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All Chapters of My Ex's Football Rival Wants Me: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

73 Chapters

51: You Knew That, Right?

Andre's POVFamily dinner at my parents' house had one rule nobody ever needed to write down: if you were at the table, you belonged there.That was why I stopped in the entrance hall when Carmen and I walked in and heard Valentina laughing somewhere near the dining room.Carmen was still taking off her coat when she noticed I had gone quiet. "What?""Nothing."That answer lasted until Lucia appeared from the hallway with a glass in her hand and enough confidence to make my irritation worse."You made it."I looked past her toward the dining room. "Why is Valentina here?"Lucia's expression barely changed. "I invited her.""Again?"Carmen glanced between us, but Lucia was already rolling her eyes. "Andre, do not start. It is dinner.""Exactly. Family dinner.""She knows everyone.""That does not make her family."Lucia lowered her voice. "Can we not do this at the door?"I wanted to ask when exactly she planned to understand that my former girlfriend did not need permanent access to e

52: The Latest Couple

Carmen's POV".....Spain may have found its newest football couple."I looked up from my laptop just as the television cut to a photograph of Valentina standing beside Iker Navarro outside a fashion event. Andre reached for the remote and switched the television off.Quite strange. I turned to look at him.He placed the remote on the coffee table with the calm expression of someone who had done absolutely nothing suspicious. "We shouldn't be watching celebrity gossip when we could be watching educational documentaries or something."I kept looking at him until his expression started to change."What?""Educational documentaries?""Yes.""You were watching the channel before they mentioned Valentina.""I was not watching it. It was on.""That is what watching television means."Andre leaned back against the sofa. "You know what I mean."It was the afternoon after the family dinner. We had both agreed to do nothing useful for a few hours, which for Andre apparently meant sitting still w

53: Submitted

Carmen's POVProfessor Benítez had already submitted my Aurelia Crown Pavilion concept, and I found out because he congratulated me.I stood in front of his desk with my portfolio under one arm and waited for the sentence to make sense."Sorry," I said. "You did what?"He looked up from the papers in front of him. "I submitted the concept.""You submitted my work?""Yes.""Without asking me?"His expression changed slightly, as though he had finally reached the part of the conversation he had known was coming."Carmen, sit down.""I don't want to sit down.""Then remain standing, but let me explain."I put the portfolio on the edge of his desk. "I would actually like to understand why my work was sent anywhere without my permission."Professor Benítez removed his glasses and folded them carefully. The calmness of the gesture annoyed me more than an argument would have."The faculty received an invitation to recommend student concepts for professional development. I submitted yours bec

54: The Crown Pavilion

Carmen's POVThe Aurelia site looked nothing like my drawings.On paper, the pavilion had always been clean lines, controlled light and carefully measured circulation. At the site, there were temporary barriers, exposed concrete, machinery reversing somewhere beyond the east wing and three people arguing beside a stack of materials that had arrived in the wrong order. The air smelled of dust and fresh timber, and every few minutes somebody in a hard hat walked past carrying a problem.I loved it immediately.Professor Benítez met me near the entrance and handed me a visitor helmet before pointing toward a woman standing beside a folding table covered with plans."Marina Serrano," he said. "She is leading the development team."Marina looked up before we reached her. She was probably in her early forties, dressed in black trousers, work boots and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows. There was nothing theatrical about her. She shook my hand, asked whether I had brought t

55: Handle With Care

Andre's POV"Grade one adductor strain. Mild."The doctor said the word mild as if it was supposed to improve my mood.I was sitting on the examination table at Numancia's training complex with one leg extended while the club physio reviewed the scan on a monitor beside us. The pain had started during a change of direction in training, sharp enough to make me stop but not sharp enough to convince me anything serious had happened. The medical team disagreed with my preferred diagnosis, which was nothing."You are lucky," the doctor continued. "There is no significant tear. We manage the load, settle the irritation and reassess before you return fully.""How long?"The physio answered before he did. "Long enough for you to stop asking every thirty seconds."I looked at him. He smiled.The doctor ignored both of us. "You will follow the recovery plan. Reduced load, treatment, ice as directed, medication only as prescribed, and no deciding on your own that you feel fine.""I don't do that

