Family Matters

[bradyell]

Well thank goodness for that!! it was just a missunderstanding!!! Phew!!!!

The flashback was just heartbreaking Belle must have been in a really dark place to suggest divorce and then say what she did about Aden being as bad as Angelo

back to the present and it's good that Belle has made the first steps to getting sorted, hope her progress continues.

The nice bit of fluffiness at the end was just perfect after the :(ness

keep up the great work!

[Zetti]

Aww the flashback is so heartbreaking.

Just the fact that you are writing like this makes me feel guilty!

I really need to pull my finger out and start writing my own fics!

But good work and I hope you update soonish.

As always love your chapters xx

[HighwayUnicorn]

I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a Happy New Year!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Monday had finally arrived. It was 2pm. Belle has attended her counselling session as well as being seen by a doctor at the local hospital. She had arrived with Aden, who attended the consultation with her, diagnosed as clinically depressed. She had then gone to the chemist to collect her medication, Aden staying at the hospital to continue his day at work.

Danielle and Jayden were at secondary school, Lilly and Tyler at primary school and Olivia had been booked in for nursery.

Arriving home, Belle eventually put the medication on the table in the kitchen, before putting on the kettle and making a cup of tea. Once she had sorted out the piles of washing, she took the mug of hot tea to the table and sat down. Slowly, she opened the bag where the pills were contained in a bottle. Reading the leaflet carefully, she took in the script that was written in black print on the paper.

Taking the bottle out, she observed it, curling it around in her hands before placing them on the table once again. Instead of opening it and taking one as directed, she held the mug to her mouth and took a sip of the tea.

*

“Hey, Danni, wait up!” a voice suddenly yelled as Danielle closed her locker on her door in the school hallway.

“James?” she questioned, turning round to see the tall, muscular eighteen year old towering above her. His hair was brown, a dark colour and skin was complete ... perfection, in Danielle’s opinion, having had a crush on him for over a year.

James bit his bottom lip before speaking. “Look, the school disco is coming up really, really soon and I just wanted to ask ... to ask you ... Danielle Emma Jefferies, will you be my date for the night?”

Danielle stood speechless for a moment. They had been best friends since aged fourteen but never had he shown signs of affection for her. Had she heard right? Was she being filmed and in any minute, a group of people would jump out from behind the walls and tell her it was all a joke. It was all a joke, right?

“Well?” he asked when he got no reply.

“Are ... are you being serious ... deadly serious?” she asked him quietly.

“Danni, I’ve never been more serious.”

Danielle sighed dreamily before allowing a smile to form on her lips. “Well, in that case, I would love to be your date James. Do you want me to meet you there or ...?”

James shook his head. “No. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it properly. I’ll come and pick you up. I know it’s not for another couple of months but I will sort everything out for then, okay?” he informed her, before saying a quick goodbye to her and exiting.

“What did he want?” Jessica asked as she approached her locker which stood next to Danielle’s.

Danielle screeched quietly before turning to her friend and talking. “James just asked me to the dance!”

“Now way?!” Jessica exclaimed. “He’s asked you to the dance?” she asked for confirmation, which came as soon as Danielle began nodding her head. “Oh ... my ... gosh ... major shopping trip needed, we need to get you a dress and shoes and jewellery and ... you could even get a tiara ...”

“Jess, my family aren’t made of money” Danielle pointed out.

“Oh leave it out Danni, your dad’s a doctor!” Twirling her hair, Jessica made a remark that Danielle would rather have not heard. “I’d play doctors and nurses with him any day.”

“Yuck!” Danni exclaimed. “Anyway, yes, my dad has enough money but what with my grandma and everything ...”

“Oh, Dan, I’m so sorry. I forgot. Are you okay?” she asked gently as Danielle nodded.

“Yeah. I’m just more worried about my mum, you know?

“Yeah” Jessica whispered, placing a hand on her friends arm. “You know I’m here if you need to talk” she told her as Danielle offered her a smile. “Come on, let’s get going. Maths” she groaned, as did Danielle.

FLASHBACK

Belle had awoken once again from the nightmares, screaming aloud; before even more pain was caused. It began soon after they were married, soon after Belle and Aden had made love to each other. Angelo had gone to prison and Belle was safe but it didn’t stop the nightmares.

“Okay baby” Aden whispered, pulling her close to him, although this time, Belle resisted his touch and instead, climbed out of the bed, wrapping the dressing gown around her petite body and heading downstairs.

Aden groaned, sighing afterwards. It had been the third night in a row that she had gone downstairs. She usually allowed Aden to hold her, to comfort her. Ever since being raped by Angelo, Belle had become terrified of being left alone, refused to leave the house alone and had become frightened of the dark. Since the most recent nightmares, Belle refused to expose Aden her body, always covered by wearing jeans and long sleeved t-shirts, regardless of the fact that they had already made progress, regularly making love.

Aden had tried his hardest to make everything better. He knew it wasn’t that simple, he wished it was, but it wasn’t. He had bought a nightlight for her and went out with her whenever he could. If he was working, he made sure that Irene, Nicole, Roman, Annie or Geoff were with her, to look after her whilst she was at home or whilst she went out shopping.

Getting up from bed, he decided to leave the dressing gown hanging behind the door, wearing pyjama bottoms and leaving his chest bare. He strolled down the stairs, entering the kitchen to find Belle sat at the kitchen table, biting her fingernails and with tears dripping from her eyes and down her cheek.

