"I... uh..."

Leah found herself completely lost for words as she took in the strange scene before her. She could barely wrap her mind around the emotional conversation which had just taken place with Molly – any attempt to comprehend why Tristan had just shown up unannounced on her doorstep, then, was completely beyond her current capabilities.

"Tristan – what are you doing here?"

"It was their idea," he explained, gesturing towards Cameron and Rosie, who both looked extremely pleased with themselves. "They said they were sick of me 'moping around the house', and told me if I wanted to come and apologise, I should just 'stop being a baby and do it'. They also recommended cake – apparently cake always helps."

"Apologise?" echoed Leah incredulously. "What for?"

Tristan scrunched up his nose in confusion, in the familiar, adorable way that had melted Leah's heart so many times during the two months they'd known each other. All at once she found the dormant flock of butterflies in her stomach stretch their wings once more, despite her mind firmly advising them against it.

"You know - about last Saturday," said Tristan slowly, as if Leah should know exactly what he was talking about. Leah, however, was still at a complete loss.

"Come on, Leah – I know I messed up, so don't worry about hurting my feelings. It was too much – I know that now. I was too forward, and I'm sorry. I've been wanting to apologise ever since, but you wouldn't answer my calls, and then you didn't show up for training on Wednesday..."

"Oh, God," was all Leah could manage.

She should have known things were too good to be true. After finally reaching a happier place with Molly, Leah was now to be faced with this intensely uncomfortable conversation with Tristan.

"Mum – who is it?" called Molly suddenly from the living room, causing Leah to realise that they were still grouped awkwardly in the doorway. Moments later came the realisation that Leah probably still looked like a snivelling, snotty mess from her emotional outburst earlier.

"Oh, God," she repeated, horrified.

Moments later, Leah's worst fears were realised, as Molly wandered into the hall to see for herself who was at the door, flicking on the light as she did so. Bathed suddenly in the uncomfortable glow, Leah winced as Tristan slowly took in her dishevelled appearance.

"Leah – are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

"You'd better come in," she replied grimly, well aware that any possibility of retaining some small shred of dignity was well and truly gone.

Leah felt like pinching herself as Tristan, Cameron and Rosie all shuffled into her living room, filling the usually-empty space with a comfortable warmth.

"Cool – you brought food!" exclaimed Molly, eyeing the cake eagerly.

"Yeah, well – we thought it would be a good accompaniment for some last-minute Korean theory practice, ready for the grading on Sunday," explained Tristan.

Molly's face instantly fell.

"Uh – did I say something wrong?" asked Tristan, having clearly picked up on the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

Leah rubbed her temple wearily. After the emotional rollercoaster she'd embarked on this past week, she found that, all of a sudden, she'd finally reached the end of her tether, unable to even begin to explain to Tristan all that had gone on.

Molly, however, seemed to have no such difficulty.

"We're not grading," she said simply. "I'm banned from Tae Kwon Do – because I had a fight with a girl in school."

Tristan glanced uncertainly at Leah as if for clarification, but all she could manage was a half-hearted nod.

"What did you fight about?" inquired Tristan gently, deciding to address Molly instead.

Once again Leah felt a pair of eyes trained upon hers; this time those of her daughter, as Molly silently communicated her reluctance to speak about what had just passed between them in front of Tristan and his kids.

"Molly, why don't you take Cameron and Rosie upstairs to play in your bedroom?" suggested Leah. "Tristan and I are just going to have a chat for five minutes – then how about we all come downstairs for some of that cake and Korean theory practice?"

It took a moment or two for Leah's meaning to sink in – but once Molly comprehended, her smile lit up the entire room. Observing her daughter's obvious elation as she bounded upstairs with Cameron and Rosie, Leah knew that she had done the right thing. Leah and Molly had both been punished enough by Neil's actions; taking away the only thing that made Molly happy was just about the stupidest thing Leah could have done. At least she'd learnt the error in her ways – now, finally, maybe they could both move forward, trading the anger and heartache they'd become so accustomed to for love, and hope.

Things with Molly were finally moving forward – but Leah had never felt more uncertain about things with the man standing face-to-face with her in the living room right now.

"I, uh – I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls," muttered Leah awkwardly, perching on a sofa as Tristan did likewise across the room. "It's just been a pretty horrible week – Molly got suspended after the fight, and she's barely talked to me until tonight..."

"That must have been horrible for you," murmured Tristan softly. "But why didn't you tell me, Leah? We could have talked about it – you didn't have to go through this alone."

Leah bit her lip anxiously, wondering how best to voice her thoughts.

"It just felt – weird," she sighed lamely. "After, you know..."

A brief pause ensued, during which Leah found herself dearly wishing the ground would swallow her up.

"It has something to do with Neil, doesn't it? Molly's fight; what happened on Saturday..."

Leah cursed at how quickly Tristan had worked it out.

"You're right," she admitted with a sigh. "I knew from the moment I dropped her off at school last Friday that it wasn't right, and spent pretty much the entire weekend worrying.

"Then, when I got that call from the school on Monday – it was all my nightmares coming true at once. I'd finally begun to hope I was getting my daughter back – but after one weekend with Neil, she became that bitter, broken girl again. It felt like I was right back at square one."

"But now things are okay?"

"I wouldn't go as far as saying that. Molly has unfortunately discovered that her father isn't the man she'd always hoped he was. I never wanted her to come to this realisation – I wanted to preserve her naivety as long as possible – but from a selfish point of view, I'm glad I don't have to pretend anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this?" questioned Tristan, attempting to capture Leah's gaze. "I could have helped. You don't have to be alone, Leah; I want to be there for you."

