Chloe glanced at Lee as he fell into step beside her, sighing in contentment as they walked along the beach path. She smiled to herself as she gazed at the ocean, the steady rise and fall of the waves causing her to finally feel a deep sense of relaxation. Her eyes flickered to Freyja as Lee placed his hand behind Freyja's head, softly stroking her with his thumb. She couldn't help but feel a small surge of pride as Freyja rested in her harness against Lee's chest, her eyes twinkling with happiness as she gazed up at her father.
"She likes being near the sea, doesn't she." he smiled, his heart bursting with pride as he watched his daughter closely. Chloe nodded in agreement, smiling to herself when Freyja made small sounds of happiness.
"She's as bad as you." he chuckled.
"She'll be jumping off the rocks into the sea when she is older." she giggled, bursting out laughing when he nodded in agreement, raising his eyebrow at her.
"As long as she never dates anyone then I'll be happy." he grinned, his eyes twinkling as he joined in with her laughter. Chloe nodded in agreement, sighing quietly to herself as she thought back on her past dating history. Out of three people that she had dated, all of them had cheated on her. She couldn't help but think that it wasn't safe to trust anyone. To hand your heart over to someone caused you to be vulnerable and open to being hurt, something that Chloe knew that she couldn't cope with again, especially now that she had Freyja to take care of. She glanced at Lee for a moment, her cheeks colouring as the two of them locked eyes.
"What is it?" he asked, sensing that she was deep in thought about something.
"Nothing." she said quietly, choosing not to mention that barely a day passed without a small part of her wishing that the three of them were still a family. She'd have given anything for Lee to not have cheated on her, to be able to return to the time where the three of them were still a family and she would have done anything for him. Chloe knew that her heart would always belong to Lee. Not only was he the only person that she'd ever been in love with, but she'd also given her first time to him, something which she now wished she could take back. If she'd known how much he would break her heart beyond repair and cause her trust issues to amplify, she never would have taken a chance on him in the first place.
"It's so nice being out in the fresh air." Lee said quietly, snapping Chloe out of her thoughts. Chloe nodded in agreement, avoiding his gaze as she perched on the bench beside him, staring out at the ocean.
"It's nice to do something with the three of us too." he said tentatively, trying to prompt her into a conversation.
"I guess so." she replied quietly, her eyes filling with tears as she glanced at Freyja. Her heart yearned to be a family, like she had always wanted, but she knew deep down that she would never forgive Lee for what he'd done and she would never be able to trust him again.
"We need to figure out a long term plan at some point don't we." she said quietly, trying to keep herself talking to distract from the deep sadness that she was feeling.
"A plan for what?" he asked, frowning in confusion.
"Freyja." she said quietly.
"So that we can make a structured routine for when you see her and things." she continued.
"Yeah I guess we do." he muttered, sighing sadly as he gazed at his daughter. The thought of being parted from her once again causing his heart to plummet. His eyes misted with tears as he placed his hand on the back of Freyja's head, holding her tightly against his chest. He glanced at Chloe for a moment, his stomach churning as he thought about what he'd done to her and the fact that if only he was able to turn the clock back, he would still have his family by his side.