“Babe” Aden murmured, approaching her and gently resting a hand on his wife’s back, before she flinched, causing him to pull his hand away, resting it on the table in front of him.

“Please, Aden, just don’t touch me. Not now ... please?” she practically begged, Aden’s heart breaking.

Aden nodded understandingly. “Talk to me, babe. I thought the nightmares subsided a while ago? Before we were married, even?” he whispered.

Belle shrugged. “They had. And then we made love” she told him honestly. More tears rolled down Belle’s cheek. She didn’t want to admit the truth but she knew she had to. She couldn’t keep going on like this and neither could Aden. But she knew this was going to kill him otherwise. “When we were on our honeymoon ... that’s when it first happened. You were ... you were on top of me ... and in that split second ... I thought you were him ... I felt ... I don’t know, trapped, I guess. I hadn’t come to terms with the rape and it all changed. I kept on telling myself that it was you and not him but then ... then you said my name ... just like he did, the same tone, the same whisper and it scared me.”

“And that’s when the nightmares started again, right?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah” she whimpered. “I’m sorry” she added.

Aden offered her a supportive smile. “You have nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault. If you need to take it slowly, then we can ... we can see Rachel, tell her that your nightmares ... Angelo is still in them, see if she can prescribe any medication for anxiety ...”

Belle shook her head. “No, Aden. You don’t understand. In my nightmares ... it’s not always Angelo. Sometimes it is ... oh God, Aden, I’m so sorry ... it’s ... it’s ...” she sobbed, breaking down in tears as Aden too had tears streaming down his face, all the confirmation that she needed to not complete the sentence. She knew by Aden’s sad expression that he realised that he was the one attacking her in her nightmares.

END FLASHBACK

“Lilly, we need to learn our phonics today. Come outside with me darling” the teaching assistant spoke as she called Lilly out of the classroom and to the table outside where one to one working took place.

“Mrs Amos ... are we learning the same sounds as yesterday?” Lilly asked nervously, worried that she had forgotten them.

Mrs Amos nodded. “Yes, we are Lilly. Did you learn them at home?” the older woman asked.

Lilly shook her head. “No. I forgotted to tell my mummy.”

“Forgot” Mrs Amos corrected her. “Okay, Lilly. It’s not a problem” the teacher told her as they sat down together. “I can write it in your contact book though, so as mummy and daddy know what you’re learning in school and then they can help you. Okay?” she asked as Lilly nodded. “Okay, Lilly, I want you to sound out the letters that I point at, okay?” she asked as once again, Lilly nodded.

“C ... Y? R? W ... Q? L ... P? U? A? N? B ... M?” she paused as the list ended.

“Okay, well done.”

“How many did I get right?” Lilly asked excitedly.

“That doesn’t matter Lilly. But we need to do some adding sums now, okay?” she spoke, Lilly offering a nervous smile. “3 + 3?”

Lilly stretched out her fingers, counting on. “6?” she questioned, although received no answers as Mrs Amos continued to ask numeracy sums.

“Okay, Lilly, thank you. You can go back to class now” Mrs Amos said as she allowed Lilly to leave the table and attend her lesson, writing a comment inside Lilly’s contact book as she did so.

*

“Babe?” Aden called as he entered through to the house. “I’m home!” he yelled, dropping his work bag onto the floor in the corner of the living room, before entering the kitchen to find Belle sitting at the table. “Hey” he breathed, sitting down beside her. “How are you?” he asked.

Belle shrugged. “I don’t know what to do” she whimpered.

“What do you mean sweetheart?” he asked confusedly.

“I ... the pills? Shall I take them?”

“They were prescribed to help you, so yes” Aden confirmed for her.

“How can you be so strong? After everything you’ve been through as well ... after everything I’ve put you through and I am so weak and can’t hold it together” she whimpered. “You always say that I’m your strong, beautiful wife” she quoted. “If I take these then ... then it’s not true” she whispered.

“You are strong. You are my beautiful, strong wife who just happens to be experiencing a lot of pain and is depressed. But my wife needs to get better and she was prescribed anti-depressants to make her feel better. And if they make her feel better, then I want her to take them.”

“How comes you’re such a smooth talker” Belle smiled slightly.

“It’s one of my qualities” Aden laughed as he stood up from the chair he was previously sitting on, reaching up from the cupboard before taking a glass out and filling it with cold water. Sitting down, he placed the glass of water on the table in front of Belle and opened the bottle of pills, placing one next to the glass. “Take one. And if it makes you feel better, then you can keep taking them” he told her with a smile, taking hold of her hand gently. “Now, what’s for dinner today?” he asked.

“It’s my turn today” Belle told him with a smile. “You’re on homework duty.”

“Of course” he muttered. “Well, Tyler and Lilly are easy when it comes to that, their homework is simple. It’s when Danielle and Jayden need the help” he smiled. “That’s when it gets complicated.”

“Hmm, algebra and equations will do that to you babe” Belle murmured as she stood up from the table and raided the fridge and the cupboards, pulling out the ingredients needed for a spaghetti bolognese. She began to chop up the vegetables before she spoke again. “Are you picking them all up today? Livvie too?” she asked.

