Cristiano's Love [Sequel to Change of Heart]

Chapter 12

"This is the only box you're bringing?" Cristiano asked as he stared at her quizzically.

"Well, no... But I can't have you doing manual labor," the shorter brunette smirks at him, before continuing her sentence.  "So I hired movers to ship the the rest of my stuff.  This box is just the necessities I need, plus that suitcase," she points to a large blue suitcase by the door.  

Her boyfriend shrugs at her before dropping the box in his car then returning for the suitcase.

Annabelle takes a final look at the room, now filled with her stuff packed away in boxes.  Each chip in the wall, every piece of furniture, reminded her of a beloved memory with family.  With Lulu.  With Neymar.  She shuddered at the last thought which reminded her of his kiss earlier.

"You're not leaving forever.  You can always visit and come back during vacations," Cristiano says comfortingly as he wraps his arms around her waist and places a kiss on the top of her head.

His loving embrace made Annabelle want to cry.  She was full of guilt, sadness, nostalgia, and anxiety all at once.  She turned to bury her face in his chest and tightens her arms around him.

"Bella, it's okay.  We don't have to leave right away if you want to stay for a bit,"

"No... I want to go... I just n-needed a moment,"

"Take all the time you need love,"

"It's okay.  I'm ready.  Let's go," she pulls away from him to wipe her face then picks up her purse to head out.

"You sure you're okay?" he says as he stops her from walking out the door.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she forced a smile and tugs at him, leading towards his car.  She closes and locks the door behind him, mentally closing the door to her past with Neymar with it.

~*~*~*~ 

"Bella?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you what you wanted to eat, twice..." he sits down besides his girlfriend on the sofa and pulls her onto his lap.  "Are you sure you're okay?"  She places her head on his shoulder and simply nodded.

He tilts her head to look at him so he could place a soft kiss on her lips.  She cups his face and returns his kiss.  He took that as a cue to deepen the kiss, parting her mouth with his tongue, engulfing himself in her scent.  He held her in place with his left arm while his other hand  caressed her thigh then slowly up to her breast.  Just as he did, an image of Neymar flashed in Annabelle's mind.  Her heart skipped a beat, her eyes shot open, and she pulls away from Cristiano.

"Bella?" he calls her name while trying to catch his breath.

"Cris..." Annabelle stared at her concerned boyfriend, simultaneously debating whether or not to tell him about her encounter with Neymar.

"You must be tired.  I'm sorry I got carried away," he kisses her on the forehead and pulls her back in a warm embrace.  His apology cleared away any and all her intentions of confessing.  She didn't want ruin the moment and convinced herself that she would never see Neymar again for it to be a problem.  Thus, she decides against ever thinking about bringing the incident up with Cristiano.

~*~*~*~ 

"Annabelle, you did great today!" one of the other girls complimented her as they walked off the pitch together.  Annabelle blushed and excitedly thanked her for the compliment.  

It was her third training session and she was starting to become more friendly with her teammates and getting a grasp on reading  their playing styles.  However, it was still tough for Annabelle to completely immerse herself in the team as some of their senior players seem to feel a certain bias against her being a rookie who is so closely tied to the Catalonian team back home.  Being the girlfriend of Cristiano Ronaldo didn't help much either, but she was there to play football so she was determined to not let trivial matters affect her performance.

She packed up her gear and tosses everything in her car, well Cristianio's car that he forced upon her, and heads home.  Cristiano was traveling for a promo unveiling his new CR7 line, leaving her home alone.  It's been only a few weeks since they have lived together but she was starting to feel a bit lonely.  She has officially moved in since her stuff arrived shortly after she did but she still felt like a stranger in the large place.  The chef, Maria, already had dinner prepared for her as she walked in the door but she wasn't hungry so Maria packed the food and leaves for the evening.

It's moments like this, she misses Lulu the most.  She plops herself in front of the tv after a hot shower and selects a random channel before she picks up her phone to text Sofia.

A - Hey, what are you up to girl?

S - Heyyy!  Nothing really, about to give myself a facial and throw on a movie.  You?

A - Just about the same, minus the facial. XP

S - You okay?

A - Yeah, just a bit bored... Cris isn't home.

S - He's been away quite a lot hasn't he?

A - Yeah, he's trying to get as much of his endorsements and photo shoots out of the way before he gets too busy with the football season.

S - I get that but shouldn't he at least try to keep you company more?

A - Sof, I'm not a child...

S - Yeah, but it's just that you're all by yourself there... :(  How are the new teammates?  

A - They're nice, but haven't really clicked with anyone yet.  Some of them don't like me since I'm from Barcelona and obviously because I'm dating Cris.

S - Most women are so petty... sheesh!

A - Tell me about it... Anyways, I think I'm going to just call it an early night.  I'll TTYL

S - Sure thing love.  Text me anytime!

A - <3

Annabelle shuts off the tv and heads to bed.  Just as she gets in bed, her phone rings.  She picks up without looking, assuming it was Cristiano, but the Brazilian Portuguese accent on the phone made her heart skip a beat.

  ~*~*~*~

A/N = I completely fell off the planet on this one!  Gosh, it's been so long since this update, sorry everyone!  Things got busy and also had slight writer's block.  But now revisiting this piece, I may have some newfound inspiration, so stay tuned for more!  I'll try to update every 2-3 weeks.  Thanks for reading/following!