Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Talk to Your Wife

Zoya looked across the sticky diner table. Chloe was staring blankly at the divorce papers she had just casually requested, completely terrified of her own thoughts.

Zoya didn’t immediately agree to anything beyond drafting the document. She needed Chloe to think logically, not emotionally.

”Talk to Leo first,” Zoya said, keeping her voice completely steady.

Chloe immediately shook her head. Her hands trembled around her cold teacup. ”I don’t think I can.”

”You can,” Zoya pushed gently.

”What if he lies?” Chloe asked, her voice cracking.

”Then you’ll know,” Zoya replied simply. ”But right now, Chloe, you are making a massive life decision based entirely on suspicion. You don’t have all the facts.”

Chloe looked down, tears welling in her eyes again.

Zoya’s sharp lawyer persona softened just a fraction. She reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand.

”I won’t judge you either way,” Zoya promised quietly. ”If Leo cheated on you, I will help you. I will draft the papers, and I will completely destroy him in court. But if he didn’t, you need to know that for an absolute fact before you destroy your own marriage.”

Chloe sniffled. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her oversized sweater and reluctantly nodded.

Zoya stood up from the booth. Before leaving, she reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone.

She opened her messages. She saw Jackson’s text from earlier.

Jackson: I’ll wait.

Zoya stared at the screen. She hesitated for a long moment, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. The memory of the dim lounge suite and the heavy heat of his kiss rushed back into her mind.

She took a slow breath and finally typed.

Zoya: I’m heading home. I’ll send you the address.

She hit send, immediately following it with a location pin to her apartment.

A few seconds later, a reply popped up.

Jackson: I’ll be there.

Zoya stared at the message for a second. Her heart gave a sudden, hard thump against her ribs. She locked her phone and put it away. She had barely just begun accepting what she actually felt for him, and now, in less than an hour, she was about to have to deal with it face to face.

”Tell him where you are,” Zoya instructed, looking back at the booth.

Chloe pulled out her phone. Her fingers were shaking so badly she almost dropped it.

Chloe: I’m with Zoya.

Almost immediately, the three typing dots appeared on the screen.

Leo: Where?

Chloe swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. She sent the diner’s address.

Leo: Stay there. I’m coming.

Chloe’s stomach violently twisted into a tight knot. She set her phone face down on the table. She completely panicked. She didn’t know whether she was ready for this conversation. She didn’t know if she was ready to hear the truth.

Zoya noticed Chloe becoming incredibly nervous. She could see the panic rising in her friend’s eyes.

”You need to talk to him,” Zoya reminded her firmly.

Chloe nodded weakly.

Zoya grabbed her leather handbag. ”I’ll leave you two alone.”

Chloe looked up at her, completely grateful. ”Thank you, Zoya.”

Zoya walked out of the diner and into the cool night air. Just as she reached the sidewalk to hail a taxi, a familiar dark SUV sped into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes.

Leo jumped out of the driver’s side before the engine even seemed fully off. He looked completely frantic, wearing gym clothes and a deeply worried expression.

He was clearly searching everywhere for her.

He saw Zoya on the sidewalk and immediately stopped.

”Zoya?” Leo asked, breathless.

”She’s inside,” Zoya said, pointing toward the diner doors.

Leo looked completely confused. ”I’ve been looking everywhere for her. She wasn’t answering her phone. Why did she just leave the apartment?”

Zoya gave him a completely serious, unreadable look.

”Because she needs to talk to you,” Zoya stated.

Leo’s expression changed. The frantic panic shifted into deep confusion.

”About what?” Leo asked.

Zoya didn’t answer him. It wasn’t her place.

”Talk to your wife, Leo,” Zoya said simply. She turned around and walked down the street, leaving him standing alone in the parking lot.

Leo walked into the diner. Two minutes later, he and Chloe walked out together.

Neither of them said a word. Leo gently guided her toward his parked SUV. They got inside, and the heavy doors shut, sealing them inside the quiet, dark vehicle.

Leo turned in his seat. He looked at her pale, tear-stained face.

”Say something,” Leo pleaded softly.

Chloe remained completely silent. She kept her eyes glued to the dashboard.

”Chloe,” Leo tried again.

Nothing.

Leo let out a frustrated sigh. He reached forward and started the car, but he didn’t put it in drive. The engine hummed quietly.

”Please,” Leo begged, his voice laced with confusion. ”Just tell me what’s going on.”

That simple question finally broke the dam.

Chloe turned to look at him, and once she started talking, she completely lost the ability to stop.

”I know about the late-night calls,” Chloe blurted out. The words spilled out in a messy, panicked rush. ”I know you’ve been hiding your phone. I see you leave it face down on the counter.”

Leo blinked in total shock. ”Chloe, what are—”

”Don’t,” Chloe interrupted sharply, her voice trembling. She put her hands up to stop him.

Leo stopped.

She just kept going.

”I know about your strange schedule,” Chloe cried out. ”You say you’re at the gym, but you aren’t! I know you’ve been completely distant. I know about the woman.”

Leo’s eyes widened. ”Chloe, that’s not—”

”I kept telling myself I was imagining things!” Chloe shouted over him, the tears finally spilling down her cheeks. ”I kept defending you in my own head! Every single time something felt wrong, I found an excuse. I told myself you were just stressed with the charity matches. I told myself I was being crazy!”

Leo gripped the steering wheel tightly. ”Let me explain.”

”Explain what?” Chloe sobbed.

”Everything!”

”You don’t have to explain. I already know.”

”You don’t know anything!” Leo’s voice suddenly rose, filling the small space of the car.

Chloe went completely quiet for a split second. Then, her chin trembled.

”Then tell me I’m wrong,” Chloe challenged, her voice breaking.

Leo opened his mouth to answer.

But Chloe started again before he could even get a single word out.

”Tell me I didn’t see the text!” Chloe continued, her fear completely driving her words. ”Tell me you haven’t been acting entirely different!”

Leo’s frustration finally boiled over. He felt completely cornered.

”Can you just let me talk?” Leo demanded loudly.

”I’ve been waiting for you to talk for weeks!” Chloe screamed back.

”Because you never asked me!”

”I asked you!”

”You accused me!” Leo shouted.

”Because you were acting suspicious!”

Leo slammed his open hand hard against the top of the steering wheel. The loud smack echoed sharply in the quiet car.

”And you think screaming at me is going to make this better?” Leo demanded, his chest heaving with anger.

Chloe flinched backward. The tears ran freely down her face. She looked at him with absolute, devastating heartbreak.

”I think you’re angry because I’m right,” Chloe whispered.

Leo went completely still.

The anger instantly drained from his face, replaced by a look of profound, agonizing hurt. The sentence felt like a physical punch to his chest.

He stared at his wife. He looked at the woman he had loved for nearly a decade.

”You really think I would cheat on you?” Leo asked. His voice was entirely raw.

Chloe didn’t answer. She just looked down at her lap and cried silently.

And that silence hurt him infinitely more than the screaming.

Leo took a slow, deep breath. He desperately tried to calm his racing heart.

He rubbed a hand roughly over his face.

”Chloe,” Leo said quietly, his voice completely broken. ”I have never given you a reason to think I don’t love you.”

Chloe sniffled. She wiped her eyes, but the tears just kept coming.

She looked up at him.

”Then why does it feel like you’ve been hiding something?” Chloe whispered.

Leo looked away. He stared out the windshield at the dark, empty parking lot.

For the very first time since the argument started, Leo didn’t immediately answer.