Aden nodded. “Yeah” he muttered with a slight smile. “Actually, I best go now sweetheart. I’ll see you later, yeah?” he spoke as she nodded, cupping her face in his hands before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Drive carefully” she called after him as he left the house.

*

“Daddy!” Tyler yelled as he exited the school building and onto the playground, running towards his father he knelt down to hug him. “I missed you today” he murmured.

“I missed you too buddy. Where’s your sister?” he asked.

Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know” he told his father honestly, replying at the same time when Aden spotted his daughter coming towards him, chaperoned by Mrs Amos.

“Mr Jefferies” she spoke confidently and professionally. “I was wondering if I could have a quick word?” she asked as Aden nodded.

“Yeah, sure. But I must admit, it does have to be quick. I have to collect the other children.”

Mrs Amos nodded and offered a smile. “Mr Jefferies, we have reason to believe that Lilly is dyslexic” she began as Aden stood open mouthed.

“Dyslexic?” he repeated as the teacher nodded.

“Obviously, this cannot be proven until we have undertaken further tests. We were wondering if both you and Mrs Jefferies could contact the school for a meeting sometime this week? We have been keeping a very close eye on Lilly and especially recently with the death of her grandmother but we would still like to do the tests to ensure that we catch this early enough to help her in her lessons” she spoke, realising that it must have been difficult for a parent to hear that their own child had some form of learning disability.

“Erm, right, sure” Aden began with a stutter. “So do we just phone the school and book an appointment for a meeting, then?” he asked.

Mrs Amos nodded. “Yeah. Just ask for an appointment between the times of 3.30pm and 4.30pm, okay? And then we can arrange the times and dates of the tests. I have written some comments in Lilly’s book about her literacy work and sound pronunciation. Her numeracy, on the other hand, is brilliant” she smiled.

Once again, Aden nodded, before thanking the teacher, who soon left. Taking Lilly’s and Tyler’s book bags in one hand, he held onto Lilly’s hand. “Tyler, hold your sister’s hand please buddy.”

“Because we need to cross the road, daddy?” he questioned as Aden nodded.

“That’s right Tyler.”

“Is mummy at home?” Lilly asked.

“She is baby girl” Aden replied.

“Oooh” she exclaimed excitedly. “I loves it when mummy’s at home. Does that mean she cooked dinner today?” she asked as Aden nodded. “What have we got?”

“Spaghetti bolognese sweetheart” he replied with a smile as he knew that it was her favourite dish, on the other hand, not Tyler’s favourite.

“Yay! Scetti!” she announced, unable to form the word ‘spaghetti’ properly.

“Yuck” Tyler groaned. “Can we have Mac and cheese tomorrow then daddy? You’re cooking tomorrow aren’t you?” he asked as Aden nodded.

“We’ll see Tyler, we’ll see” he murmured as he reached the car, comfortably placing both of the children in the car seats and heading towards Summer Bay High in order to collect Jayden and Danielle.

*

“Dyslexic?!” Belle practically screeched. “You can’t be serious?!”

Aden shrugged. “That’s exactly what I thought as soon as she said it babe! She reads every night ... to you or me ... she gets the occasional word wrong but she’s only eight for Christ’s sake! How’s her ready when she’s with you?” he asked.

“Exactly the same!” Belle told him firmly as she stirred the dinner. “The occasional word she gets wrong and finds it difficult to sound out but she’s not that bad. She can’t be dyslexic. Surely we would have noticed beforehand?” she asked.

Aden shrugged, taking a sip of the beer from the bottle. “That’s exactly what I thought” he murmured quietly. “Anyways, enough of that for the moment. Do you need me to do anything for dinner? Drinks?” he asked.

Belle nodded. “If you don’t mind” she replied, as Aden began doing the drinks and laying the table for the evening meal.

By 8pm, Aden had put Tyler to bed and read him a story whilst Jayden and Danielle continued to complete some homework in their bedrooms. Belle had bathed Olivia and put her in her crib in the nursery, settling down with Lilly to read her a bedtime story. “Which one do you want babes?” she asked gently as he daughter sat up in bed and smiled. “Cinderella” she lisped with a cheeky grin.

“Again?” Belle asked as she fetched it from the shelf, Lilly nodding. “Okay” Belle said, bringing the book towards the bed, before perching herself next to her daughter, wrapping one arm around her and holding the hand in the other book.

She had barely got three pages into the story before Belle realised that Lilly had fallen asleep next to her. Gently moving her tiny frame, she placed her in the bed properly, pulling the quilt up towards her. Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, she turned off the light that stood on the bedside table.

“Nighty night babes” she murmured, approaching the door. Standing by the door frame, she leant against it for a few moments. “Sweet dreams” she spoke softly, before closing the door.

[matticus01]

that was amazing...... very well written and I loved that Belle is having counselling for her depression.... and that Aden has been there no matter what, even when she was having those nightmares....

Although those nightmares made me want to cry.... Poor Aden.... and poor Belle for dreaming Aden could even do that :|

Amazing chapter.... loved it very much... update soon

[Zetti]

Aw the flashback made me feel like crying..

Such a good chapter

x

[HighwayUnicorn]

CHAPTER NINE

“Good afternoon Mr and Mrs Jefferies. If you’d like to take a seat ...” the headmaster spoke to the couple as they sat in the office reception, awaiting the arrival of him in order to discuss Lilly’s development at school. On entering the office, Belle and Aden took a seat at one side of the desk, the headmaster shortly following them as he sat opposite them. “Now” he began. “We have tested Lilly on numeracy and literacy ...”

