That morning, Gina had been sitting with Mira in the living room and choosing a location for the upcoming wedding. Since their family was so rich, they didn’t really need to worry about how much the locations were, and Mira was going crazy while trying to pick one of the largest halls in the city. But both Gina and Jason wanted something smaller, and Gina was doing her best to counter Mira anytime Mira tried to pick something too extravagant. The two women were already coming close to agreeing on a small outside venue when Gina suddenly received a call from Juliet. Gina picked up the call immediately, and she answered happily since she thought this was about Jason, but what Juliet told her made her eyes widen in surprise.
[Jason’s extended family is here to visit. One of them said her name is Queen Bethsa. The ruler of a world known as Vanta.]
That was Jason’s stepmother! Gina was shocked as she remembered the woman who took care of her and Jason when they visited her, and Gina immediately told Juliet to bring them to the mansion! Gina told Mira and Stella that they would be having guests soon, and Mira was also shocked when she heard who these guests would be! Mira had only met one of Richard’s wives in the past, so whoever she was about to meet wouldn’t be any different from a complete stranger!
A few minutes later, Gina, Stella, Mira, Janet, and Maya were standing outside the mansion as a long black limousine pulled in through the large gates. The limousine parked in front of the mansion, and the driver came down and opened the door for the passengers to get out!
"GINA!"
A small boy jumped out of the limousine and ran towards Gina in excitement, and Gina laughed as she caught him and hugged him to her chest. Gina was surprised that Kai was actually speaking English rather than his native Vanta language. How did he learn it?
"Hey, Kai! It’s been a long time."
Kai nodded very quickly and smiled widely! Jason’s half-brother, Kai, had been looking forward to this visit ever since Jason left Vanta a few months ago, and he was the most excited he had ever been when his mother told him that they would be coming to visit Jason! Since they knew that the people in Jason’s country spoke English, they had used an artefact to assimilate the language of this world, so they could communicate easily with the rest of the family!
"Where’s Jason!? Is he here!?"
Kai’s eyes sparkled as he asked this, and Gina smiled apologetically as she told Kai that Jason wasn’t around yet.
"Jason had a really important mission on another world, and right now he’s visiting Riyala on Radagan. But he promised to be back today, so you’ll see him soon."
A mission on another world!? That was so cool!
Kai was a little sad when he heard that Jason wasn’t there, but once he heard that Jason went to another world for a mission, his excitement bubbled up again! Kai had always wanted to travel to other worlds, so he couldn’t help but think of Jason as some brave hero wandering across worlds and saving people!
Since Jason would be back that day, Kai simply smiled happily and said it was okay, and Gina laughed as she ruffled Kai’s hair playfully before she finally put him down to greet Queen Bethsa.
"Oh, Gina. You look radiant."
Queen Bethsa came in with wide arms, and she gave Gina a loving hug. Gina thanked Bethsa, and she laughed as Bethsa pulled back and ran her hand over Gina’s slightly protruding stomach.
"You’re showing already? You humans move very quickly."
Bethsa was surprised that Gina’s stomach was already showing. For the people on Vanta, pregnancies would normally take up to ten years, so they wouldn’t start showing until about the fourth or fifth year, so this was very shocking to Bethsa! But Bethsa just smiled, and she said a silent prayer to the gods of the ocean to look over Gina during the pregnancy!
Once they were done with their greeting, Bethsa moved to greet Mira and the other family members. Mira hugged Bethsa and welcomed her happily, and Bethsa smiled.
"It’s nice to finally meet you. I heard a lot about you from Fiona. I just wanted you to know that you’ve raised a wonderful son."
Mira smiled happily at the praise, and she thanked Bethsa for her kind words! Bethsa also greeted Janet and Maya, but the two girls were still a little uncomfortable since they had only just learned a few months ago that they had many stepmothers and half-siblings out there in the vast world! The girls really didn’t know how to act around another one of their father’s wives, and it was even more difficult for Janet since Janet had seen a lot of wicked stepmothers in her telenovelas! Janet really hoped that her real stepmother wouldn’t be like that.
"You’re both so beautiful. I brought many gifts for you. I hope you like sapphires and diamonds."
Janet’s eyes lit up once she heard that there was jewelry, and she immediately went and hugged Bethsa happily!
"I love sapphires!"
Bethsa laughed, and she waved her hand for Kai to come and greet his sisters, and the young boy walked forward and bowed shyly to them.
"H-Hello. My name is Kai Marc. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
Janet leaned down and greeted Kai with a smile while ruffling his hair, but Maya just turned away from Kai and huffed.
"Hmph!"
"Maya, don’t make me come over there."
Mira gave Maya a warning stare, but Maya just pouted!
"I thought big brother was the one coming back! You promised he’d come back today!"
"Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll come back today! Jason always keeps his word!"
Maya turned to look at Kai when he suddenly spoke up, and the smile on his face was so radiant that she had no choice but to believe what he said! Maya finally stepped forward and gave Kai a hug.
"Nice to meet you, little brother."
Kai easily carried Maya off her feet, and he laughed happily!
"Nice to meet you too, big sister!"
The older women just watched the interaction with smiles on their faces, but their attention was pulled away as more people came out of the limousine. One of them was a woman who reminded Gina so much of Hesabeth that Gina wouldn’t be surprised if she found out that the two of them were related! This woman had long dark blue hair that fell past her shoulders, and her eyes were bright blue and shone like diamonds. She was wearing a blue gown that complemented her hair and eyes perfectly, with diamond jewelry around her neck to complete the attire. But it was her face that really stuck with Gina. The woman was beautiful beyond words. Her face was set in an impassive look of disinterest that reminded Gina of how Hesabeth’s expression was, and Gina felt like this woman and Hesabeth would definitely make good friends.
Behind the woman were two other people. A teenage boy and girl who had black hair and dark eyes just like Jason. The teenagers glanced at the mansion with judgmental looks on their faces before they followed behind their mother as they approached the family! The moment Mira saw the woman, she felt a wide smile appear on her face, and she stepped forward happily!
"Fiona!"
Mira held her hands out for a hug, and Fiona smiled as she accepted the hug from Mira.