Chapter Twenty-Three

A couple of days later at Kylian's apartment, Kylian joined Sapphie on the sofa with his phone in hand.

"Hey Saph, check out this article I found."

"What's it about?" Sapphie asked without looking up from her own laptop. Her brows were furrowed and her laser focused gaze never left the device's screen.

On her one free Saturday, she decided to kill two birds with one stone, catching up on some work and hangout with Kylian.

"It's about me! Apparently, there's speculation that I'm dating someone new."

Sapphie let out a half-hearted laugh without looking up again, "Oh wow. I wonder who this time."

Seeing her reaction, Kylian got an idea that had him smirking to himself.

"Juliette Courbet."

"The actress?" She asked with a smile as she continued typing.

"Yeah. But I have to say, we do look good in this picture together."

That statement provoked the reaction he wanted out of her.

"What?! Let me see that." She practically threw her laptop aside and peered at his phone screen.

"What are you talking about, that's a terrible picture. You can't even see who that is!"

Kylian burst out laughing.

"That's because it's us at that party, silly."

Sapphie not entirely convinced, grabbed the phone from his hands and took a closer look. Then snorted out a laugh when she realized that it indeed was them.

"So, the guy had one job and all he could do was one blurry picture?" Sapphie zoomed in on their faces. "Wow, they're not even close," she said as she scrolled through the article, reading the random suggestions the journalist listed and the reasons why. But most of the names and suggestions made both Sapphie and Kylian laugh.

"Heard he was chased out by security before he could do anything else." He said then laughed, "Really? I can't believe they think I'm dating Aurelie Marceau," Kylian shook his head.

"She's almost twice my size and nowhere near my colour!" Said Sapphie and they laughed.

When the laughter finally died down, Sapphie reached over and took his hand. "Well, we both know the truth," she said with a smile.

Kylian grinned and leaned in to give Sapphie a kiss. "Yeah. You took the words right out of my mouth," he said. "We can just be ourselves and enjoy each other's company. At least we should enjoy this privacy as much as we can before it eventually goes out, right?"

"Yeah," Sapphie nodded as she tucked herself into his side. Kylian's words suddenly reminded her of something she'd been meaning to ask him. What was it that had happened to him in the past that had caused his mother to check her background? But whatever the answer was, she knew that now was not the right time to ask about it. She only hoped Kylian would become comfortable enough to tell her himself. Besides, there was no point in ruining their perfect weekend afternoon for something that could be better staying buried in the past.

Sapphie nodded in agreement and snuggled closer to Kylian on the couch. "That's all that matters," she said.

But just as things had started going great with Kylian, they just as quickly turned south when she was called into Pierce's office one afternoon. This was on a Monday morning, only a week before PSG's semi-final match against Bayern Munich.

"Pierre? You wanted to see me?"

"Take a sit, Sapphie!" he pointed as he sat back in his chair until it reclined and he kicked up his feet on the corner of his desk.

Nervous because she didn't know what to expect, Sapphie gingerly walked up to Piere's desk and did as he had indicated. He seemed too cheery to be happy with her work since that had not been going so well lately. Which begged the question what had gotten him in such a good mood so early. What ever it was, Sapphie had a feeling it wasn't good. At all.

"Sapphira,' he lit a cigarette and took a single puff before blowing out the thick smoke in the air above, "how are you feeling this morning?"

"I am well, thanks." She breathed.

"And your work? How do you feel about that?" He asked as he twirled the cigarette in his fingers.

So, he was toying with her on purpose. She realized.

"I know things haven't been going so well lately Pierre, but I'm trying to solve it. Claude assured me that the delivery—"

"I'm not here to talk about Claude, mademoiselle," he regarded her with another sinister look before he took another puff, "we are here to talk about you."

He said, "So you admit that your work performance has been...lacking lately?"

"Yes, but—"

"It's a simple yes or no, Sapphira?" He raised his brows and tipped his head to the side.

Sapphira remained silent for a while as she thought about it. She knew what a trap looked like and she knew tha this, right here with Piere looking at her like that, was a trap. But what choice did she have?

"Yes." She sighed.

"And do you think that your recent affair with...say Kylian may be the cause?"

Okay, this is where she drew the line!

Sapphie shot out of her sit and stared hard at the man before her.

"How dare you? I disclosed my relationship with Kylian and it's all according to the code of conduct."

"Sit your ass down." He bit out, "you want to talk about conduct?" He threw a printed out copy of a picture on the desk between them and it was enough to have Sapphie sit back down as she grasped it in her hands.

She swallowed hard as her cheeks started to burn. It was a collage of CCTV footage snapshots. Images of her and Kylian in seemingly compromising positions. All the times they'd kissed and flirted in her office.

"He is my boyfriend." She shook her head as she looked up the monster before her with watery eyes.

"The whole world doesn't know that." He pointed out.

Sapphie even hated the fact that he was seeing her like this. Which prompted her to angrily brush away the tears from her eyes.

"All they would see just another cheap girl who is willing sleeping with a rich footballer to get ahead in life."

Goodness, how could she have forgotten that since her office housed expensive and important equipment there was a camera in there. And now it had worked in favour of her worst enemy.

"So what? You're planning on releasing these to the media? All it would take is one press conference for Kylian to sort everything out."

