Chapter Twenty-Four

Yeah, she looked like a train wreck.

But all those concerns flew out of her head when he promptly made a beeline beside the bed where she now stood and took her in his arms.

"What's wrong Sapphie? I've been worried about you." He asked, his voice full of concern. "You didn't show up for work, and you weren't answering my calls or messages. What's going on?"

Sapphie's voice caught in her throat as she tried to speak, her tear-streaked face turning towards the floor, unable to meet Kylian's gaze. When she finally mustered finally mustered up the strength to speak without her voice trembling, she told him everything. She told him about Pierre's ultimatum, the pictures and how he had tried to blackmail her into breaking up with him.

Kyian's face darkened with anger as he listened to her story. His fists clenched in a display of frustration. "That's not right," he said, his voice low and menacing.

"No one should have to choose between their job and their personal life. We can't let him win. We won't."

"But Kylian, he could ruin everything. Both our reputations, my career... I can't afford to lose everything I've worked for just because of him."

Kylian took a step closer, his eyes burning with determination. "What if we fight back? What if we announce our relationship to the public, or purposefully leak it somehow? We can expose Pierre's blackmail and take away his power."

Sapphie's eyes widened, a mixture of hope and fear flickering in their depths.

"I... I don't know Kylian. What if it backfires? What if people believe the rumours and think I've been using you for my own gain?"

Oh gosh. She could even imagine how social media would go ablaze with those headlines. People trash talking about her, making her life a living hell...?

This only made Kylian's frustration grow, causing him pace around and throw his hands, his voice filled with impatience.

"So what? Are you going to let Pierre control us forever? We can't keep hiding, Sapphie. It'll eat us apart."

Sapphie felt a wave of guilt and shame that Kylian had so readily jumped to defend their relationship, that he would not let anyone bully her into doing something that she didn't want to do. Whilst she was here, about to throw him off his game just mere days before one of the most important matches of his life. A shot at the UCL title with PSG, something that he had been working to achieve and put in the history books since he was a kid.

She sat nervously before Kylian as he went on to plan releasing a press statement that would announce their relationship to the world. Something that would put her in a better position to defend her reputation were Pierre to go ahead with releasing those pictures to the public and saying al those rumours. But the problem was, Sapphie didn't want to risk it. She'd had an entire day to think about it before now. And it broke her heart that she had to let Kylian down by disagreeing with his plans. It hurt her too because their relationship had been going so well. In fact, she'd fallen in love with him. But she couldn't see a better way out of this.

"I'm sorry Kylian. But I can't do that." Tears welled up in Sapphie's eyes again, her voice quivering as she protested. "I can't risk losing everything. Maybe... maybe we should break up, or at least act like we did. It's the only way to protect ourselves."

Kylian's expression hardened, hurt and anger mingling on his face.

"You're asking me to give up on us? To pretend like we never mattered? I can't believe you'd even consider that."

Sapphie's heart shattered at the pain in his voice. "I didn't mean it like that! I just... I don't want to see you hurt because of me."

"Have you seen what people have written about me in the past? This is nothing compared to that. I'm telling you we can make this work."

He bent over in front of her and gathered her face in his hands.

"Maybe if you quit your job, things would better."

Hold on.

"What?" Sapphie frowned.

"Think about it. I know you're thinking about your family, but I could help you guys out financially. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing—"

"Stop, Kylian!" She shot up to her feet and put some distance between them. "The more you say the worse it sounds."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"How can you ask me to do such a thing?"

"What? Me helping you out with money is a bad thing?"

"It turns me into some 'kept woman'...a free loader. If anything, it would add fuel to the fire those rumours would cause."

"So, you're more worried about your precious reputation and what people would think, than finding a solution to fighting back against Pierre's games?"

Sapphie's voice rose, her emotions spiralling out of control. "I am damn it! And don't you dare spin this on me. I am a woman, an average girl with no money or fame to her name! My reputation would take more of a hit than yours ever would! I have nothing but my integrity. So don't lecture me about thinking more about what others would think because it does matter!" She breathed hard.

Before Kyian could respond, a soft knock sounded on her closed door and then her mother's voiced called from the other side, "Sapphie? Is everything alright in there?"

"Just perfect ma!" She called back, then crossed the room to wrench the door open, "In fact, Kylian was about to leave."

"So that's how it's going to be?"

"Apparently." She raised her chin as she continued to hold the door open.

"Fine, whatever. I hope your pride gives you want you want."

He brushed past her without another glance. She watched him thank her mother and say goodbye to her brothers before he stomped out of the apartment. As the door closed behind Kylian, Sapphie's heart sank, weighed down by a heavy burden. The aftermath of their argument felt like a crushing weight upon her.

"What was that all about?" Bewildered and surprised, her mother stared at the front door Kylian had just disappeared through and then at Sapphie.

"Just something we need to work on." She said before softly closing the door to her room and shutting herself in.

Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over as the echoes of their words reverberated in her mind. She never intended for it to escalate to this point, for her actions to push Kylian away when all she yearned for was to hold onto their relationship. To the love she secretly held for him. But the fear of losing everything clouded her judgment.

Some things would have been better left unsaid, she thought as the words she uttered now pierced her heart with regret.

The room felt suffocating, its walls closing in on her as the harsh reality settled in. This meant their relationship teetered on the edge, the potential for a devastating breakup looming like an ominous storm cloud. The mere thought of losing Kylian, of relinquishing his warmth and unwavering support, sent shivers coursing through her veins. The idea of letting go tore at the very core of her being.

