When I look up, I find her.
She’s still in the crowd, completely still in a way that makes everything in me go quiet. Like the world has narrowed down to just that line of sight between us. I can see it in her face—she knows this isn’t just a speech anymore. This isn’t just awards or football or anything I prepared for.
This is the part where I stop hiding.
My chest rises slowly. I realise I’ve been bracing for this moment without even knowing it—like everything this season has been leading me here, to this exact second of clarity.
I hold her gaze.
And something in me settles.
“But the truth is,” I continue, my voice steady. “I’ve played the best football of my career this season. I know that. It’s not bravado or an inflated ego—it’s a fact. I’ve pushed harder, worked harder, and even believed harder.” I glance down at the trophy in my hand. “It’s not just from training or talent. It’s because I’m happy.”
The room is quiet. This is it. This is the moment. The ball is on my foot.
“And I’m happy,” I continue, “because I fell in love this year.”
Her breath catches. I see it.
“I fell in love with someone who changed everything for me,” I say, voice softening but not wavering. “Someone who didn’t try to fix me, or make me smaller, or turn me into something I wasn’t. Someone who supported me when I needed it, challenged me when I deserved it, and called me on my bullshit when I was hiding behind it.”
My throat tightens, but I don’t stop now.
“I fell in love with someone who didn’t look at me like I was a footballer first, or a captain, or a headline. She looked at me like I was just… me.” My jaw flexes slightly. “And I didn’t realise how much I needed that until I had it.”
Addison’s hand slowly rises to her mouth. Her eyes are bright now, glassy with tears she’s not trying to hide anymore.
“I didn’t know what love was supposed to feel like,” I say, quieter now, almost to myself as much as to everyone else, “until I met her. I thought I did. I thought it was something you had to earn, or manage, or be careful with. But it isn’t.”
I swallow.
“It’s just… her.”
The words land differently even as I say them. Certain.
“I need to say this out loud,” I continue, firmer again, “because for the first time in my life, I’m not afraid of being honest about what I want.”
My eyes lock onto hers completely now. The rest of the room disappears.
“Addison,” I say, and her name feels like it costs everything and nothing all at once. “I love you. I don’t want you to go. But it’s your choice, so whatever you decide, I need you to know that loving you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
The silence hangs thick before applause breaks out. The lads are cheering and pounding on the table.
“About bloody time!” I hear Luke shout.
My whole damn soul has been laid bare for the room to see. But all I see is her.
She hasn’t moved. She looks stunned, like I pulled her heart from her chest and handed it back to her.
I don’t know what she’s going to do next. I don’t know what she’s feeling.
But I do know this: I gave it everything I had.
The applause iscrashing around me, but I don’t even realize I’ve been holding my breath until he steps off the stage and heads toward me.
He cuts through tables, through claps on the back and stunned faces, his eyes never leaving mine. My heart is thudding so loud I swear it drowns out all the noise and commotion in the room.
“Oliver,” I breathe, my voice barely audible.
