Thanks for your reviews Kelly & EC Brenway! I do love that I can still throw in a surprise for you!

Kelly - Surprise! Hope you like your expectations changing!

EC - Gasp is the perfect reaction! All these questions will be answered in time...okay I'll answer one right now, this wasn't Chloe's secret she was thinking of in the alley... But could Chloe be a pixie or a fairy or a vampire with her special diet...? Yeah I'm not going to answer that yet either hehe!

The Chemistry In Darkness

Chapter Forty-Six

Saturday 14th December 2024 – The Night Before The Full Moon

Elly sat next to Chloe on Chloe and Pierce's couch, trying desperately not to reel with jealousy at Chloe's admission of being involved in an affair with another woman on Pierce years ago, "You…had an affair with this woman…on Pierce?"

Chloe darted her eyes back to staring at the floor, not sure if she was regretting opening up to Elly about Nicolette, "Please don't tell Pierce."

Elly swallowed hard, trying to put aside her jealousy, reaching out her hand and taking Chloe's gently in her own, "You can trust me, Chlo, I would never tell Pierce anything you don't want him to know."

Chloe nodded but remained silent.

"Tell me about Nicolette," Elly whispered before she could stop herself.

Don't be jealous, don't be jealous! You weren't around Chloe three years ago, you were punishing yourself back then for killing Finn and getting in control of your werewolfiness, you weren't here…for Chloe to have an affair with her like Nicolette was…

Chloe gently pulled out her phone and after a few moments, showed Elly a photo on her phone of herself hugging a red headed woman.

I said tell me about Nicolette, not show me that she's gorgeous, a red head…ugh like Mel…does this mean Chloe has a type with female red heads? And how those big blue eyes are staring at Chloe like she's the only woman in the world…I don't like her… How can you say that? You don't even know this girl…you can't blame her for wanting to get involved with Chloe…Chloe's irresistible…I'm not the only one to have noticed…you can't not like Nicolette because she got to be with Chloe and that's the only thing in the world you want.

"Nicolette's beautiful," Elly conceded, "She's shorter than you…height difference can be sexy."

Chloe stared at the photo herself for a few seconds before closing it, "Nicolette is beautiful…I miss her…I miss her friendship."

"You're not friends anymore…the affair…ended badly?" Elly wondered, almost willing Chloe to tell her about her affair, feeling a selfish need to find out if Chloe having an affair years ago would mean she could do it again, this time with her.

You can't want that…you can't want Chloe to have an affair with you. You need Chloe to separate from Pierce first…starting things with your mate as an affair…you promised yourself you wouldn't be the reason Chloe ends things with Pierce.

"Nicolette left and I don't know where she is," Chloe admitted sadly.

"Tell me about her," Elly requested again, hoping this time Chloe would tell her about the red head and that she could find a way to stop being jealous of a woman she'd never met.

Chloe regained Elly's eyesight, "Nicolette Stone and I started out as friends. In July three and a half years ago, she turned up in Erinsborough to reconnect with her mother…Jane Harris…you remember her?"

"Jane who fired me from Erinsborough High School and started…" Elly trailed off before going on a tangent that her losing her job led to Chloe kissing her for the first time, "Nicolette is Jane's daughter?"

Chloe nodded, "The very one. Nic…I got used to calling her Nic. Nic and I bumped into one another…there may've been some flirting from Nic's side but I didn't notice. We saw each other around town at the Waterhole and Harold's a couple times over the course of several days. She asked me out…I said I was married…and that was meant to be that as far as anything more than friendship."

"But it wasn't?" Elly realized.

"I was already pregnant to Pierce," Chloe revealed for the first time.

Elly's eyes widened sharply at the knowledge of learning for the first time that Chloe had being pregnant to her husband.

Chloe could've had a child with Pierce…she did have a child with him? Did she have the baby and then something happened to the baby? Or did she not go through with the pregnancy? I know Pierce is keen for children with Chloe but I thought it was Chloe who wasn't ready for them with him…because she knows deep down, she needs to be with me…right?

