Paradise In Portugal {Cristiano Ronaldo}

13. Three Months Later

{Adelin POV}

It had been three long months since I had first moved here from New York. Three months since meeting Cristiano. Three months since hurting him. As much as I longed to apologize to him and explain myself, I had given up as time went on. He no longer answered my texts or calls, and I rarely ran into him in the streets. It was almost as if we had never met in the first place. However, as much as I wanted to forget about that night, it haunted me every time I spoke to or saw Gareth.

How are we you may ask? Soon after we got together, he had to fly back to Spain where he lived. It has been difficult keeping up with a long distance relationship, although he did live only a few hours away. The point of the matter was a lot of adjusting we needed to do. In between conference calls, his games, and other things we had to find ways to call or FaceTime each other. He was determined to make this relationship work.

As much as I still felt guilty about moving on from Cris, I felt no other choice. I had a man who was willing to give all of his time for me and my sons; one who was willing to not give up on our relationship, and respect my privacy. With that said, Gareth and I had agreed to keep the relationship a secret from those around us. It was clear that I was not interested in his celebrity lifestyle and he understood that. He did his best to keep me and my boys out of the media, with minimal sightings as possible. This was easy, living 6 hours away from each other. This would be equivalent to living in New York, and having a boyfriend in Virginia. However, this also prevented us from posting and gushing about each other on social media, which was hard. Of course I wanted to flaunt my amazing boyfriend, and show the world how great he was, but honestly, he did that himself by being himself: a famous soccer player.

* * *

Later in the day after an hour long conference call, I made my way over to the supermarket to pick up some groceries I needed for the house. It was a warm Thursday afternoon with partial sun and cloudy skies. The boys had been dropped off at school earlier on in the morning. I noticed a huge change in their Portugese, as they began to speak more fluently.

After arriving and parking, I grabbed a cart and pushed it into the supermarket.

What do I want to cook tonight? I asked myself, walking into the spices aisle. As I reach for the oregano, I met with a familiar hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-" I paused my sentence, as soon as I looked up and froze.

The honey Brown eyes stared back at me, quickly retrieving his hand.

"N-no. It's okay," he said, looking away.

I give him a small, simple smile. "How've you been, Cristiano?"

He looked down at me, then back towards his cart. "Don't do this, Adelina. I've just started to move on from you..."

The time of his voice through me off guard. The last time I had spoken to Cristiano was that day in the elevator. I sighed and looked away.

"Okay, listen," I said harshly. "I know I messed up, but you don't have to treat me like shit either. I've apologized. But fine; if you chose to be an asshole because of it, then be my guest."

I grabbed the oregano and began pushing my cart away.

"Wait, Adelina."

The tone of his voice quickly changed from stern to soft. I turned around and met his eyes. I saw the sigh he took before walking over to me.

"I accept your apology, but please understand that it hasn't been easy for me," he said softly.

I nodded as the guilt feeling started to creep up in my guts. "I'm so sorry that I've hurt you..."

My voice trailed on, as I felt his arm wrap around me and pull me into him. From how short I was compared to his 6'2" towering height, I met at his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, completely forgetting about my cart-ful of groceries. When he let me go, he flashed a warm smile down at me.

"Listen, come by for a friendly dinner tonight. Junior has been missing the boys and hasn't stopped asking about them."

I nodded and smiled back at him. "Sure, that sounds great!"

* * *

{Cristiano POV}

After an hour or so, I arrived home and began putting the groceries I made. I left out certain ingredients I was going to use to cook dinner for Adelina and the boys. Junior had been in the backyard playing soccer, when my mom met me in the kitchen.

"I see you're cooking..." she commented, eyeing all the food I had laid out. "Special occasion?"

I shook my head, closing the fridge door behind me. "No, but I do have a friend coming over for dinner."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oi Cristiano. You don't learn do you. First this Adelina girl comes in and practically destroys y-"

"Mae, stop!" I exclaimed at her. She looked startled, as I took her off guard. "I'm a grown man. I'm a father. You don't think I know what I'm doing? It is none of your concern of who I have or don't have in my life..."

She stood quietly, almost as if she was trying to find something to say.

I sigh and look down at the counter. "Adelina and her sons are the ones coming for dinner. She is just a friend. She's with Gareth. So you don't need to worry about us."

The sterness in my voice was a subtle hint that I did not want to further the discussion.

"Fine. But just be careful with that girl... I don't trust her."