Just Friends?

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chloe stood there in the entrance to Mark's house, wondering if she was imagining that Elly had just told Mark he wasn't the father of her child.

Chloe immediately looked over at Mark, who was standing there, hovering over Elly, blinking his eyes in confusion and Chloe knew that she wasn't imagining it.

Chloe wondered if she should turn around and leave her girlfriend and her brother to have this conversation on their own. Elly glanced over to her, not only acknowledging she was there but the look in her eyes told Chloe she needed her support.

Mark was still blinking wildly as Chloe silently walked over to Elly. Sitting down behind her on the couch, Chloe placed her hand on Elly's shoulder for support and Elly reached up to entangle their fingers. She sat there like that in silence, not wanting to interrupt Mark from having the reaction he was about to have until she felt it would be her place.

"You're not the father of this baby, Mark," Elly repeated, thinking Mark needed her to say it again for it to sink in.

"What?" Mark spluttered out.

Elly remained as calm as she could, preparing for the worst, but feeling grateful that she had Chloe's silent support next to her, "I cheated on you again, Mark...after Chloe."

"But I..." Mark uttered, still not able to form a sentence.

"I was in a really bad place. We had barely talked for nearly two weeks after the wedding and then...then we were trying to fix things between us but you went and made that comment about how you might never be able to touch me ever again," Elly started explaining.

"What does that have anything to do with this?" Mark finally managed to get out.

"Because that was the night I...I thought you and I were..." Elly trailed off before adding, "I went out and I got drunk that night..."

"And you slept with someone?" Mark finished for Elly.

Elly nodded, "I didn't know what I was doing."

Mark shook his head, "No, but...you were pregnant then...you...yes I said I'd never touch you again but we were working on things for the sake of the baby..."

"I got it wrong," Elly admitted, "I thought I was pregnant when I first told you after the wedding but when I got the blood test...the hospital told me I wasn't...I wanted to tell you, Mark. I was waiting for the right moment to tell you...I was trying to give our marriage a chance to survive after what happened with Chloe. I knew you only took me back because of the baby but I was hoping..."

"So instead of telling me you were never pregnant, when I made one bad comment to you, you got drunk, slept with some stranger and got yourself pregnant to him?" Mark demanded to know. His voice was still calm from the absolute disbelief of what was happening.

Elly nodded again, "Yes...except..."

Mark closed his eyes for a moment, trying hard to work out how he was supposed to react to what Elly was telling him, knowing his sister was there, silently supporting Elly, "Was it a stranger you hooked up with? Do you know who the father is?"

Elly breathed deeply, "It's Shaun Watkins."

"Finn's brother?" Mark asked, shocked by Elly's further admission.

"Yes," Elly answered, "I didn't know who he was that night...he was a stranger...but then I saw him at Finn's trial...and I knew what I'd done. That's why I left the courtroom and didn't give evidence the first time."

"Does Shaun know?" Mark demanded.

"Yes. Shaun agreed to return to Switzerland and leave the pair of us to raise this baby...if I changed my victim impact statement and convinced my family to take Finn into their home," Elly revealed.

"So, the father knows but I didn't deserve to know!" Mark suddenly shouted at Elly.

Chloe sat there behind Elly, still not interrupting Mark's overdue outburst, squeezing Elly's shoulder tightly to remind her she wasn't alone.

"I wanted to tell you..." Elly claimed.

Mark took a breath, "Is Shaun the only person who knows he is the father...? Besides Chloe...judging by the way she's not shocked by any of this...obviously!"

Elly held tightly onto Chloe's hand, waiting for Mark to react further that his sister knew before him, but when he didn't, she confessed immediately the list of people that knew the baby wasn't Mark's, "Leo, Dr. Dietrich, her son who's a student of mine and got his hands on my medical records and blackmailed me for better grades and alcohol...um...Finn...and David found out just last week."

"Finn knew before I did?" Mark re-confirmed, feeling most hurt by the fact Shaun's brother and Elly's former tormentor knew before he did.

"I didn't tell Finn. He figured it out on his own when I was attacked at the school and when Finn casually mentioned it to Shaun, he was edgy that something had happened to the baby. Then later that day I was at the Waterhole and Finn saw me there whilst an international phone number...Shaun's number I guess...came up on my phone...I have no clue how Shaun tracked down my number. I have not spoken to him since I told him to hold his end of our deal and leave," Elly explained.

