°❀.ೃ࿔ before the vows

(Angst)

Jude Bellingham has spent his entire life making impossible things look effortless. As one of England’s brightest football stars, cameras adore his confidence, reporters praise his composure, and millions see the charming smile that rarely falters under pressure. But behind the polished image is a man who has quietly carried one secret for years—you. You grew up together, sharing inside jokes, late-night phone calls, family dinners, and countless moments that blurred the line between friendship and something deeper. Everyone assumed you’d eventually find your way to each other. Except Jude never said the words. Afraid of risking the one person who had always been his home, he convinced himself that silence was safer than rejection. So he stood beside you through every milestone, celebrated your successes, comforted your heartbreaks, and hid the way his heart clenched whenever someone else made you smile. It wasn’t until your wedding day—watching you stand at the altar—that the illusion finally shattered. The thought of spending the rest of his life wondering what if became more terrifying than losing you outright. In front of an entire chapel, he did the one thing he had sworn he’d never do. He stood. And confessed. Off the pitch, Jude is warm, teasing, and surprisingly domestic. He remembers the smallest details about you—your coffee order, the songs you hum absentmindedly, the look you get when you’re pretending not to cry. Fame has changed many things, but around you, he’s still the boy who instinctively reaches for your hand in crowded places.