The Footballer's Girlfriend

Part Three - Chapter Two: Coming Home

Cristiano wrapped an arm around Eliana as they walked through the airport, he was sad that the honeymoon was over but he was happy to be going home to Elsa; he had missed his daughter and was looking forward to seeing her again. 

Ignoring the shouts of the press, the couple made their way to the car that was waiting for them; their wedding had caused quite a stir since no one had pictures of it. 

Eliana tried to hide her nerves, the press were everywhere and she dread to think how they would be when the couple had Elsa with them; she knew how crazy paparazzi could get and it worried her. 

The last thing that the couple wanted was for the paparazzi to think they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it; they were determined to protect Elsa from all of this for as long as they could. 

"Glad to be home?" Cristiano murmured holding Eliana close, he wanted nothing more than to protect her and their daughter; he wanted to make sure that everything was okay for his family. 

The season was starting back up soon and Cristiano wanted nothing more than to make sure that Elsa and Eliana were safe; he wouldn't feel right about being away from them if this continued. 

"Very," Eliana replied as they reached the waiting car, she was sure that everything would be better at home; she had no idea what was waiting for them and she just wanted to get away from the people flashing cameras in their faces. 

Cristiano quickly ushered Eliana into the car, he nodded at the person loading their suitcases and he was just glad that it was one less thing for him to worry about. 

Getting into the car, Cristiano closed the door behind him blocking out the shouting and the flashed of cameras; he was going to be happy to be home and away from all of this.

***

Cristiano grinned watching Eliana fuss over Elsa, it had been strange without the little girl and he wanted nothing more than to enjoy this moment while he had a chance; he knew that there was something that Jennifer wanted to tell them. 

"Did you have a great honeymoon?" Jennifer asked peeking at her son-in-law, she was a little worried how Eliana was going to react when she told her about her news. 

It was strange to think how much things had changed for them and Jennifer wanted nothing more than Eliana to be okay with all of this; she still couldn't believe that William had missed the wedding for selfish reasons. 

"We did," Eliana replied smiling at her mother, she could see that there was something that her mother wished to talk about; she balanced Elsa on her hip a little curious about what was going on. 

Cristiano moved to take Elsa from her, he peeked over at Jennifer and offered her a smile before he left them alone; he was sure that they had so much to catch up on. 

"Mãe?" Eliana asked moving to sit down, she had barely been home ten minutes and she was worried about what might have happened while she was away on her honeymoon. 

Jennifer sighed moving to sit down, she chewed on her lip wondering how to break the news to Eliana; she didn't want her daughter to be disappointed in her for what had happened. 

"I met someone," Jennifer revealed slowly, she wasn't quite sure how it had happened and things had been going so well that she felt ready to share this news with Eliana. 

It was quiet for a moment and Eliana couldn't help but smile at the news that her mother was moving on, it had been eighteen months since Jennifer had gotten divorced and it was nice to see that William hadn't completely ruined things for her.

"That's great," Eliana said smiling, she hadn't thought that Jennifer would ever be ready to get back out into the dating world; she didn't care what her father thought, not after everything he had done. 

Jennifer stared at Eliana a little surprised how well her daughter was taking the news that she was seeing someone, she had expected a little upset about her moving on but she was pleased that Eliana was so accepting about all of this. 

"How did you two meet?" Eliana asked smiling, she was so happy for her mother and she was sure that whoever he was he would be good for her after how things had ended with William. 

William was already expecting a baby with Sara and they were engaged, Eliana wanted her mother to be happy; she deserved it after what had happened and what really mattered was that Jennifer was happy. 

"He's a part of my book club," Jennifer said smiling, she had joined the book club to make some new friends after she had moved to Madrid and Stefan had been so wonderful to her since she had joined up. 

The two spent a lot of time together and Jennifer had never thought that she would end up with someone else; she adored Stefan and she hoped that things would work out to the point where he could meet Eliana. 

"I am so happy for you mãe," Eliana gushed wrapping her arms around Jennifer and hugging her, she wanted her mother to have everything that she had; William had screwed them both over when he had gotten with Sara and they were family. 

Jennifer smiled, she couldn't wait for her next date with Stefan and she knew that it had been a long time coming; she was finally happy and there was no way that her ex-husband and his pregnant fiancée were going to ruin this for her.

***

"I am so happy for her," Eliana said watching Cristiano, things had been pretty quiet since Jennifer had headed home and the couple had been able to relax; they had just settled Elsa to bed and were relaxing in their bedroom. 

It had been a long day for the couple and they were glad for the chance to relax, they could only imagine what the next couple of weeks would hold for them. 

"Jennifer deserves it," Cristiano agreed with a smile, he was pleased to hear that Jennifer was moving on and he knew that the divorce had been hard on her especially with how fast things had moved for William.

It made Cristiano wonder if William even realised how much he had hurt everyone with his actions; he didn't even seem to care about how things affected Eliana. 

Cristiano wrapped his arms around Eliana, he wished that he could make this better for her but he doubted that he would be able to do anything to fix what William had done. 

"It'll be okay," Eliana mumbled with a shake of her head, she didn't need her father if he wasn't going to accept her wishes; she had asked for time to accept Sara but William had ignored her and tried to force them to spend time together.

It really hadn't helped that William and Sara had announced that they were going to have a baby, they had released the news that they were expecting via a magazine that had paid a lot of money for the exclusive just a day after Cristiano and Eliana had married. 

"I love you," Cristiano whispered holding her close, he wasn't going to let her father hurt her again; he'd had his chance and he had ruined it. 

Eliana kissed Cristiano, she wasn't going to let anyone ruin things for them when they were meant to be in a good place.