in the hands of fate (a love by chance, tincan, story)

chapter 11: finally i've found that i belong

A/N: Today's the day...season 2 arrives! 💛💛💛💛💛💛

The following day Tin couriered over Can's paperwork to his lawyers with instructions to find any loopholes but not before taking a copy for safekeeping. After morning classes, he took himself to the library and read through the document himself, fingers running absentmindedly over Can's legal name on the front, glaring at the name Lhew Panya as if by doing so the girl would spontaneously combust, wherever she might be.

Can was right, the Panyas were a wealthy family, relatively speaking. Their money came from a chain of car dealerships. Nowhere near Medthanan rich but compared to Can's family, yes, they were loaded. Tin could easily ruin the whole Panya family with a couple of phone calls. What stopped him was knowing what Can would say if he acted. He never wanted to hear Can calling a 'piece of shit asshole' like he used to ever again.

As for the eldest Panya daughter, Can was rightfully angry about his treatment at her hands. Tin was angry for him and for Ren. No, angry didn't cover it. He was furious. What kind of a person abandoned their own child like that? Even his own mother, while completely disinterested in him, acknowledged him as her son. What kind of person stalked someone and took advantage of them when they were drunk? Lhew Panya sounded like a total narcissist and as such undeserving of any more of his time fantasising about how he'd like to bring her down.

At the end of classes Tin asked Pete if he could help Can with Ren at practice and headed for the the coffee shop to meet Nat again. He'd met her the other day at her request whereby she'd asked him for his help finding a job for her boyfriend's mother. She said her cousin had found out about them and was threatening to tell her father. Tin had promised to try and help. Now he had an idea.

"Tin, thank you so much for coming," Nat said when Tin arrived and sat opposite her at the table, having ordered on the way in. "This is Max's mother, Ani."

Tin offered an appropriate greeting. Ani did not look old enough to be the mother of a twenty-year-old, she had a warmth to her despite her clear nerves at finding herself in the situation she was now in.

The three exchanged pleasantries until Tin's coffee arrived and the server had left. "I might be able to help you. It's contingent on a few things. Firstly, how do you feel about children, specifically babies?"

Ani smiled widely. "I have four of my own. I would have had more but my husband had reached his limit. My oldest is Max who is twenty, I have an eighteen-year-old boy and twin daughters who are sixteen. They're all independent of me now. I miss them being small and full of curiosity rather than rebellion." She paused, perhaps thinking she had gone off topic slightly because she came back with, "As for babies, I coped with twins and two others under five and survived. I was quite stressed with my first but by the time the twins came I had found my rhythm and I loved every minute. I'm now looking forward to being a grandparent one day." She shot a fond glance at Nat as she spoke.

"The role I have in mind would involve caring for a baby amongst other things. When I was an infant, I had two nannies and they were the only constants in my life. I want someone who will stick around for a while."

"I don't have any childcare qualifications."

"I'm not looking for qualifications, I'm looking for someone who feels right," Tin clarified. "The baby's father would need to meet you first, obviously." Tin then went on to explain the other duties involved. He had a good feeling about Ani. All he had to do now was to get Can to agree to his plan. That was the part he was most nervous about.

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The following day Tin invited Can to his house after classes but not before he arranged for Jet to be present so that she could mind Ren. He needed to talk to Can uninterrupted.