Love Will Find A Way

Part One - Chapter Twenty-One: Unexpected Doubts

Cristiano slowly made his way over to Nicole and sat down next to her; the brunette sighed softly and wrapped her arms down her legs, she knew that he was worried about her but since she had returned from the doctor’s office.

“Coli?” Cristiano asked her not sure what had upset Nicole but he didn’t like it that she was being this quiet; he hated to think someone had said something stupid to her about his past when he was completely committed to her now.

“I’ve been thinking over the last week or two… about when I get my results if it would be better if we went our separate ways,” Nicole said making Cristiano’s eyes widen as he slowly started to realize what was going on; he shook his head violently and took Nicole’s cold hands into his own.

The brunette stared at him warily, she didn’t want him to stay with her if he only felt sorry for her because of her leukaemia; she wanted him to be with her because he loved her.

“Don’t you dare… we’ll get through this Nicole those results don’t matter to me. I love you,” Cristiano said desperately making the brunette shake her head softly and look at him; she’d had doubts for a while now and it worried her that he had only been with her out of pity.

The last thing that Cristiano needed was either a woman who he was stuck with out of pity or one that he loved that could never truly give him what he wanted.

“It wouldn’t be fair on you either way. You deserve so much better someone who can enjoy life with you without the constant fear of hospital visits or getting sick… someone you aren’t with out of pity,” Nicole said making tears form in her blue eyes; she looked down at her hands as she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

The footballer stared at her speechlessly for a moment, he’d had no idea that she’d been having these thoughts and he wished that she would have talk to him sooner about them; he loved her more than anything.

“I don’t want any of that if it means I can’t have you and I was never with you out of pity, I truly do love you,” Cristiano said begging silently her not to do this.

 The brunette shook her head knowing that this was the best thing for them; she needed time and she wasn’t sure if her illness would rule her life again.

“And what about when I’m so ill they hospitalize me Cris… what’s to stop someone like Irina catching your attention,” she said as her tears started to fall.

She swallowed as she tried to keep herself calm; she sniffled as she looked down at her hands knowing that if she didn’t keep calm then she was going to cry.

Cristiano stopped what he was doing, this wasn’t about the illness this was about them; she was scared of losing him, something that he would never be able to do.

Cristiano smiled and dropped down onto one knee, he was glad he’d picked this up while on his lunch break; he’d spoke to Sergio about it since he wanted to get her something to show how much she meant to him.

Nicole looked at him puzzled as Cristiano handed her a jewellery box; as she opened it she gasped at the sterling silver fancy diamond solitaire ring that lay inside the box.

“I’m not asking you to marry me… it’s a promise ring; I promise that no matter what happens in the future between us that I’ll always be there for you,” Cristiano said softly taking promise ring from the box and slowly slipping it onto her ring finger.

He smiled to himself knowing that he could never be this happy without her.

Nicole noticed as similar ring on Cristiano’s finger but she couldn’t speak, she swallowed as she felt tears trail down her face as she tried to wrap her head around what he had done.

“I’ve said it before Nicole and I’ll say it again… I’m here until you don’t want me anymore, hell I’ll probably fight to stay with you if you try getting rid of me,” Cristiano said stubbornly, he wasn’t going to ever make the mistake of letting her go.

***

Cristiano wrapped his arm around Nicole as they watched the highlights of some football game that had been played last year; he felt completely content about what was going on however there was one thing that plagued him.

“When the results come in I’m coming with you,” Cristiano said making Nicole look at him and bit her lip, Cristiano raised an eyebrow and faced his girlfriend as a sudden bad feeling started to form in his stomach; he didn’t like the look that formed on her face.

“I got my results back today,” she said nervously, Cristiano exhaled sharply through the nose waiting for Nicole to continue; he didn’t know why she had kept that from him and he wished that he had asked her about it.

“Don’t get upset… the results had nothing to do with me freaking out,” she said making Cristiano look at her confused, Nicole smiled up at her boyfriend and kissed his lips.

She knew that he wanted to protect her but there was only so much he could do if her first course of chemo had failed.

“I’m clear,” she whispered making Cristiano break out into a grin and pull her close to him, he gently lowered his lips to Nicole’s before Toby started yapping for attention.

The footballer groaned annoyed as he pulled back while the puppy clambered up onto his girlfriend’s lap and excitedly wagged his tail and looked up at Cristiano with an innocent face.

Nicole giggled making her boyfriend glare at her, he couldn’t believe that he was being blocked by Toby; he hadn’t thought that the puppy would cause them this much trouble.

“He felt left out,” Nicole cooed as she ran her fingers through Toby’s soft white fur, making Cristiano grumble about cock-blocking dogs making the brunette laugh at him.

Cristiano smiled as he bent down and kissed Nicole again, making her wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer to her; he couldn’t believe that they were going to be okay, he had never thought that it would happen this quickly.

Soon the kisses became more urgent and Cristiano quickly maneuvered himself on top of Nicole while Toby jumped off the couch; he snorted at the two as he padded out of the living room leaving them alone as if he knew what they were going to do.

“Bedroom,” Nicole whispered making Cristiano smirk as he stopped unbuttoning her pyjama top and kissed her softly; he wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her from the couch, knowing that it was probably going to be a good idea.

“I love you,” Cristiano said as he carried her upstairs, he smiled as he held her close knowing that this was the start of something better for the two of them; they would be able to start thinking about what they wanted from their future.

The footballer was aware that just because she was clear now didn’t mean that the leukaemia couldn’t come back at some point; he wanted to focus on the positive right now and that was that she was better.

“I love you too,” Nicole whispered as she ran her fingers through his dark hair before she kissed him, her finger felt strange with the promise ring on her finger; she couldn’t believe that he had gone and done this for her, the brunette grinned as they stepped inside their bedroom.

Nicole knew that her life was finally looking up for her and she wasn’t going to allow anything to tear them apart; she knew that there was nothing that could come between them.