"My son…" Sheila murmured while she hugged her son tightly. She was overwhelmed with happiness and sobbed as soon as she saw him. Her precious son was looking so blissful and radiant right now.
Zach was holding back his tears as he felt his mother"s tears on his s.h.i.+rt.
"I"m so proud of you, Zach. I proudly declare myself as the best mom in the world for having such a great son like you… Happy birthday, my precious son…" Sheila said as she gently released Zach from her embrace to kiss his cheeks.
"I bet this will be the most memorable birthday to you because you will celebrate it with your other half… and soon with your own children. I"m so happy to see you in good hands. I"m so grateful to G.o.d for blessing you with a wife who is one of a kind, who loves you for who you are, and with her supportive parents who treat you like their own son. I really can"t ask for more. But if I could ask for one more wish, it is for you to always take good care of yourself. So you could be healthy and strong for your little but growing family."
Sheila touched her son"s face and gently caressed it, "You"ve grown up to be such a fine young man… I"m really proud of you. I love you, son."
Zach, who had been trying to hold back his tears, finally let them out and hugged his mom tightly. He stammered, "I love you too, mom. You are the best parent to us all… Not only were you our mom, but you took on the role of a father too. I could only be where I am right now because I have you as my mom. Thank you so much, mom."
Sheila gently patted her son"s back and let him release his emotions for a while before she pulled away from his embrace. She sniffed her nose and wiped her son"s tears as she told him, "Go now to your wife… She has prepared all this for you, and she"s been waiting for a while now..."
Zach nodded. He gave his mom a kiss on her cheek before he quickly ran through the remaining stairs to reach the Meteor Den, where Keira was already waiting for him with a cake on her hands, with some lit candles on it. As soon as she saw Zach, she gracefully sang a birthday song for him.
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday...
Happy birthday...
Happy birthday, My General…
Keira, who was smiling sweetly at Zach, instructed as soon as she finished the song, "Quick, blow out the candles and make a wis.h.!.+"
Zach smiled sweetly back at her and obeyed. He blew out the candles.
"Make a wish," Keira repeated when Zach only stared at her without saying anything.
Zach only shook his head as he continued to smile lovingly at her.
Keira pouted her lips and complained, "Why not? You need to make a wish on your birthday..."
Zach was still staring into her eyes, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and said, "No... I don"t want anything else. There"s nothing more to ask for since I already have you… Everything I have now is more than enough. Having you in my life is much more than enough. You"re every wish that I have saved. You"re my dream come true, Keira. "
Keira was unresponsive as she did not expect those words from him. She was just standing frozen on her spot, still holding the cake on her hands while she stared at him blankly. Zach let out a s.e.xy roguish laugh when he saw the bewildered expression on his wife"s face. He quickly took the cake from Keira"s hand and placed it on a table near them.
Then he pulled Keira on her waist, closer to him, and whispered, "I really thought you forgot my birthday. Thank you so much for this great surprise, my star. It really moved my heart. It was hard to contain my emotions as I heard each of their messages in person... Everything is wonderful. "
He gave Keira a nose to nose kiss and added with a wicked smile, "So Mrs. Lim… Where"s my gift? I"m actually antic.i.p.ating it..."
Keira giggled as she said, "But you"ve gotten them already! The twins! They are my gift for you… Haha, kidding… Yeah, of course, I have a gift for my General. Let me give it to you later after the celebration ends."
Zach showered Keira"s face with little kisses as he said, "Nah… I was just kidding. You"re all I"ve ever wanted. My wife, my star..."
Keira gave him her signature mischievous smile and said, "Was that a hint, my General? Okay, got it, I"ll wrap myself up for you later, but now, let"s go to the function hall and celebrate your birthday with our family and friends. They"re all waiting for us."
Keira grabbed Zach"s hand and was about to walk when Zach pulled her toward him again, and murmured, "Thank you so much for this heartwarming surprise, my star. I love you very much."
Zach gently pressed his lips against Keira"s, giving her the most tender and loving kiss ever...
This was indeed his most memorable birthday. He was really blessed with having a lot of love and warmth around him. From his comrades, friends, family, and most notably, from his wife and his soon to be twins. He couldn"t wait to meet them. He didn"t mind their genders at all, but it would be nice to have a pair of one boy and one girl. Cayden and Stella. His and Keira"s falling stars granted by heaven.
At the function hall, where everyone was waiting for the couple, Torin was busy instructing some of Zach"s soldiers that he had chosen to perform something for their General.
Sheila shook her head as she watched the busybody who would soon be her son-in-law and, therefore, Zach"s brother-in-law.
"We must kill this performance so our General will die from too much joy," cheered Torin.
Cielo interrupted and said, "Geez… Kill the performance, don"t kill the General... But I really admire you… You even thought of such a program?"
Torin laughed and said, "Duh, of course, I meant figuratively. Why would we want to kill our beloved General? And of course, I can think of all kinds of things, Cielo. Anything to impress my future brother-in-law…"
"They"re coming…" A cadet announced as he rushed inside the hall.
"Alright, guys, go get the iron throne ready for our king to sit in! Lights, cue!" Torin instructed, to which Cielo could only laugh.