Chloe felt several tears welling up in her eyes as the memory of her early pregnancy came back to her, "Tyler and Mark were having a hard time looking after Mum. Nic's a nurse so Pierce and I offered to have Mum move in here for a couple months with Nic as our in-home nurse because Mum needed to be cared for and help with most things. Pierce didn't want me under any stress because of the pregnancy. The baby…he wasn't planned."

He…? Chloe had a son…could've had a son? All this time I wanted Chloe to have a daughter in Aster…I never thought about Chloe having her own child…with Pierce…

"Not all babies are planned, Chlo. I don't for one second ever regret Aster, you'd never regret your son," Elly reassured.

"You're right…I don't or I wouldn't have…if I hadn't lost him before he was born," Chloe admitted with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry to hear you lost your son, Chlo," Elly said earnestly.

"The affair with Nic didn't come about as part of my grief of miscarrying my son, she and I…started before that. Pierce didn't get on with Nic as soon as he found out she's gay…he was threatened by her…he was right to be…typical cliched bisexual me went and saw to him being right," Chloe scolded herself.

Elly took Chloe's hand in her own again, trying to remain calm at the feelings invoked in her at touching Chloe's skin.

And hearing Chloe talk about another woman…I'm not jealous…

"I was spending a lot of time with Mum and Nic whilst Pierce was busy at the hotel as I was no longer working then. About two months into my pregnancy, we were awaiting being able to do a CVS test to see if the baby had the Huntington's gene. We kept the pregnancy a secret from Mum as we knew we had to make a decision on whether or not we could continue with the pregnancy. Mum of course overheard Pierce and I talking about the baby. Mum was so happy for us, she didn't understand we weren't able to decide if we could have the baby, seeing her struggling with her Huntington's it was all too much for me," Chloe explained.

"Nobody could blame you for that, Chlo…Fay's illness is your future," Elly said sadly.

But I'm in your future too…not just the Huntington's…me, you…in love for as long as we can possibly be.

Chloe took a deep breath before continuing, "Pierce and Nic were sniping at one another all the time because…the truth is I was always listening to Nic's opinion…about the baby, the pregnancy, Mum, Hendrix and Pierce…Nic and I just connected in a way that we listened to one another. Pierce…he started wanting to make plans for us to move to a new house, to have multiple children…we didn't even know if this baby was free of the Huntington's gene. We ended up letting David and Aaron take Mum for a couple weeks up to the Whit Sundays until we could have the CVS test and know what our decision on the baby would be. Nic…stayed here with us…then one day, she announced she needed to move out. I thought it was the sniping back and forth with Pierce that got to her…but she confessed she'd fallen in love with me."

"Who wouldn't?" Elly asked honestly, wishing Chloe knew she was talking about herself.

"And I did something I never thought I would…all the stress I'd been under worrying about if this baby wouldn't have my condition…worrying about my marriage to Pierce and whether I'd made the right decision to marry him…my own future looking at me with my Mum…and you and your unborn baby disappearing without a trace nearly a year earlier…the accusations the police made deciding that Finn must've killed you both before he ran off overseas…" Chloe bit her lip as she trailed off.

"You started an affair with Nic," Elly finished for her.

Chloe squeezed Elly's hand, hoping for understanding, "I took her to her room and I slept with her. I thought it was just a one-time thing, a mistake I'd never make again. Nic understood that's all it was, she never pushed me into what happened between us…but as we got closer to when we could get the test done, all my anxiety kept me from opening up to Pierce about what I felt…and with David and Aaron away…Nic and I started sneaking around together at their place. It was almost easy to have an affair with Nic. Pierce was too busy working or making plans for our future without even telling me…Nic listened to me, all my worries about…everything."

"Nic sounded like she was the friend that you needed," Elly accepted.

