lacy | jude bellingham

chapter 04.

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AMELIA WAS STILL IN BED, AND AS MUCH AS IT HURT HER, she knew she couldn't avoid it any longer—she had to talk to jude. she needed to hear his side of everything, to understand why he had done this to her, even though she dreaded what he might say. she picked up her phone again and scrolled through her contacts until she found his name. taking a deep breath, she pressed the call button.

the phone rang once, twice, and then a third time. and finally, after what felt like an agonizing wait to her, jude answered.

"hello," jude said quietly, almost as if he knew what was coming.

amelia didn't like to get angry, but the hurt she was feeling pushed her past the point of holding back on him. "jude, what the hell is going on!?" she asked, her voice shaking with emotion. "i genuinely thought that i meant more to you than this....why did you do it?"

there was a heavy silence on the other end of the line. jude could hear the pain in her voice, and it brought him another level of pain. he wished more than anything that he could tell her the truth, that he could explain the mess he was caught up in. but he knew he couldn't. instead, all he could manage was a weak, "i don't know, amelia. i'm sorry."

his words only made her more upset. "you don't know? that's all you have to say? we've been together for two years, jude! was this what you wanted the whole time? seriously were you just waiting for the chance to throw me away when you got it? i really don't understand...."

"no," he replied quickly, his voice sounding desperate. "no, it wasn't like that. it was a mistake, amelia. i swear, it was a mistake."

amelia's heart ached at his words. she wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that it was an out of character mistake. but the image was already burned into her mind, and she couldn't shake the feeling of the pain he caused her.

"a mistake?" she repeated, her voice breaking. "you kissed another girl. you broke my heart. you took everything we had, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it. do you have any idea how much this hurts?"

jude was silent, unable to find the words to respond. he knew he had messed up, but all he could do was apologize, knowing that his apologies didn't mean shit to her.

"i'm sorry amelia," he said again, his voice barely above a whisper. "i wish i could make this right. i hope one day you can forgive me."

the actress closed her eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks. "forgive you? jude, i respect myself too much to stay with someone who could do this to me. i loved you, i do love you, but i deserved way better than this."

jude felt his heart shatter as her words sunk in. he knew this was the end, that he had lost the person who meant more to him than anything else. but he couldn't blame her; he knew she was right.

"i understand," he said softly, his voice filled with regret. "again, i'm so sorry amelia."

amelia took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "i hope you continue to do great things in football, jude. i really do. but you and i are over. i'm sorry."

"please don't apologize," jude told her. "it's what i deserve. i'm sorry for being stupid amelia, i never wanted to hurt you...and i know my actions didn't seem like it, but i love you, i do."