Chapter 158: A Father’s Quiet Pride

Chapter 158: A Father’s Quiet Pride Chapter 158: A Father’s Quiet Pride October 26th, 2010 The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that only came when his dad, his brother, and his sister were out at work and school. Dev stepped into the living room and let the silence settle around him like a blanket. For the first time in what felt like days, his shoulders dropped. The frantic energy of the last 24 hours had finally started to ebb. No cameras, no questions, no buzz in his phone. Just stillness. And in that stillness, a strange sense of calm washed over him. Not joy exactly more like relief, like stepping out of a storm into shelter. The press conference had taken something out of him, but it had also given something back. Saying it out loud really saying it had cracked something open. Something that needed air. Now, he just wanted to be here at home. In this familiar quiet place. Before the next wave of chaos inevitably crashed in. Later that evening, the kitchen was alive with the smell of his mom’s cooking, a familiar blend of spices and warmth that wrapped itself around him like a second skin. This was the scent of home. Not just food, but comfort. Dev sat at the dinner table, absently nudging a few green beans across his plate. His thoughts wandered, chasing fragments of the day he couldn’t quite piece together. The press conference. The questions. Across from him, his dad sat in silence, hands folded calmly, eating like it was just another Tuesday. He hadn’t said a word about the game. Or the press conference. Not a single question. No praise. No concern. Just... normal. At first, Dev had braced himself for something for a lecture, a glance, even a sigh. But nothing came. Just the steady rhythm of his father’s fork on the plate, like he was determined to let the moment pass untouched. That silence filled the room in a different way now. As if his dad knew that Dev didn’t need more pressure. He just needed space. And maybe that, in its own quiet way, was the conversation. After dinner, his dad gave him a small nod nothing urgent, just a quiet signal and walked toward the living room. Dev followed, his heartbeat suddenly louder in his chest. The TV was off. The room was dim, lit only by a lamp in the corner casting a warm, amber glow. The silence stretched out between them not uncomfortable, but thick with the unspoken. Dev sank onto the sofa. His dad settled into his usual armchair, the old cushions sighing beneath him. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, finally, his dad said, "You played well." His voice was low, steady. A simple statement but it landed heavy, solid. His dad didn’t do emotional speeches. No dramatic praise. Just quiet, measured words that somehow always said enough. That one line, ’You played well’ meant more than anything a journalist or pundit could ever write. "Thanks, Dad," Dev said, his voice barely above a whisper. His dad gave a small nod. "I saw the press conference." Dev’s breath caught. His whole body tensed back straight, hands clasped too tightly in his lap. ’Here it is’, he thought. The moment he’d been bracing for. Dreading but also hoping for. The moment when the silence would finally crack. A lecture? Disappointment? A warning? He didn’t know what was coming. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. But his dad just looked at him calm, unreadable. "You chose your words well," he said. "You didn’t lie. But you didn’t give them what they wanted, either." There was no judgment in his voice. No disapproval. Just... recognition. A quiet kind of respect. Dev blinked, unsure what to say. Part of him wanted to cry. Another part wanted to say everything he’d been holding back. Instead, he just nodded. And that was enough. For now, at least, it was enough. "What did you think, dad?" Dev asked, his voice barely above a whisper. It wasn’t just a question. It was a challenge. He was asking for the truth and, in a way, asking for forgiveness. For not following the path they’d talked about. The one his dad had worked so hard to carve out for him. His dad didn’t answer right away. He let the silence linger, breathing it in like something he wasn’t ready to name. Then he took a slow, deep breath. "I thought about what you said," he said at last. "About playing for your teammates. For your family." He looked down at his hands, calloused and still. "I never meant for this to be a burden on you, Dev," he said quietly. "I just... I saw a path. A way to give you something more." Dev looked up, the question rising from a place deeper than he expected. "More than what, Dad?" There was no anger in his voice just a quiet ache. A need to be understood. "More than this?" he asked, gesturing faintly around them, toward the empty room, the quiet house, the modest life they’d always known. "Because this this is everything to me. This team. This town. They believed in me when no one else did." The words were coming faster now, raw and unfiltered. He couldn’t hold them back anymore. "That goal wasn’t just a goal," Dev said, his voice shaking. "It was a win for all of us. For Liam, for Thiago, for Max. For Coach Niels. For everyone who stuck by me when I couldn’t see a future for myself." He paused, swallowing hard. "It was for the fans who stood in the rain and never stopped singing. It was for Ollie and his damn banner. For every kid who thinks they don’t matter because they’re not in an academy or on someone’s shortlist." His hands clenched. Not in anger, but in conviction. "I don’t want to give that up. Not for money. Not for a contract. Not even for you." The room went still. His dad sat quietly across from him, face unreadable, but his eyes held something Dev hadn’t seen before not disappointment. But understanding. And maybe even pride. His dad listened without interrupting, his face a mix of understanding and something else Dev couldn’t quite place. It was almost like... sadness. When Dev finally finished, the room was quiet again. "The first time I saw you play, you were six years old," his dad said, his voice a low rumble. "You had a hole in your sock and your knees were scraped up, and you were so happy just to be out there. You fell and you got up. You missed and you tried again. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. To be happy. To be out there, chasing the ball with a fire in your belly. The rest of it... the money, the fame, the big clubs... that’s just noise." He sat back, eyes drifting for a moment as if sifting through years of hopes and mistakes. "When those offers started coming in, I won’t lie, I thought this was it. The dream, right? A big move, a big name, a big paycheck. I thought if I pushed you toward it, I’d be giving you the life I never had. A shortcut to something better." He looked at Dev, and this time his voice carried something deeper. Regret, maybe. But also love. "But the truth is... you’re still young. You’ve got so much more to show the world. So much left to build, in your own way, in your own time. There’s no rush to chase something just because it looks shiny right now." He leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "You don’t have to leave now. You don’t have to stay forever either. You’ll know when it’s time, your time. Whether it’s next transfer window or next season or five years from now. Whether it’s Crawley or somewhere else entirely." He smiled faintly, the kind of smile that said ’I trust you’. "When that moment comes, I won’t stand in your way. I’ll be proud of you just like I am now. Not for the move. But for the way you’ve carried yourself. For remembering what this game really means." He paused. "That six-year-old with the scraped knees and the fire in his belly, he’s still in there. Just keep chasing the game for him. The rest will come." Dev stared at him, stunned. This wasn’t the conversation he’d spent the whole day bracing for. No confrontation. No disappointment. No "what ifs." He had come armed with defenses, ready to explain himself, ready to justify every choice—but his dad hadn’t asked for any of that. Instead, he had offered him something Dev hadn’t expected. Grace. Real, quiet, unconditional grace. His dad leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His voice was steady, but softer now personal. "You stood up there yesterday, and you told the world what you truly believed. That you belong to that team. That you’re not chasing a headline, you’re building something real." He paused, looking directly at Dev. "I’ve never been more proud of you than I was in that moment." A silence settled again but this time it was full of warmth. His dad’s eyes softened, and a small, genuine smile found its way to his face. "I love watching you play, son. No matter what field it’s on." It wasn’t just approval. It was trust. And for the first time in a long time, Dev didn’t feel the weight of expectations pressing down on him. He just felt seen. The weight he had been carrying for weeks hadn’t disappeared, but it had fundamentally changed. It was no longer the burden of an impossible choice, but the weight of a different kind of purpose. A purpose rooted in loyalty and joy, in playing for something more than himself. The offers would come, and the decisions would still have to be made, but now, he would face them with a new sense of clarity. He knew what mattered most. And for the first time, he knew that his father understood.