Belle interrupted, needing an answer instantly. “Is she dyslexic?” she asked suddenly.

The teacher shook his head. “No. But we have found that Lilly is of a lower ability compared to others in the class which isn’t a problem. All children develop differently and at their own rate but we are going to move her down a group to see how she copes with the workload then.”

Aden nodded. “Will she be labelled?” he asked worriedly.

“I can assure you Mr Jefferies” Mr Welsh spoke in a polite manner, placing his hands on the oak table in front of him. “Lilly will not be labelled with any special educational need as such but at least through these observations and assessments, we will understand where she needs help and so obviously, we are able to provide that help for her” he smiled as both Belle and Aden nodded.

“And can we do anything at home to help her?” Belle asked. “Reading, extra revision?” she suggested as the head teacher nodded.

“Of course, anything like that will definitely help with progress. Obviously, whereas she should and most likely will improve, we will inform you and have regular meetings to discuss whether Lilly fits into that group. Do either of you have any questions?” he asked gently as both Belle and Aden shook their heads.

“No, I think that’s all. Thank you very much, Mr Welsh” Aden spoke politely as Belle nodded and agreed, each of them taking a turn to shake the headmaster’s hand.

*

“Hey guys” Roman spoke as he saw Aden and Belle entering the house, their hands held in each other’s as they were greeted. “How did everything go?” he asked.

Aden sighed. “Well, Lilly’s not dyslexic which is obviously a good thing but she’s one of the lowest in the class” he told Roman as Belle wrapped her hand tightly around her husbands’. “How have they been anyway?” he asked.

Roman smiled. “Olivia and Lilly played dress up and dolls, Tyler did some homework and played on the x-box, Danielle has been on the phone for ...” he stopped to look at his watch, “about two hours and Jayden went out for a few hours and when he came back, he did some homework.”

“Have they eaten?” Belle asked gently as Roman nodded.

“Lasagne” he smiled. “There’s some in the fridge for you two as well. I thought you wouldn’t want to cook by the time you get back” he told them as Belle nodded and smiled.

“Thank you, Roman, so much. We really appreciate it.”

“Hey, it’s not a problem. Any time, they’re great kids.”

Aden nodded and smiled proudly. “Yeah. They sure are” he agreed.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you two to have the rest of the evening to yourself. I’ll make myself scarce” he laughed, pulling his son into a hug, before doing the same to Belle. After the children thanked him and said goodbye, Roman left, leaving Belle and Aden to warm their dinner and sit down together for the meal Roman had prepared.

Belle then progressed listening to Lilly read her school book whilst Aden got Olivia ready for bed, before placing her in her bed and reading her a storybook himself. Tyler, Danielle and Jayden stayed in their rooms for the remainder of the evening, climbing into bed at 9.30pm when Belle and Aden decided to do so themselves.

Closing and locking the door behind him, Aden entered the room in his boxers, the rest of his body bare as Belle sat up in bed flicking through the pages of her magazine.

“Hey” she murmured as she placed the magazine on to the bed covers.

“Alright” he whispered as he turned off the light before climbing into the bed next to his wife, wrapping an arm underneath her petite frame, pulling her closer to his body. He sighed heavily, before Belle spoke.

“Long day, huh?” she asked as she yawned.

“Just a bit” he murmured. “Work and then a meeting. Just great.”

Belle emitted a breathy laugh. “We didn’t even get time to talk properly. How was work?” she asked him.

Aden sighed. “Awful. It just seemed like there was so much to do. How was your counselling session?”

Belle shrugged, before gently pulling out of Aden’s arms and rolling onto her side, causing Aden instant worry, wrapping his own arm tightly around her, feeling her tense uncomfortably.

"Babe?” he asked once again.

“It doesn’t matter, Aden” she muttered. “Just go to sleep. I’ll be fine.”

“No, babe” he began as he heard his wife’s soft sniffles, signalling that she was crying. “You can’t not answer my question and then not want to talk about it. And it obviously does matter because you wouldn’t cry over nothing, okay? So tell me, talk to me.”

Belle shrugged. “I ... I thought ... God, you’re gonna think I am so stupid” she murmured.

“Babe, you should know that I would never think anything like that of you. Now come on, tell me.”

“Today, I thought ... I thought I saw Angelo” she whispered, her heart breaking as she mentioned his name.

Aden’s arm instantly tightened around Belle’s waist. On one hand, hearing his name gave him contrasting ideas. The mention of Angelo, the man that abused and raped his wife, made him feel sick, the bile rising in his throat. He wanted to protect Belle ... and his children ... and he would go to any length to make that happen. If Belle had really seen Angelo, Aden couldn’t even imagine how it would have made her feel.

But had she really seen him?

What if she was imagining him?

What with all the stress and the depression lately?

Had she seen him?

Could she have honestly seen a man who assaulted her, 17 years ago, come back to the Bay after everyone knew what he was like?

“Aden?” he was snapped out of his thoughts as his wife spoke his name.

“Are you sure you saw him babe? Are you sure you didn’t imagine him? Or maybe he looked similar?”

