Become A Football Legend-Chapter 256: My Son (Quads1)

Javi froze.

The noise of the crowd, the traffic, the chatter around him—it all dulled into a distant hum.

Jane stood a few feet away, breathing hard from the run, her chest rising and falling. For a second neither of them spoke. Twenty years collapsed into a single, unbearable moment.

Anne turned first.

She had been mid-sentence to Joanna when she noticed Javi wasn’t walking anymore. She followed his line of sight and saw the woman standing there. Then she saw Javi’s face.

Shock.

Not confusion. Not irritation.

Shock.

"Javi?" Anne asked quietly. "Who is she?"

He didn’t take his eyes off Jane.

"That’s Jane."

Anne stilled.

That was all she needed.

He had told her the story a while ago. Not in detail at first. Just fragments. A name. A past. A closed Chapter that had shaped everything that came after. Over the past few weeks she had learned the rest, gently, piece by piece.

Jane.

Anne nodded once.

"I’ll leave you two to talk," she said calmly. Then she stepped closer to Javi, brushed her hand briefly against his arm—a silent reassurance. "We’ll be waiting at the hotel."

Javi swallowed and gave a faint nod. "Alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

Anne leaned in and kissed his cheek, soft and grounding, before turning to the others.

João and Joanna were staring openly now.

"Come," Anne said gently. "Let’s give them some space."

They didn’t move at first.

"Who is she?" João asked, brow furrowed.

Anne hesitated just a fraction. "It’s not my story to tell."

Joanna glanced between her and the woman still standing opposite Javi. Something about her posture, the way she held herself, tugged at her memory.

They began walking.

A few steps down the path toward the Uber pickup point, Joanna leaned closer to her brother.

"That’s her," she whispered. "That’s the lady I told you about. The one that felt... familiar."

João looked back over his shoulder quickly, then forward again.

"She doesn’t look like anyone I know," he muttered. "Maybe she’s a celebrity or something. You probably saw her on one of those reality TV slop shows you binge."

Joanna smacked the back of his head.

"Idiot."

João rubbed his head. "What? I’m just saying."

Anne walked a few paces ahead of them, quiet now.

She turned once.

Javi and Jane were still standing there, unmoving, facing each other under the harsh stadium lights. Two silhouettes against the thinning crowd.

Anne’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

She took a slow breath.

Then she turned back around and continued walking toward the Uber, her expression composed—but her eyes betraying the worry she wouldn’t voice.

Back at the spot Jane had stopped Javi, they both stood there for a few seconds that felt like an eternity.

Javi hadn’t seen her in person since the day she walked out of his life. Seventeen years. Seventeen years of silence, of unanswered questions, of learning to rebuild something that had collapsed overnight.

And now she was here.

Jane tried to force a smile, the kind people wear when they don’t know what else to do with their face.

"Long time no see," she said softly.

Javi didn’t respond immediately.

Before he could, a wave of disgruntled United fans pushed past them, shoulders brushing hard against Javi’s side. One man, red-faced and furious, snapped, "Move or get the fuck out of the way."

Javi’s jaw tightened.

He glanced around, suddenly aware they were standing in the middle of the flow of traffic leaving the stadium.

"Let’s find somewhere else to talk," he said curtly.

He turned without waiting for her answer. Across the road, a café still had its lights on, warm yellow spilling onto the pavement. He walked toward it with long, purposeful strides.

Jane followed.

Inside, the café was busy but not chaotic. The air smelled of coffee and baked sugar, soft music playing under the murmur of conversations. They found a small two-person table near the window.

They sat.

A waitress approached. Javi gave her a polite smile that didn’t reach his eyes and ordered a black coffee. Jane asked for the same.

When the waitress left, Javi’s expression changed instantly.

The polite mask dropped.

His face went blank.

He leaned back slightly in his chair and looked at her—really looked at her.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

Jane blinked at the coldness in his tone.

"How are you?" she asked quietly.

Javi’s lips twitched, not in amusement.

"You didn’t track me down after seventeen years to ask how I’m doing," he replied. "So let’s skip the small talk. My family is waiting for me."

The word family hung in the air.

Jane nodded faintly. "I’m sorry. I just... I saw you at the stadium and I thought—"

"You thought what?" he cut in.

The coffees arrived. The waitress set them down with a cheerful "Enjoy," completely unaware of the tension suffocating the table.

Javi wrapped his fingers around the cup but didn’t drink yet.

"I’m listening," he said flatly. "What is it you want?"

Jane took a breath.

"Would it be possible... for me to speak to Lukas?"

Javi’s eyes sharpened.

"What do you want to talk to him about?"

"I just want to talk to him," she said quickly. "Catch up. See how he’s doing."

Javi stared at her.

"Catch up with a stranger?"

Her throat tightened.

"He’s my son."

The words were barely above a whisper.

Javi’s expression darkened instantly.

"No," he said. "He isn’t."

Jane flinched.

"You signed away your rights fifteen years ago," Javi continued, his voice steady but ice-cold. "Legally. Officially. You are not his mother."

Her eyes filled immediately. She tried to blink the tears back, tried to stay composed.

Javi set his cup down slowly.

Then he stood.

He didn’t raise his voice. That made it worse.

"I don’t know what you want," he said. "I don’t know why you think you can just walk back into our lives because you saw him on a screen and suddenly felt something."

Jane’s head dipped.

"You don’t know him," Javi continued. "You don’t know who he is. You don’t know what he’s been through. You don’t know what I’ve had to do to make sure he never felt abandoned."

Her shoulders trembled.

"You left," Javi said. "You made that choice. No one forced you. You disappeared. No calls. No letters. Nothing. And now, after everything, you want to ’catch up’?"

A tear slipped down her cheek and landed on the table.

"I won’t allow you to hurt him again," Javi said firmly. "If you try to reach out to him directly—if you show up around him—I won’t hesitate to file a restraining order."

Jane inhaled sharply.

"There’s nothing to rectify," he finished. "You made your choice years ago. We all have to live with it."

He pulled out his wallet, placed money on the table—more than enough for both coffees—and didn’t look at her again.

Then he walked out of the café.

Jane remained seated.

Her head bowed, hands gripping the edge of the table.

Tears fell freely now, landing on the white napkin in front of her, blooming into dark, uneven circles as the door swung shut behind him.

A/N: Quads1 with ANOTHER dragon! Man, I don’t even know what to say. Thank you so much. I really appreciate.

-Writ.