Ruben and Carla have grown apart. With Rubens career taking off he leaves Portugal to live the life of his dreams, breaking Carla's heart doing so. Years later, upon his return home, Ruben learns that Carla has moved on, happily engaged to another man, but not any man, Ruben's childhood bully João Mendes.

** Warning - this chapter mentions abortion

Enjoy!

"What does that even mean?" Ruben's brother, Ivan, laughed.

"I don't know." Ruben rubbed his temple, feeling a headache coming on upon his return from meeting Carla. He sat slumped down on his parents couch, going through the emotions. "All I know is that I'm getting her back." He said. Having retold his brother about the event.

"By what, begging her until she gives in?"

"No?" Ruben frowned, rejecting his brother's desire to make him feel better. How could he, feel better, when the love of his life was slipping away.

"How then?"

"I don't know, okay." Ruben stood. "But I'm not letting her marry João Mendes, that's for sure."

"So crashing the wedding is it?"

Ruben shrugged. "If I have to. If it comes down to it. When is it exactly?"

Ivan chuckled. "No idea, I wasn't invited."

"Me neither." Ruben muttered.

"Well, can you blame her?"

"Ivan, she's marrying João Mendes, of all people."

"But can you blame her?"

"What?"

"For moving on, I mean? You've been gone for a long time, Ruben. How can you expect Carla to wait around for so long?"

"Because...."

Ivan crossed his arms. "Because what?"

"Because she promised that she would."

********************************************

"So how did it go?"

Carla ignored her cousin, who despite her demands, had waited up for her.

Carla crossed her room and threw herself face down on the bed.

"That bad, huh?"

She groaned into her pillow.

"Wow. This I want to hear." Maria buckled up.

"He's gonna win me back." Carla said, shifting her head to the side. "No matter what."

"Damn, Ruben told you that? Aunt Gloria is gonna freak."

Carla squinted her eyes in pain. "It gets worse."

"Worse?"

"Yes. Ruben thinks I'm still marrying João Mendes."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. But I think my mother told him that we were still together when he came by the salon the other day."

"The drama!" Maria gasped.

"Will you be quiet?" Carla hushed. "The only reason I didn't bother to correct him was because that seemed to be the only thing stopping us."

Maria frowned. "Stopping you from what?"

Carla bowed her head in shame, blurring out the words. "From ripping each other's clothes off."

"Carla."

"What am I gonna do?"

There was no point in denying her feelings for Ruben, they were still there and still as strong.

"I say, buy the next plane ticket out of here. To Madeira perhaps?"

"I can't?"

"Why not?"

"Because Mamãe needs me."

Carla turned to lay on her back, the tears swelling up in her eyes. Visiting the cemetery today, Carla understood the pain that her mother still had buried inside of her, how lonely these past years must have been without Carla's father around. Perhaps Carla made it worse by announcing her break up with João, considering how happy her mother had been helping her plan for the event.

"I'm sticking around til the end of the month." She said, "My job has already allowed me the leave since I asked for it ahead of my wedding with João."

"Well, I'm leaving after this weekend." Maria said. "And I did not come home to mourn over lost love. I came to party with my cousin who is finally single for the first time in what, twelve years?"

It was strange, but true. Carla met Ruben when they were ten. They got together when they were fourteen, stuck together until she was twenty-three and not long after their break up she met João Mendes. The truth was that Carla hadn't been single for a minute, nor did she know how to be.

"Tomorrow you and I are going to do what single people do best."

"Which is?"

"To shop until we drop, duh."

Carla wasn't one for shopping. To stand in front of a dressing room mirror eventually became dreadful, considering how much weight she had lost and gain during her year of depression. However, she did enjoy strutting through town. Carla spent the next day admiring her hometown by the coast, greeting familiar faces walking by, as well as catching up with her favorite cousin, who seemed to have a great life going on for herself.

"I can't believe you get to travel the world like that, doesn't it get claustrophobic, working as a flight attendant?"

"No. I love it."

"Well, then I'm happy for you." Carla admired her cousin. She was two years younger but had much more confidence than herself, especially when it came to putting oneself first.

"Have you spoken to João lately?"

Carla snorted. "No."

"So I take it he didn't take the break up very well."

Upon their separation João had referred to Carla as an indecisive selfish little child. Words that still haunted her today.

"No. No he didn't."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about...."

"Mari? Mari Fernandes, is that you?"

Another familiar face came walking down the street.

"Santina!"

"Mari! Why didn't you tell me that you were back in town?"

The two women rushed to embrace each other, excluding Carla for a good two minutes. Santina was Maria's best friend in high school. Their friendship had been a dynamic one, the two of them often getting into more trouble than they should. But who could blame them when Santina Rivera at sixteen years of age, inherited more money than Carla would ever save up in her lifetime. Her parents death was a tragic way of acquiring her wealth, nevertheless, like Maria, Santina's attitude towards life was nothing short of adventurous.

"And Carla!" Santina squealed, acknowledging Carla who was standing to the side. "My favorite babysitter. How have you been, girl."

