"Not everyone is meant to have a happy ending."
Dating is difficult.
Dating with a child? Even more so.
Victoria James was already willing to give up the dating scene at the age of twenty-four until her best friend had persuaded her to try just one...
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Pulling up to the restaurant, Taehyung shuts off his car and takes a deep breath, his eyes searching for any signs of his girlfriend's ex. He hadn't seen him since college but according to her, he looks the same as he always had. Ria unbuckles her seat belt but makes no other moves to leave the safety of the vehicle as she, too, looks for the man who had impregnated her.
He reaches over and places a reassuring hand on her thigh and forces a smile that doesn't reach his soft brown eyes. After the talk the two of them had last night, they felt even more bonded to one another. Thus the reason Tae could sense her nervousness even more than before. Her many years of practice to always seem put together would make an innocent bystander unaware of her rapidly beating heart but he could feel the unsteady energy radiating off of her.
The only thing that was bringing him some peace of mind was that Izzy was happily having dinner at her friend's house tonight, oblivious of the arrangement her mother made with her biological father. Even more unaware that he's trying to come into her life. For now, she can remain that way until her mother can determine the best course of action, not wanting to put her daughter in any kind of distress if she can help it.
With his eyes still searching her face, Ria reaches down and grabs Tae's hand, giving it a small squeeze as she tilts her head towards the entrance, "He's here."
Quickly looking in that direction, he spots the man in the long black coat. The same man he selfishly wished wouldn't show up, hoping he would flake as he had in the past, and he hated himself for thinking that way.
He valued the happy little bubble around his little family and the threat of this man taking that away didn't sit well with him. Most of all, the fact that Miles was the reason Ria hasn't been able to fully relax over the last week made Taehyung even more irritated at the fact he showed back up all of the sudden.
"Ready?" Taehyung questions as she looks over at him with raised eyebrows and her chest rising and falling at an uneven pace.
Clearing her throat, she shuts her eyes for a moment, collecting herself before she opened them again with a forced smile, "Ready."
Her bravery and ability to pull herself together at a moment's notice was something he truly admired about the woman he loved and although there was little reason to smile right now, he still found the corners of his lips curling as she stepped out of the car with her hand placed in his. Holding his head up high, he felt proud to be walking with her arm-in-arm as they approached the table where Miles was sitting with his back to them.
Taking a moment to try to calm Ria a bit more, he stops before they're in earshot and gently pushes some hair behind her shoulder, speaking for only her to hear, "I'm right here. I'm always here for you. Take a deep breath for me."
Taking a deep breath and exhaling out slowly as he does the same, she nods her head in agreement and leaves one chaste kiss upon his pink heart-shaped lips, "I know you are, baby."
