The mood was dark as we all got out of Chris' jeep and started walking up the pavement towards Gwyneth's house. The kids didn't want to go home and Chris didn't want to leave them. But they had a strict custody agreement- he only had the kids on weekends and holidays, and maybe the odd occasion when Gwyneth worked away. The whole situation was so hard and I really felt sorry for them. Once we got to the garden gateway, Chris stopped in his tracks and turned to face his children.

"I love you guys, be good for mummy okay?" Chris told his children, kneeling on the ground and hugged them both to his chest tightly. His voice was thick with emotion and Apple had already burst into tears on the car ride to their house.

I really felt for them. We've had such a great weekend together, full of joy and happiness and it broke my heart to see them so distressed of their Dad leaving.

"Daddy please don't go..." I heard Moses whisper in his father's ear, holding onto him tighter. Chris lift his head and I could see his eyes were shining.

"I have to son... but I'll see you next Friday ok?" He told him before kissing both of their heads and rose to his feet. I noticed the door opening and saw Gwyneth stood in the door way, watching us all carefully.

A few more words were exchanged between them when suddenly , I felt two pairs of arms wrap around my waist, clinging onto me tightly. I wrapped my arms around them gently, feeling a lump forming in my throat.

"Bye Lucy" they both uttered, their grips tightening on me slightly.

"Bye guys.... I'll see you soon yeah?" I told them, earning a small smile before they  turned and walked towards their house.

"Bye dad, bye Lucy"they turned and waved at us before scuffling into the house. We were about to turn around and walk back to the car when Gwyneth called Chris back.

"Chris! Can I have a word with you for a minute?" She asked, a slight smirk forming on her lips. 'That bitch is loving every minute of this' I thought to myself angrily. I turned my head to see him gazing at me.

"Go, I'll go wait for you in the car" I told him, giving his forearm a reassuring squeeze. He nodded, before turning and walking up the path towards his ex wife. I could see that his shoulders were tense, he was closed off and understandably uncomfortable.

I walked the rest of the way to the car and sat down in the passenger seat. It seemed like a normal, general chat but then their body language changed... Chris' back was turned towards me but could tell by Gwyneth's fuming face that they were in the middle of a full blown argument. 

A few minutes later, Gwyneth stepped inside, Chris intended to follow but she slammed the door in his face. His shoulders slumped in defeat before turning back and walked back to the car hurriedly, his gaze directed to the floor and his hands shoved in his pockets. He opened the door and jumped inside, slamming it behind him, proceeding to punch steering wheel in pure frustration.

"Fuck!!" He exclaimed, running his hands through his hair and leaned back against his chair, burying his face in them. I had never seen him like this before and it scared me... what the hell had happened?

"Chris?" I ventured, placing a hand on his arm gently. "What did she say?" He sighed and brought his hands down, turning his head to gaze at me. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking.

"Do you remember how I said the kids would come and stay with us for a couple of weeks?" He asked. I nodded, the memory from last night clear. "Well she's changed her mind. She's got another filming job in New York for 3 weeks... she's leaving next week and she's taking the kids with her. I mean they're on half term holidays then but they were supposed to come and stay with us while she was away" he said, his voice full of sorrow. I felt my jaw slacken in shock. This isn't fair on any of them, Gwyneth's just such a selfish bitch....

"Oh Chris, I'm so sorry...." I told him, grasping  one of his hands gently. He didn't have to say anything but I knew how gutted he was. The kids had looked forward so much and now this. He gave me a small smile at my gesture and squeezed my hand in return.

"It's ok.... I guess we'll work something out when they come back, I'm gonna miss them so much though" he said , his azure eyes meeting my green ones.

"They'll miss you too, they absolutely idolise you " I reassured him. "They're both such lovely kids " I added.

"Yeah....They've definitely taken a shine to you too, you know?" He told me, turning the key in the ignition and started driving down the lane . "They've never been good with change, but with you, it's different " he said.

"Different? How?" I asked him, puzzled. I mean they've met many of his friends before.