Mark ran his hand through his hair, "So Shaun could leave and you could what...trick me into raising this baby with you?"

"No," Elly shook her head, "I was going to tell you...I wasn't going to trick you...I don't know what I was trying to do...I just...I didn't want to hurt you."

"Well you did!" Mark yelled, before focusing on Chloe, "How long, Chlo?"

"About a month, Elly told me right before that appointment at Dr. Dietrich that you asked me to drop her off to," Chloe answered simply, not bothering to even try and justify that she had spent the entire time trying to convince Elly to tell her brother the truth. That didn't matter because she had still betrayed her brother by keeping this from him.

But Elly didn't see it that way, more than capable of trying to justify Chloe not telling him, "Mark, Chloe has tried literally everything for the past month to get me to tell you. I have been in complete and utter denial that you needed to know the truth. That I cheated on you again…that this baby I'm carrying isn't yours. Chloe has been trying to help me break out of it. I was in therapy today about the lies I've been spinning to you and it still didn't help me."

Chloe raised her eyebrow, unable to stop wondering what had finally helped her girlfriend.

Elly continued, "Chloe could not be the one to tell you this, I had to be the one. I had to take full responsibility for what I did."

Mark sighed deeply, "Why did you tell Chloe then and not me? We could've attempted to work through this…we could've…still had another child together…after you…"

"I was never going to lose this baby on purpose just to try again with you, Mark. I told Chloe everything because that appointment she took me to was my 3-month ultrasound and I needed support as I thought I was going to lose the baby as karma. I was so scared for this baby's future," Elly answered.

Elly then elaborated further wanting to be as honest as she could with Mark, "I asked Chloe to join me for the ultrasound. I was struggling to deal with my feelings for Chloe as they were developing by that stage...enough for me to acknowledge them to myself for the first time…I allowed the pair of us to cuddle one another after the ultrasound whilst I was still lying on the table. I placed her hand over my belly because I wanted her to feel close to me…I wanted Chloe to feel close to the baby. I wanted the three of us to be close because I was starting to realize Chloe is my family…she's my home. I kissed Chloe on the lips after the ultrasound...it felt right...between us. We didn't tell you because…I was lying about the baby…we didn't want you to know we had kissed again…until I had made my decision to be with Chloe."

Mark ignored Elly's further admission of kissing his sister when they were still a couple back then, "What happened to that ultrasound photo?"

"I gave it to Chloe; she's kept it safe for me on her the whole time. I knew she would protect it with her life for me," Elly replied.

"We have a 3-month ultrasound on our fridge that I've been staring at for months...you weren't even 3-months pregnant when you gave it to me...where did it come from?" Mark demanded, his voice slowing rising with every word.

Chloe held her hand tighter against Elly's shoulder knowing Mark was going to lose his cool when he learnt what Elly had done and she didn't want Elly to lie her way out of this one.

Elly held her nerve as she felt a tear slide down her cheek and whispered, "It's Caitlyn."

Mark turned away from Elly, unable to stand looking at the brunette after her latest admission tore his heart apart. He glanced at the photo on the fridge and placed his two hands behind his head as he closed his eyes and struggled not to let the anger out at Elly that was building in him.

"Dipi dropped off that box of…Caitlyn's things…the ultrasound was in there. I only took it out to look at it and I thought you would think it was really special to have another photo of Caitlyn. I didn't intentionally…seek to use it when I didn't have an ultrasound to show you…because I couldn't use my real one. It was just lying next to the box when you came home and you assumed…it was ours…I didn't correct you," Elly explained.

Mark opened his eyes to stare at the photo he had believed was his child with Elly.

Elly breathed deeply, knowing her next admission might tip Mark over the edge, "I did…I thought you might look…closer at the photo…take it out of its frame. Sonya's details were on it…"

"Were?" Mark repeated.

Chloe ran her hand around Elly's shoulder supportively.

"I cut Sonya's details off the photo…I was so scared you were going to find out it wasn't our baby and I was going to lose you as a parent to this baby…I was in a state of panic…maybe that's when my denial to tell you the truth about the baby was triggered," Elly admitted.

Mark gritted his teeth, "You cut up my daughter's ultrasound…the baby I lost that Sonya was carrying for me…I don't even have words."

