's restaurants for breakfast, she felt as though she barely slept a wink, her eyes burning slightly from a combination of tiredness and tears.
Naya's plans for a solo breakfast were put to rest when she spotted Jude's younger brother Jobe sat eating a bowl of cereal. "There she is," he smiled teasingly, making Naya smile for the first time since the previous evening.
"Good morning," Naya said softly as she pulled out the seat across from him, sitting down on it before reaching for a menu.
Jobe raised an eyebrow, noticing the exhaustion in Naya's eyes. "Rough night?" he asked gently.
Naya hesitated for a moment, debating how much to share with Jude's younger brother. But something about Jobe's warm demeanor made her feel comfortable around him. "Yeah, you could say that," she replied with a small sigh.
Jobe nodded sympathetically, understanding more than she realized. "Jude can be an idiot sometimes, but he means well," he said, trying to offer some reassurance.
Naya appreciated Jobe's attempt to lighten the mood. She smiled gratefully at him. "I know he does," she admitted, feeling a knot of emotions loosen slightly in her chest.
"As for Anais, I don't know what was said to her but, she got on a flight back to London last night. Jude told her to leave." Jobe revealed making Naya's tired eyes go wide with surprise.
Naya hadn't expected that Anais had left so suddenly, especially at Jude's request. It added another layer of confusion to the already complicated situation.
"Why would he do that?" Naya asked, her voice filled with a mix of concern and disbelief.
"Because it's not Anais he cares about, it's you."Jobe shrugged, his explanation simple but informative.
Naya nodded slowly, trying to process the new information. It seemed like there were more layers to Jude's actions than she had initially thought. She couldn't help but wonder what had transpired between Jude and Anais to lead to such a drastic decision.
As they both sat in silence, contemplating the situation, Naya couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in her chest. She knew that she needed to have a conversation with Jude, to clear the air and understand where they stood.
