Chapter 527 - Family Trouble (3)

31 May, Military Base, City K

Having helped Bronwyn escape from her parents, John moved her to the side of the room, and quietly said "Are you alright?"

"I am just sick of things currently. I was appreciated for my skills and work, until that general order the other day. My identity became exposed to the senior officers, and as soon as that happened, you know it became known to everyone. Now, I am just seen as someone who got her position because of Daddy pulling strings. S*rew that. I want to kill him, and Legend who made sure people got to know who I am. I know in the past they have always let serving children of generals, report in compliance with the order via telephone or video link, away from others. Why in the world…? Does he think I am stupid and will ignore an order? I felt like a little child. Now, he wants me to play nice, so mother does not realise how things are. He can forget it."

John, moved closer, shielding her from prying eyes and quietly said "Sweetheart, you know I agree with you about the fact he could have handled the situation better, but from what Matthew tells me about the situation, he had to confirm his compliance and that Lexi and Dominic would be complying before you were asked."

"So, he was to chair the meeting, and people knew exactly his rank and roll. I felt like a little child."

"You are not a child to me. You are the woman I love, but we both know we will always be our parents' children no matter how old we are."

"Stop trying to pacify me. He had no right to do that."

"Maybe not as your father, but as your superior officer, he did."

"He should remember that first fact more," came Bronwyn's angry retort.

John feeling frustrated added "Bronwyn, think about it he has your mother, a what they call geriatric pregnant woman. And before you get angry about it, when you told me she was pregnant I searched on-line to understand some terminology and the risks. That term can be used to describe women who are pregnant over the age of 35, which fits your mother. From what I read, there are multiple risks for her and the fighting between you and your father about personal issues will only cause her stress, a risk that you can avoid. Do you want to risk her and your sibling?"

"No, but he is getting to me."

"Then ask for a re-deployment. You do not have to stay in his direct chain of command."

Bronwyn reached up and pulled John's head down before giving him a brief kiss. As she let go, she said "There is a big problem with that. There is no general legal office here, so I would either be reassigned, or I would have to hope like anything that a transfer to be a general duties officer would be approved. The latter is the least likely, meaning that I would be redeployed."

"So…?"

"What about our relationship?"

"You know I love you, and I do not give a care what you do. We can make our relationship survive regardless of what is thrown at us."

Bronwyn leaned in rested her head on John's chest for a few seconds before saying "That scares me. I know how I feel about you but being away from you makes me question if we will survive. With both our careers, how can we prioritise our relationship? While we both will be committed, there will be times that only one of us will have time for something, and even trying to spend time together will be impossible because of where we both are based. How can we survive?"

John bent down and kissed the top of Bronwyn's head before saying "We will survive. It was by chance we found each other, and there is no way I will pass up following through on that chance we have been given. It will just take us working to coordinate holidays, weekends and the like, and meeting somewhere between our locations."

John gave her another kiss on the top of her head before saying, "But there is a simple solution to the problem of being separated, you know?"

"Marriage? How many times have you mentioned that so far? Too many that I have lost count." Bronwyn gave a weak chuckle before continuing "I know that is where we will end up, but there are consequences if we marry, and I want both of us to be absolutely certain that it is what we want."

"So what? I knew when I first mentioned it, that there is a path we must go through for approval, given your current deployment. That should not be difficult, as the hardest part will be the security clearance which I already have. Then there are the consequences of military approval for the marriage and that once we do marry, as a military marriage, the only ways it can end is by death of one of us or you consenting to a divorce provided the grounds are met. I cannot seek to end the marriage, and if one of us do anything that might damage the marriage, there are consequences in a military court, even for behaviour that would not be illegal in the civilian context. Do you think that scares me? It does not, because I know that this is the relationship that will last and is the one I want to commit myself to for life. You are the person I want to commit myself to for life. How many more times do I have to tell you that. But if that is not how you feel, then we need to end it here before both of us go through too much heartbreak when you decide to end it."

Bronwyn pushed on John's chest, and spat out "You think I am that shallow? I love you and want to spend my life with you…"

"Then say you will marry me. Everything else can be worked out, including what you do. If it means that I must go back to general duties for your career, then I will. If I must retire from the police and go and work at Nang Enterprises or even for your uncles, I will. Know that you are the most important person to me."

Bronwyn looked John in the eyes, and in that moment could see all his emotions running through his face. As she went to open her mouth she heard "Brother, you have some explaining to do."

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