just a heads up (if you haven't noticed from the cover) i've changed billie's face claim to marisa abela <3 (you might recognise her from industry) enjoy the chapter!

News travels fast, especially tabloid gossip news. So when Billie left her flat for work the morning after the gala, nursing a heavy head, she didn't have the capacity to be surprised by the photographers waiting on her doorstep. There were only three of them waiting for her, but they were loud and overbearing enough to put her on edge as she did her best to hurry to work.

Billie had tried to avoid reading the headlines, and she was hoping to let the breakup at least simmer before the public caught wind of it. It might not have been her smartest decision to delete every trace of him from her social media when she got home from the gala. The combination of that and also the blurry photos of them arguing outside of the gala did more than enough to fuel the rumours.

She wasn't surprised to receive radio silence from Brad, he was no doubt waking up beside some beautiful rebound with his tail between his legs. Billie hated to admit it but it did hurt, it was more that she was ashamed of herself for staying with him for as long as she did. Three years of her life that she wasted trying to love that man into something he could never be.

Once she'd arrived at work she made a beeline for her office, not wanting to run into any of the players or staff who no doubt would've also seen the photos. No one who read those articles cared about her, they just wanted to know about Brad Barker's private life. She didn't blame those people, she felt it was her fault for falling in love with someone with such a reputation in the first place.

She'd been sitting at her desk for about half an hour when she heard the indistinct chatter of the boys making their way from the gym out onto the training pitch. Her door was open, which was an oversight on her behalf, but she knew she'd have to face them at some point otherwise her absence at training would no doubt be noted.

"Billie," She looked up to see Jamie standing in the open doorway, "You alright?"

"Yep, I'm fine," She nodded, keeping her eyes on her laptop.

"I saw the pictures this morning, and I saw the photos they took of you leaving your flat," He continued as he slowly approached her desk, finally catching her attention as she looked up from her laptop with tired eyes, "It'd be pretty fucking normal not to be okay with that."

Jamie hadn't just seen the articles, he'd read the comments too, he'd read what people had been saying about Billie. That she wasn't good enough for Brad Barker, that she deserved to be cheated on. He didn't know if she had read them, he hoped she hadn't.

"You didn't tell anyone about it, did you?" Billie muttered the first thing that crossed her mind, having believed that her and Brad were far away enough from prying eyes to avoid cameras.

"No, I wouldn't do that," Jamie sighed, fiddling with the block of sticky notes on the edge of her desk, "Are you coming out onto the pitch this morning?"

"In a bit," Billie nodded.

"It's meant to be good for you, fresh air," Jamie assured her, having read it in one of his mum's magazines when he was younger.

"As long as there's no paps jumping the walls," Billie replied with a half smile.

"Don't worry, Bils, I'll fight 'em off for you," He mimed throwing punches at the air. The nickname just rolled off his tongue naturally, but Billie heard it, she heard it and she didn't hate it.

"Tartt," Her brother's voice startled her as she looked over at the open door to see Roy lurking, "Pitch, now."

"Laters, Billie," Jamie nodded before disappearing out of the room.

"What did he want?" Roy huffed as he took Jamie's place in front of her desk.

"He came to ask if I was okay," Billie assured him.

"The fuck?" Roy exclaimed, "Are you sure it was him? Like could he have a twin we don't know about?"

"It was him, Roy," Billie sighed, "He walked me home last night after I ended it with Brad."

"Oh," Roy muttered, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Billie smiled, although her brother wasn't entirely convinced.

"Why did you bid on Tartt last night?" Roy asked, clearly not sure how to navigate conversations about Brad.

"To prove a point to Brad," Billie sighed, "I used his money."

"You really are my sister, huh," Roy remarked.

"I should hope so," Billie smiled, picking up her camera and closing her laptop, "We should probably get to training."

Training went as normal as it could do, and Billie was grateful for that. She didn't know if words had been exchanged regarding Brad before her arrival but she was grateful that she didn't have to talk about it more than anything.

Billie had been standing beside the goal with Beard, Ted and Nate, getting as many photos as she could while the boys practised drills and passes. Except there weren't many passes, there was just Jamie, weaving the ball past the second team defenders.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ted asked as the four of them watched the boys practice.

"Nope," Billie smiled, despite appreciating the gesture, "I tend to keep it all inside until eventually I implode into tears, it's pretty special."

"You sure that's healthy?" Ted frowned.

"No, but I could be the sort of person who gets over it by doing cocaine and drinking a whole bottle of vodka, that wouldn't be healthy."

"Well my door's always open, Billie." Ted assured her.

