A Promise Of Ten Lifetimes

Arc 2:16 Laleh Darling

The room was drop silent. Sweats slowly formed itselves on Zachary's forehead. He nervously looked at Laleh, waiting for her answer. He had never felt so nervous like this in his whole life. His ears turned slightly red and it felt like his body was on fire.

Laleh found it amusing when she saw how nervous Zachary was. This was the first time he had shown such nervosity to her. She noticed his slightly red ears and the corners of her mouth arched upward.

Plum was in the background with the other employees. He rubbed his hands and grinned. When Laleh didn't say anything for a moment, his grin disappeared. "Well, say yes!", Plum broke the silence, impatient.

Laleh just raised her brow to him while Zachary cheered him on inside. He mentally gave Plum two thumbs up.

Laleh warmly looked at Zachary as he nervously smiled. She took a step towards him. His deep green eyes met hers as she smiled back. "I think you know the answer", she whispered as she stared into his eyes. He couldn't help but dipping his head forward, placing his big hands on her waist and gently kissing her pouty lips.

She could her claps emerging around them. She smiled into the kiss and so did he. "Finally", kissing, "you're", kissing, "mine", he continued to smash his thin lips against hers. Her lips were so soft and warm. She tasted so sweet and he bet he could eat her all the time. He could never get tired of her. Never.

"Ahem!" Plum faked cough, making Laleh withdrawing from the gentle kiss. Zachary groaned and glared at Plum. He took back his two thumbs. "I know that you are young and all that but this is a public place maybe... you should find a place to continue-", before Plum could finish the sentence, Laleh stopped him, "Oh! Look at the time. I think we must go back!" Her cheeks were mixed of pink and red. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide under a shell and never come out of it.

How could she forget that they had an audience?!

Zachary chuckled and he couldn't care less about the audience. He stared at her freckles and touched her warm cheek, only to earn a glare from her. He guessed she didn't like to be embarrassed, but he loved to tease her.

"Zachy!" Laleh lowly scolded him and this only made him chuckle more. They bid goodbye to everyone and Laleh immediately fled to the car with an amusing Zachary trailing behind her.

The time flew as Laleh and Zachary's relationship grew stronger. They had many arguments about small and big stuff but always made up in the end. About five months into their relationship Zachary's family invited her to dinner. Everyone in the Lahey family was present. They were excited about getting to know their precious Zachary's girlfriend. Every Lahey was looking forwards to meet her except a certain Lahey. Her name was Monica and she was the cousin of Zachary Lahey. Zachary and Monica were close when they were little but he kept his distance during the past months. She never understood why their close relationship suddenly fell apart, and she failed to understand why Zachary despised her.

Zachary found out that his close cousin, Monica, knew all along what Penelope was up too. She knew that Penelope two-timed. She knew and didn't say a pip about it to him. He thought she had her reasons, that there was something preventing her from telling him the truth. Oh boy, he was so wrong. Monica was on Penelope side the whole time. She was her best friend and failed to see what type of person Penelope was.

Zachary Lahey didn't know how to react. He was extremely disappointed in her. In his mind the image of Monica was that she was innocent and kind, but he never thought that he would discover the truth in a cruel way.

Two months into his relationship with Laleh, he accidentally overheard Monica and Penelope talking over the phone in her room. The door was slightly open. He was about to knock and tell her that it was time for dinner, but he never expected to hear all their plans and schemes about breaking Laleh and him apart. Zachary confronted her about it and she denied. She screamed and yelled at him that Laleh was changing him in a bad way. From that day on he gave her the cold shoulder and ignored her like she was a piece of poop.

Monica Lahey was angry. She put all the blame on Laleh. It was that sl*t's fault that her cousin avoided her like a plague. It was her fault that Zachary was treating her badly. She began to hate Laleh so much and it didn't help when Penelope added extra fire to her hate.

Everyone sat down in the dining hall. Laleh wore a simple red dress and styled her hair into a messy bun while Zachary wore a simple white shirt with suit pants. Actually, he wanted to wear one of his uniforms but Laleh wouldn't allow him to. Like an obedient boyfriend he was, he gladly obeyed her. He had never felt like this about anyone before. The feeling of something warm inside him whenever he saw her. The feeling of being drunk every time he touched her. He loved her smile, her nose, her kissable mouth, her hair, her beautiful eyes and at last he loved her personality even when she was lazy. He laughed at the thought of when Laleh made him stand up from the bed and walk to the kitchen just to get a chocolate plate for her because she was too lazy.

Everyone exchanged greetings and Zachary's parents kept on talking to Laleh. Zachary felt jealous immediately and tried to get Laleh's attention, but the girl wouldn't cooperate with him. She was simply too busy for him. Fifteen minutes into the dinner, an unexpected guest came into the dining hall and made herself known. Of course, everyone was surprised except Monica. They didn't expect Zachary's ex joining them for dinner. At last it proved that Penelope was Monica's guest and the Laheys couldn't just throw her out. That would be extremely insulting to her father whom was the former vice leader of Pilot section. The most shocked ones was Zachary and Laleh. He couldn't lash out his anger in front of his respectable family therefore he had to restrain himself. His grip on the knife and fork were bone hard.

During the dinner, Monica and Penelope used all methods to embarrass and make a fool out of Laleh. They asked her personal questions such as if she ever had plastic surgery or if she had any tips about how to catch a wealthy man. They asked her about her daily life and twisted her words, making her seem like she was unworthy of Zachary. At last Laleh couldn't take it anymore when they mentioned her twin sister. Monica and Penelope insulted Joanne Darling and told the Laheys about her fooling around with a teacher. They didn't mention the name of the teacher but it was clear that they meant Hudson Steinfeld. Laleh could take it if they were insulting her but they crossed the line when they dragged her innocent sister in.

Laleh abruptly stood up and gave Monica and Penelope a piece of mind, not caring about the others or what they would think of her afterwards. She used all cruel words and insulted them back. Afterwards, she left behind two angry fools and the Laheys. She admitted that she had a bad temper when someone she cared about was insulted right in front of her. She had grown to love Joanne and she cared about Hudson. She wouldn't let those fools to ruin their image, especially not in front of one of the most respectable family in country Diamond. Zachary gave Monica and Penelope a killing glare before he said, "I'll remember this!"

Zachary chased after Laleh and stopped her when they were outside of the Lahey mansion. He turned her around and tightly hugged her. He could feel her heart beating fast. Laleh pushed him away. He stumbled back a bit and stared at his upset and angry girlfriend. "Darling...", he whispered. She glared at him, "Don't darling me!" She turned around and was about to take a step forward when he took a few large steps and stood in front of her.

"Listen-", he spoke but Laleh interrupted him, "No you listen here! I took all the shit from your ex and cousin. I had to stand up for myself and don't you dare lecture me about my behavior in front of your family!"

He smiled lovingly at her. "Listen kitten. I was about to say good job. You did amazing in there", he praised her and continued, "and to my defence I was about to give them a piece of mind but you did it instead and stormed out of the room." Laleh didn't say anything and kept on looking at him. She saw an evil smile form on his face. "Don't worry darling. I will give them an eye for an eye", he said softly and caressed her cheek. She couldn't help but lean into his touch. "I hope you don't disappoint me", she looked into his mesmerizing green eyes. "Believe in me", was all he said and then drove her back to the dorm.