"I dunno, you're likeable, kind , caring, you play with them, chat, tell stories- you know, the stuff that kids usually like" he told me. I nodded but I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, if his kids thought that- did he feel the same? Unfortunately for me, he noticed my cheeks were now the same colour as my red sweatshirt.

"Awww is someone blushing?" He teased, prodding my cheek with his index finger.

"Of course not!" I answered, unable to hide the smile from my face.

"You arrrrreeeee" he said in a sing song voice, laughing loudly. For the next 10 minutes, he wouldn't quit teasing so I finally gave in .

"Okay, okay... maybe I was " I admitted, shifting myself to sit straighter in my seat.

"I knew it! But it's totally true though.... you're fantastic " he said softly, averting his eyes from the road to meet mine briefly. The look in his eyes was so genuine, my heart fluttered as I could tell he really meant it.

"Thanks Chris" I told him, beaming widely at him. As we joined the motorway, my stomach decided to rumble loudly, causing him to laugh.

"Hungry?" He asked, flashing me a knowing smile. It was nearing 7pm and at this rate it would take us an hour to get home, we were caught in the middle of the rush hour. I was absolutely starving.

"Yeah" I told him, chuckling as another rumble sounded. "By the way... what are we having for tea? I'm starving" I exaggerated.

"I can tell" he chuckled. "But you'll just have to wait, because that's for me to know and you to find out" he said mischievously, a grin stretching his lips.

________________________________

Once we arrived back at Chris' house, we realised that we didn't have any food in for dinner. So we decided to head out to the nearest Tesco, which was about a 20 minute walk from the house. It was now approaching 8pm, therefore The streets were quieter and the sky had began to darken.

Chris strode beside me, clad in his typical disguise- black beanie, dark hoodie, dark coat... dark everything really. I mean, I knew why he dressed that way- to not stand out or draw attention to himself. He told me that the paps had layed off him for the time being but I could tell that he was wary and nervous of a potential encounter with them.

Since meeting him and the band, I guess I've had a look into the good and bad sides of being famous- the paparazzi were a huge problem for him though. Most of the time, they left Jon, Will and Guy alone and focused all of their attention on him, waiting outside the bakery or the beehive while the band recorded... they even waited outside his house if the band were in the middle of promo for a new album.

It got really bad when he and Gwyneth split up. Will told me Chris had stayed with him, Guy, Jon and his family for over 2 months as the paps just wouldn't leave him alone. He went into a really dark place and the guys didn't want him feeling alone. Will's words replayed in my head:

"He's much better now though... even better since he met you" he assured me, laughing when he saw my cheeks turn crimson.

From what Chris had told me, I knew most of Ghost Stories was now finished and it would be released on May 16th, although Midnight had already been released on February 25th. The fans' anticipation for it was amazing, although the guys had told me they'd only do a small tour this time as they already had the next album in the works! Neither of them had hinted  much about that yet though. All I knew was that it'd be called "A Head Full Of Dreams".

I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts by Chris grabbing my wrist, changing direction and quickened his stride, pulling me along with him. I didn't fight against him but I could tell that something was wrong. He was gazing around anxiously, searching for an escape route.

"Chris? What's the matter?" I asked him, puzzled by his actions. But then I looked up and realised. At the end of the street, 3 men stood dressed in long trench coats, holding massive cameras that flashed away at us, blinding me slightly. Paparazzi.

" Don't look at them!" He uttered, tightening his grip on me slightly. "Come on, let's get the hell outta here" and with that we broke into a run, entering the nearest shopping centre.

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Hey guys!

Ooo the paps have seen Lucy! Sorry this is another boring chapter 😂 but isn't Chris sweet with the kids? ❤️

Ignore the hate on Gwyneth, I'm sure she's not like that in real life lol 😂

Thanks for the never ending support in the votes, comments and reads!

Can't believe that there's only 10 concerts left in this era!!! Nooooooooo!!! 😞💔😫

Hope you guys are all ok

Love Ffion xx