Belle let out a breathy laugh before pulling out of Aden’s arms and heading towards the door, pulling on her pink, silky dressing gown. “I knew it” she murmured. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me!” she spoke in a harsh, yet hushed tone in order to not disturb the children.

“Belle ...” Aden began as he too climbed out of the bed and headed towards his wife, only for her to hold out a hand to signal for him to stop. Storming out of the bedroom, she headed downstairs, grabbing a quilt and a pillow out of the airing cupboard beforehand.

Following behind a few moments later, Aden found his wife preparing the sofa to sleep on. “Belle, please, come back to bed ...” he murmured.

“Oh I am” she told him. “But you’re not. You’re sleeping down here tonight.”

“What?” he spoke loudly, before suddenly realising just how loud the volume for his voice really was, repeating the word more quietly.

“You know why, Aden. I won’t have you, or anyone else tell me what I did and didn’t see.”

“Anyone else?” he muttered. “Who else have you spoken to about this?” he asked, yet the fact that she gave no answer confirmed it. “Rachel?” he asked as Belle nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me first?”

“I was going to” Belle told him honestly. “I came into the hospital to see you. But I bumped into Rachel first” she told him as she rested her hands on her hips. “I told her about it and she didn’t believe me either. She just said that I was probably imagining things too because of everything that’s been going on lately.”

“She might be right, Belle. We see that kind of thing a lot in depr..” he trailed off as Belle interrupted.

“Yes, Aden. I’m depressed! Not psychotic!”

“What else are we meant to think, Belle? You turned to self harm, you tried to commit suicide ... I just don’t ever want to lose you and if you swear you saw Angelo, then I believe you, okay?”

“You’re not just saying that?” Belle asked worriedly.

Aden shook his head. “No” he murmured. “I just don’t think I was ready to believe that he could be back in our lives again. But I swear to you, Belle, he will never, ever, hurt you again.”

Tears sprung to Belle’s eyes, as she slowly made her way towards the sofa and perched herself on the edge of it, Aden closely following and wrapping his arm around her waist in order to provide her with the comfort she needed.

Belle sighed heavily before speaking. “I panicked when I saw him, Aden. I didn’t know what to do. It was like, seeing him after all those years and I still remember what he did, that exact night” she whispered as the tears that streamed down her cheeks continuously fell, a pointless task to even attempt to wipe them away. “How can you forgot someone that does that to you, Aden? Because I thought that by having children, I could move on. I married you and we had children and everything was perfect but it’s always there, you know. He’s never going to be gone, is he?”

Aden shook his head. “Of course not sweetheart. And you can’t be expected to forget that either. He should have got a life sentence, because that’s what he gave you. It might not follow you around everyday but there will be times when you remember or get a signal from somewhere whereas you remember what happened. But nobody can ever forget. They can only get better in time and hopefully, rarely think about it. I worry too” he admitted.

“Your grandfather?” she asked delicately as her fingers entwined with her husbands’.

Aden shrugged. “Yes and no. I mean, I still think about what he did but I meant that I worry about you. When we make love, I know it never goes away. I still think; am I being too rough? Will I hurt her? Will this remind her of what happened? Am I doing or saying anything that he did? It never got easier on me, Belle, knowing that I was part of the reason all this happened to you.”

“You ... what ... you never ...”

“But I did” he told her gently as tears began to fall down his own face. “If I had walked you home that night, Angelo would never have ...”

“That particular night never made a difference, Aden. He would have ... another time.”

The couple broke off into a silence before Aden spoke again. “Belle, I have to ask” he told her gently, holding her wrist delicately, Belle knowing where the conversation was heading. “Do you still ... ever ... think about ...” he trailed off, unsure of how to word his statement without hurting his wife’s feelings, causing her to be in even more of an emotional state.

“I’d be lying if I said no” she admitted. “I spoke to my counsellor about that today as well. She wanted to know if I still do it. I don’t” she told him plainly. “But that doesn’t mean that when I see a pair of scissors lying about, I don’t feel like ... because I do, Aden. But I just ... I can’t, no matter how much I want to. I hate the fact that you saw me in the state that I was all those years ago. I would never forgive myself if one of the kids came home and found me like that.”

“I know” Aden murmured, smiling at his wife’s protectiveness of them.

“Do you think he’d ever come here?” Belle asked as Aden shrugged.

“If he even has half a brain, he’d want to get out of the country. But I swear Belle, I would never let him hurt you or our children, okay? You are all my priority and my life. Without you’s, I don’t know how I could cope or how I could live. I would die for you” he told her, cupping her face gently in his hands.

*

“Lilly, sweetheart, you’re meant to be off school, ill” Belle smiled, having allowed her daughter the day off school on the rare occurrence of it being sports day.

“But if you let me have an ice cream, I can say that I had a sore throat” she giggled.

“Okay, okay” Belle smiled. “I give in. Ice cream it is” she laughed. “What flavour babes?” she asked.

“Vanilla, please?” came a voice from behind them as Belle reached in for her purse and was just about to order for Lilly.

“Excuse me, but we were fi..” she broke off as she turned around to face the customer behind her. A slight gasp emitted from her. Grabbing Lilly’s hand, she pulled the young girl towards her side, stepping protectively in front of her daughter.

“Hello Belle” spoke the voice again, sending a shiver down Belle’s spine.