Santina was a hugger, a firm one at that.

"Great." Carla groaned.

"Congratulations on your engagement. Everyone is talking about it."

"Oh, no Santi. Carla is not...."

It was impulsive and a bit childish, but stomping Maria's feet was the only way to shut her up. "Aaa!" She groaned, throwing Carla the nastiest of glares. Carla ignored her and smiled playfully. "Thank you Santina, for the congratulations."

"I love weddings, but truthfully when I heard that you were getting married, I thought it would be too...." Santina paused, curiously tilting her head.

"What?" Carla said, feeling targeted.

Santina shook her head. "Nothing, I just remember when we were younger, how you and Ruben Dias used to...."

"That was a long time ago." Carla mumbled.

"God I wanted what you had. He was the hottest guy in school, don't you remember Maria?"

"Thought his brother was hotter." She shrugged.

"Either way." Santina waved. "When did you guys break up? You were together for a long time, no? Even when he was playing for Benfica. Did you move to Lisbon with him or....?"

"A long time ago." Carla clarified. "Ruben and I broke up a long time ago. I'm with João Mendes now."

Carla ignored the chuckles that Maria let out beside her, but she didn't like talking about her business in the street like this, especially not with Santina Rivera, who was a well known gossip. Thankfully Santina took the hint and ended the conversation there.

"You guys are coming to the party that I'm throwing on the beach tonight, right?"

Maria perked up. "Party? What party?"

"My clothing line Saint Sure is celebrating the opening of my second boutique in Lisbon. Please come, it would be really nice to catch up some more."

"We'll be there!" Maria assured.

Carla on the other hand, could think of a million things that she rather fucking do.

******************************************

Except for training with his national team, Ruben came home to relax, to catch up with old friends before heading back to England. However, it was hard to do these things when wherever he went people flocked after him like birds. He used to be able to walk freely in his hometown, which he really enjoyed since it made him feel like a normal guy. But with Manchester City's latest successes it was now nearly impossible to be left alone.

It's the reason Carla left him, Ruben was convinced. She stuck with him through it all. The rise of Ruben's football career happened before her eyes. Carla even made the effort to leave home and move with him when he went off to play for Benfica. Of course, Lisbon wasn't too far from home. Carla often went back to visit her family. However, when Ruben asked her to move to England with him that's when she just couldn't take it anymore. Although Carla made the effort to stay overseas with him for a year, she never really settled down. And Ruben being off training all the time made it difficult for him to look after her, to make sure that she was alright. It was one of his biggest regrets in life, not being able to make Carla feel at home with him.

"Well, well, well. Look who showed up, Ivan and Ruben Dias. To what do I do the honors?"

"Santina, you know us." Ivan smiled, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. Ruben did the same. "We could never say no to a party, especially if we're celebrating the success of your business."

It was more Ivan who couldn't say no. Ruben only tagged along in the hopes that Carla would be at the event. Santina was a bit younger than himself and Carla, but he vividly remembers her hanging around the two, bothering them as preteen children do teenagers. At that time Carla and Ruben were showing a bit more interest in each other, which people around them had noticed. Their family members called it true love because of the early age that they found each other. Ruben called it a blessing, a blessing that someone as beautiful as Carla even bothered to look at him twice, considering Ruben still had buck teeth during those days.

"Well, to that I am grateful." Santina smiled. "How about a photo?"

A cameraman popped up out of nowhere, but Ruben and his brother complied to pose for a picture. Ruben had to pose for a few more after that, since his appearance at the beach caused a bit of a stir amongst the party guests. It became exhausting at some point, but Ruben found the strength to endure once he spotted her, Carla, and her cousin Maria. She wore a flowery sundress, whilst her cousin wore a bikini. Most people at the party were dressed half naked, including Ruben with his unbuttoned shirt. It was a beach party after all. Carla, however, stood puttering around the bar, looking rather out of place for some reason.

As the party went on, Ruben found himself excusing himself from conversations after losing sight of her. He asked around if anyone had seen her, but no one seemed to know where Carla had gone.

"Ruben." Santina interrupted his search. At that point of the night she was a bit too tipsy for his liking, Ruben who didn't have anything to drink for himself. "Funny how your mother is trying to set us up." She said, slurring slightly on her words.

"Yeah, funny." Ruben turned his head in search for Carla. There was no point in staying if she hadn't stuck around.

"She's not wrong though, we would make a cute couple."

Ruben looked down. "We would?"

Santina shrugged. "I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've always had a crush on you when we were younger. It got to a point where I used to beg the Fernandes family to let me stay with them, knowing that you were always over at their house."

"Yeah, I wanted to be with Carla." Ruben said, hoping that answer would set his feelings for Santina straight. He also made the mental note to tell his mother to stop setting him up with other women. He only had eyes for one.

"And now she wants to be with João Mendes. Funny how time works."

Ruben clenched his jaw at the mentioning of his name.

"Didn't the two of you get into a fight that one time." She chuckled. "Don't tell me that it was over Carla Fernandes?"

