A Promise Of Ten Lifetimes

Arc 2:19 Laleh Darling

A/N: One chapter till! Thank u sooo much for supporting me and for reading this! Have a good day... or good night! Enjoy XD

When they finished their dinner, the girls ordered dessert. Laleh ordered chocolate ice cream with strawberries while Joanne ordered a piece of apple cake. Their mother ordered vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

While the girls were enjoying their dessert, the men sipped on the black, bitter coffee. Mr. Darling intensely stared at his daughters' boyfriend as he busily drank the coffee. He couldn't help but thinking back to when both Laleh and Joanne were kids. The day they were born were the happiest moment in his whole life, except the day when he married his wife. He remembered how he felt when he held their small bodies. He was so afraid that he would hurt them therefore he was extra gentle and careful when he held them. He watched them growing up, and he couldn't help but feel like they grow up to fast. It felt like it was only yesterday when his lovely daughters would run into his bedroom and jumping on the bed while giggling, "Daddy! Daddy! Mommy said to wake you up!"

"We have a major problem!" Mr. Darling snapped out of his thoughts when Hudson urgently spoke. "What is it?", Mr. Darling stated and met Hudson's slightly panicked expression. Hudson briefly glanced at Zachary's dark expression and quickly said, "Diamond country is under attack".

*

One of Country Diamond's cities was bombed by Country Gold. The city which was bombed was called Dia, and several important figures lived there. Country Gold's motive was clear as the night. Fortunately, there were only a few who were injured since Country Gold's target was on a certain place.

"I didn't know dad was the one who designed the jets", Laleh said as she looked at Zachary. In fact, Laleh's dad was the designer of the jets, including Zachary's jet, until he quit half a year ago. Mr. Darling wanted to spend the rest of his life comfortably with his wife, without thinking too much about how to improve the jet.

When they heard that a city in their motherland had been bombed, Mr. Darling had no choice but to return to work. Although, Country Diamond had the best military weapons and vehicles such as jets and marine equipment, Mr. Darling knew he could upgrade them even more.

"Neither did I", Zachary answered and tapped something on his X-watch. Nobody didn't really know much about the designer, Mr. Darling, since he didn't attend the events. He guessed Mr. Darling wanted to keep a low profile about his job.

"You finally cut your hair", Laleh stated as she watched the little black material crept onto his body. "New uniform?" She asked him and stepped closer to him. Zachary lovingly gazed at her. "Yeah, a certain girl said that I look like a homeless man with my long hair", Laleh smiled as he continued, "All of uniforms of each section got upgraded". She placed her hand on his chest, feeling the hard material. "You know I was just teasing you about your long hair?" She pecked him on the lips and stared at him with mischievous gaze. Zachary smirked and caressed her cheek.

"I'll miss you", he nuzzled his face on her delicate neck. Laleh sighed and hugged the big baby. "You will not because I'll come with you". When Zachary heard her reply, he immediately stopped hugging her. He cupped her small face, looking seriously at her. "Who said you will come?"

"Me".

"No, you're not. You better stay at home where it's safe", he crossed his arms. His brows were furrowed and his eyes showed worriness. "I'll come with you whether you like it or not". Laleh wouldn't back down. She stared back at him and bit her lip.

Zachary ran a hand through his dark hair. Turning around, his back was facing her. Laleh closed her eyes for a second before reopening them. She put her hand on his broad shoulder. "Zach, listen", she said and made him turn around, facing her now. She stared into his sparkling, green eyes. "Country Diamond needs every pilot no matter. I know I'm a new beginner but I've been trained like crazy by you for the past years. I've put my own sweats and blood into becoming a pilot and every other pilot is going to war. Wouldn't it become very suspicious if I were the only one who wasn't mobilized?"