The young waitress behind the counter disappeared, heading into the storeroom, leaving Belle and Lilly alone with him for that moment.

“Get the hell away from me ... from us ... stay away from my family” she spoke as confidently as possible, although somehow, she didn’t think that her voice was as confident as she had hoped it to be.

“Oh come on, Belle. Loosen up a little” he spoke menacingly, reaching forwards, moving his body closer to hers, placing a hand over her fringe and pulling it back to expose her facial expression. “As beautiful as ever” he commented. Leaning forwards, trapping Belle in the position she was stood, he placed one arm on her hip before pressing his lips to her cheek.

Lilly gasped quietly, only ever seeing her mum and dad exchange kiss, as well as family, but to see a man she didn’t know kissing her mum confused her.

“See you around, Belle” he winked, before walking out of the corner shop.

Tears sprung to Belle’s eyes. His breath made her feel sick, the bile in her stomach rising up her throat. His touch made her cringe, the same touch today as it was all those years ago. Shock, horror and reality all set in at once. With one hand, she quickly stopped the tears from flowing and sniffled a couple of times before crouching down at Lilly’s level.

“Lilly, babes, I want you to promise me something.”

“Mint chocolate please” she asked innocently.

Belle nodded. “Lilly, sweetheart. I’ll get you a mint chocolate ice cream but you need to promise me something, okay?” she asked as Lilly nodded. “Don’t tell daddy. Can you do that for me?”

Once again, Lilly nodded. “Don’t tell daddy” she repeated.

[matticus01]

oh no.... Belle... tell Aden... jesus just tell him.

Oh at first I seriously thought Belle was imagining it, but then I thought why would she make something like that up... and then that ending!

Amazing chapter... its good that Lilly's not dyslexic

Oh Angelo Stay away from Belle and her family!

well done Carina! seriously brilliant writing!

[Zetti]

Hmm mixed thoughts about her not telling Aden. In one sense of the word, it might be good but it will also cause problems!

Good writing

Hope to see more soon xx

[bradyell]

Noooooooooooooooooo!!!

Belle has to tell Aden!!!

Angelo has to do one!!!!

And you need to update sooooon so that we can find out what happens next

Brilliant as always though!

[HighwayUnicorn]

CHAPTER TEN

“Good girl Lilly” Belle murmured as they sat at the table, Lilly reading some of her school book to her mother. Signing her contact book, she commented that Lilly had read her book well, before signing it. Handing the yellow contact book to her daughter, Belle spoke again. “Sweetheart, you need to put that in your book bag for because Mrs Jones’ needs to see that you’ve read your book, okay?” she

Lilly nodded. “Okay mummy” she whispered quietly, before leaving the table and entering the living room after exiting the kitchen and placing the book in her bad, before throwing the bag back on the sofa.

“Numeracy now as well please Lilly” Belle called out from the kitchen as she stirred the dinner.

"Hey” a voice called as the front door opened. “Mummy, I got ten out of ten on my spelling test today!” Tyler exclaimed.

“Really babes?” Belle smiled excitedly as she exited the kitchen and headed into the living room, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Oh sweetheart. I am so proud of you. What did Mr Porter say?”

“He said I did very well, didn’t he daddy?” Tyler spoke as Aden entered through the door.

“He sure did. He said that he tried very well and he’s very proud of his achievements recently” Aden spoke proudly, pressing a kiss to Belle’s lips. “Did you and Lilly have a good day?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah, it was good” Belle murmured. “I’m just so glad that it’s Friday. Finally the weekend.”

“Tell me about it” Aden smiled. “Anyway, I guess .. seeing as you’ve cooked dinner” Aden smiled, having smelt the meal that was cooking, “how about, I help the children with the homework and then get Livvie, Lilly and Tyler out for a bit to go shopping? We’re gonna need some more groceries so I can take them to the supermarket?” he suggested as Belle nodded.

“If you won’t mind?” Belle murmured. “I guess Danielle and Jayden won’t go ... they’ll want to stay in tonight. But then I could go out to the chemist, I need more ...” she trailed off, not wanting to speak too loudly in case the children overheard the conversation that was occurring between their mother and father, but Aden knew only too well that she needed more anti-depressant medication.

Aden nodded as Tyler and Lilly burst into the kitchen, holding worksheets in their hand. “Daddy” Lilly lisped sweetly. “We need help. Numeracy” she smiled.

“Literacy and numeracy” Tyler groaned.

“Okay guys, let’s give it a go, then, shall we?” Aden smiled, taking a seat at the kitchen table, either side of Tyler and Lilly.

Half an hour had passed before Belle had requested the table to be set for dinner, Tyler and Lilly only too keen and eager to help, pouring out the drinks and arranging the cutlery.

“So, what did you and mummy get up to today, Lilly?” Aden asked his daughter as the family sat down to their meal that evening.

Lilly smiled at her dad before speaking, swallowing her food before voicing her reply. “Well, we watched The Little Mermaid this morning and then we went shopping ... then mummy got me an ice-cream.”

“An ice-cream? Before dinner?” Aden joked as Lilly nodded.

“Yeah, but she had been very good – all day” Belle smiled in an attempt to ensure Lilly wasn’t about to reveal what event occurred within the ice-cream parlour.

“Fair enough” Aden smiled. “Danielle, how was your day?” he asked his older daughter.