Sam ran down the side of the pitch, waving his hands in the air, as open as a door that's off its hinges.

"Jamie! I'm open!" Sam exclaimed as the pair neared the goal separately.

Jamie took the shot, kicked the ball straight for the goal, and it would have gone in, it definitely would have gone in if Ted hadn't stepped in and caught it.

"What are you doing?" Jamie asked, "That was going in."

"Well, we'll never know," Ted sighed, "Jamie, how many times I gotta tell you to make the extra pass? Come on, Sam was more open than the jar of peanut butter on my kitchen counter."

The team frowned in confusion as Beard, Nate and Billie joined Ted's side.

"What's he talking about?"

"Oh, that's right, y'all don't know I like to keep the peanut butter open, that way whenever I walk by I can just stick my finger in there," Ted told the group.

"It's a fucking good idea, to be fair," Roy nodded in agreement.

"I'd go for Nutella," Billie added.

"Or Biscoff." Colin replied, earning a thumbs up from Billie.

"Now look, when Sam is that open, you gotta pass to him, okay?" Ted returned his attention to Jamie.

"But why?" Jamie asked, "Even when Sam's open, Sam is still shit."

"I heard my name," Sam exclaimed as he ran over to Ted, "What did he say?"

"Don't worry about it." Beard muttered as Billie glanced at Jamie, confused how he was the same man who had walked her home and been so concerned about her mental state following the break up with Brad.

"Okay."

"Guys, we gotta play like a team tomorrow," Ted told the group, "Otherwise we're gonna get our butts kicked, extra passes, we're gonna keep doing this until we get it right, let's go."

As Ted tossed the ball back towards the players a distant voice shouted "Dad" grabbing the attention of the whole team.

"Practice is cancelled," Ted declared before running towards a blonde woman and young boy standing at the other end of the training pitch.

"That is a much longer run than he thinks," Nate muttered to Beard and Billie.

"Metaphor." Beard and Billie answered in unison before promptly fist pumping as they watched the interaction unfold from afar.

Billie glanced at the team who were also watching Ted as he ran. Sam smiled, Roy looked perplexed to see his coach running at such speed and Jamie looked bewildered.

It wasn't something that Billie had experienced before, a man so delighted to see his wife and child. Her own father had never been that happy to see her before.

By the time Ted reached his wife and son the team watched as he lifted the boy up and spun him around, again something Billie had never experienced, and little did she know, neither had Jamie.

The closest Billie had got to that was when Roy would come home from training in Sunderland or even when he transferred to Chelsea. He'd come back to their family home, scoop his little sister up in the air, delighted by her infectiously sweet giggle as he pretended to throw her into the sky. Because Roy knew that he had to savour the moments he had with his sister before she grew up.

But when it came to appreciating her big brother, Billie had never grown out of needing him, because Roy didn't know the true extent of the disconnect between his parents and their youngest child, he didn't know just how much his sister needed him.

Billie Kent had made a lot of decisions since joining AFC Richmond that she wouldn't have done months before. She didn't know what had possessed her to agree to be the photographer for Jamie's beer photoshoot that Keeley had organised, but she considered Keeley a friend, she wasn't sure what she considered Jamie.

It was easy for the lines to blur because Jamie had displayed genuine empathy and concern when it came to Billie and her breakup. But in the same breath he was happy to make a mockery of people like Nate and Sam.

So there she stood in the press room preparing for Jamie's press shoot, which was the last place she wanted to be, hoping that no one would ask for a comment on Brad once the shoot was done.

"Hey Billie," Keeley greeted her with a hug as the brand's hired makeup artist powdered Jamie's face while they waited for various members of the brand's PR team and some select journalists to file into the room, "You okay?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that," She sighed, "I'm fine, I promise, he had it coming, I suppose."

"Too right," Keeley grinned as she let go of the girl, "And if you want to come over and watch a cheesy romcom with me while talking about how shitty men are, you just let me know."

Billie knew that Keeley was referring to her own recent breakup with Jamie, "He told me last night, you okay?"

"Yeah," Keeley smiled, "He's moved on, I should too."

"I forgot what it's like being single, are we meant to download dating apps?" Billie asked the girl.

"We can do what the fuck we want, babe," Keeley assured her, "You ready to start?"

"Sure," Billie nodded as she looked over to Jamie who was sitting at the same desk Ted would normally sit at for interviews with the press.

"There she is," Jamie smirked as Billie made her way down to the front of the room, crouching in the front row in the hope of getting the best shots that Keeley and the brand would be happy with, "She's the best photographer I've worked with in a long time."

