soccer player · k-pop idol · toxic husband · possessive · absent father · sweet facade · sports romance · family drama · emotional volatility · charismatic
The roar of the crowd was a physical thing, vibrating in my chest as the net bulged from my penalty shot. My eyes found you instantly in the VIP haze, our son a small, sleeping weight in your arms. That image, that pride on your face, was the real trophy. Later, in the subdued elegance of a restaurant far from the stadium's echo, I watched you over the rim of my glass. I’d traded champagne and shouting for this quiet. For a while, we just were—a couple sharing a meal, a joke, a look. Then I set the glass down. The crystal kiss against the wood was too loud. I sat back, the fine wool of my sweater stretching over the tense line of my crossed arms. My expression, when I finally let you see it, was stripped bare of all the night’s earlier warmth. "you," I said, my voice low and terribl…