Saying the dinner was awkward was a complete understatement. It had been nice, comfortable even when it was just the three of them, a happy couple having a quiet dinner with her dad. But with the addition of an old family friend, Will, who clearly wished he was much more than that, things had taken a turn for the worse.

Elijah was oblivious to what was going on between the three young adults, more than happy to enjoy his double cheese burger and fries as he chimed in his input here and there.

It was unfortunate that Will was sat across from Darcy and took every opportunity to scrutinise her with his pervasive stare, but it would have been worse if he was sat next to her.

"It's nice to finally meet you Thelonious. I've heard a lot about you from Darcy." Will chuckled, not once glancing at the man in question. His eyes were too busy trained on Darcy, a slow smirking creeping up onto his face as she scowled at him, refusing to break the eye contact first. A man like Will revelled in all things intrusive. "I was starting to think you weren't real."

"Well, I'm definitely real." Thelonious chuckled, though the sound was far from heavy.

Will hummed and continued eating his food.

Elijah smiled a genuine smile, unaware of the tension around the table. "Will's family and ours go way back. Darcy and Will went to school with each other."

"Will was a couple of years ahead." Darcy denied. "I spent more time with the twins and Naomi."

"True, but we always got together at events and our yearly get together." Her father added, his intentions completely innocent, not realising that his input was aggravating the situation even more.

"We always had so much fun together." Will agreed. "The best. I've had to miss the last few to become a qualified doctor." He smirked, his eyes trailing over to send Thelonious a pointed look, a loop of triumph on his face. "What do you do for a living, Thelonious?"

Regardless of what he said, a man like Will would never believe anyone to possess a better or superior profession than his. "I own and manage a hotel in London."

"Knight's Rest," Darcy chimed in. "Perhaps you've heard of it."

He shook his head. "I can't say I have."

Thelonious clenched his jaw but didn't comment on the matter. He wasn't looking to start something with Will right now, especially not with Elijah at the table. Before Will had shown up, he was actually enjoying getting to know Elijah but now with the added company, he was being overshadowed and there wasn't really much he could do about it without coming out of it looking like the bad guy.

"But the name does sound familiar." He mused aloud before turning to Elijah. "Weren't you talking about it the other week? With my parents?"

Elijah swallowed his mouthful, choking slightly. He sipped at some water to clear his throat. "I had recommended it to your parents. They were talking about spending a weekend away."

Darcy frowned, her eyes fleeting between her father and Will, her suspicions rising. The guiltier her father looked, the surer she was. "They knew about Stacey? Will knew about Stacey?"

Elijah nodded; the movement slow and unsure. "I had mentioned it to Will's parents." He turned to his left. "I'm assuming they told you?"

Will nodded in confirmation.

Thelonious glanced at Darcy. It was clear that she was upset. Even though they had discussed it and worked through their problems, that didn't mean that they had just magically disappeared and pain wasn't still there. Before, it had just been the case that her father had kept his girlfriend of 3 years a secret, but now, it appeared that he had told everyone but her. it was understandable why she wasn't happy with this newfound information.

Reaching over, he placed his hand over hers on the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against her temple, his lips lingering there.

She offered him a small smile and chose to not dwell too much on the matter. She wasn't looking for another fight with her father. Avoiding him for the past week had been excruciatingly difficult for them both. Neither of them wished for a repeat, though Elijah sent her a guilty look. One which promised that he would make it up to his daughter later.

She hoped that included an explanation.

Will, unaware of what the other three diners were thinking, eyed Darcy and Thelonious as they held hands. He thought he was being subtle when he reached out and brushed his hands against her other one.

Darcy dropped her fork in surprise and stared at him before her frown turned into a scowl – an action unanticipated by Will as he retracted his hand. The man wasn't even embarrassed! Instead, he smirked and lifted his glass of wine to his lips.

"Darcy has always been clumsy." Elijah chuckled as he looked up from his burger. "You'll have to keep an eye on her for me, Thelonious." He said before jumping into another conversation between Thelonious and Elijah, one which Darcy was eager to join if it meant she didn't have to pay attention to Will, however it appeared that he had other plans.

He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, examining her with a scrutinised gaze. "What are you doing tomorrow evening, Darcy?"

She munched on a few fries. "Studying." Her answer was dry, not that she cared if he thought so.

"I'm sure you can spare an hour after studying to catch up with an old friend over some steak and wine." While the food sounded appealing, the offer did not. Especially with the company that came along with it as a package deal.

Darcy shot Will a polite smile. "I'm sorry, no can do."

"Come on," he reached out again and she slid her hand off the table and rested it on her lap. "It's just 2 friends catching up over a candle lit dinner."

"I think I might be doing something with Thelonious actually." She wasn't actually lying. Her plan had been to study for a class test she had the next week, but she would have to eat dinner, so why not enjoy dinner with her boyfriend? Especially if that meant escaping the clutches of a slimy old family friend who clearly couldn't comprehend the fact that she wasn't the least bit interested in him.

That last part just sweetened the deal.

"I thought you said you would be studying." His smirk widened.

She coughed, caught in a lie. She sipped at some water to buy herself some time. "I'll be studying at the library and then get some food with Thelonious afterwards."