"You're not drunk already, are you?" Billie hissed as she switched her camera on.

"I'm doing flattery, Billie," Jamie smirked as the room fell quiet.

"Well stop, it's weird," Billie frowned, not used to Jamie being so publicly forward, "Just say the words Keeley gave you and pose."

"Alright," Jamie shuffled in his seat, picking up one of the bottles from the table, "I'm happy to be the new brand ambassador for Darsteiner, the favourite beer of Jamie Tartt."

Billie snapped a few initial photos while Jamie looked into the camera before he rolled up his sleeve, "Oh, wait, wait, wait, get my tats...get that one, it's very important to me, it's Chinese for arm."

She was convinced Jamie had lost the plot, and Keeley was too as she clicked from the back of the room to get his attention. Jamie nodded and removed the cap before taking a sip of the drink as Billie continued taking photos of the moment.

"Hey, do you like mythology?" Jamie asked the room, "You've seen a unicorn, you ever seen a brewnicorn?"

Billie wanted the ground to swallow her up and spit her out in that precise moment as Jamie neighed, it was a good impression if he were a children's entertainer, but it didn't sit right for a brand shoot.

"That's fucking funny," Jamie grinned as he laid the bottle in his arms, "What's that? It's my beerby?"

Billie glanced over her shoulder to see Keeley now joined by Rebecca watching the moment unfold with fear in both of their eyes.

"What should we do?" Billie mouthed at the women as Keeley mimed for her to 'wrap it up' before Rebecca ushered her out of the room, leaving Jamie in Billie's capable hands.

"You're getting this for free," Jamie told the brand representatives, "Not even extra for that."

"Jamie," Billie hissed, clicking her fingers to get his attention, "Just do something fucking normal."

"You're not a fan of the beerby, Billie?" Jamie smirked.

"No one is," She whispered, gesturing to the rest of the room as she stood in front of him with her camera, deciding to take directorial control.

She took the bottle from his arms, before adjusting Jamie herself as though he were a mannequin. She placed the bottle in one hand, letting his other arm rest on the table, "Now don't fucking move."

"I could get used to you telling me what to do," Jamie muttered with that frustrating smirk that haunted Billie.

"Okay," Billie exhaled, snapping multiple photos in quick succession as Jamie stared into her camera, alternating between smiles and hard smoulders.

Once Billie was content that she had enough photos that Keeley would be happy with she decided to take control of the room since Keeley and Rebecca had disappeared.

"Any questions from the press?" Billie asked the room.

"Would you like to make an official statement exclusively to The Sun on your split from Bradley Barker?" A male journalist asked.

"No, and any questions are for Mr Tartt regarding his partnership with Darsteiner?" Billie smiled as she attempted to maintain professionalism.

"I like the sound of that," Jamie smirked in reference to Billie calling him 'Mr Tartt'.

"So you don't have anything to comment on the girl Brad was seen walking through Sloane Square with earlier today?" The journalist asked.

Before Billie could answer or look to anyone else in the room for help a voice broke through the silence, "No, she doesn't have anything to comment, mate."

Billie glanced over her shoulder at Jamie who gave her a wink of reassurance, at least she thought it was reassurance.

"But if you want my comment on Chelsea's number four then I'm happy to-"

"That's all we've got time for folks!" Billie exclaimed, cutting Jamie off before he could drop them both in hot water, "Thanks for joining us."

The members of the press promptly filed out of the room, leaving just Billie and Jamie.

"Well, I'll look over those photos tonight, cull the shit ones and then send you the best ones, sound good?" Billie remarked as she packed her camera away.

"Firstly, there won't be any where I look shit because," He replied, pointing to his own face, "Secondly, why don't we just grab some drinks, sit in your office and look at them together?"

"You want to get drinks?" Billie frowned in confusion, taken aback by the constant changes in his attitude.

"Can't hurt."

"Might hurt," Billie folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, have you got a better idea?" Jamie huffed, clearly frustrated to be at a loose end after training was cancelled.

"You'll have to do drinks on your own, Tartt," Billie replied, realising there was something she needed to do, "I've got to go and pick my stuff up from Brad's house."

She hadn't really thought about when she'd do it, but she still had a key to his house and she decided at that moment, now that training was cancelled, perhaps she should get it over and done with.

"You don't have a car." Jamie frowned.

"I'll just get the bus," Billie told him, knowing that it would take about two hours to get to and from Chelsea by bus.

"I'll drive you."

"You must be really, really bored, Tartt," Billie sighed in disbelief.

"Maybe I am, maybe I want to spend my afternoon driving through West London traffic with you," He replied with a smile, leading her out of the press room, "You'll never know."

