Half a Heart

-Maria:
It's april, and I'm about two and a half month pregnant, today it's also been a year since the day that changed my entire life, the day I met Leo. I also turned nineteen yesterday, ironic that my birthday and our anniversary is on the same date isn't it? Leo just chose to celebrate me yesterday and today we're celebrating us. It's crazy how much I've changed as a person and how much my life has changed. If anyone would tell me a year ago that I'd be pregnant, engaged and happily, hopelessly in love with Lionel Messi by my nineteenth birthday, I'd probably laugh in their face. But here we were, a year later and all of that happened. I put my hand on my stomach and smiled, there was a small visible bump there by now, my hips had gone wider and I'd gained way too much weight already. Leo loved it all though. I shook my head and put on my dress, getting ready for dinner.

"Te ves hermosa mi amor, te amo para siempre." Leo said and I blushed and kissed him.

"And you look so handsome Leo, I love you more." I said and he smiled, taking my hand and ushering me out to the car. Suddenly he blindfolded me and I gasped.

"It's a surprise querida, please don't be stubborn tonight?" he pleaded and I huffed before nodding. I felt him kiss my cheek and start the car. As he drove I huffed and he laughed, placing his hand on my thigh, and the stupid hormones went crazy on me again. I pushed his hand away slightly and took a deep breath, calming down. We seemed to have arrived, finally, and I heard Leo open the car and then he helped me out. He took my hand and led me to where we were having dinner.

"Mira hermosa." he whispered as I opened my eyes and gasped. We were in the middle of a field, with loads of wild flowers. In the middle of the field, Leo had placed a picnic, I felt my eyes well up with tears and I grabbed Leo's hand.

"It's beautiful." I whispered and Leo wiped away some tears from my face and kissed my cheek.

"Yes you are." he whispered, and looked at me only. I kissed him passionately and he kissed me back, grabbing me by the waist and spinning me around.

"Happy one year mi amor." he said and I smiled, pecking his lips softly.

"Happy one year Leo." I whispered and he smiled. We had dinner, which was amazing, and spent the rest of the night just talking. After sitting there for a while I felt cold and shuddered a bit. Leo took his suit jacket off and put it over my shoulders. I smiled at him and got up, helping him clean up everything. I took his hand and dragged him across the field, and he laughed.

"So do you want a boy or a girl?" I asked and he smiled, stopping and putting his hand on my stomach, as he always did.

"I'd love to have a boy to carry on the family name or a girl that's as hermosa as her madre, but in the end the only thing that matters is that the baby is healthy." he said and I smiled, smart answer.

"What about you nena?" he asked and dragged us to the direction of the car since it really was cold now.

"I don't care as long as the baby is healthy." I said and shrugged my shoulders. He smiled and stopped to kiss me.

"What about names?" he asked and I blushed a little, I'd been thinking a lot of names lately.

"Oh now I really wanna know, tell me querida." he said and I blushed harder. He laughed and waited for me to answer.

"For a girl I've always adored Carolina, and for a boy I just recently read through a book for baby name's and came across Thiago, it means 'the strongest' or "the one who helps others", it's a very biblical name but I love it for some reason." I said shyly and Leo smiled widely.

"I love Thiago, it's a unique name no?" he asked and I smiled at him and nodded.

"Then it's settled, if we have a boy then it's Thiago, if we have a girl well then we have to discuss more names." he said and I laughed.

"What's wrong with Carolina?" I asked, pretending to be angry.

"Nothing, it's just plain, Thiago means something special and Carolina don't." he said and I nodded, he had a point.

"You're right, besides I'm pretty sure we're having Thiago." I said and rubbed my stomach a little. Leo laughed and helped me into the car and then got in himself.

We got home and I ran up to our bedroom to prepare Leo's gift. I had gotten him a new watch, some pictures of us framed and I also went shopping in Victoria's Secret, knowing how much he loved their underwear. I'd also put candles all over our room. I shut the light off and went into the bathroom to change. I had told Leo to let me have fifteen minutes to get ready before he came upstairs, and now I heard him step into the bedroom and gasp. I smirked and got out of the bathroom, as soon as he saw me, his eyes widened. I giggled and gave him the watch and the photos's, watching him unwrap the gifts quickly.

"I'm speechless mi amor, you didn't have to do all of this, you're giving me the biggest gift already." he whispered and I kissed him.

"Well I wanted to pamper my fiancé." I teased and he laughed since I used the same excuse that he'd use every time he got me something. Needless to say we spent a the rest of the night in our bedroom.

I woke up and turned, expecting to find Leo lying next to me, but to my surprise the other side of the bed was empty. I guess he woke up earlier, I thought as I got up to take a shower. After taking a shower, I went downstairs and into the kitchen. But Leo wasn't there either, I looked around and went into the living room and saw him whispering things into the phone, the tv was on and it was some tabloid channel. I sat down next to him and he immediately wrapped his free arm around me.

The reporter on tv mentioned me and Leo, so I turned up the volume and paid a bit more attention to what she was saying. Suddenly my mother popped up on the screen and my eyes widened. Leo rubbed my shoulder and kept talking to the phone, now I assumed he was speaking with his lawyer. I listened in closer to the interview and gasped.

"So mrs Tabrizian, are you in contact with your daughter?" the reporter asked and I gulped.

"Unfortunately, no." she answered coldly and I shuddered, she was on to something.

"So tell me, how did your daughter get in contact with the Lionel Messi?" the reporter asked and now Leo had hung up the phone, kissing my cheek and holding me closer.

"Well, as far as I know she was looking for him, and when she found him she made a plan to use him, she has no interest in Lionel whatsoever, just his money." my mother said in a sickly sweet voice and I gasped, how could she do this to me?

"So are you implying that Maria is with Leo just for the money?" the reporter asked again and my mother sighed.

"Yes, she's not even pregnant with his baby, she's been seeing someone else on the side." she spat and my eyes welled up, Leo whispered comforting words in my ear. I knew he didn't believe the tabloids and trusted me, but knowing that the entire world probably hated me now, not to mention his fans, it hurt.

"Thank you for sharing with us, and I hope you have nice day." the reporter said after asking some more personal questions which my mom answered willingly. Leo shut off the tv and tears rushed down my face.

"Shhh amor, I don't believe her at all and neither does my family or our friends, she's just trying to get attention and ruin you." he whispered and I just cried some more.

"But the entire world Leo, they believe that I'm not carrying your baby and that I'm cheating on you, your fans Leo." I whimpered and he just hugged me to him and shook his head.

"That doesn't mean anything to me mi amor, I only care about you and our baby, any fan who's loyal will know that it's not true, and I won't let anyone drag you away from me, now you just have to focus on staying calm for our baby." he whispered and I nodded, kissing him. I wonder when my mother would give up and leave us alone..