Book one | Alexa Harvey, a celebrated actress known for her fierce independence and uncompromising nature, has always steered clear of the sports world. But when her latest film role requires her to shadow Jude Bellingham, a rising football star wit...
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The sun had barely risen when Alexa arrived at the training grounds, the early morning light casting long shadows across the field.
She had barely slept, her mind too busy wrestling with the events of the previous day, and now, as she stepped onto the turf, her body felt heavy, weighed down by the exhaustion she couldn't seem to shake.
She spotted Jude almost immediately. He was on the far side of the pitch, talking to one of the coaches, his expression serious and focused.
For a moment, Alexa considered going over to him, but the memory of their last conversation flashed in her mind, stopping her in her tracks. The tension between them was palpable, even from this distance, and she wasn't sure she could handle another difficult conversation right now.
So, instead, she turned away, choosing to focus on her work. She busied herself with the equipment, setting up the cameras and adjusting the angles, doing everything she could to avoid looking in Jude's direction. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering back to him, watching as he moved through the drills with a level of intensity that was impossible to ignore.
There was something different about him today, something colder. His movements were precise, controlled, but there was a harshness to them that hadn't been there before. His interactions with his teammates were short, clipped, as if he was deliberately keeping everyone at arm's length.
And when their eyes finally met across the field, there was no warmth in his gaze, no flicker of the connection they had once shared. Instead, his expression was unreadable, distant, as if he had already made the decision to shut her out completely.
The realization hit Alexa like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of her.
She had known that things would be different between them after what had happened, but she hadn't expected it to feel so final, so absolute. The chasm between them had grown wider, and now it felt like there was no way to bridge it.
She turned away, her heart pounding in her chest as she fought to keep her emotions in check. This was exactly what they had both wanted, wasn't it? To keep things professional, to maintain their distance.
But now that it was actually happening, it felt like a betrayal, like something vital had been ripped away from her.
The morning passed in a blur, the routine of training providing a temporary distraction from the turmoil inside her. But no matter how hard she tried to focus on her work, she couldn't escape the constant awareness of Jude's presence.
Every time he moved, every time he spoke, she felt it like a physical weight pressing down on her, a reminder of everything that had gone wrong.
And then there were the whispers, the furtive glances that followed her wherever she went. The gossip hadn't died down, despite the best efforts of her publicist, and now it seemed like everyone was waiting for the next piece of drama to unfold.
