For The Longest Time

Chapter Five: Family Decisions

Rosalie blinked as she stared at her husband on her laptop screen, she wasn’t sure if she had heard him right and she knew that he had to have thought about this long and hard if he was suggesting it to her.

“You want to go public?” Rosalie asked running a hand through her hair, she hadn’t expected this when Lionel had asked to Skype with her that night; she licked her lips as she stared at him, he had been gone for two weeks and the blonde knew that he wanted to be with his family.

“I want to be able to come home to you and the children, I can’t keep lying anymore,” Lionel said looking at her, he was sick of all the problems that seemed to come from this; there was going to be a backlash when the truth came out especially from their parents.

Rosalie sighed relieved that they were going to do this, they needed to do this; it had been far too long of them hiding and she wanted to be able to be with her husband no matter what.

“Are you sure that you want this?” Rosalie asked looking at him, this was something that couldn’t be undone once they had gone through with it; she worried he wouldn’t be able to cope with the change in their life.

Lionel nodded his head as he watched his wife, he had done a lot of thinking about this and he was sure that this was what he wanted.

“I do… I can’t do this anymore Rosa and I’m scared that it’ll cost me you if I don’t,” Lionel said smiling at her softly; he would do anything for her and he wasn’t about to lose her or their children.

Rosalie nodded her head watching him, they both knew that this would change them; they had been lying for so long that it would be strange to finally admit that they were married.

“How do you think our parents will take the news? We cut all contact with them because of this,” Rosalie said knowing that once her parents discovered that they were married they would want to come and see them.

For Lionel it would be an easy reunion but for Rosalie, she hadn’t parted well with her parents and she could remember the night that she had fled from her home to start her life with Lionel.

Lionel licked his lips as he thought about what his wife had said, he knew that she was right this wasn’t going to go down well with their parents; he had a feeling that her father was going to hate him for what had happened.

“I don’t know… but I do now this, I love you Rosalie Messi,” Lionel said making Rosalie smile at her married name, she missed being called by her married name and she was going to like hearing it again.

***

“So I know this girl and she’d love to have a date with you,” Javier Mascherano said as he looked at Lionel, who paused as he looked at his friend; he was trying to do and this time he could say no without worrying about what his team-mates thought.

“No gracias, I have plans,” Lionel said making Javier look at him confused, there was some sort of secret that the smaller man was hiding and he had a feeling that this was related to the fact that he didn’t date.

“Plans with who?” Xavi asked knowing that Lionel had to have someone special in his life, he knew that the ring that Lionel wore on his finger was wedding ring.

Lionel smiled at knowing that his friend was the only one that hadn’t pushed him to attempt dating, he knew that Xavi had no idea that he was married and that he had children.

“My wife,” Lionel admitted knowing that it was time to come clean, he licked his lips as he glanced at Cesc and Gerard who paused as they realised what he had said; the entire room fell silent as they all began to recognize what he had said.

“Your wife?” Victor asked looking at Lionel, he wasn’t sure if he had heard his friend right, he watched him confused wondering if he had heard him right.

Lionel nodded his head as his team-mates stared at him taken back, they had never expected their sweet and innocent Leo to find someone so soon; they glanced between each other trying to think of what to say.

“I know that I haven’t been honest with you and I owe you all an apology… I’ve been married for eight years,” Lionel said breaking the news, he looked around the locker room knowing that this was the easy part; he knew it would only get worse from here.

Carles looked at the small argentine, he could understand why he didn’t want anyone knowing about this but he was shocked that Lionel hadn’t told anyone about his marriage.

“My parents don’t even know that I’m married, I haven’t spoken with them in seven years,” Lionel said softly knowing that some of his friends were upset at the fact that he had kept this a secret; he looked around the room as everyone tried to wrap their heads around his surprise announcement.

Lionel shifted uncomfortably, he knew that he had some explaining to do and he hoped that they would listen to him.

“I didn’t say anything because Rosalie and I wanted to protect our children from the limelight,” Lionel said smiling at the thought of his wife and their daughter and son; he couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

Dani Alves blinked looking at Lionel, he was a little taken back that the small argentine had a family that none of them knew about and that he had gone through great lengths to protect.

“Rosalie? As in Rosalie Maradona, Diego Maradona’s missing daughter?” Dani said staring at Lionel, no one knew what had happened Rosalie only that she had contacted the police to stop her parents search for her; no one had ever thought that she had spent the last seven years with Lionel as his wife.

Lionel nodded his head knowing that there was no denying who his wife really was, he knew that his friends would want to meet his family sooner or later.

“Rosalie Messi now,” Lionel said with a smile on his face, he couldn’t wait to be able to call his wife by her married name in public; she went by her maiden name for work and he hated no one knew that she was his.

A couple of the players chuckled at how proud Lionel seemed to be about his wife, they were all slowly getting over their shock and they couldn’t help but be happy for their friend that he had someone in his life.

“So you’re a padre as well?” Carles asked trying to learn more about Lionel’s secret life, the small footballer had a reason for telling them now and he had a feeling that the footballer was going to bring his family into their world.

“Peyton’s six, Thiago is ten months old and we have one on the way,” Lionel said grinning to himself as his team-mates stared at him as they realised that he had a life that they didn’t know about.

Dani swallowed as he realised why Rosalie had left her family behind in Argentina, she was pregnant with the couple’s first child and he had a feeling that Diego and Claudia hadn’t known of her marriage to Lionel.

“So when do we get to meet this family of yours?” Andres asked looking at his friend, Lionel cared for his wife and he wanted to meet the woman that had captured Lionel’s heart; he wanted to meet the woman that Lionel had kept hidden from his friends.

Lionel took a deep breath, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders; there was a long road ahead of him and his family, he knew that there was more to come.