Zachary was without any worries after leaving the matters of purchasing the vi to Matteo Tavano, the solicitor experienced in handling real estate deals in Turin. He adjusted his mental state and returned his entire focus to training the following day.
As always, he woke up early, at around six, and went through his morning routine. Hepleted everything he had to do by 8:00 AM and then joined his teammates at the Vinovo, Juventus'' training center, tomence preparations for the Champions League game against Atlético Madrid.
His motivation levels were at their best, and he was soon in full gear, training as always to gain tip-top match fitness before Wednesday night. However, that time around, he didn''t forget his other responsibilities because of training. He continued attending hisnguage sses and made sure to find time to call Cami on a daily basis.
Aside from that, Zachary also made time to meet with Emily and Kristin after training on Monday afternoon. They met in afy cafe in the middle of Turin and spent a few hours catching up.
Kristin had already settled in well in the new city. She had already enrolled in the University of Turin and was always attending lectures whenever she wasn''t handling Zachary''s publicity matters. Emily, on her part, was as busy as ever. She had finally registered her own sports agency and was in the process of searching for new talents to represent. All in all, the twodies seemed to be doing quite well in their respective fields.
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Time would always pass by quickly when one was busy. Hours turned into days, and soon, it was Tuesday, the eve of Juventus'' Champions League fixture against Atlético Madrid. And as always, Coach Allegri called all the Juventus first-team yers into the tactics roomte in the evening for the pre-game briefing.
The pre-match briefing proceeded well as Coach Allegri exined the tactics for the game against Atlético Madrid. He rified everything in Italian while asionally allowing Maurizio Trombetta, his assistant, to trante some important points into English. Then, after the tactics presentation, it was time to announce the squad heading to Madrid the following morning. And naturally, the coach named the starting eleven first.
Gianluigi Buffon would be in goal, while Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Boni, and Martín Cáceres would y as the three defenders. Then, in central midfield, it would be udio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, and Zachary Bemba holding the reigns — while Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner would y on the nks toplete the midfield of five. And finally, Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tévez would y as the two strikers toplete Juventus'' 3-5-2 starting formation.
After naming the starting eleven, Coach Allegri then moved on to mention those that were on the bench. And without any surprises, Marco Storari, Angelo Ogbonna, R?mulo, Arturo Vidal, Kingsley Coman, Sebastian Giovinco, and álvaro Morata were the names on the coach''s list of substitutes. All those yers had trained well over the past two days, and it was natural that they make his squad for the Champions League game against Atlético Madrid.
The naming of the line-up marked the end of the pre-game tactics meeting. As a result, the coach sent the yers back to their homes to rest after repeatedly reminding them to be on time the following morning.
Their flight to Madrid was at 8:30 early in the morning. So, they had to arrive at Juventus'' training center by 7:30 AM so they would have time to travel to the airport by bus.
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After leaving Juventus'' training center in the evening, Zachary returned to his room at the J Hotel. After cleaning up, he enjoyed a room-delivered dinner before brushing his teeth and jumping into bed. He was ready to enter into a peaceful slumber — and in so doing, allow his body to rest and be in the best shape for the following day''s game against Atlético Madrid.
But sometimes, things would not proceed ording to n, and that night was as such for Zachary. He received an unexpected call just after entering between the sheets.
The call was from Cami, and when he picked it up, his gut feeling immediately warned him that his night wouldn''t go ording to n. But even then, he braced himself and decided to listen to what Cami had to say.
"Hello, Cami," he spoke into the phone after pressing the ept button. "How is your evening going?"
Zachary was trying to ease into the conversation. However, there was no response from the other end of the line. He could hear someone breathing... maybe Cami, but she just remained silent. She wasn''t saying even a single word!
"Hello, Cami," he spoke again, sitting upright on the bed. "Are you there? Are you okay?"
"Hello, Zach," Cami finally responded in a somewhat unnatural voice. She seemed to be sobbing.
"Are you okay?" Zachary asked again, his mind sobering up and losing all signs of sleep. He was worried.
"I''m really not okay," Cami responded in between sobs after a few more seconds.