This was it, realised Leah with a slow, deep breath. She'd been granted an extra few days to avoid it, but now the time for having this conversation with Tristan was here.

"It means a lot to hear that, Tristan," said Leah gently, veins flooding with some calm confidence which empowered her beyond anything she'd ever felt before. "But if this is going to work, you need to let me be there for you too."

A brief flicker of fear appeared in Tristan's eyes, betraying the fact that he knew all-too-well what Leah was talking about.

"I – I don't know what you..."

Leah sighed heavily.

"Come on, Tristan. I can't do this anymore."

Tristan's eyes spoke of hurt and betrayal, and it killed Leah to be responsible for causing his pain. She hated having to do this, but it was necessary – if they were ever to enter into a relationship, Tristan had to open up. Leah had been waiting long enough – it was time to stop pretending.

"I see it in your eyes, sometimes," continued Leah, once it became clear that Tristan wouldn't, or couldn't speak. "I see the pain, and suffering – I know it's there, because I've seen it looking back at me out of my own eyes, too. I admire you so much for carrying this burden, Tristan – really, I do – but it really can't be good for you. I can't tell you how amazing it felt to have you listen to my problems that night at Parents' Evening. It gave me such an incredible sense of release; and more than anything, it gave me hope.

"I want to give you hope, Tristan. I want to give you love, and support, and a shoulder to cry on. But I can't do that if you won't let me in. Please, Tristan – I want to make this work. Please, let me know you."

Leah's heart pumped frantically in the painful silence that followed this speech. With each passing second her fear mounted, as Tristan remained dumbstruck, not even attempting to form a reply. Leah certainly didn't regret speaking those words – they'd needed to be said for a long time – but that did nothing to lessen her fear. She'd given him an ultimatum, plain and simple. What happened next would determine the entire course of her relationship; a prospect which could not be taken lightly.

Just as Leah was about to give up hope, Tristan finally spoke.

"I've spent the past few years making it as difficult as possible for people to get to know me," he muttered hoarsely, his voice so quiet the words were in danger of disappearing into nothingness. Leah leaned forwards eagerly, desperate to hear what she had been waiting for so long.

"It's the only way I can – it's the only way to keep myself sane," he continued, speaking as though he were oblivious to Leah's presence in the room. "If I don't let anyone in, no one can ask me the difficult questions – that way I can pretend that life continues as normal.

"Everything I do is for their sakes – Cameron and Rosie. They've been through so much – too much – and I just want to protect them from suffering again. They need me to be there; to be strong for them. Attempting to keep things as normal as possible is the only way I can prevent their world from crumbling entirely, and I'll be damned if I don't make sure I strive to do that with every fibre of my being.

"But then you came along, Leah. You appeared in our lives all of a sudden, and just like that, everything changed – those carefully constructed walls I'd been hiding behind came crashing down the moment we became friends. I didn't know it at the time; in my head everything was fine, because I'd never let myself get into a situation where I'd have to open up to you. As far as I was concerned, my façade was impenetrable."

Tristan laughed; a hollow sound devoid of any humour.

"How stupid I was. You, Leah – you saw right through me straight away. I saw it in your eyes that night at the school; the sympathy for a broken man. It was the look I'd been hiding from all these years, and it terrified me to see it there on your face.

"Ever since, I've reverted back to my default mode of trying to pretend nothing had happened; kidding myself that we could continue as normal and everything would be fine. I am so sorry for that, Leah – and I want you to know that I completely understand why you left the way you did on Saturday. You deserve a real relationship, with honesty, and openness."

At this point Leah opened her mouth to reply, but Tristan had already ploughed on.

"Watching you drive away from the restaurant – it was like a slap in the face. Everything suddenly became clear to me, knowing as I did in that moment that I'd lost you. I'd lost you, because I'd been too scared to quit with this pitiful, empty existence I call my life; too scared to let you in. And far too late, I realised something: it wasn't worth it. It certainly wasn't worth losing you for.

"So I'm done with the pretending, and the hiding. More than anything, I've learnt that I want to start living again. You taught me that – it was with you that I realised I felt properly alive for the first time in years. I want to live with you, Leah, and love you. And – and I know that I've messed up, but – I want to let you know me. If you'll have me."

Leah wasn't sure when she'd decided to get up and cross the room; she hadn't been aware of herself moving. Now, though, she found herself nestled in Tristan's warm embrace, feeling the most comfortable and relaxed she could ever remember. Being in Tristan's arms felt right; completely natural, in a way it had never been with Neil. And in that moment, with her head resting against the gentle rise and fall of Tristan's chest, Leah realised it had been more than worth the wait to get to where they were right now. He was worth the wait, and Leah knew she would do it all again in a heartbeat.

"Of course I'll have you," she murmured softly.

Throughout her relationship with Neil, Leah had approached things very cautiously; calculating each action she ever made. Now, though, entwined in Tristan's arms as she'd wished for several times these past weeks, Leah suddenly found herself giving way to instinct entirely. In a bold move she'd never have dreamed of attempting once upon a time, Leah found herself closing her eyes and pressing her lips to Tristan's.

The unexpected move clearly took him by surprise; but within seconds, Leah found Tristan returning her kiss eagerly. And in that one moment of unconstrained passion, Leah felt the most incredible sense of release and empowerment. This, right now, was who she was meant to be – after spending her entire life wandering as a lost sheep, Leah had finally found herself, despite all Neil had done to try and deter her. He was in the past, though - now Leah had found a person she could be herself with; someone who would support her in everything she hoped to achieve.

She was free.