The friend I needed was you, Elly, but it wasn't to be…

"Nic was my friend, first and foremost. I know we blurred the lines with the affair we had but she was always my friend no matter what. Nic…was the one who helped me understand that Pierce is controlling my life…" Chloe revealed.

Is that acceptance from Chloe that Pierce is controlling her…? Or acceptance years ago that led to denial now?

"Nic and I would probably get on quite well together considering we think a lot alike," Elly eased into admitting, not wanting to point out she had already accused Pierce as controlling to Chloe.

I really can't hate a girl I've never met who only did the same things I would've had I been in Chloe's life back then.

"I know Pierce is controlling my life, I've always known deep down. Nic and I went for a walk to discuss Pierce's controlling ways and…what was going on between us. A few days earlier, Pierce and I had gotten the good news that our baby didn't have Huntington's and it was confirmed we were having a boy…we were going ahead with the pregnancy because he was a healthy baby…but I still had all these doubts. Not the least of all that I was 3 months pregnant and having an affair on my husband. Nic and I knew we couldn't continue on as we were. I was looking at having a baby…Nic did want to be a Mum one day. But it wasn't like I could leave my husband to be with Nic and raise my child with her," Chloe chewed on her lip.

And yet I want you to leave your husband to be with me and raise my child with me…I feel like knowing about Chloe's affair with Nic is making it more obvious to me that Chloe won't do that again…

"Did you choose to end the affair with Nic and focus on your marriage and the baby?" Elly wondered.

Chloe shook her head, "No, I asked Nic to help me find a way out of my marriage to Pierce…and when she promised me that she would, I let Nic go off to work at the new job she'd gotten at the hospital so I could think about how I was meant to end my marriage. But then…I felt pain in my stomach…and I was having a miscarriage."

"I'm so sorry, Chlo," Elly whispered.

"Pierce was devastated. How was I to leave my husband after losing our baby? Then came my Mum coming back from her holiday with the boys and I had to tell them all I'd lost the baby…I didn't stop the affair with Nic. We couldn't engage in the affair after I lost the baby but it became an emotional affair. Hendrix became suspicious and told Pierce. He kicked her out when she took the fall for us and told him she'd fallen for me. She moved in with Aaron and David, Mum ended up moving back to Adelaide…Pierce forbade me to have any contact with Nic because of her feelings for me. He made me choose him over her…that lasted a few weeks. Before I knew it…Pierce was busy back at work, trying to be sensitive whenever he wanted to discuss if we could try for another baby and I…kept turning back to Nic and falling into bed with her without him even knowing I was back in contact with Nic," Chloe explained.

"Pierce always puts pressure on you that your marriage had to be his way," Elly reminded Chloe.

"That's exactly what Nic said to me one time I snuck her into the hotel for a rendezvous in one of the rooms there. About two months into our affair…I convinced myself that I needed to leave Pierce. Nic and I planned it out during one of our…times together in the hotel room. Nic had reconnected with Jane whom had moved here too but it wasn't going as well as she had hoped. She didn't have anything keeping her here…I wanted a way out of my marriage so…Nic and I were gonna run away together," Chloe revealed.

Chloe was going to run away with this other woman? Would she run away with me…ugh I'm so utterly jealous of Nicolette…she had everything I've ever wanted with Chloe since I realized she's my mate… Chloe was having an affair with her, risking losing her marriage over her, found a way for Chloe to accept how controlling Pierce is and that Chloe was willing to leave her entire life behind to run away with Nicolette… Does Chloe still wish she could've run away with Nicolette? How does any of these revelations about Nic…end up with Chloe and I being together?

As Elly's thoughts consumed her about how Chloe's past with Nic could impact her future with Chloe, Elly didn't hear the beeping reminder on her watch telling her she needed to be on her way to The Pack before sunset…

Next time - Can Elly help Chloe to move on from Nicolette so they can be together? And will Elly remember she's on a deadline to get back to The Pack before the moon rises?