The Footballer's Girlfriend

Part Three - Chapter Eighteen: Unwelcome Meetings

Stepping out of the small café that she had taken Elsa to, Eliana smiled having enjoyed lunch with her daughter; they hadn't been bothered much and she was glad that things had been so peaceful. 

Portugal had lost their opening match of the world cup against Germany and Eliana was worried about what was going on; she had talked with Cristiano and he seemed so down.

"Time to go home," Eliana soothed starting to walk to her car, it had been a good trip for them and to be away from the house was even better; she was starting to get frustrated with her mother's constant concerns. 

Eliana trusted Cristiano more than anything and there was no way that he would cheat on her; they talked all the time and she knew that if there was something bothering him then he would tell her. 

Elsa toddled next to her mother, her small hand held tightly on to Eliana's as they walked to the car; she'd been a good girl all day and she'd even been treated to ice cream after her lunch. 

"Eliana?" called a voice making Eliana come to a stop, she turned around to see who had called her name and frowned when she spotted the man behind her. 

It had been nearly a year since Eliana had last seen her father and his new wife, she hadn't wanted to talk to him again after he had chosen Sara over her on her wedding day. 

"It's so great to see you," William said grinning, he stepped away from his wife, he couldn't believe that he had seen her especially after months of her cutting him out of her life. 

It had stung but William had made up for that with all his deals with the magazines and he had Sara and their son; everything seemed to have worked out and he wished Eliana would talk to him.

Peeking over at the little girl next to Eliana, it took William a moment or two to realize who she was; he felt no connection to Elsa and he didn't feel like he had missed out on much of his grandchild's life. 

"Mama," Elsa whispered eyeing the strange man before her, she didn't know who he was but the way he was staring at her mother made her uncomfortable. 

Elsa had already promised her father that she would be a good girl for her mother and look after her since her baby brother was due soon; she was a little excited about having someone to play with. 

"This must be Elsa," William murmured nodding to his granddaughter, he didn't feel like he was missing out on her life; he was sure that his time with his son was much more important. 

Sara stood a little away from her husband and her step-daughter, she truly hated the way that William was handling things especially with all the interviews he was doing on Eliana for money. 

This was the last thing that Sara had ever wanted and she often wondered where the thoughtful man that she had fallen in love with had gone. 

"You should come and meet your brother, Elijah," William mused signalling back to his wife and the small boy that was with her, he looked more like Sara but William adored him none the less. 

Peeking behind William at Sara, Eliana frowned a little at the little boy almost feeling sorry for her half-brother; he deserved better than being used to make some quick money. 

"No thank you... I've seen enough of him in the papers," Eliana replied stiffly, she recalled the latest headline that she had seen about her father that claimed that she had turned her back on him and refused to even visit Elijah when he had been born. 

It made Eliana feel sick that he was using her to make money and she was determined never to have anything to do with William again.

Of course if Elijah was to turn up on her doorstep when he was older wanting to get to know her then Eliana would never turn him away; she just wasn't going to be the reason that her father made so much money now. 

William opened his mouth to say something, everything had been working out so well and it would be even better if he could have Eliana back in his life. 

"Stop selling stories about me and my family... or you will be hearing from my lawyer," Eliana snapped not wanting to hear what he had to say, she was down listening to his crap excuses about why he was doing all of this; William had had his chance and had ruined it. 

Turning on her heel, Eliana walked away from him knowing that she was doing the right thing; Elsa and her baby brother would never know their grandfather or uncle but that would be okay. 

William watched Eliana as she walked away from him, a lump forming in his throat as he realised that there would really be no coming back from this. 

He had always held out the hope that someday things would return to normal for him and Eliana, she would see sense and understand why he had pushed so hard for Sara to be treated like family. 

It hurt even more to learn that Jennifer was expecting to get married in a few weeks' time; William had never thought that his ex-wife would remain so quickly. 

Watching Eliana drive away with Elsa, Sara sighed shaking her head before she picked a confused Elijah up and walked away wanting to get some lunch. 

She really wished that William would stop all this before he lost everything, he barely had any friends now since none of them could believe he was selling stories about Eliana and Cristiano to the press.

***

"I am so sorry amor," Cristiano murmured laying down in bed, he couldn't believe that his father-in-law couldn't realise what a good thing that he was missing out on; he hated that he continued to hurt Eliana with his actions. 

They were so careful now to make sure that no news of their lives leaked to William, it would only end up in the papers if he were to find out anything about them. 

Cristiano brushed his fingers through his hair, he couldn't wait to come home to Eliana and Elsa; he wanted to relax and he dreaded the next two matches that he had to play. 

Losing against Germany had been bad and it scared Cristiano that Portugal could be knocked out of the tournament soon; he feared what would happen when he would go home. 

The media were going to have a field day and Cristiano just wanted things to be simple, he wanted to win something with his national team before he retired. 

He wasn't getting any younger and Cristiano knew that sooner or later his time with the national team would come to an end; he just wanted to make his country proud for once. 

Listening to Eliana talk, Cristiano wished that William could see how much he had hurt her with his actions; he was going to miss out on being a grandfather because of that. 

Elsa was growing bigger every day and she would hardly remember her grandfather as she grew up and her baby brother would never know of his mother's father. 

Closing his eyes, Cristiano wished that his own father was here and that he could see the family that he had now; he was sure that José Dinis would have adored Elsa and would be thrilled to meet his unborn son. 

Fate had been cruel when it had stolen his father away, Cristiano had barely gotten to know him truly before he was gone and he wished that he could change that. 

It made him even more determined to make sure that his own children would never not know either him or Eliana; their family came first before everything else.