"Yes, but before that, how much damage would those have caused. What kind of seeds would have been planted in people's minds? Potential employers?" He shrugged.

"You bastard," Sapphie vaulted from her chair and grabbed his shirt. But Pierre remained calm.

"Ah ah, ah, you wouldn't want to make it so easy for you lose your job now, would you?" He tsked, "Imagine the headlines, "Girl assaults Boss after he blew the whistle on her affair with Mbappe."

Sapphie shook with fear and anger as she once again sat back in her seat. She felt a lump forming in her throat. She had always been proud of her work at the club and she didn't want to lose her job over something as trivial as her relationship with Kylian.

"What do you want me to do?" Sapphie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"See there?! That's the million-dollar question, now you're asking the right questions."

"I want you to end your relationship with Kylian," Pierre said, his voice cold and calculating. "If you do that, I'll make sure that your job is secure. But if you don't, then I'm afraid I'll have to let you go. And these as well." He gestured to the pictures. Then he laughed, "After all, they would make me a pretty penny."

Sapphie felt a wave of rage wash over her. How dare Pierre try to control her personal life like this? She had worked hard for her job, and she wasn't about to let him take it away from her.

"Why do I have to break up with Kylian?" She asked, her voice shaking with anger, "What's in it for you? After all, our relationship does not affect you in anyway. Is it because we're black?"

Pierre's face darkened with anger. "That has nothing to do with it," he said, his voice low and menacing.

"Yes, it does," Sapphie said, her voice rising. "You're racist, Pierre. I've known it from the day I first met you. And you are a sadist, you don't want to see me do such a small things smile because somehow you always have to have power over me. Well, this is not the 1800s and I won't let you control my life like this. I won't break up with him just to please you."

Pierre stood up, his face red with anger. "You're making a big mistake, Sapphie," he said, his voice shaking with fury. "You don't know what you're up against."

She too got up, "I know exactly what I'm up against," She said, hr voice strong and determined, "And I won't let you bully me into doing something that I know is wrong."

With that, Sapphie turned to storm out of Pierre's office, her heart still pounding with both fear and anger, but just as her and grabbed the door knob and opened the door, Pierre continued shouting after her.

"Well, the good things I know what you think like Sapphie. In the end, you will have to do what is right by your family. After all, your mother and those two little boys depend on you."

His words made her pause and loo back at him, before continuing on her way. No matter what, she knew she had done the right thing. She only needed to figure out how to sort this mess and turn this whole trap on its designer.

But even a day later, after much thinking, Sapphie hated that Pierre had been right. He'd thought through his plan so meticulously that he had know how to box her well. The weight of his threats hung heavy in her shoulders, suffocating her with a mix of fear and helplessness.

Sapphie fell back on her bed and rubbed her hands down her puffy face. She had always prided herself on her strong will and determination, but now, faced with an impossible choice, she felt her resolve crumbling. Her phone lay neglected on the nightstand, silent and untouched. She couldn't bear to look at it, knowing that every notification could bring further torment.

How was she even going to talk to Kylian about this? After her confrontation with Pierre, she left work and came straight home and got into bed. When her mother got home from work and found her sobbing in bed, she'd thought something had happened with Kylian.

"What's the matter sweetheart? Did you guys have a fight?"

"Or was it that nasty boss of yours again?"

Of course, Sapphie didn't tell her what had really gone wrong. All she did was tell her that yes Pierre had particularly been nasty again that day.

"Baby I'm going to ask you again, do you think it is still worth it working there if that man continues to make your life a living hell every day? You have to think of your health too darling." Her mother had said as she rubbed her back in a soothing manner. To which Sapphie had replied,

"You guys are worth it. I'll be fine, I can handle it ma."

"But Saph—"

"Ma, please. I'm exhausted and I'd like to rest."

With a sigh, her mother had raised her hands in surrender and reluctantly agreed, but she didn't leave the room until after she'd tucked her in bed and kissed her, promising her that her brothers would bring her supper once it was ready.

And true to her word, the dorks had checked in on their big sister and brought in her tray of food and water. And even now, the following evening, those same plates and glasses were still on the floor beside her bed. When her mother saw it, she berated her on it and told her to clean up her room but Sapphie just couldn't bring herself to do it. Later she found herself only wishing she'd listened to her mother. This is because the next time she knocked on her bedroom door, it was to tell her that Kylian was there to see her.

"What?!" She sat up faster than the word left her mouth.

"Mhamha why would you tell him to come, I haven't even bathed?!"

Her tears stained her cheeks, her mascara was smudged around her eyes so much she knew she probably looked like a raccoon.

"Hmm, now I bet you wish you'd listened to me, don't you?" Said her mom as she gathered up all the used tissues and the tray of plates from Sapphie's room."

"And for the record, I did not call him here. I don't even have his number. He said something about you not picking up his calls."

Right. Sapphie remembered putting her phone on silent and watching her phone ring over and over as people looked for her. Including the devil incarnate of a boss she had.

Sapphie only had time jump out of her bed, fix up her hair as best as she could before she heard someone knocking on her door.

"Come on in Kylian, she's decent...enough." Her mother gave her the stank eye before she left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

"Sapphie," he breathed the words as he took in her distraught state.