When 3 turns into 4

Arsenal Women's Training Grounds, Sunday Afternoon

I'd stopped answering his texts.

The ones that came after.

Short. Careful. Hopeful.

"Just wanted to make sure you're okay."
"I miss you."
"Tell the kids I said hi."

I didn't block him.

But I didn't answer either.

Not because I didn't want to.

Because if I did... I knew I'd let him back in.

And the part of me that still loved him was the part I couldn't afford to trust right now.

⸻

"Lenny," Alessia said as I tied my boots, "you can't keep doing this."

"I'm fine."

"You haven't smiled properly in four days."

"I'm focused."

"You're emotionally constipated."

I looked up, deadpan. "Did you really just say that?"

"I did. And I'll say it again: You're emotionally constipated."

I sighed, pulling my hoodie over my head.

"Alessia, I let someone get close. He saw the chaos, the kids, the mess—and when it got real, he ran. That's not something I bounce back from with a protein shake and a 5K."

She knelt in front of me, her voice softer now. "He didn't run because of the chaos, Lenny. He ran because he didn't know how to stay yet."

"But that's the point," I said, eyes stinging. "I don't have time for someone to figure it out. I need people who are sure. For me. For the kids. I need people who stay."

⸻

Arsenal Cafeteria — Same Afternoon, Riccardo's POV

He hadn't meant to be there.

He came for a physio consult. In and out. Head down. Hoodie up.

The cafeteria was loud — players, kids, coaches, staff all buzzing around the post-training chaos.

He kept his head low.

Until he heard a voice that made him stop cold.

"Uncle Ric!"

Eli.

The sound of his little sneakers hitting the floor.

And then — Lucy. "Uncle Ric, you didn't say hi!"

He turned slightly. Just enough to see their faces.

Eli bounding toward him.

Lucy behind — her smile fading the second he didn't kneel to meet them like he always had.

"Why aren't you saying hi?" she asked, eyes already glassy.

He didn't know what to say.

Because the rules were clear.

Elenora wanted distance.

And they were part of her.

So he stood there.

Frozen.

Watching her.

Break.

"I thought you liked us," Lucy whispered.

That shattered him.

She turned away, shoulders shaking — and that's when he moved.

He knelt.