I disclaim

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In all the years she had lived in Salem, in all the years she had known about the gazebo and its magical lights she always considered it their place. The tears didn't come so often now, she had learned how to control herself, her emotions. She twisted the ring around her finger. It was a beautiful ring, diamonds and gold, typical of Philip's tastes.

The wind seemed harsh and the air was cool. She pulled her sweater tighter against her petite frame and took a deep breath. The sun was going down sooner than normal and she realized fall was in the air. It would be winter soon and she wouldn't be able to visit this special place as often.

He would always come, even in the freezing dominance of winter he came. Sometimes their paths crossed, sometimes they did not.

He knew the choice she had made, knew she wasn't happy but would not interject. It wasn't what she wanted. She was content to live a life with no love, it was the right punishment.

"It's getting cold!" Came Brady's husky voice as he sat down beside her on the wooden bench.

Chloe nodded and stared out at the crimson sky.

"Did you know it would feel like this?" She asked turning her eyes towards his. Her hair gently blew and she took a gloved hand wisping it away from her face.

"Yes." He answered cooly, keeping his gaze on the horizon.

"Then why didn't I?" She shrugged, and took his hand in hers.

"How's Philip?" Brady questioned, facing her now.

"Same as always. He's dull and plain and still my husband." She looked down at the ground and watched the grass sway softly. "Do you think of her often, Brady?"

"Everyday." He managed to get out as he stood, releasing her hand. He knelt by the tiny cross in the ground. A tiny marker that only they knew about and worshipped.

"What would we have called her?" Chloe asked as she knelt beside him.

"Emily. I always liked Emily." He whispered, softly.

"I never told him." Chloe said sullenly.

"I know."

"I could leave him. There's nothing holding us together."

"But you won't." He muttered sadly. It was her torture to stay with him. Chloe had this sense of obligation to the tiny baby that had died before she ever had a chance to live and as if giving up her own happiness could somehow make things right, in Chloe's mind it was logical and Brady understood.

For Brady the sense of incompleteness would linger for all the days he walked this earth. He had lost her long before the baby. One night of passion could never make up for a lifetime of marriage. In a way, he didn't believe he deserved Chloe either and neither had deserved their child, even God knew that, otherwise she wouldn't have taken Emily away. Love can sometimes be painful and for Brady, it was the end of his life. Sure he ate, breathed and slept but he wasn't living, not without Chloe, not without the baby.

Chloe stood and walked down the lonely path from which she had come, turning back once to watch Brady pull a tiny daisy from his suit jacket and place it on the cold ground.

The immense strength of guilt clenched her stomach and she doubled over with pain. She could feel herself slipping away and knew the time was coming. She knew the cancer was back. All she wanted was peace. Love was guilt now, guilt and obligation, and not something to live for.

Chloe lay in her bed, with her expensive sheets and silken nightgown, cold and alone. She closed her eyes for the last time and imagined a world of colours and brightness. The darkness faded and she was gone.