Picking Up the Pieces

Sergio’s POV

A few days had passed since Reyna and I had decided to take our relationship to the next level but she still refused to make it public. We stayed professional in the bakery but when we were together I found out just how unprofessional Ms Gonzales could be.

It was now winding down at the bakery and we were doing the final bits of cleaning while Reyna was in her office counting her money.

The business itself was also doing well lately and she estimated that she would soon be able to break even and start making a profit out of it.

Me personally I had finally got the cast taken off my hand and had found a local gym that would help me in maintaining my fitness. It wouldn’t keep me ‘professional athlete fit’ but it was better than nothing.

“Hey I’m done. You wanna do anything special?” Reyna asked as he walked out her office and sat next to me.

I gave her a lasting kiss before pulling away to look her in the eye.

“As long as I’m with you I’m doing something special” she rolled her eyes at me comment.

We continued to joke around as we sat around the bakery. This was the only time we were truly allowed to be ourselves in this environment and I planned on enjoying it as much as we could.

“You know what I’ve just realised? You never talk about your family” she said causing me to stop tickling her and stand up.

She noted my change in demeanour as observed me without saying anything.

“What do you want to know?” this was me trying to get as little as possible out about why I ended up the way I did.

“Anything. Everything. Sergio if we are gonna be a couple we need to know these things about each other” I knew she was right but over the past few months I had come to realise what I an ass I was towards my parents and the shame was eating me up.

Reyna waited patiently as I racked my brain for an explanation. When I was ready to speak I walked back to the chair I had just vacated and took her hand as I looked her in the eye.

“Me and them parted on bad terms. It was my fault really. The fame was started to get to my head and I started treating them terribly. They kept on warning me that if my attitude didn’t change things would fall apart but I just took it as jealously on their part and shrugged it off. When shit started hitting the fan I couldn’t even turn to them because our relationship had been damaged beyond repair”

“Sergio…”

“I know baby” I said as I took in the pitying look. “I should have tried to fix it with them but my pride wouldn’t let me. My brother…oh my gosh… my brother dealt with so much rubbish from me and never once did I thank him. I kept on accusing him of things I knew he didn’t do, all because I wasn’t ready or willing to grow up. I put on my problems on them even though I knew I was at fault”

“You can still fix things you know”

“I know but I want to get back on my feet first. Prove myself worthy before I go back” I admitted as Reyna showed a strained smile.

“Sergio I doubt they want you to be different. They want an apology and they would willingly take you back”

“I know but still. I don’t always want to be a burden”

I admitted as she nodded.

As we continued to chat about my family I opened about to her about everything. From my relationship with Lena, the bankruptcy, how I got into the accident, Madrid releasing me from my contract and especially the root cause of all of this.

Gonzalo’s relationship with a woman I had been secretly in love with since my childhood.

***

Reyna’s POV

I kept on thinking about Sergio’s past as we made our way home from the bakery.

His love for Sophia had caused him to spiral out of control and lose everything that he cared about. While this behaviour worried me I was more scared for our relationship, what if he could never love me as much as he loved her. What if his feelings for me were never as strong as the ones he had for her?

And what did he mean when he mentioned going back? Was he planning on leaving me behind and never coming back or does he actually consider me in his future plans.

“Rey you’re about to miss the turn?” Sergio called drawing my attention back to the route to my house.

I apologised as I drove properly and entered my property. We both unpacked our things from the car and heading inside.

I silently want about my business as we walked in and relaxed. Sergio noticed my silence as we sat on the couch watching TV.

“Did I do something wrong?” he said as he turned off the box.

I shook my head no without turning to him.

He knew I was lying so he shifted to sit on the table so I could look at him.

“Reyna talk to me please” he begged as I sighed and prepared to tell him what was on my mind.

“I guess listening to you talk about your past surprised me. The fact that you got so out of control because of a woman it makes me question if I’ll ever be good enough for you. I mean can we really make it if another woman has such a strong hold over you?”

I cried as Sergio nodded in understanding.

“Look Rey I can’t make any promises about us but one thing I do know is that my feelings for Sophia are over. I see how she and Gonzalo are and I know that I can never break that up. I’m moving on with my life and moving on from her. And if you let me I’d like to move on with you”

I didn’t rush to give a reply because there was one more thing I needed to ask.

“When are you planning on going back to Madrid?”

I questioned as he looked on confused.

“You mentioned that you aren’t ready to go back home until you’ve pulled yourself together. So that means you eventually plan on leaving. I just want to make sure I have enough notice for when you leave me behind”

Sergio looked even more confused after my statement.

“Reyna what are you talking about. Of course I plan on eventually going back to Madrid and hopefully starting my career up again but why would you think I would leave without you? You’ve become an important part of my life and I don’t want to lose you. Whatever happens in my life I want you to always be a part of me”

He declared as I felt a little assured in our relationship.

“Sergio I also don’t want to lose you because…” I began as I took a deep breath. “I love you”

Sergio smiled at my confession.

“I love you too Reyna Gonzalez”