Samantha pulled her car into the driveway of Darren’s modest house just after nine in the morning. The sun was already warm on the pavement. She sat for a moment with her hands still on the wheel, gathering herself, then stepped out and walked up to the front door.

Darren opened it before she could knock. He looked tired, the way he always did in the mornings, but his eyes softened when he saw her.

“Hey,” he said. “Everything okay?”

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “I’m going to see my dad today. I’m going to tell him about us.”

Darren’s expression shifted. He ran a hand through his hair. “Sam…”

“I know what you’re going to say.” She kept her voice steady even though her stomach felt tight. “He’s going to have a problem with it. With you. With the things that happened before. But I love you. And I think… I think I can help you be better. I want him to see that.”

Darren didn’t answer right away. He just looked at her for a long second, then reached for her hand.

“Come here,” he said quietly.

He led her down the short hallway into the bedroom. The curtains were still half-drawn, casting soft light across the unmade bed. He sat on the edge of it and gently pulled her down beside him. When she leaned against him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

“You’re scared,” he murmured into her hair.

“A little,” she admitted. “I don’t want him to hate you. I don’t want him to try to talk me out of this.”

Darren’s hand moved slowly up and down her back. “Whatever he says, it doesn’t change how I feel about you. You know that, right?”

She nodded against his chest. For a while they just sat like that. He didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep, and he didn’t pretend the conversation with her father would be easy. He simply held her, steady and quiet, until some of the tension left her shoulders.

Eventually Samantha drew a slow breath and sat up. She smoothed the front of her dress, then stood and walked over to the small mirror on the dresser. She fixed a strand of hair that had come loose, checked her lipstick, and straightened the collar of her dress with careful fingers.

When she turned back, Darren was still sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her.

“I’ll come back after,” she said. “I’ll tell you how it went.”

He nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Samantha crossed the room, leaned down, and kissed him once-soft, lingering. Then she left the bedroom, walked through the quiet house, and stepped back out into the bright morning light.