Danielle shrugged. “It was good I guess” she commented.

“Dani, sweetheart” Belle began, “do you want to go shopping over the weekend? For your school disco dress?”

Danielle smiled. “Really?” she asked with a broad grin forming from one cheek to the other.

Belle nodded. “Well, yeah. I mean ... only if you want to ...”

“Mum, seriously, of course I want to.”

“Awesome ... so ... we could go tomorrow? What do we need? A dress, shoes, jewellery?”

“Whoa, mum, are you sure you can afford all that?” Danielle asked as she looked back and forth between her parents as Aden answered the question first.

“Of course we can honey. We knew this day would come one day and we’ve put some money aside. Have you ... erm, got ... a date?” he asked awkwardly.

Danielle smiled.

“I’d take that as a yes if I were you” Jayden smiled, sighing at the same time. “Let me guess. James?” he asked, Danielle’s smile a reply to his guess.

“What?!” Belle suddenly spoke loudly. “James? As in James Harrison?” she asked with a smile as Danielle nodded vigorously. “James ... James? As in James that you’ve fancied for about 3 whole years?” she speculated.

“Yes!” Danielle screeched excitedly.

“Okay, seriously mum, it’s not that much of a big deal” Tyler moaned.

“A big ... a big deal? Of course it’s a big deal Tyler!” Belle laughed. “My baby’s growing up though” Belle spoke softly.

“And on that note, shall I wash up for you’s?” Danielle asked, smiling softly.

“Please?” Belle asked. “I want to jump in the shower so ... Jayden, could you help your sister please?” she asked as her eldest son nodded.

“Sure” he replied.

“Babe, do you want me to bath Livvie?” Aden asked as Olivia gasped, Belle nodding her reply.

“No dada. Dada no bath Livvie. Livvie stay up all night” she lisped. “Livvie watch Fireman Sam.”

“Livvie no watch Fireman Sam” Aden smiled as he mocked his daughter’s use of basic language. “Livve have bath and go to bed. Come on sweetpea” he laughed, standing up from his own chair and leaning down, wrapping hi arms around his daughter’s body, lifting her from the chair before carrying her upstairs.

As Jayden and Danielle began tidying up the kitchen, clearing away the cutlery and plates used, Belle left the table and headed up to the bedroom she and Aden shared. Entering the en suite, she turned on the shower, before removing her clothing and jumping in underneath the hot, powerful water than ran from the showerhead.

Half an hour had passed before she finally climbed out, wrapping a towel tightly around her body before wringing her hair in an attempt to dry it. Unlocking the door, she entered back through to the bedroom, to find Aden dressed in only his boxers.

“Hmmm ...” Belle murmured appreciatively as Aden turned around to face his wife, offering her a broad grin before approaching her, wrapping his arms around her waist, Belle’s arms snaking around his neck as their lips met and they kissed deeply, intensifying it occasionally when they groaned in pleasure.

“You like?” he asked seductively.

“I love” Belle smiled as she deepened the kiss between them. “Make love to me, Aden” she moaned, pressing her body against his as he held her hips gently, before acting on her request.

He gently guided her body backwards onto the bed, allowing her to fall back onto the sheets softly as he lowered his body to rest above hers, applying minimal pressure on her petite frame. He groaned casually as his hands caressed her body, his fingers running up to her thigh and underneath the towel, before removing the towel altogether to reveal her body.

Belle hands worked their way down to her husband’s boxer shorts, pulling at the waistband in an attempt to remove them and reveal himself to her. Successfully doing so, Belle sheathed Aden after reaching across into the drawer and delving inside, pulling out a small square shaped packet. Ripping it open, she sheathed him, before Aden entered into Belle, both of them easing into the motion as they made love to each other, their naked bodies pushed against each other.

“Aden” Belle moaned breathlessly as he passionately kissed her neck, before beginning to press his lips down her bare chest, making his way down to her navel as she gasped in pleasure. “God ... Aden. I love you” she breathed softly.

“You are so beautiful, Belle” Aden whispered as he made his way above her again, allowing his lips to fall onto hers once again, entering her body once again .

Belle rested her hands upon Aden’s muscular chest, his erratic breathing enough to prove that his performance was pleasuring Belle, as she reached climaxed, before rolling over and her being on top of Aden this time. Aden’s hands came to rest on Belle’s hips as they continued to make love.

*

“So I assume I can put off the shopping for tonight then?” Aden laughed.

“Erm, no mister. That was your treat today” Belle smiled as she pulled her blouse over her body.

“Oh really? My treat? So you gained no pleasure out of that whatsoever?” he joked as Belle shrugged yet she couldn’t prevent the smile which formed across her face, from cheek to cheek.

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t” she smiled as Aden approached her gently after he pulled on his white shirt. Kneeling in front of Belle, who was sat on the bed, he reached his hand out and placed it on Belle’s cheek, caressing it gently with his thumb.

“How are you ... really?” he asked her quietly. “I mean ... all this ... is it really ... I don’t know ... real? Or is it an escape?” he spoke softly, obviously concerned for her welfare.

Belle offered him a slight smile before she placed her hand over her husband’s. “I’m fine, really” she told him, before pulling her hand away and attempting to button her blouse. Aden stopped her, taking her hands in his own, resting them in his lap.