"It wasn't." Ruben grunted, knowing damn well which fight Santina was referring to. The fight between Ruben and João Mendes happened at school, on the football pitch, during a match where his team was struggling and João Mendes had blamed it all on Ruben's terrible defense. It was a silly fight, but Ruben who, even back then, took his dreams of becoming a professional football player very seriously, snapped at the thought of not being good enough. And for the words to come out of João Mendes mouth, had pushed him over the edge.

"Anyway, how is life in England?" Santina asked.

"Great. Have you seen Carla?" Ruben was tired and ready to leave, but not without being given the chance to talk to Carla.

"She left to get some air." Santina muttered. "By the pier, I think."

"Thank you." Ruben said, excusing himself.

He made his way towards the pier, leaving the party behind. His heart skipped a beat seeing Carla's silhouette posing against the descending sun. Ruben knew he shouldn't go, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to spend time with her again.

Ruben found Carla sitting on the edge of the pier, staring out at the waves.

"Hey," she said softly, turning to him.

She must have seen him coming.

"Hey," Ruben replied, taking a seat next to her.

They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the waves roll in.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ruben. Never been better."

He chuckled at the sarcasm in her voice. He had missed it, her humor.

"Your mood...." He said, careful not to express himself too vigorously. "Does it have to do anything with us?"

"Us?" Carla turned to look at him, her expression furrowed. "There is no us, Ruben. Not anymore."

He nodded understandingly but in the back of his mind Ruben still had hope, he was gonna win her back.

They sat there for a while longer, watching the stars come out and listening to the sound of the waves. As the night wore on, the tension between them eased a little, at least to a point where they both knew that they had to talk about what was really on their minds. Starting with Carla.

"You left me when I needed you the most." She said,

"I know and I'm sorry." He really was. It was shortly after Christmas Eve three years ago that Carla's father grew ill. He died shortly after, whilst Ruben was away, living the life of his dreams in England.

"I was so lost, Ruben. So lost without you and I hated myself for being so weak."

"Don't say that." Ruben stretched out a hand in an attempt to touch her.

A mistake.

Carla shrugged off Ruben's hand, followed by a warning stare for him not to try anything again.

"Carla, you have to understand..."

"No Ruben, I don't."

She stood.

Ruben had to contain himself not to let his gaze wander up her bare legs as her dress blew in the wind. "Carla." He sighed. "Then please tell me. Tell me how I can make things better between us? I'll do anything. Anything."

"Ugh." She groaned in annoyance. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"I still have feelings for you, Ruben. A part of me has accepted that I always will."

Ruben looked at her, his eyes searching her face. "I still have feelings for you too."

Carla shook her head, as if Ruben was completely missing her point. "We're not good for each other, Ruben. You have your own life now, as do I.

"Fuck that." Ruben stood, his height overtaking hers. "We're perfect for each other Carla and you know it."

Her eyes widened, stunned by the passion in his voice.

"There's no other girl in the world for me but you. I love you Carla."

"Ruben."

He went to touch her again and to his surprise Carla let him wipe away a fallen tear with his thumb.

"I love you too."

Ruben's hand fell. Her voice had been as low as a whisper, nevertheless, he heard it.

"You do?"

She nodded.

It was bold of him, either way, he went for it. Ruben stepped forward and went in for the kiss, capturing Carla's lips with his own.

Her breath hitched as he pulled her flush against him. Her lips were cold in the night, but oh so familiar. Ruben knew the taste of Carla as well as he knew his way around a football pitch. As he felt her ease into him, allowing Ruben's tongue to enter her mouth, Ruben's hand slipped from between her shoulders to her lower back, pressing Carla's body hard against him.

A sigh. Carla let out a sigh deep down her throat, to which Ruben hymned happily against her lips. They made out for a good minute or so, before allowing each other to catch their breaths. Although the dark night, Ruben could tell that Carla wasn't grinning like he was. The opposite. She looked conflicted and angry with herself.

"Ruben." She said, stepping away from him, wiping away their kiss with the back of her hand. "I'm still marrying João."

Ruben's hand went pinch the skin between his brows. "Why, Carla? Why him, of all people?"

"Because he didn't leave." She snapped. "João was there for me when I needed him the most. Unlike you."

"Carla, I told you that I wanted to come back. But your family...."

"My family was only trying to protect me, Ruben."

"Protecting you from what, me?"

She fell silent.

Ruben frowned. "Carla? I would never..."

"I know." She nodded. "I know you would never do anything to hurt me, at least not on purpose."

Ruben shook his head, desperately in need to touch her, to have Carla in his arms again. "How...how did I hurt you?" He asked, desperate to know.

"It doesn't matter, I'm over it."

"Over what? Carla..." Ruben grabbed her wrist before she could turn her back on him. "You need to tell me how I hurt you, it's the only way I'll know how to make things right again."

"You can't!" She cried.

"How do you know, you haven't even..."

"Because, Ruben.....I had an abortion."

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