"What''s the matter?" Zachary pressed, switching the phone to his other ear. He softened his tone and continued, "What''s wrong?"please visit
"I lost the child," she responded with almost a whisper.
"What?"
"I said I lost the child," she said. "After I came back from work, I started doing someundry. But that''s when I got sudden cramps and abdominal pains and realized I was bleeding. I called an ambnce, and it rushed me to the hospital, only to find out I had had a miscarriage."
"Oh!" Zachary''s mind nked out after hearing her narrative. And for a few seconds, he didn''t know what to say. His thoughts were muddled and all over the ce.
He was confused as he should have been relieved after hearing such news. He should have felt rxed as he had not been ready to have a child, especially at that early stage of his football career. However, the reality at that moment was totally different from what he expected. What he felt was the opposite of what he''d envisioned after hearing such unfortunate news.
The artificial lighting in the hotel room cast a glow upon his face, highlighting his listless expression. In the meantime, a sensation of emptiness flooded his mind, making him feel like he had lost something important. He regretted not treating Cami right when he heard the news of her pregnancy.
"I''m sorry," he mumbled into the phone after collecting himself.
"You don''t have to apologize," Cami replied in a more rxed tone. "It wasn''t your fault. It just happened."
Zachary was at a loss for words after hearing that. He thought for a few seconds before asking, "Where are you now? Are you okay? Do you have any otherplications?"
"I''m still at the hospital. But I have no otherplications. At least the doctors haven''t found any. Zachary! I have to go now. The doctors are here. They have to conduct more tests. We''ll talkter." After saying that, she immediately ended the call before Zachary could respond.
Zachary sighed and immediately dropped the phone by his side. The sudden news from Cami had caused his mood to sink and wallow in a whirlpool of wondering what could have been. He could finally rte to the saying - you only know how valuable something is after losing it.
The reality of losing a potential offspring hit him, and he couldn''t help but sink into a period of self-introspection. He sat there on his bed, staring nkly at the opposite wall. And naturally, moments of his time in Turin shed through his thought center, and he asionally shook his head. He regretted a few things.
Ever since making his move to Juventus — no, that''s not right. Ever since his grandma died, he had stopped being down-to-earth in everything he did. For instance, he wasn''t training as much as he had during his initial days at Rosenborg. Additionally, he''d started putting money above everything else, including his love for football. He was even thinking of finding a way out of his contract with Nike in order to score a more juicy deal with another sportswear manufacturer. He''d somehow lost track of his goals along the way, thinking he would achieve greatness by exerting minimum effort, especially with the system as support. But that wasn''t the end of his poor conduct.
There was also hisckluster treatment of Cami, especially when he heard about the news of her pregnancy. He didn''tfort her or try his best to be there for her. He was unfeeling as he''d only thought about how Cami''s situation might mess up the progress of his career.
He''d forgotten the values histe grandma had instilled in him while growing up and be a total jackass. He hadn''t acted as a real man and epted his responsibilities. And now, it seemed like the ever-present karma had finally pped him on the cheek due to his transgressions. As a result, he received the unfortunate news that sent him into a whirlpool of regret and self-introspection. Moreover, that was on the eve of the game against Atlético Madrid.
"It''s not toote," Zachary mumbled to himself. "I can readjust and be a better person. I can be someone who makes my grandma in heaven proud. But first, I need to find out if Cami is doing okay. I must make amends. I must apologize. I must be there for her this time around."
Zachary geared himself. He picked up his phone again and dialed her number. The dial tone sounded within his ear, and then the international call connected. But s, she didn''t pick up. It seemed like she was still going through medical tests, even thatte in the evening.
"I should wait a bit," Zachary thought, checking the time on his phone screen. It wasing to ten in the night. So, he could wait one more hour before trying her number again.
The waiting time passed by slowly since he was a bit nervous. Eleven o''clock finally arrived, and he tried calling Cami again. But once again, she didn''t pick, causing him even more worries.
"I''ll talk to her tomorrow."
Zachary decided to go to bed as he had to y an important match the following evening. After washing his face, he went in between the sheets, praying and hoping he would sink into a peaceful slumber in a few minutes. But as his mind was not in the right ce, sleep didn''te to him untilte in the wee hours of the morning.
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