𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 [𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴]

ɪ. ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ, ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁
𝗔𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁"
-𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘴

Noa stood by the window of Jude's penthouse, looking out at the glowing lights of London below. It was late, and the tension between them had been simmering all evening. Jude sat on the sofa, legs stretched out in front of him, his arms folded across his chest, clearly frustrated.

"You're actually serious about this, aren't you?" Jude finally said, his voice a sharp edge cutting through the silence.

Noa sighed, turning to face him. "I've already told you, Jude. This documentary—it's huge for me. It's everything I've been working for."

"And what about us?" Jude stood, his towering frame making the room feel smaller. "You're just going to leave for months? Don't you think we should be trying to fix things instead of running off to the States?"

Noa crossed her arms, her patience fraying. "Fix things? Jude, we've been going in circles for months. Every time things start to feel normal, you start with this. You get jealous, or you pick a fight because I'm not here enough."

Jude scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Jealous? Don't make me laugh, Noa. You're the one always off with your mates, or Evelyn, or whoever. I never know where you are half the time. But when I'm busy with matches or training, you don't hear me complaining."

"Because I don't control you, Jude!" Noa fired back, her voice rising. "I know how much your career means to you. I don't throw a fit every time you have to leave for Spain again, or when you're too tired to even text me back. But the minute I have something important going on, you act like I'm abandoning you!"

Jude took a step closer, his eyes darkening. "Abandoning me? You barely spend time with me anymore. It's always 'work this, work that.' You can't even give me one month without running off to some other country."

Noa exhaled, trying to stay calm. "You're being unreasonable. You knew who I was when we started this. You knew how important my career was."

"Yeah, but I didn't sign up to be second place, Noa." Jude's tone was low and cold. "I don't see how this works if you're always putting your job ahead of us."

"I'm not putting it ahead of us," Noa said through clenched teeth. "I'm trying to balance both. But you're making it impossible with this constant guilt-tripping."

Jude stepped back, shaking his head. "You think I'm the problem? Fine. Go do your documentary. Run off to fucking America. But don't expect me to be waiting when you come crawling back."

The words stung, but Noa forced herself to stay strong. She couldn't keep doing this—couldn't keep letting him make her feel small for wanting more. "Maybe you shouldn't be waiting," she said quietly, grabbing her coat from the chair. "Maybe it's time we stop pretending this is working."

Jude watched her, his jaw clenched tight. "You'll regret this, Noa. You always do."

Noa paused at the door, her hand trembling on the handle. "I have to go," she said softly.

As she stepped out into the cold night, her heart felt heavy, but there was a sense of relief too. This wasn't the first time they'd fought like this, and deep down, Noa knew it wouldn't be the last. But right now, all she needed was to focus on what came next—her career, her future.