56: Sexual Confidence

Carmen's POVBy eight the next morning, Andre had already tried to convince me that walking normally counted as proof he was recovered."It hurts less.""That is not the same thing.""It is progress.""It has been one night.""Exactly. Excellent recovery."I stood in the bedroom doorway wearing one of his old Numancia shirts and stared at him until he smiled. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in training shorts, one hand resting behind him while he stretched the injured leg carefully. The club had sent another set of instructions that morning, and his physio had called before breakfast to remind him not to test the muscle simply because it felt better.Andre had listened respectfully. Then he had spent the next twenty minutes trying to test it."Stop moving," I said."I'm not moving.""You were literally stretching.""That was approved.""Was it?"He hesitated. I folded my arms."Fine."I walked over. The bruising along his inner thigh had darkened slightly overnight, and the phys

57: The Hours His Phone Was Off

Carmen's POVAndre and I had been invited to the Festival de Valdora, a private annual arts celebration in Madrid that brought together the kind of people who rarely needed introductions. By the time we arrived, the galleries, terraces and ballroom had filled with actors, footballers, designers, collectors, racing drivers, executives and old-money families who seemed to know one another through at least three different connections.The invitation had come through one of Andre's sponsors, although the event itself had very little to do with football. That was probably why I liked it more than most of the functions I attended with him. Paintings and installations covered the adjoining gallery spaces, a string quartet had played during the first hour, and every few minutes I overheard somebody having a very serious conversation about sculpture while holding a glass of champagne.Andre had been pulled into one conversation after another almost from the moment we walked in. Antonia had fou

58: Tomas Carvalho

Carmen's POVBy the time I reached the fruit table, I had decided that staying angry at Valentina would only give her more of my evening than she deserved.I picked up a strawberry, put it back down, then watched two servers rearrange a tray that did not need rearranging. The room was still crowded, the music still low and expensive, and somewhere behind me people were laughing as though nobody had ever cornered them at a party to explain that their boyfriend had nearly kissed his ex.I was trying to decide whether another drink would help or make me reckless when a man stopped a polite distance away."Mind if I stand beside you, miss?"I turned and recognized him immediately.Tomas Carvalho looked slightly less polished in person than he did on television, which somehow made him more attractive. His jacket was open, his tie was gone, and there was an ease about him that suggested he had spent years learning how to survive rooms where everyone knew his face."You may," I said. "Althou

59: Let Him Watch

Carmen's POVThe conversation with Tomas carried us away from the fruit table once more people gathered around it, and we ended up beside one of the tall cocktail tables near the windows. He was halfway through telling me about a circuit in Japan where the viewing terrace had been designed beautifully and positioned terribly when I looked across the room and saw Valentina standing beside Andre.Francisco was with him, speaking with one hand in his pocket while Andre listened. Valentina had somehow found her way into the conversation and stood close enough to make it obvious she intended to stay there. She said something I could not hear, smiled, and then placed her hand lightly against Andre's forearm.He pulled away almost immediately.I saw that clearly.On any other night, the gesture would have reassured me. After what she had told me, however, my mind refused to leave it alone. She had already given me a version of that afternoon where Andre's silence meant guilt, where his phone

60: Contractual Obligations

Carmen's POVBy the time the car pulled away from the festival, the music had disappeared behind us, but the tension had followed.Andre sat beside me in silence while the lights of Madrid moved across the tinted windows. I could still feel the champagne warming my face, and the loose confidence it had given me had not completely faded. A few minutes earlier, Tomas had been making me laugh hard enough that I had forgotten to care who was watching. Now I was sitting beside the person who had watched all of it.Andre did not speak immediately, and that was how I knew he was angry. He rested one hand against his thigh and stared ahead for a while before finally turning toward me. "Did you enjoy yourself?"There was nothing casual about the question."Yes," I said, letting the answer sit there for a second before adding, "Tomas was sweet. He is a gentleman, he actually listened when I talked about architecture, and he knew enough about paddocks to make the conversation interesting. No wo

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