Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: My Girlfriend Never Forgot Her Ex

The morning light crept through the bedroom blinds.

Audrey woke up feeling completely exhausted. She had tossed and turned all night. Her eyes were heavy, and her chest still ached from the heavy weight of the previous day.

She dragged herself out of bed and walked down the short hallway.

The smell of fresh coffee and toast filled the apartment. Alexander was already in the kitchen. He was dressed in a simple gray t-shirt and sweatpants, flipping eggs in a frying pan.

He acted completely normal. He acted almost too normal.

He turned around and offered a bright, warm smile.

”Morning,” Alexander said cheerfully.

Audrey wrapped her arms around herself. She stopped at the edge of the kitchen island.

”Morning,” Audrey quietly answered.

She sat down on the tall stool. Alexander placed a plate of hot food in front of her. He poured her a fresh cup of coffee. He talked about his filming schedule for the day, keeping his voice light and casual.

But the silence between them felt so much louder than usual.

While eating breakfast, Alexander noticed absolutely everything.

He took a sip of his coffee and watched her over the rim of his mug.

Audrey barely touched her food. She just pushed the eggs around her plate with a fork. She kept staring blankly into space, completely lost in her own thoughts.

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated on the counter.

Audrey physically jumped. She stared at the screen with wide eyes before flipping it face down. She did not even check the message.

She actively avoided his eye contact.

Alexander lowered his mug. He did not say a word, but his mind was working quickly.

He remembered her trip to Europe. He remembered the strange, cold distance between them ever since she returned. He remembered picking her up at the airport and feeling like she was a million miles away.

Then he remembered her sudden, desperate tears last night.

The puzzle pieces in his mind began fitting together. Something massive was wrong, and she was entirely terrified to tell him.

By nine o’clock, they both left the apartment.

Audrey took a taxi to the busy newsroom. Alexander drove to the studio lot for filming.

The movie set was loud and crowded. Directors shouted instructions. Camera crews moved heavy equipment. Actors rehearsed their lines.

But Alexander could not concentrate at all.

He sat in his folding canvas chair, staring at the script in his hands without reading a single word. He kept replaying one specific moment in his head.

He remembered when she kissed him last night.

Something felt entirely different. It was not wrong physically. She had kissed him exactly like she always did. But it was completely wrong emotionally.

He finally realized the truth.

She was not kissing him because she wanted him. She was desperately trying to convince herself of something. She was using him as a shield to hide from whatever was truly hurting her.

That realization hurt him deep in his chest.

Back in the crowded city newsroom, the morning rush was in full swing.

Ben walked out of his private office carrying two hot cups of coffee. He walked toward Audrey’s desk and stopped.

He watched her screen. She typed a short paragraph. She stared at it. She deleted the entire thing. She started typing the exact same paragraph again. It was the fourth time she had rewritten the same three sentences.

Ben walked over and gently set a paper cup down beside her keyboard.

”You are usually the most focused reporter here,” Ben quietly said.

Audrey snapped out of her daze. She looked up at Ben and forced a polite smile.

”I am just tired,” Audrey said. ”The investigative feature has a lot of moving parts. My brain is a little fried today.”

Ben looked at her closely. He saw the deep exhaustion in her eyes. He saw her fingers trembling slightly over the keys.

He didn’t push her. He didn’t ask her complicated questions.

”Drink your coffee, Ellis,” Ben said softly. ”The article can wait ten minutes.”

He tapped her desk twice and walked away, giving her the space she clearly needed.

Across town, the Calloway Football Group headquarters was busy.

Mason sat behind his massive mahogany desk. His young assistant stood in front of him, reading from a digital tablet.

”The construction site managers need your approval for the steel shipments by tomorrow morning,” the assistant explained. ”And the international charity board wants to schedule a video call for Thursday.”

Mason nodded slowly. But he didn’t hear half of the report.

He kept looking out the massive window. His mind was entirely stuck on the events of yesterday afternoon.

He remembered the feeling of her lips against his. He remembered the heavy, absolute heartbreak in her eyes. And he kept hearing one single sentence echoing in his head.

