Lyra waited until her mom was fully asleep before she quietly sneaked out of her brother’s place to go to Torin’s place. She quickly pressed his doorbell.
Torin opened it with a smile but Lyra just made a dash to her room and almost tripped over. She gathered some of her clothes hurriedly and put them inside a paper bag. Thank goodness all of her shoes were safely tucked inside her room, and not on Torin’s shoe rack or else she would have been busted by her mom.
"Why don’t you just tell mom about us?" Torin asked. He was now following her back to Zach’s place. Lyra twitched her mouth and turned around to face him. "You tell her then..." she said with rounded eyes which made Torin laugh.
"Alright I’ll tell her tomorrow, so don’t worry about it. Let your man handle everything," he said full of confidence while Lyra rolled her eyes.
She tried to bring up the subject to her mom earlier, but she ended up not being able to do it because the moment she was about to talk, her mom suddenly cried to her because there was still no news on her brother and sister-in-law. Her mom was so worried not knowing for sure if they were still alive, or if they were safe, comfortable and eating well.
Lyra exhaled before she said, "I don’t think this is a good time to bring this up, considering the situation that our family is facing now. I mean, let’s just wait for a while, okay? We are not in such a hurry and besides it’s not like I’m pregnant or anything that we need to get married and tell them everything ASAP."
Torin’s lips curved downwards. ’But I want to get married soon!’ He complained silently.
But he understood, so he just pulled Lyra in for one torrid kiss before he let her go and said, "Alright... Goodnight and dream of me..."
Lyra chuckled and gently hit his chest before she ran back to her brother’s place. She was startled to see her mom standing by the door, readying herself to go out when she opened the door.
"Where were you?" Sheila asked with furrowed eyebrows, then her eyes went down to the paper bags that Lyra held.
Lyra got tongue-tied but immediately responded after a quick thought, "Oh, I picked up the clothes that I left in the nearby laundromat, mom. I remembered about it just before I went to bed. You were already asleep, so I did not wake you up to tell you that I was going out."
"At this hour?" Sheila asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew her daughter well, and she could tell Lyra was lying.
"I’ll go inside the room now, mom." Lyra said as she quickly passed by her mom.
"Do they wash leather shoes at this laundromat too? Lyra Lim! Stop right there and sit on that chair," Sheila instructed in an authoritative voice, letting her daughter know that she was in trouble.
’Oh shoot!’ Lyra mused as she sat at the dining chair with her head bowed. There was no way she could get away anymore.
"Listen, Lyra, I’m not one of your clients, so don’t you dare lie to me! There is no way you would go to a laundromat to wash your clothes when there’s a perfectly working washing machine here, at your brother’s place," scolded her mom. Lyra tilted her head as she looked at her mom apologetically and said, "I’m sorry, mom... I actually wanted to tell you all about it, but I just don’t think now is a good time..:"
"Regardless of it’s a good time or not, lying to your mom’s face is entirely unacceptable! Tell me everything that is going on!" demanded Sheila. She was not pleased with how her daughter was behaving at all, and she must have her reprimanded.
Lyra scratched her head as she told the whole truth to her mom.
......
Zach and Keira had a serious talk about their plans once they were back home.
"Dad told me that you could still continue your career at the military if you still want it. He said he will train you for his position, so there’s no need for you to be dispatched on a mission anymore. Most officers had also agreed that you are the best candidate to be his successor," explained Keira.
They had just finished their lovemaking and were now lying comfortably naked under the comforter, with Keira resting her head on Zach’s chest while Zach was stroking her hair gently.
"Hmm, I’m not sure, Keira. I already decided that I will quit the military and focus on the ranch when we go back. I want to build a stable business. A business of my own that would take my sweat, determination, and hard work to grow. I love being a soldier and serving our country, but your father’s position is of great significance. The responsibility is huge. And at the moment, I’m not ready for it. Right now, I just want to focus on you and our future children." Zach said.
Then he added, "Trying out the business world is really a dream for me. When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. But my family’s situation back then was not favorable, so I couldn’t afford to have that kind of dream. And then I saw your father on the news, and all the great deeds he had done for the country... He inspired me, and joining the military was fairly easy. No fancy requirements were needed. So I decided to become a soldier. But now that I have you, I don’t want to put my life on the line anymore. Because I don’t want to make you worried. That’s the last thing that I would ever want."
"Thank you..." Keira whispered as she raised her head to give Zach an endearing smile and a sweet kiss.
"For what?" asked Zach.
"Hmmm, for considering my feelings about your life being in danger. Thank you for thinking ahead and having great plans for our family," she continued as she hugged him tightly.
Zach hugged her back and kissed her head. Keira and their future family would always be his priority above all.