We'd only just met each other.

Regret gnawed at her, its relentless grip consuming her thoughts. If only she could turn back time, erase the hurtful words that had slipped from her lips. The pain etched on Kylian's face haunted her, serving as a constant reminder of the damage she had inflicted upon their relationship.

Fine, whatever. I hope your pride gives you want you want. His words echoed in her mind as if to torture her. With a heavy sigh, Sapphie pushed herself away from the door, seeking solace in the familiarity of her bedroom. She padded barefoot to her bed.

Weariness settled over her, the emotional rollercoaster of the day draining her energy. Slipping beneath the covers, she hoped for a brief break. Yet, as she closed her eyes, sleep eluded her, and the weight of an uncertain future pressed upon her like a stifling blanket, leaving her adrift amidst a storm of conflicting emotions.

On Match Day...

The stadium buzzed with anticipation as the Champions League semi-final approached.

This was it. They were only one more step closer to that silver cup, something he had coveted since he was a little kid.

The atmosphere was electric, but within Kylian's mind, a storm raged on. His fight with Sapphie still lingered, casting a dark shadow over his usual cheerful and focused demeanour.

Maybe this is exactly why you didn't want to get involved with anyone this soon in your career, he thought. It didn't help that they hadn't talked since their fight at her place. Especially since it wasn't the last time, they'd seen each other. He'd been seeing her the entire day. In their hotel's restaurant at breakfast, on the bus ride to the stadium and even in the locker room, both before and after warm up. But they never spoke. The air between them still crackled with so much tension that even the people around them noticed that something was off.

"Did you have a fight with Sapphie or something?" Ney had asked him when she walked past them during warm up earlier.

Kylian had brushed off the topic and changed the subject faster than he could blink. He just didn't want to talk about.

What he wanted to do was think about his game. That was simpler to do. He had to focus and do his job how best je knew he could. And so, he did what he was good at doing, he compartmentalised his thoughts on their fight and finished up dressing. But the only problem was that, he couldn't quite lock it away. Especially not when he could see her moving about and doing her job with the man who put them in that very situation as if everything was normal.

As the teams lined up on the pitch, Kylian couldn't shake off the weight of his worries. And even though the Alliance Arena thundered with the noise from both teams' supporters, Kylian found it difficult to connect with that excitement. Instead, doubt continued gnawing at him and his thoughts became a tangled mess of regret and longing. The referee's whistle blew, signalling the start of the match, but he felt detached, like a mere spectator in his own body.

Passes went astray, shots missed their mark and Kylian's signature agility and finesse seemed to have deserted him. Each misplaced touch echoed the distance that had grown between him and Sapphie. Frustration welled up within him, fuelling a reckless aggression that further hindered his efforts. At one point he got a yellow card from the ref for a using a dangerous play to get possession of the ball from one of Bayern's defenders. Then kicked him when the fallen guy clung to his leg and refused to let go as some sort of demonstration against Kylian's dirty play.

After the halftime whistle, Kylian trudged down the tunnel to the locker room with his head handing low. The coach's voice boomed through the walls, criticizing the team's lacklustre display. Their opponents were leading them by one goal to zero and they'd scored against them in the first ten minutes. Kylian's heart sank because he knew he was the main culprit. He was the club's to goal scorer, one of the best strikers in The history if the game but tonight he was playing like he'd just started learning the sport.

I can't afford to get distracted. I need to find my focus and reclaim the game. For my team. You've worked hard to win yourself and Paris this cup long before Sapphie arrived on the scene.

The halftime break seemed to slip away too quickly and as the second half commenced, Kylian stepped back onto the field with renewed determination. He fought to silence the voices in his head that threatened to overwhelm him.

With every touch of the ball, Kylian pushed himself to regain his composure, to reconnect with his natural rhythm. And that seemed enough to bring life back into the entire team. No longer where his missed passes and inaccurate shots affecting everyone's morale.

Their fans roared, urging them forward even as the weight on his shoulders threatened to keep him down.

"Come on Kylian," he said to himself, "you can do this. Don't let this what's happening on the outside define you, you never have." As he muttered this to himself, he lifted his eyes to look at their bench and saw Sapphie giving him a small smile. That was a huge improvement from the resigned expression she had carried on her face the entire week.

When the match was nearing its end, that's when his efforts began to bear fruit. He managed assist Lionel and Ney score a goal each before the final whistle to make the scoreline two-one.

"Kylian, tough match out there tonight. It seemed like your performance took a bit of time to get going. Can you shed some light on what was going on?"

Subconsciously, Kylian's eyes strayed to Sapphie who sat in the corner at the back before fixating his gaze on the male reporter again to answer

"Yeah, it was a challenging start for me tonight. I had a few personal matters going on that made it difficult to fully focus at the beginning. But I'm glad I managed to push through and find my rhythm as the game progressed." He said with a nod as the cameras around the room continued flashing about them.

"Kylian, despite the slow start, you really turned things around in the second half. What adjustments did you make to find your form?" Another one asked.

"Thank you. I think it was a combination of staying mentally strong..." the rest of the post-match interview went much like that. With his words carrying a mix of determination and excitement. After all, their win had given him the huge boosted he had needed. He was nothing short of glad that everything had worked it in the end. Kylian only hoped it would be the same between him and Sapphie too.