Lee sighed in relief as soon as Michelle left the room. He glanced up at Chloe smiling slightly when she continued softly stroking his hair.
"I'm finding it really difficult being around her." he admitted.
"I know, but we have to do the right thing." she said quietly, not entirely sure how comfortable she was at the thought of having Michelle around, but knowing in her heart that she needed to be there for her in her time of need.
"I get it, but at the same time, she is not our problem." he pointed out, sighing deeply. Chloe nodded slowly, sighing quietly to herself when she realised that Lee would never forgive Michelle for what she had done to them, even though she couldn't blame him, she couldn't help but feel uneasy with the tense atmosphere in the house. Chloe's heart fluttered as Lee turned over to face her and planted a soft kiss on her bump, smiling at her when their eyes locked. She watched him closely as he reached out and gently took her wrist in his grasp, placing a tender kiss on her hand as he stroked small circles on her wrist.
"I still can't quite believe that Shayne did that to her." she said thoughtfully, her stomach churning with guilt once again.
"I feel partly responsible." she added.
"Why?" he frowned.
"Because I brought Shayne into her life, she wouldn't have even met him if it wasn't for me." she said quietly, sighing deeply to herself.
"Not really, she saw him at the masquerade ball didn't she, so they potentially would have met anyway." he reminded her.
"I guess so." she muttered.
"I can't even imagine what she must be going through." she said thoughtfully.
"I think she's putting on a brave face." she continued.
"Yeah probably." he said quietly, feeling slightly sorry for Michelle at what she had been through. Lee frowned at Chloe when he noticed her watching him closely, raising her eyebrow at him.
"What?" he asked, frowning in confusion.
"You need to be kind to her, I know you don't like her, but she's been through a terrible ordeal." she explained. Lee sighed quietly, not entirely sure how to respond. Despite the fact that he knew Chloe was right, he wasn't sure how to suppress the deep anger that he felt towards Michelle.
"Imagine if it was me." she prompted.
"I don't even want to think about that." he replied quickly, swallowing the dry lump that was rising in his throat.
"I didn't mean it like that, I meant that you would want someone to take care of me wouldn't you?" she pointed out.
"No, I would take care of you myself." he said shortly. Chloe raised her eyebrow at him, sighing in frustration.
"I know what you're saying, I get it." he said quietly.
"Mark is a bit of a dick isn't he." he added thoughtfully. Chloe nodded slowly, feeling really sorry for Michelle as she thought about how she would feel if Lee didn't seem to care about her. The two of them fell silent as Michelle walked into the room. They watched as she perched on the sofa, quickly wiping away the tears that were steadily rolling down her cheeks.
"Is Mark coming home?" Chloe asked hopefully. Michelle sniffed and shook her head sadly.
"Don't be daft, he doesn't give a damn." she added, angrily flinging her phone onto the coffee table.
"Why don't you ask him to come back to support you?" Chloe suggested.
"I shouldn't have to ask though should I, he should want to be here for me." Michelle argued, biting her lip to prevent herself from bursting into tears. Chloe nodded slowly, not entirely sure what to say to make Michelle feel better. She glanced at Lee as he slowly sat up and crossed his legs on the sofa. She smiled at him as he gently placed his hands on her hips and pulled her onto his lap. Chloe sighed in contentment when Lee brushed her hair to one side and rested his chin on her shoulder.