"Billie," Rebecca's voice rang through the corridor as the pair turned to face the well dressed blonde woman, "And Jamie, where are you off to?"

"Ted cancelled training for a family thing," Billie explained, "So I'm going to get my stuff from Brad's."

"Right," Rebecca nodded before glancing at Jamie, wondering what part he played in it.

"Golden boy's taking me." Billie told her, sensing a need to fill in the blanks.

"I'm golden boy now, am I?" Jamie quipped with a smirk.

"Shut up," Billie nudged him with a playful smirk.

"Don't let me keep you," Rebecca told them both, detecting simmering chemistry that she could use to her advantage.

"See you tomorrow," Billie smiled before she and Jamie made their way to the car park.

Once the pair were out of earshot Rebecca pulled her phone from her pocket, calling a photographer contact of hers, the phone rang twice before the man answered, "Jamie Tartt will be driving through Chelsea within the next hour, you'll want to be there."

She knew that she couldn't say much after how awry the situation had gone last time with the photo of Keeley and Ted. But she knew that Ted had managed to paper over the cracks between Roy and Jamie. So making it seem as though the captain's sister and the star player were using each other as rebounds was sure to destroy the team in the way she had been trying so hard to do since her divorce with Rupert was finalised.

"Colin, Isaac, Richard," Jamie remarked as the pair drove along Kings Road in the heart of Chelsea, having been in the car for over half an hour they'd exhausted most surface level topics of conversation leading Jamie to cajole Billie into a game of shag, marry, cruise.

"You can't make me choose," Billie huffed with a smile.

"I could swap one of them for me if that-"

"Marry Colin," Billie was quick to answer when the idea of having to add Jamie into the mix was brought to the table, "Cruise with Richard because he knows his wines, so I suppose I'm shagging Isaac."

"And if I had swapped myself in?" Jamie asked as they stopped at the red traffic lights.

"Nope." Billie smirked, popping the 'P', as she stared out her window in a desperate attempt to avoid eye contact.

"Tell me," Jamie pried, nudging her with his elbow, "Billie, look at me."

"Hmm?" Billie looked back at him, smiling with pursed lips.

"What would I be?" Jamie asked again with a smirk.

"Well I'm not marrying you, Tartt," Billie replied, letting her eyes wander over his face.

They were both snapped out of their bubble by the sound of car horns behind them, realising that the traffic lights had turned green as Jamie put his foot down on the accelerator.

"Next left," Billie told him as she kept her eyes on the road ahead, not wanting to let her gaze wander back to Jamie. Without a word Jamie took the side road, waiting for Billie's next instruction.

But Billie didn't say anything, she went quiet, tapping her fingertips against her thighs as she stared out of the window in a trance, feeling her heartbeat quicken as she focused on anything except the looming prospect of seeing Brad again.

"Which one is it, Billie?" Jamie asked as he continued driving slowly, realising that she had zoned out, "Billie."

"Huh?"

"Which house is his?" Jamie asked, noticing her nervous disposition.

"Oh, it's that one on the right," Billie told him, pointing at the large house with the forest green front door, grateful for the lack of photographers.

"What are you having for dinner tonight?" Jamie asked as he parked up in the space outside of Brad's house.

"I'm not going for dinner with you, Tartt," Billie answered.

"No, I didn't mean-" Jamie stumbled over his words, "Me mum's boyfriend always asks daft questions when she's anxious to distract her."

"I'm not anxious." Billie muttered, bouncing her knees as she stared up at the house where she had spent so much of her time over those last few years despite attending university in Manchester.

"Billie, it's fine if you-"

"You can head home, I'll just get the bus back," Billie told him as she unbuckled her seatbelt, "Thanks for the lift."

Jamie watched as Billie climbed out of his car and made her way up to Brad's house, typing the security code into the keypad on the gate. He could've gone with her, given her some nonsense about wanting to see the inside of Brad Barker's house, but he didn't, he watched her disappear into the house from the comfort of his own car.

"Hello," Billie called out as she closed the front door, discarding the key Brad had given her on a nearby console table, "Brad, are you home?"

"Billie," He appeared at the top of the stairs, "Isn't this a nice surprise?"

"I just came back to get my stuff," Billie answered as he looked down at her from the top of the staircase, "I thought about leaving it, but it's my stuff at the end of the day, isn't it?"

"Knock yourself out," Brad sighed, giving her a free run of the house.

"Sure," Billie sighed as she hurried up the stairs, brushing past him as she made her way into his bedroom, the bedsheets strewn across the bed and unmade as always.

