Be My Strength 297 I came to say bye

When they were waiting for the flight to fly, Quinn noticed that there was no one else in the first class cabin and pointed it out to her mother.

"That's odd," thought Layla. Even the flight attendants were gone.

Just as they were trying to figure out why, an announcement was made,

"Due to some difficulties, the flight would be delayed until further notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused."

"Huh...Odd..." murmured Layla. She told Quinn to stay put and went to look for the flight attendants to find out the reason for the delay. However, just as she was about to leave the first class cabin, she saw an imposing man walking towards her.

He was wearing a mask and dressed in the most ridiculous T-shirt with some anime characters on it but Layla could easily recognize the height and those salt and pepper hair of his.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," said Layla. She was surprised to see him there since she did not mention the departure time in her message.

"I want to say goodbye to her," murmured Lt. General Duanmu. He received a call from DX earlier and even though he was at a meeting with the President, he immediately faked an emergency to get out of it.

"She's inside. Go and talk to her. I'll wait here."

Lt. General Duanmu nodded. Taking off his mask, he walked towards Quinn who was playing a game on her Nintendo Switch. She was so engrossed in the game that she did not notice that he was standing beside her.

When she saw his shadow, she thought it was one of the flight attendants and murmured, "I don't need anything."

She only looked up when she realized that the shadow was still there. In an annoyed voice, she said, "I don't need-"

The moment she saw him, she stopped her words and murmured, "It's you..."

"I came to say bye..."

Quinn bit her lower lips and looked down at her feet.

Worried that he might have upset her, he knelt down so that he could be at her eye level before asking, "What's wrong? Did I say anything wrong?"

She shook her head, "I thought I won't be able to see you again."

He smiled, "Do you want a hug?"

She reached over and when he carried her up, she started crying, "I'm going to miss you the most..."

"I'm sorry..."

Shaking her head, she said, "D Lt. General Duanmu did nothing wrong...".

He sighed regretfully. As he walked around with her in the first class cabin, he murmured, "No, I made a mistake...When did you find out?"

She leaned her head against her father's chest and replied, "From the moment we first met..."

"You are a smart little girl. I feel so honored to be your father!"

"Can... Can I call you Dad?" asked Quinn. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as she waited for his answer.

Lt. General Duanmu felt uncomfortable. He wanted her to grow up without a care in the world and she could only do so if she was a normal girl.

When he did not reply, Quinn sighed, "It's alright. I understand."

Afraid that she might misunderstand him, he shook his head and said, "No, it's not alright. Quinn... You can call me Dad if you want... And you know what? I've actually met you before but you were too young to remember."

"When?" asked Quinn as she looked at him in the eye.

Lt General Duanmu placed her on the floor before he explained, "When you were a newborn...I was there when you graduated kindergarten as well..."

Without looking at him, she asked meekly, "Why didn't you say anything to me? Is it because Mama doesn't let you? Or is it because you don't like me?"

She looked up at him with big watery eyes as she asked, "...Because I'm defective?"

Lt. General Duanmu winced when he heard the last question. He had not expected a child this young to think that way.

Kneeling down on one knee, he wiped off the tears that were hanging at the corner of her eyes before saying, "I've told you before. You are beautiful! Don't ever think that your little tuft of white hair is a defect! It's not the fault of anyone. Your mother...She invited me to ever major milestones in your life...I was the one who was afraid to meet you..."

"Why?"

Lt. General Duanmu sighed, "I was afraid that I'd be unable to say no if you tell me that you want to live with me...Quinn, I want to publicly acknowledge you but I also want you to be happy...I want you to have a wholesome childhood instead of going through the training like your brothers..."

"I have brothers?" asked Quinn curiously. Her mother never said anything about her having brothers before.

"Yes, you have two older brothers. Maybe one day...I'd introduce you to them."

She looked at him in awe. When she saw how the twins interacted with each other, she was a little jealous. Even though they were always arguing with each other, they also played with each other. No matter what, they would always have someone there.

Quinn loved her mothers but they were always busy with their work and could not always be there with her. She knew that her mothers worked hard so that others could get the justice they deserved and that sometimes, a sacrifice had to be made for the greater good.

However, she could not help but feel a little bitter sometimes. Whenever she felt wronged at school, she wished she could have someone at home for her to throw a temper tantrum at. Everytime, she would wait for one of her mothers to return, and everytime, her anger and resentment at whatever was bothering her would dissipate by then.

If she could have a brother, she would happier.

"No. I can't be so weak-willed," thought Quinn as she shook her head. With her fists clenched tightly against her thighs, she thought, "I'm the daughter of Lt. General Duanmu and my mothers. I cannot be such a child!"

With her chin lifted slightly, she patted her chest and puffed it out before saying proudly, "I won't lose to my brothers! I'd handle any kind of training! I'm strong!"

He caressed her head and smiled, "I'm sure you would be able to handle the training easily...But I can't bear to put you through it...You are my only daughter...I want you to spend your weekends with your friends...To go to movies...To drink those nonsensical bubble tea drinks that kids nowadays are prone to drinking..."

He took her hands and kissed her on the forehead before he continued, "Quinn, I don't know if you'd understand me...I don't want you to have blood in your hands...I want you to be more like your mother, to fight for the people who cannot fight for themselves and to represent them in a court of law."

With tears in her eyes, she nodded, "I'm not an idiot. I understand...But I want to know...Can I see you again?"

Lt. General Duanmu nodded, "Of course! Anytime you want. If you're in any trouble, and you're afraid of talking to your mothers, then give me a call."

They chatted for a long time before Layla came in.

"The passengers are getting restless. Seriously, given that Du XiAn gave them a gold pendant each, they should be happier!" complained Layla.

"It's fine. We've delayed the flight for too long. I thought that I had to use my identity as Lt. General Duanmu to stop the flight but thanks to President Du, I don't have to do anything that is against my code of conduct."

"Dad..." Quinn pulled on Lt. General Duanmu's hand when he stood up.

"We'll see each other again. I'll visit you whenever I can," said Lt. General Duanmu as he leaned down to kiss her on the top of her head.

Quinn nodded and released his hand before saying, "I promise I won't tell anyone that you are my dad. It would be our secret...and my mothers as well..."

He patted her head and said, "Good girl..."

Turning to Layla, he added, "Tell President Du that I owe him a big one. If he ever needs my help, as long as it is within my power, I'd do it."

Layla nodded. They gave each other a hug before he placed his mask back in place and left.

"Godfather did this?" asked Quinn when Layla took her seat next to her.

Layla nodded. She gave DX a call earlier to thank him.

"Your Godfather said that he can't bear to let you leave without seeing your father for one last time...I think it's cause he's about to have a little girl, so he's a little bit more sentimental these days..."

She took a selfie with her daughter and sent it to DX with the caption, "Thanks, from both of us."

Chapter end

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