I have a boyfriend.

”Mr. Calloway?” the assistant asked gently. ”Should I confirm the video call?”

Mason blinked. He turned his head and looked at his assistant.

”Cancel my meetings after lunch,” Mason quietly interrupted.

The assistant stopped typing. His eyes went wide with complete surprise.

”Sir?” the assistant asked. ”You have the quarterly review at two o’clock.”

”Cancel it,” Mason repeated firmly. His voice left absolutely no room for debate. ”Reschedule everything else for next week.”

Mason rarely canceled anything. He lived for his work. But today, he just could not sit in a glass room and pretend everything was fine.

The sun was slowly starting to set.

Alexander wrapped up his filming early. He decided to surprise Audrey with dinner. He bought two boxes of her favorite takeout and drove straight to the newspaper building.

He wore a dark baseball cap pulled low to avoid attention. He walked into the busy lobby and stopped at the front desk.

The young receptionist smiled brightly when she recognized him.

”You are here for Miss Ellis?” the receptionist asked politely.

Alexander smiled and nodded. ”Yes. Is she still upstairs?”

”She is in the main bullpen,” the receptionist confirmed. ”You can head right up.”

Alexander took the elevator to the newsroom floor. The glass doors were open. The room was noisy, filled with ringing phones and typing keyboards.

He stood near the entrance, holding the takeout bags. He looked around for Audrey’s desk.

As he was waiting, he noticed something on the large newsroom television hanging from the ceiling. It was a live business report about the massive Calloway Youth Initiative.

The camera cut to a press conference. Mason appeared on the screen.

Alexander watched the television. Then, he looked across the room and finally spotted Audrey.

He stopped walking. He noticed something completely strange.

Audrey stopped typing. Her hands hovered frozen over her keyboard. She unconsciously looked up at the television screen.

She did not just glance at the news casually. She stared.

She stared at Mason’s face much longer than anyone else in the room. Her eyes were completely locked on the screen. The heavy sadness on her face was entirely undeniable.

When the news segment ended and Mason disappeared from the screen, Audrey let out a quiet breath and slowly looked back down at her desk.

Alexander saw all of it. He stood perfectly still by the glass doors.

She never even noticed he was there.

The drive home was quiet.

Alexander kept both hands on the steering wheel. The streetlights flashed past the windows.

Audrey sat in the passenger seat. She talked about her work day. She talked about the difficult article she was writing and a funny joke Ben had made in the breakroom.

Alexander nodded, but he barely heard a single word.

His mind was racing. He finally took a deep breath.

”Did something happen in Europe?” Alexander asked smoothly.

Audrey instantly froze. Her voice caught in her throat.

She looked out the window and answered entirely too quickly.

”No,” Audrey said. ”Just work.”

Alexander nodded slowly. He kept his eyes on the road.

He didn’t argue. He didn’t yell. But he knew for an absolute fact that she just lied to him.

It was late that night.

Audrey was already asleep in the bedroom.

Alexander sat completely alone in the dark living room. The only light came from the glowing screen of his silver laptop resting on his knees.

He opened a search engine.

He did not do it because he was angry. He did it because he was desperately trying to understand the woman he loved.

He typed two simple words into the search bar.

Mason Calloway.

He pressed enter.

Dozens of search results appeared immediately. There were articles about his massive wealth. There were features on his football career.

Alexander scrolled down the page.

Then, he saw an old, archived article from a college newspaper. He clicked the link.

A photograph loaded onto the screen.

It was an old university photo. Mason was much younger, wearing a sports jacket. And standing right beside him was Audrey.

She looked incredibly young. She was looking up at Mason, and she was smiling. It was a bright, completely unguarded smile filled with absolute adoration.

Alexander quietly stared at the picture.

His expression slowly changed in the dark room.

It was not anger. It was sudden, clear understanding. And then, it turned into total fear.

Alexander closed the laptop without reading another word.

For the first time, he wasn’t afraid of losing Audrey to another man. He was afraid she had never truly let go of the one she’d left behind.