As he glared angrily down at Elly, Mark gently pulled his hands from the back of his head. He found his index finger in his right hand running against his left hand where his wedding ring used to be. If he was still with Elly, he would've removed it there and then. He would've told his wife that he only took her back because of the baby. That he had lied to her when he took her back and told her he loved her.

"I know," Elly whispered, "There is nothing I could ever say to you that would make up for what I did."

"Your attack…at the school…when you got knocked down…I thought you were losing the baby. I was so scared…you were trying to keep me away from the doctor checking on the baby…I told you it wasn't your fault…the baby been hurt…but you were too busy keeping your secrets from me," Mark spat out with anger.

"I was," Elly agreed.

Mark felt his heart beating out of his chest as everything hit him at once, "I'm losing another child right now."

Elly nodded quietly, before placing her right hand behind her on Chloe's knee, thankful for Chloe's support, wondering how she could've had this conversation without her.

Mark broke his glare at Elly as he took a step back and stared around the house.

Pointing towards the hallway, Mark told Elly, "That's where the baby bouncer was going to go."

Mark then shifted to point to the kitchen cabinets, "That's where all the baby bottles were going to go."

Mark pointed to exactly where he was standing, "The baby play mat was going to go right here."

Elly looked away from Mark, regaining his gaze when he shouted at her, "I built a nursery for our baby!"

Mark's breathing struggled for a moment as he realized, his voice quieter but firm, "I built a nursey for our baby…and you were busy that day having an ultrasound you didn't want to tell me about because I wasn't meant to find out your pregnancy wasn't as far along as what you led me to believe…you were kissing my little sister and realizing she was your family and your home."

Elly was unable to resist glancing back at Chloe for a second, needing to feel her support more than ever.

Mark's gaze reached Chloe too, "You came over that day, Chlo…with some bogus excuse that you felt bad about been at the appointment, that you had gotten close to her…kissed my wife on the cheek…you failed to mention it was more like my wife wanted to have her tongue down your throat and you wanted to let her. You didn't come over here to tell me any of that…you came over to tell me the baby wasn't mine…"

"Yes, I did," Chloe told him, "When I saw the nursery you'd built…I couldn't do it. You were so happy Mark. I'd been the reason for causing you so much pain before and whilst I was scared to do that to you all over again…I realized the truth needed to come from Elly. Not from me."

Mark resumed placing his two hands behind his head, his frustration, confusion and pain boiling over for him as he stared down at the two women, "So after everything you've put me through…Elly…you left me for my own sister, I've allowed you to stay living in my house, I've put up with the pair of you screwing one another for hours on end most nights for the last month…all so I can raise this baby with you…this baby isn't mine…it's Shaun's…"

"Yes," Elly whispered, "I never meant to hurt you, Mark."

"I can't even look at you. You disgust me, Elly," Mark yelled at her, "You made me think I was finally going to have a family…you made me believe…"

Elly nodded, "I'll grab some of my things and stay at Chloe's tonight. I'll come back in the morning to pack up all my stuff. I'll tell my family and our friends what I did to you so you don't have to. I'll wear what I did and own up to it."

"So that's it…? You're just gonna flee to my little sister's bed and then you're going to be a single mum to this baby?" Mark questioned harshly.

Elly squeezed Chloe's knee, wanting nothing more than to tell Mark she wanted to raise the baby with her girlfriend but was too afraid of been rejected, "I'll have my family around me to help support me and help me raise this baby. This baby will grow up with a lot of love in its life."

"Every child deserves a chance of been raised by two parents if it's possible," Mark told Elly firmly.

Elly agreed, "Yes, and this child will have a chan-"

"Don't tell anyone!" Mark suddenly lowered his hands from the back of his head as he yelled at his ex and then to Elly and Chloe's confusion, "Our friends and family don't need to know this baby isn't mine…"

"What?" Elly asked in confusion.

"I'll raise this baby with you anyway," Mark suddenly blurted out.

"Wait what?" both Elly and Chloe stared at Mark in disbelief.

"Nobody else needs to know the baby isn't mine," Mark claimed, his anger at Elly and desperation for a chance to still raise a baby etched in his tone as he repeated, "I'll raise this baby with you anyway."

I never saw that coming…but I want to be this baby's second parent…I want to be this baby's mum, Chloe thought.

I never saw that coming….but I want Chloe to be this baby's second parent…I want Chloe to be this baby's mum, Elly thought.