Chapter 8: Thorn

Keira was tired as hell. Her whole body was aching. "Aww, be careful, please... Gentler, Mom..." she murmured as she tried to hide the pain, while her mother put patches on her back. "Just quit this stubbornness and go study abroad. I’ve heard that Ravensdown University is the number one worldwide for medicine and law. You should get an application and take an exam there instead." Her mother suggested. Mrs. Chan wanted Keira to become a doctor or a lawyer, but even if she didn’t want to take on these professions, she would support her in whatever Keira wanted or liked to pursue. But going to the Military School and watching how her baby had a hard time like that, preparing for the admission test, made her feel irritated. "See that? You just did simple exercises, and your body is aching all over. You’re still young. Having a crush or getting infatuated with someone is not bad, as it’s normal for girls at your age, but going to such an extent and putting yourself in pain like this is. Is it worth it?" Her mother continued nagging in an annoyed voice. Keira burst in laughter as she spoke, "Mom, like the mother, like daughter... Dad often brags about how you have chased him before. Well, what can I do? I inherited these traits from you." Mrs. Chan’s face reddened in embarrassment. Although it was true, she still hated the fact that her husband kept on telling all those stories to Keira, over and over again. "I did chase your father, but not like what you are doing. You’re extending a little further than you should, while what I did during that time was sending him a few letters." Mrs. Chan replied. Keira turned around and looked closely at her mother, and said with a teasing tone, "LOVE letters! You practically wooed him through letters..." "At least, I did not get an aching body like you. Because of infatuation, you got your back patched up; it looks like a quilt now." Mrs. Chan mocked as she looked at Keira’s shoulders with patches. "Mom, I’m not sure if it’s just infatuation or a crush, because I still don’t know Gen. Zach personally. However, this is the first time I have felt something like this towards a man. So, I believe, there’s no harm in trying and seeing what happens further. I cannot back out now, and I want to know where this feeling will lead me." Keira explained to her with pouted lips. Then, Mrs. Chan saw her daughter’s gaze shifting towards the ceiling. With dreamy eyes, Keira recalled the feeling she had, the moment she saw the handsome general, and she murmured, "I feel like it’s love at first sight..." Mrs. Chan twitched her mouth as she looked at her daughter, who seemed to be daydreaming. She poked Keira at her side several times, while the latter giggled. "Mom, stop it... ouch... my body... hurts. Mooom", she said, stuttering while laughing. Mrs. Chan did not stop and said, "No, I won’t. It’s your punishment for believing in love at first sight! It’s not ’love’, but just a ’CRUSH’... It’s an infatuation at first sight!" She said with pursed lips. She just continued poking Keira’s side till tears welled up in her eyes, because of too much laughter. Afterward, Mrs. Chan stopped, as her face became serious. She had heard a lot of good things about Zach. Her husband admired that soldier so much, he would often tell her how great and talented in many aspects that soldier was. Of course, they knew that Zach came from a poor family background. Not that it mattered, because their family had never looked down on others when it came to status... For her, what mattered the most was that Keira should not get hurt in that game of love and infatuation. But she knew, getting hurt was just a part and parcel of growing up through life, which could have helped one to get better and learn further to be strong. Keira was just 18 years old and would turn 19 that year. She was not a child anymore, so after careful thought on what her husband had said before, maybe it was the right time she experience a few bitter and hard things in life, which would help her grow. But she really couldn’t picture her daughter going hard training in the Military School... "I still hope you fail that admission test..." her mother murmured, with arched eyebrows as she stared at her. Keira made a face with stia cking out tongue to her mom, then winked and said, "Sorry, Mom, but I will pass that admission test, no matter what..." "General Jeru, welcome back, Sir!" every soldier greeted, seeing him walk in the hallway. He was on an assignment for a month, to represent their country at an important conference in Country X. "Buddy, long time no see. You missed the ceremony, and Zach got all the limelight that day." Janus teased him. "By the way, Field Marshal’s daughter is really beautiful... I mean, she’s also hot and..." Janus continued talking, but was interrupted by Jeru. "Let’s talk about that later ." He said simply as he continued walking towards the office of the Field Marshal to report. He had heard the news that Zach was promoted to the same rank as him. His eyebrows arched; he was sure it was the Field Marshal, who had backed Zach up. Only someone as powerful as Field Marshal could have done it despite his efforts to control and manipulate the other high-ranked officers, to hold off Zach’s promotion. He was just out for a month, and this thing had happened. Zach was a thorn on his path... a thorn in his whole life...