Leah dug her toes into the soft, warm sand, enjoying the sensation of the foamy waves lapping gently around her ankles. It was usually far too cold to paddle in the sea in Britain – even in July – but recently they'd been blessed with a particularly hot spell of weather.

It was the first day of the kids' summer holiday – so when Tristan had suggested a trip to the beach that morning, Leah instantly agreed, wanting to make the most of it before the heatwave's inevitable end. Bundling deckchairs, towels and a hastily-prepared picnic into the back of Tristan's car, they'd headed straight for the coast, determined to make a day of it – and as Leah her eyes around the now almost-deserted beach, she decided they had well and truly succeeded in that aim. The sun was just beginning to disappear behind the cliffs over to the west, but none of their little group displayed the slightest intention of wanting to leave anytime soon.

Leah's gaze wandered over to where Molly and Cameron where still performing various Tae Kwon Do kicks with great enthusiasm, even after having spent the entire day running around. Molly's technique had come on in leaps and bounds the past couple of months; she had recently become a green belt, much to Cameron's chagrin, who was one belt behind after missing a grading due to his broken nose. Thankfully, though, their rivalry continued to be friendly enough, and so Leah didn't object – it was good for each of them to have something to work for.

Suddenly Molly stopped mid-kick, turning to pout over at where Tristan sat with Rosie on a pair of deckchairs, seemingly attempting to take some action shots of Cameron and Molly while they leapt about.

"Tristan, you're distracting us!" she whined. "You've been taking pictures all day."

Normally Leah would have stepped in to chastise her daughter for addressing Tristan cheekily, but on this occasion she felt confident Tristan would deal with it accordingly.

"It's a parent's job to take as many pictures as possible, ready to embarrass their kids with when they're grown up," explained Tristan, grinning. "That's just how it goes, I'm afraid – then you get to do the same when you have kids."

"Yuck! I'm never having kids!" cried Molly, before returning to practising her kicks.

Leah had been worried about how she and Tristan would go about forming relationships with each other's children; all three had gone through difficult experiences, after all, so the introduction of a new parental figure would be a sensitive matter. To her relief, though, Molly had warmed to Tristan instantly. He never pretended to act like Molly's father, which Leah respected – although privately she felt Tristan would do a far better job than Neil ever did.

As for Leah, she'd only encountered one sticky moment when Rosie had asked if she was her new Mummy now. It was with tears in her eyes that Leah had explained that she was a friend – one who would try her best to look after Rosie in a way that her Mummy would have wanted. By all accounts, Tristan's wife had been a wonderful mother to Cameron and Rosie, and Leah would hate the thought of appearing to replace her.

Besides, her relationship with Tristan was only four months old; it was far too premature to be considering matters like that. For now, they were taking things one step at a time, tentatively getting to know each other as their walls slowly came down – and Leah found it rather refreshing not to be worrying about the future for once.

Beginning to wander absent-mindedly back along the shore, Leah sighed blissfully as the salty sea breeze blew a couple of stray strands of hair across hair face. It was exhilarating to realise how alive she felt; alive, and at peace with herself at long last. After so much anguish, and so much emptiness, Leah could finally say that she was happy with the person she'd become.

If only this moment could last forever...

But this is my 'forever', Leah reminded herself with a smile. Free from the hovering cloud that was the remnant of her marriage to Neil, she could finally move on with her life. He'd announced his plans to move away with his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago, and Leah did not at all feel guilty for the immense relief his words had given her. The only worry had been Molly - but it turned out she, like Leah, was fed up of being let down by Neil, and didn't mind him going. Besides, what she missed out on by his leaving would more than be made up for by Tristan.

They would be okay; Leah and her daughter. For a time, it looked terrifyingly like Leah had lost her forever – but it turned out it was just a bump in the road. There would be plenty more of those – Molly hadn't even reached her teenage years yet – but when future issues did present themselves, Leah knew she would be in a far better position to deal with them this time round.

Leah was no longer existing; she was living. Yes, it was sad that such a perfect day was almost over – but there was so much more to look forward to. There would be many more days out; many more precious moments to be shared. There would be Tristan – adorable, lovable Tristan, and his two amazing children who had stolen Leah's heart.

Most importantly, there would always be Molly – and Leah vowed she would never let a day go by without reminding her daughter just how much she loved her.

By now Leah had reached the deckchairs where Tristan and Rosie sat, and flopped down on the rug next to Molly and Cameron, both of whom had finally exhausted themselves with all their exertion. Gazing around at all her favourite people, Leah truly felt there was no place she'd rather be.

"It's been such a lovely day," she murmured, to nobody in particular.

"Yeah, it's been awesome!" replied Cameron enthusiastically. "Especially when I won at cricket – that was the best bit."

"You did not!" cried Molly indignantly. "You cheated – I caught that ball before it hit the ground, and you know it!"

"Did not! You're just a rubbish loser!"

"Molly did catch it, Cameron," interrupted Rosie suddenly, making Leah smile. Cameron was well and truly outnumbered now; between the pair of them, the girls would probably put him off having a girlfriend until he was about twenty.

As the kids bickered good-naturedly, Leah noticed Tristan's eyes upon her. Turning to face him, she found her stomach fluttering with those familiar butterflies which were ever-present when Tristan looked at her like that. With his clear, blue eyes and lopsided grin, Leah felt as if she might melt into a puddle on the rug there and then.

"I love you, Leah," he said simply, eyes remaining intently upon hers.

Leah felt a rush of warmth spreading through her; Tristan had never spoken those words to her before. They were words which had often wandered into Leah's mind recently, but she'd attempted to quash them, worrying such a bold statement might scare Tristan off.

Until now...

"I love you too," she replied, completely unashamed of the large grin spreading itself across her face. 

"I certainly have a lot to thank Tae Kwon Do for. If I hadn't decided to start, I would never have met you – and I would never have experienced that incredible feeling of constant self-improvement, or the massive boost in confidence training has given me."

"I'll admit that Tae Kwon Do has done a lot of good for you," said Tristan, "but you have to give yourself some credit, too."

Leah blinked, surprised.

"Why? What did I do?"

"Well, you were the one who had the guts to start training," Tristan reminded her, clearly enjoying himself. "I just made an offhand comment – it was you who made the decision to start, really."

"Yes, but..."

"And you're the one who's managed to get not one, but two advanced passes in your gradings so far," continued Tristan, smiling now.

"Oh, stop," muttered Leah bashfully, flapping her hand in an attempt to quieten Tristan. "I'm sure you would have got one last time, too, if you hadn't forgotten the meaning of your pattern."

"Ah, yeah," sighed Tristan regretfully. "There's just so much to learn – I dread to think what it must be like attempting to learn all the theory for the black belt grading!"

As they lapsed into companionable silence – the kids now having settled to playing a game on Molly's tablet – Leah considered everything Tae Kwon Do had taught her so far. Learning the names of all the techniques in Korean was very interesting, as was gaining a better understanding of the way her body worked, and how to generate the most power from it. Of great use, too, was the etiquette and discipline taught in the Tae Kwon Do training hall – they were certainly skills applicable to all aspects of life.

But there was something else; something even more important that Leah felt Tae Kwon Do had given her. In addition to the physical skill, and fitness, and confidence, the martial art had also taught Leah to find an inner strength; to find courage within herself, enabling her to overcome the direst of situations, when all appeared lost. Above all, Tae Kwon Do had taught her this most valuable of lessons: it had given her the power to attack life's obstacles with a truly indomitable spirit.