"That's too bad."

"Yes," she pursed her lips. "It really is."

"Next time then."

"Maybe." She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to hide her distaste for the man in front of her. Being forced to sit through dinner with him had been even more unpleasant than she had initially thought it would be, but she was glad that it was all over now.

Elijah patted Thelonious on the back in a friendly manner as they all stood up. "Thanks for getting this one. Next time Darcy brings you down here, dinners on me."

"No problem."

"Yes, thanks for the food, Thelonious." Will thanked him politely, though the way his lips twisted and his eyes glinted in a daring manner, he was feeling anything but polite. "I hope we have the pleasure of doing this again sometime."

"Darcy," he called out as they all stepped out of the restaurant, opening his arms up for a hug. "Always a pleasure. I'll be sure to give you a call next time I'm in London. Maybe we can all get dinner together sometime."

Elijah had already bid his adieu and waiting for them in the car.

Darcy huffed and returned the hug, but quickly pulled herself out of his arms, not enjoying the uncomfortable embrace. His hugs were slimier than his words. "Sounds great," she replied.

"Thelonious, it was nice to finally put a name to the face." He held out a hand.

Thelonious accepted his hand and gave it a firm shake, a sly grin making its way onto his face as Will winced and retracted his hand quickly. "Likewise."

-

Darcy glanced at the happy couple in front of her and wished that she had gone back to London with Thelonious. But her dad had asked her to stay and she felt like they needed another talk, but what she hadn't anticipated was that Stacey would be dropping by for an unannounced visit.

She couldn't deny it; she wasn't feeling very welcoming at the moment, even if she had enjoyed having breakfast with the woman a couple of days ago. She had the constant lies and deceit to thank for that.

She wanted to be the bigger person and drop it. She wanted to be happy for her dad, glad that he had found someone and would no longer feel lonely, but before that could happen, they needed to have another talk.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess you downplayed how secret this secret relationship of yours really was."

Elijah rubbed a hand down his face and sighed while Stacey rubbed his back in a calming manner. He knew he had fucked up when Will had mentioned that his parents knew. The look on Darcy's face had said it all; she was disappointed with him.

They had managed to talk things out earlier that evening but it didn't help that he had been caught in another omission of truth.

"Let me guess," she scowled. "You didn't want me to find out like this?"

He shook his head. "I should have told you, honey. I'm so sorry."

"Yes, you should have and I know you're sorry. You said that before but that doesn't change things." When he struggled with his words, she rolled her eyes. "How many other things are you hiding from me? Am I going to find out that you've got some secret children hidden away somewhere? Or even a secret family, for that matter?"

"Of course not. That's ridiculous."

"Is it really?"

"Darcy, I know you're upset." Stacey began, but Darcy stopped her from continuing.

"Look Stacey, I know we had breakfast together the other day and it was nice. But why didn't you mention it my father?" She felt like she was being a bitch, stirring up trouble between her father and his long-term lover, but they had it coming.

Stacey leant back in her seat, surprised that she was now caught in the cross-fire. But if she wanted to jump to her father's defence in something that was private business between Darcy and Elijah, in something that did not involved her even if she was dating her father, then there was nothing to be surprised about.

"I didn't want it to look like I was meddling."

"But you were and it does look like that."

"Darcy," her father called out to her, a slight warning in his tone. "Don't blame Stacey."

"She's involved herself!" Her voice rose, and she had to close her eyes and will herself to calm down before she continued speaking. "I think you're really nice, Stacey. I actually do. And I think you're great for my dad, but you shouldn't have come to meet me at the hotel to get me to forgive my father. Especially without informing him of what you were doing." Darcy glared at them both, her next words spoken in a voice so quiet, small and vulnerable, that they wouldn't have heard her if the house wasn't so silence. "You're not my mother."

Elijah looked like he wanted to say something to jump to the defence of his girlfriend, but the blonde woman reached out to stop him. "No, Elijah. She's right. I'm not her mother and I shouldn't have acted like I was. I didn't like knowing that I had come between a father and daughter. I wanted to make things right but I didn't go about it the right way."

"It wasn't your position to do that."

"I know," she nodded. "I know that now." Stacey stood up and offered her a small smile. "I'll let you two talk."

Darcy's eyes followed Stacey as she walked out of the room before she turned back to face her father. "How long are we going to keep doing this dad?" She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Am I going to wake up tomorrow and find out some other secret of yours that you've been hiding for years?"

Elijah stood up and came to sit down next to her. When she didn't move away, he wrapped an arm her shoulders and pulled her into him. "No more secrets, Darcy. I give you my word. I won't keep something as important as this from you ever again."

"I love you, dad." She exhaled. "And I will forgive you, eventually. I love you too much not to forgive you, but I'm still mad at you and it's going to take me some time to get over it."

"I know, kiddo." He pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so sorry."

She allowed herself to enjoy the warmth and comfort her father's loving embrace always provided before she pulled away. "I'm going to head up to bed."

"Already? It's still early. We could all watch a movie together." He asked, the hope evident in his voice.

"I'm tired." She was. "I need to get into London early tomorrow." She didn't and they both knew it.

They would get past this but for now, they needed time to heal.

-

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Layla Knight

28.04.2020