’That woman, Hesabeth. Have you two known each other for a long time?’
Jason raised a brow, and he asked Gina why she was asking about that. Gina just shrugged, and Jason released a calm sigh before he told Gina about the first time that he and Hesabeth met. Jason hadn’t said anything about this before because he didn’t think that it was important, but he could tell that Gina was worried about something, so it was better to be open with her. Once Jason was done telling Gina about how he and Hesabeth met after this fight with the undead Lich, Gina finally spoke with absolute certainty.
’You know she’s in love with you, right?’
’Huh... is that so?’
Jason’s brow furrowed, and he looked at Gina with a curious gaze. It was obvious that he had never even thought about a situation like that. Jason and Hesabeth had interacted only three or four times since they met, and Jason didn’t remember Hesabeth changing her personality at any point during those interactions to show that she was interested in him beyond her desire to control him. So, how in the world did Gina come to the conclusion that Hesabeth was in love with him? Gina rolled her eyes at Jason’s reaction and she shook her head. This was the first time that Gina would be listening in on Jason and Hesabeth’s conversation since they always spoke in private before, but even though she only heard them speak for a few seconds, Gina was able to immediately figure out that Hesabeth was interested in Jason. There was just something about the way Hesabeth acted around Jason, and Gina was able to easily pick up on her interest. This wasn’t the first time that Gina would notice another woman being interested in Jason, and usually, Gina was mature enough not to feel annoyed by it since she knew that Jason wasn’t the sort of person anyone could seduce easily. Even if those women were in love with Jason, Jason wouldn’t act on their advances without talking to her first. But for some reason, Gina couldn’t stop her emotions from overwhelming her at this moment, and she felt annoyance gripping her heart.
Usually, Hesabeth’s Primordial Bias would have prevented Gina from feeling any negative emotions towards Hesabeth, but since Gina was feeling irritation rather than anger towards Hesabeth, the Primordial Bias wasn’t that powerful, and therefore, the system was able to prevent it from influencing Gina’s mind, and this allowed Gina to experience her first negative emotion towards Hesabeth. Gina felt her frown deepening the longer she thought about the conversation she just heard, and Jason put his hand on her shoulder and spoke kindly.
’You don’t need to worry about her, Gina. I didn’t know Hesabeth felt that way, and even if she does, I can’t see myself being with her, so it doesn’t make any difference. But I know that there is something else on your mind. Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?’
Gina felt her irritation towards Hesabeth slowly bleeding away as Jason spoke to her, and when Jason was done talking, she released a sigh and leaned back into his chest. Jason waited patiently for Gina to speak, and it took a few seconds before she finally said.
’I don’t know what it is, but I just... I feel – sigh~ Do you think I’m weak, Jason?’
Jason raised a brow at that question, and he could only wonder what in the world made Gina even think something like that.
’Of course, I don’t think you’re weak. Why would you even ask that?’
’If you don’t think I’m weak, then why have you been treating me like I’m about to break? Don’t think I haven’t noticed all the things you’ve been doing. You put all these subordinates in the shadows around me as protection, and you even took Stella into the group just so she could protect me. I don’t mind you doing that, and I love the fact that you care about me so much, but now... now you aren’t even willing to allow me face enemies beside you anymore. You say you trust me, but then you send me away to the Alternate Dimension like one of your subordinates when facing an enemy!’
Gina’s voice had grown angry towards the end of her rant and Jason could feel her entire body tensing under his arms. Jason sensed a great pool of emotion pouring out from Gina through their mental link, and he knew that this had been on her mind for a very long time. Did Gina really think that he was doing all this because he thought she was weak? Jason knew that he had become a lot more protective of her lately, but it was obvious why he was doing all that.
’Gina, you’re pregnant –’
’Yes, I know I’m pregnant, and I know I need to be more careful with our baby. But being pregnant doesn’t mean I’m crippled. I can still fight, and I can still take care of myself. I don’t like feeling useless, and you hiding me away at every moment makes me feel like I am. Just have more faith in me.’
Gina could feel her eyes tearing up as she spoke, and she quickly tried cleaning them with an annoyed look on her face! Gina couldn’t even remember the last time she cried about anything, and she hated the fact that something like this was making her tear up! It had to be because of these stupid pregnancy hormones! Gina would’ve normally never felt like this, especially since she knew that Jason was only trying to look out for her, but her emotions were just getting the best of her, and she couldn’t control them! Gina hated this! Jason gently wrapped his hand around Gina’s stomach, and leaned his head on her shoulder as he spoke to her softly.
’Look Gina, I understand how you feel, I really do. But I need you to also understand me. This child you’re carrying, it’s the most precious thing to both of us right now. It’s our first child. I don’t want anything to happen to you that would put them in danger. The overprotectiveness I feel for you is just because I’m scared to lose you. This world is a dangerous place, and there are monsters out there that would kill you for no reason. I don’t want you to end up in a situation where our baby could be hurt. So please, just for these few more months until our baby is born, can you put up with my selfishness?’
Jason’s emotions poured out to Gina in that moment, and Gina could see just how sincere Jason was about this. Gina had only heard Jason speaking like this to her once before, and that was when Jason killed her to make sure that she lived, so Gina knew at this moment that Jason was telling her the absolute truth. Gina felt reassured about how much Jason cared for her and their child, and Gina could feel a surge of happiness rising in her heart as her cheeks grew red.
There was a part of Gina that still didn’t like the fact that Jason was going to keep treating her like she was made of glass. Gina had been a warrior for a long time, and she was used to being on the frontlines, so it would take some time for her to get used to being treated this way, but there was no woman who wouldn’t enjoy being cared for so much by their husband. Gina’s walls finally broke down, and she let out a relieved sigh as her emotions came back under control. Gina was sure that she might get annoyed by Jason’s overprotectiveness in the future, but she decided that she would put up with it for the sake of their child.
’I can’t wait for the baby to come.’