She picked up a discarded duffle bag that she had used multiple times when she had stayed over, opening the wardrobe and pulling the various items of clothing she had left there over the years before tossing them into the bag.

"It doesn't have to be like this, you know," Brad told her as he leant against the bedroom doorway, watching as she collected discarded items of makeup from on top of the drawers.

"It does, Brad," Billie answered, "I should've ended this a long time ago."

"Don't talk like that."

"Like what?" Billie turned to face him, "Like you didn't cheat on me numerous times and because you're a man the tabloids love you for it, whereas I look at a man and they accuse me of having some sordid affair."

"I'm leaving you to it if you're gonna be like this," Brad huffed, "I'll be in the games room if you need me, otherwise, let yourself out."

"Enjoy being beat the shit out of by Jamie Tartt on FIFA." Billie muttered to herself as she heard the game room door shut.

She finished rummaging through the wardrobe for her stuff, which was mainly clothes, makeup and toiletries before moving over to the bedside tables. There were a few misplaced items of jewellery which she secured in the side pocket of her bag before opening the bottom drawer, startled by what she saw.

A baby scan.

Billie Kent might not have been top of the class in science at school, but she knew what a baby scan looked like, she'd seen her sister's when she was pregnant with Phoebe.

Picking up the small square photograph with her bag slung over her shoulder she stormed out of the bedroom and straight into the games room where of course, Brad was playing FIFA.

"You got everything?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the screen.

"The fuck is this?" Billie spat, holding out the photo.

"Billie," He sighed, "I was going to-"

"When?" She exclaimed, "The child's first fucking birthday?"

"Bils."

"No," She shook her head, "You don't get to call me that, who's baby is it?"

"You don't know her," Brad insisted.

"But you shagged her while you were with me, correct?" Billie replied, and when he didn't answer the boiling in her blood began to rise, "How many months?"

"Five."

"Does she know what she's having?" Billie asked.

"A girl."

"So you've spoken to her recently enough then, so god only knows what was stopping you from telling me," Billie retorted.

"Yeah."

"Well, I hope you're very fucking happy together," Billie shouted, tossing the photo at him before hurrying back down the stairs.

Before heading back out of the house she made her way into the kitchen at the back of the house, opening the wine fridge and pulling out what she knew was the most expensive bottle of champagne that she knew he'd been saving for a special occasion, it was easily worth five figures. She slammed the fridge door shut, storming down the hallway, opening the front door before pausing.

"You can tell Mason I'm free on Fridays!" She shouted up the stairs before slamming the door behind herself, referring to Brad's teammate Mason Mount who she had spoken to on several occasions at Chelsea matches, and everytime she did Brad was visibly jealous.

As the door rattled behind her she hurried back down the driveway, opening the gate and stepping back onto the pavement, pulling her phone out of her pocket with the intention of ordering herself a taxi home.

"So it went well, then?" Billie looked up to see Jamie leaning against his car, hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"You waited?" Billie muttered in disbelief.

"I did," He nodded, "Home?"

"Yeah," She smiled, walking past him towards the passenger door, handing him the bottle of champagne, "That's for you."

"Cheers."

"He's outdone himself this time, Jamie," Billie muttered as the pair sat in the quiet car.

"How?"

"He's got a baby on the way," She scoffed, "It'll be here in less than four months."

"Shit, Billie, I'm sorry."

"He's not," Billie laughed without humour, "You must think I was really stupid to stay with him as long as I did."

"I get it, and I know it's not as simple as that, my mum was the same with my dad for a while." That was the first time that Billie had really heard Jamie shed light on what his life and his childhood was like, she didn't know why he was being so open all of a sudden, but she felt a need to reciprocate as they sat in the parked car.

"He got me pregnant when I was at uni," Billie whispered something that only a few people knew about, even though she knew in the silence of the car, Jamie could hear her, "He encouraged me to get rid of it, so I did before I could really decide whether it was what I wanted."

Jamie sat in silence, aware that it wasn't the time for sarcasm or a quip about Brad, she needed him to listen.

"The Daily Mail papped me leaving the clinic," She continued, "My brother paid them sixty grand not to run the story."

"And Brad?"

"Well it was my brother and sister in the pictures with me, not Brad," Billie told him, something that she hadn't told anyone except her two closest friends, that Brad had chosen not to attend the termination appointment. 

"Roy thanked me for walking you home after the gala," Jamie replied, unsure of what else to say.

"That sounds like Roy," Billie sniffed as tears escaped her eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"No," Billie shook her head, "But I will be."

author's note: just want to give our girl the biggest hug (i think jamie does too)