Chapter Ten:

We begin this chapter a few minutes after Chapter Nine ended. Chloe has just given birth to triplets, Fiona, Cole and Penelope. The birth was pretty difficult, and things weren't about to get any easier for the new mother. She's now got no choice but to tell her husband that the long awaited babies aren't his.

Chloe's heart was breaking. A hundred different things were running through her head. As she laid her new babies in their cribs she had only moments to decide what to do. She could hear footsteps on the stairs down to the basement.

Luckily for Chloe it was Will, and not her husband, coming to check on her. Will looked at the blue babies. He had never been happier. As difficult as he knew the next few mintues would be, he had everything he wanted; the woman of his dreams and three beautiful healthy offspring. Eddie was on the way down, so the couple braced themselves and tried to find the words.

Eddie had been so happy as he decended the stairs to the basement, thinking that he would be greeted by a beautiful, happy wife and another healthy baby. Seeing the three new cribs, his heart skipped a beat. But the expressions on Chloe and Will's faces made him stop in his tracks. Time seemed to stand still as he looked at the babies. Blue. They were blue. Eddie's world came crashing down.

He couldn't find the words. Chloe immediately tried to calm him. But Eddie heard nothing. All he could hear was his own ragged breathing and all he could see were the glowing eyes of the babies that would tear apart his marriage. He asked his wife if Elijah and Emerald were his, and was relieved to hear that they were indisputably his.

Chloe got fed up trying to calm him down, and went on the defensive instead. A big argument raged. Will stood back and let 15 years worth of deception and lies come to the surface. Luckily the babies slept through without a peep.

As sad as it was to watch his brother's marriage end, Will was as happy as he had ever been. Eddie and Chloe argued for what felt like an eternity. Yet it was probably only an hour or so. It seemed inevitable that they came to the conclusion to divorce.

Eddie didn't have much to say to his brother. He just looked into the glowing eyes of the man that had destroyed his happiness, and turned to leave the basement. In last words he spoke to his brother and his wife he told them to leave.

As Eddie left, Will stood by Chloe's side. When they heard the back door of the house shut, Will told Chloe what he had been doing since he saw his grandmother. A house had been set up in the next town, ready for when they needed to leave. And in just a few minutes they could be on the way to a new life together with their babies.

 Will made some arrangements as Chloe got ready to leave. Will wished he could let Emerald and Elijah say goodbye to their mother, but he did not want to cause any more issues, and aware that Eddie was listening from his bedroom, Will silently got prepared to leave.

Chloe was upset that she had lost Eddie, no matter what she had done to him, she had loved him. As Will came to escort her and the babies from the house she was a little excited to be beginning her life again, this time with the right brother.

The house was deathly quiet that night as half the family left forever. Emerald and Elijah were none the wiser, having gone to bed thinking they'd awaken to a new brother or sister. Instead they would wake to find their uncle, their half brother and sisters and their mother gone, without even a goodbye.

Eddie slept restlessly that night. It was the first time since Chloe had moved in, that he slept alone.

 The next morning Emerald was the first to rise. She came out to the kitchen to see her father standing at the counter, tears on his face and a note in his hand. Chloe had left a note on the counter for her kids. It simply said 'Goodbye'.

His sister filled him in before Elijah had even got out of bed. Both kids were devastated that they never got to say goodbye, but there was some relief for them. At least they didn't have to hide things from their father anymore.

Seeing his father so upset over the next few days was hard for Elijah, but with a wisdom beyond his years Elijah knew that it was time for all the secrets to be over and now the small family could move on with with their lives.

Emerald and Elijah talked a lot as the time moved on. Had they been right in hiding this from Eddie for so long? Would it have saved so much heart ache if they had told him a year earlier?

But it did no good to dwell on past events, so after a month or so life began to function normally. Emerald and Elijah returned to school and soon the weeks were flying past.

Eddie also returned to work. He was quickly promoted up the ranks in the police force.

The twins watched over their father, hoping that his heart was healing.

Soon the divorce was finalised and Eddie bid farewell to that part of his life.

The twins were suprised when they came home from school one day to find a whole new facade to their home.

Eddie had added a second storey to the house for the kids to have more space. The basement remained as it was the day Chloe and Will left, and probably would for years.

A garage was added. Eddie got a motorbike, and the kids even got bikes.

The kids bedroom was repainted and a set of stairs added.

For the first time Emerald had her own bedroom. She was pretty artistic, so Eddie gave her the space to work on her passion.

Elijah was also pretty excited to have his own space.

Eddie worked hard, both at work on the cases, and on his reports at home. The months were absolutely flying past and soon Eddie's heart began to slowly heal.

Emerald spent her afternoons painting away in her bedroom. It was peaceful for her, and she could express herself  better through paint than she could in words.

Even though she was young, Emerald took over the reigns as woman of the house. She kept the boys in line and loved every minute of it.

It was the twin's birthday soon enough, and both Emerald and Elijah were glad to say goodbye to that turbulant time of their young lives.

Elijah was turning out to be a hot young man, looking more like his mother than ever.

Emerald was a stunning young woman, her good looks attributed to her grandmother's otherworldly beauty.

Eddie was proud of the young people that his kids were turning into. They hadn't had an easy time in their childhood, and he hoped that their teenage years would be more peaceful.

And this is where Chapter Ten ends. Stay tuned for Chapter Eleven and the heir vote that will alter the course of events. Don't forget to leave a comment, thanks for reading!