“You sure?” he asked, before stretching his hands out once again to button his wife’s blouse. “Because we never talk anymore.”

“Well that’s the general idea” Belle smiled.

“How do you mean?” he questioned.

Belle shrugged. “You know how it is, Aden. We made a commitment, we have five children. We don’t have time to talk.”

“You know what I mean. You never talk to me openly. I can’t read your mind, Belle. I know when you’re not okay and when you’re unhappy but I’m never going to know why unless you tell me.”

“And I am telling you, there is nothing wrong. Now come on. Shopping.”

“Look ... how about me and you go shopping then? Leave the kids at home? Dani and Jay – they can look after the others. Olivia’s in bed and they can make sure Tyler and Lilly go up before it’s too late? And that way, we can have lots and lots of fun shopping together and spending time together” he suggested.

“Why can you always persuade me Mr Jefferies?” Belle giggled.

“Hmm, I don’t know” he smiled, standing up, taking Belle’s hands in his own and pulling her up with him gently, before wrapping his arms around her and speaking again. “I just know how to.”

“Well, obviously. You did seduce me earlier” she joked.

“Me? You came out the bathroom wrapped in just a towel!” he exclaimed with a laugh.

“Yeah? And you came out wearing only a pair of boxers. Guess the hottest one out of the couple now?”

*

“Aden, seriously, we can’t keep getting pizza!”

“So we just keep trying to give them fruit and vegetables, right? Because that works well doesn’t it” Aden joked. “The only one that does eat healthily is Danielle.”

“Do you think she has problems with her weight?” Belle suddenly asked.

“Dani? Really? Babe ... I’m a doctor ... I’d know if there was something wrong with her.”

Belle shrugged. “Maybe. But ...”

“But nothing, okay? Now ... lasagne in the week as well?” he suggested as Belle nodded, picking up a packet of mince and placing it in the trolley as Aden pushed it gently.

The couple continued with the shopping, collecting food items they would need for throughout the week before approaching the clothing aisle. Aden continued to push the trolley until Belle paused, picking up a piece of clothing from the hanging rail.

“Babe?” Aden questioned.

“Can we have another one?” Belle asked gently as she turned on her heel and looked at Aden.

Aden sighed. “We’ve been through this Belle. You can’t. I’m not prepared for you to risk your life for another pregnancy, okay?”

FLASHBACK

“Did you do it?” Aden asked Rachel as she exited the hospital room, Aden suddenly standing up, his newly born child in his arms.

Rachel shook her head. “No. The bleeding stopped so we decided not to do a hysterectomy but ...”

“She can’t have any more children?” Aden questioned, fearing he knew the answer, the confirmation coming as Rachel nodded, her expression suddenly saddened.

“Belle’s never exactly had it easy with any of her pregnancies and we all knew that there would be a time when she would put her own life in danger to carry a child. Having another child wouldn’t be impossible but there’s a strong possibility she could ...” Rachel trailed off, not needing to complete the sentence as Aden nodded, understanding how the speech Rachel was giving would have ended.

“Does she know?” Aden suddenly asked.

Rachel shook her head. “No. But she is awake. You can see her now. And you can take ... bub, with you” she spoke softly, Belle not having met her daughter yet.

Rachel disappeared down the corridor after an emergency call occurred, leaving Aden to enter the hospital room where Belle was situated, taking his baby in there with him.

“Hey you. Gave us quite a scare sweetheart” Aden smiled softly at his wife as he spoke, sitting down on the bed beside Belle. The tiny baby began to cry, murmuring and fidgeting within her fathers arms, her squirms causing Aden to calm her down before introducing her to Belle. “Hey sweetie, I haven’t forgotten about you. Do you want to see your mummy? Yeah?” he questioned as the baby squirmed once again. He looked up at Belle who was smiling down at her daughter, Aden gently handing her over. “There you go beautiful.”

“Aden ... she’s ... she’s gorgeous. Hang on ... she ... Jayden gets to name her ...” she smiled, remembering the banter that had occurred between the children at home. If it was a girl, it was decided that Jayden name her and if it was a boy, Danielle was going to name him. “Does he have a name?” she asked him.

Aden smiled. “Yeah, I phoned him earlier to tell him the news. He says he likes the name Olivia. And they came to a compromise, Danielle decided on the middle name. Olivia-Mae.”

Belle smiled. “Olivia Mae Jefferies. I love it. I love her. She’s beautiful, Aden. Thank you.”

The couple fell into a comfortable silence, Aden and Belle entwining their fingers as Olivia was held securely in Belle’s arms, holding her daughter for as long as possible and never wanting to let go.

“Babe” Aden began, unsure of how to address the conversation. I was so worried about you ... you need to promise me something.”

Belle shrugged. “What’s the promise?”

“To not have any more children.”

“What?” she screeched, causing her daughter to stir slightly in her sleep, before realising that her voice was too loud, quietening once again.

“You heard me, Belle. You can’t ... well, you can, medically. But you could ...” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word. He didn’t want it to become reality. “All of your pregnancies have been difficult on you, all with medical implications. We can’t ... I won’t let you. I’m not going to lose you. Can you promise me that?”

Belle shook her head. “No. I can’t promise that. Because I don’t know if I can stick to it. But I can try” she told him truthfully. “But for now, I don’t need any more. We have five beautiful children to look after and love.”

END FLASHBACK