The Only Exception

Part One - Chapter Twenty-Eight: Picnic of Truth

“What do you think?” Lionel asked as he looked at Antonella as they sat on a blanket, the footballer had left his phone in the Maserati GranTurismo S, so that his date with his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t be disturbed.

Antonella chewed quietly on her sandwich as she watched Lionel she had to talk to him about what was going on, she didn’t want him losing Lucia because of her.

“It’s nice,” Antonella said carefully, her brown eyes looking at the field that he had brought her to and she wondered if Lionel had brought Lucia here.

Antonella didn’t have to guess to know that the answer was no, he didn’t seem to realise just how badly he was treating his wife who was in love with him; she sighed before setting down her sandwich on her plastic plate.

“Can I be completely honest with you?” Antonella asked as she brushed some hair from her face and thought about what she was going to say.

Lionel nodded his head eagerly as he looked at his ex-girlfriend, he hoped that she had something positive to say about his attempts to woo her; he knew he’d been ignoring Lucia but it was for the best.

“I have a boyfriend back in Argentina,” Antonella revealed she hadn’t shared this information with anyone in Barcelona, she had wanted to see how things were for her ex-boyfriend and she was worried about him.

Lionel blinked as he stared at Antonella shocked at what she had just said, he really hadn’t been expecting her to say anything like that to him and he hoped that this was the worst of her news.

“I came back to make sure that you were happy, I never thought you’d ignore the wife that’s in love with you for me,” Antonella said with a shake of her head, she hated that she had caused problems for his marriage in this way.

Antonella had tried to explain to Lucia about why she had come back but she could understand why the other woman didn’t want to hear it from her; she was the centre of Lionel’s world right now.

“So you don’t love me?” Lionel said as he tried to wrap his head around what was being said, he stared at Antonella hoping that some part of her still did; some part of her would always belong to him.

Antonella shook her head as she offered him a small smile, she would always love him in some small way but she couldn’t do that to Lucia; she deserved so much better than what was happening right now.

“Anto… you are my first love,” Lionel said as he tried to think of something that he could say that would fix this, he hated to think that things were really over between them.

Lionel had spent a year of his life waiting for her before he had married Lucia because he didn’t think that he could love again.

“But you love Lucia more and you should… she is your wife,” Antonella said as she tried to turn Lionel away from the idea of loving her, she wished she’d never come to Barcelona; she had heard from Daniella how Lionel had been falling in love with Lucia before she had come.

Lionel shook his head as he looked at Antonella, he didn’t want to think about his feelings for his wife; he had pushed Lucia away to get Antonella back.

“I’m going back to Argentina tomorrow and I hope you will fight for your marriage, like you fought for me,” Antonella said as she rested a hand on Lionel’s, she had been in Barcelona long enough and she knew that Lucia would look after the footballer.

Lionel whimpered as he realised that he was going to lose Antonella again, he hadn’t thought that this was how it was going to go; he had hoped he’d win her back.

“Por favor… don’t let Lucia get away,” Antonella pleaded with Lionel, she hated to think that she would be the cause of his marriage falling apart; she would never forgive herself if it collapsed because of her.

Lionel stared at his ex-girlfriend for a moment as he realised that she was letting him go, he blinked as he tried to think of something that could change her mind.

“If you carry on down this path then you are going to lose her Leo and I don’t want that for you,” Antonella said shaking her head, she could see that there was only so much more that Lucia would take before she divorced Lionel and everyone would see that the footballer had broken the blonde’s heart.

Lionel opened his mouth to say something before he closed it knowing that Antonella was right; he was at risk of losing Lucia even if she had put up with his behaviour lately.

“So this is Adiós then?” Lionel said as he looked down at his wedding ring, his chest ached not knowing if he could let Antonella go; he still loved her and he knew that he had to have her in his life in some way.

Antonella watched him for a moment, she knew that it would be best if she kept her distance for a while; he needed to do some serious grovelling to do with Lucia.

“For a while… I want you to fix things with Lucia more than I want to be your friend right now,” Antonella said as she rested a hand on his arm, he needed to focus on his marriage and not her right now.

Lionel swallowed as a lump formed in his throat, it was getting late and he knew that whatever he had hoped to achieve with Antonella was a waste of time now.

“I truly am sorry Leo,” Antonella said as she saw the heartbroken look on his face, she had never wanted him to get hurt.

***

“What the hell?” Lionel muttered as he pulled up outside his home to find Gerard sat on his doorstep with his head in his hands waiting for him.

Antonella eyed the tall footballer nervously as his head snapped up, she could tell from where she was sat in the car that Gerard was angry about something.

The former couple climbed out of the car as Gerard got to his feet, his blue eyes furiously locked on Lionel who stared at his friend concerned.

“Where the hell have you been?” Gerard demanded as he stormed forward, he had been trying to get hold of Lionel for hours now and only now did he appeared as if nothing was wrong.

Lionel stepped back nervously, none of his friends had liked that he was persuading Antonella when he had just realised that he was falling for Lucia; however he had ignored them to try and win his ex-girlfriend back.

“Let’s forget for a moment the fact that you spent the day with your ex-girlfriend, when it was Lucia’s birthday,” Gerard snarled knowing that Lionel had completely forgotten that it was her birthday; he would focus on that part later when there weren’t more pressing matters to deal with.

Lionel felt sick as he realised that he had completely forgotten that today was the 7th of August; it had slipped his mind when he had been wooing Antonella.

Antonella stared horrified that she hadn’t even known that Lucia’s birthday was today, she couldn’t believe that Lionel had forgotten something that important.

“Your wife is currently in hospital and has been for the last three hours,” Gerard said as he ran a hand though his hair, he had been sent looking for the Argentine when no one had been able to reach Lionel over the phone.

Lionel felt his entire world collapse as he wondered what could possibly have happened to Lucia while he had been gone, he hadn’t even thought to check his phone after hearing that Antonella was leaving him behind. 

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Author's Note:

Only three chapters left of Part One.