Paradise In Portugal {Cristiano Ronaldo}

12. Awkward Moments

{Adelina POV}

The dinner table was quiet. Not a single word had been exchanged since Gareth took a seat. In this kind of silence, a pin could be heard hitting the floor's surface.

"I must say, the food is delicious," Gareth commented, looking up at me from his plate.

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You boys are lucky that your mom can cook," he said towards the boys.

Josue and Carlos looked up with no emotion on their face. They nodded quietly and continued eating.

Gareth looked over at me with confused eyes. I shot him a soft smile before resuming my dinner.

"Boys, why don't you ask Gareth about soccer? You guys like soccer." I was trying my best to make them talk to each other. It was hard when they boys were having a hard time with it.

"What would we ask?" Josue said.

"Yeah. We know everything we need to about him," Carlos spoke in a manner as if Gareth wasn't in the room.

"Oh really?" Gareth chuckled. "What is it that you know about me?"

"Well, you're from England...Wales to be exact."

"And you're known for your free kicks."

"You've won tons of awards when you were younger."

"You even debuted at 16."

"Okay guys, that's enough." I said, demanding an end to the little whatever it is they were doing.

Gareth shifted awkwardly in his seat, but still smiled at me. "It's okay, Adelina. They're good at their research."

~ ~ ~

Later on that night, my kids didn't hesitate when it was time for bed. Gareth and I stood in the kitchen washing and drying the plates.

"Your sons, they're a bit... protective."

I stifled a laugh and shook my head. "Yeah, I'm so sorry about earlier. They aren't usually like this."

Gareth had placed the plate down and turned to me. "Don't worry about it. They'll eventually warm up to me. Just give them time. I don't want to rush it."

I faced him and smiled. I adored how Gareth was taking this so lightly. "Thank you."

He leaned forward, placing a kiss on my lips. I smiled and held him close to me. I found a good man, I thought. He was thoughtful and sincere. I found comfort in knowing that he wasn't into any rush with my kids...or myself for that matter. I began thinking to myself that I, perhaps, made the right decision. However, a regretful feeling was still lingering around. I brushed it off, knowing that I was just being silly. Gareth managed to catch me in my thoughts, when he nudged me and chuckled.

"You okay there?" 

My mouth managed to form a soft smile as I nodded up at him. Gareth was still looking at me with sincere eyes, full of warmth. Some part of me felt guilty. Was it the way he was comforting me? Or maybe the way he was caressing me? Something was definitely bothering me in a way I didn't understand. I guess I had felt guilty for treating Cristiano the way I did. But here I was, acting like nothing ever happened. I still hadn't told Gareth about the situation that had happened.

I had snuggled my head back into his chest, as I felt his arms wrap gently around me. I needed to feel some type of comfort to rid this feeling, even if it was from the one who was causing it.

~ ~ ~

After dropping off the boys in school, I rushed over to work for a pitch meeting. This was necessary to discuss new release strategies through the media, news, or even the local paper. It was anything to keep the team talked about. I was awaiting this day for a while; I finally had the chance to show my work ethic and dedication. I was already used to this line of work from New York, however this was completely different than advertising the local basketball team. In some ways, I had partial control of one of the greatest soccer teams in the league. That was a bit of weight on my shoulders.

As I walked up to the building, my eyes caught the attention of a Bentley GT in the parking lot. My insides turned into knots, because I surely knew who's car that was. My long awaited excitement quickly turned into a dread. I grew nervous, and not so much about the assignment anymore. My anxiety stemmed from the thought of seeing Cristiano again. I paused suddenly, procrastinating to go inside. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about turning back and leaving.

No, Adelina. I said to myself. This is your job. Focus on your assignment and nothing else. I took in a deep breath in and let it out to calm my anxiety. I was not looking forward to this work day. I started to feel guilt and shame, knowing I was about to face Cristiano. I hesitated to take a step further, but eventually I gave in.

After entering the building, I took an elevator to the fourth floor, quietly ruminating about how the day was going to turn out. Once I entered the office space, I made my way through to the meeting room. Upon arriving, I was immediately greeted by the team managers and some of the players. Although the car outside proved otherwise, I did not see Cristiano in the room. A part of my worry left my body, but I had still been feeling uneasy. I took a seat across from an empty chair, as the others took seats around the table. I took out my notebook and readied myself for this meeting. As I situated myself in my seat, I looked up to lock eyes with the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo, sitting across from me.

While we sat there staring at each other, one could sense the tension grow. After a long pause, the look in his eyes turned into pure annoyance. It caught me off guard, because I didn't expect him to look at me the way he did. My look turned into a bit of confusion, even though I knew why he was acting the way he was. He rolled his eyes at me, just as the project manager walked in to start the meeting.

~ ~ ~

Once the meeting was over, Cristiano did not hesitate to leave as quickly as possible. I swiftly grabbed my things and hastily followed behind Cristiano, occasionally bumping into the others.

"Cris!" I yelled, just as I saw him enter the elevator.

He looked towards me, rolled his eyes and continued to get onto the elevator. I ran down the hallway as fast I could in heels, and entered alongside him just as the elevator doors closed behind me.

"What is it that you want, Adelina?" he displeasingly said.

"I want to talk to you about what happened."

"There's nothing to talk about. Your actions speak for themselves." Cris looked away from me and started to focus on the floors going down.

Third Floor.

"Please," I said. "Let me explain and apologize for everything. I shouldn't have done that to you."

He looked at me and rolled his eyes once again, just before looking back the floors.

Second Floor.

As soon as we hit the second floor, I immediately pressed the stop button and halted the elevator from going any further.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Cristiano exclaimed.

"Can you please just listen to what I have to say?" I said, with guilt forming through my words.

Cristiano scoffed and hit the button once again to make the elevator move.

First floor.

"There is nothing you can say to me to make this all go away. You hurt me, Adelina. All I wanted was a chance, and you couldn't even commit to that," he said as the door to the elevator opened. "I hope you two are happy together."

With that, Cristiano looked away from me and got off the elevator. I was joined by two office workers, before I hopped off. All I could do was watch Cris exit through the main revolving doors, as the tears began to well up in my eyes.

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Author's Note;
Wow guys! It has been a long time since I last updated this story. But I'm glad to be back. Hopefully people are still interested and still reading this! I had been going through a lot of personal issues, plus getting a huge case of writer's block. I lost so much inspiration for this, but Im back and ready to write again. I will solely focus on this story, in order to give you guys more of it. So stay tuned !!

- beautifulscars16