Chapter 36: Where Loyalty Lies
"Today was nice." Mira said, sat on the bed as Jia Hao paced the room. "There was no threat to my life and I got to move around as freely as I wanted with my own special bodyguard." Mira teased. "Made me feel special. Thank you, Jia Hao."
Jia Hao hummed, his mind completely else where. Mira noticed. "Is something wrong?" She asked. "Lay with me, I want to rest in your body warmth." She tapped the padded fur bed.
Jia Hao wanted to join her so badly but he had something on his mind that was eating his mind up and he needed to let it out before it consumed him.
"Mira, love, I know you’re pregnant but I want to have a conversation with you that won’t lead to you spiralling." Jia Hao said cautiously. The last thing he wanted was to get on her nerves. He had experienced her pregnancy temper first hand and sometimes, he feared it was only half of it. "Or maybe have you spiral less." Jia Hao corrected.
Mira smiled. Damn. She must have done a number on this man. "Okay, let’s talk." She said coolly. Jia Hao sighed with relief.
"Ming Tao is gone, by the way. I thought to clear that out."
Mira’s brow furrowed. He left so quickly without a word to her. That was expected but it still kind of hurt. She barely got his trust and if her system task had a death penalty, she would be decayed by now. Mira looked up to face Jia Hao. "Is Ming Tao involved in the conversation we are about to have?" She asked, her voice soft.
"Yes." Jia Hao answered.
Mira sighed. Did that skinny cat blab another word of hate to her man? She would give Ming Tao another knock on the head if she found out that he did when they meet again. Because they will, as far as surviving and system would go, she and Ming Tao were bound to cross paths again.
"Come, sit with me and let’s talk more freely." Mira said.
Jia Hao’s eye lashes flickered. "I would rather stand and keep the distance, thank you." He chuckled nervously.
Mira giggled. Smart man. "Okay then, if this conversation will keep both of us up and away from the cuddle and comfort of our skins, we better get to it then." Mira stated, her tone warm.
"Ming Tao doesn’t like you." Jia Hao said.
Well, that was straightforward. Mira barely expected the truth said plainly to her face but she listened keenly.
"Understandably so, but I know that you’re different and you’re trying hard to be." Jia Hao immediately added. Mira could tell he was nervous so she kept the smile on her face to ease the nerves.
"Take deep breaths, my king. I don’t bite."
"You do. You’re just not venomous." Jia Hao retorted nicely.
They both laughed at that. Now Jia Hao let out a heavy sigh. "I don’t want us to hide anything from each other so I want to be honest with you." Jia Hao started. "When Ming Tao came, he and I had this talk."
Oh. Mira already has a good guess of how this conversation would go. She swallowed.
"He said some things you did in the past. Made some valid assumptions and claims." Jia Hao continued. "But I took your side!" He added abruptly. "Because I believe you and chose to stand by you through everything. But Mira, I need to know, why did you come back?"
That question hit her like a gong. She never expected it.
"Why did you arrive in the pride? Why did you come to see me and change your ways? Why did you want to change in the first place? What prompted this new you? Why did you accept to bear my cub so easily and get on my good side? It does not make any sense. None of this makes any sense." Jia Hao let his heart out, hitting her with a question after another.
Honestly, Mira had no answer to these. She never planned to be transmigrated into this body. She never planned to die on Earth and if life did not play the way it did, she never would have known this world existed and never would have met any of her husbands. And if she did not need to breed to survive, she never would have made the effort. In fact, she would assume this world was just a silly dream and maybe she would wake up at any moment while trying to survive living through it. Thinking about this right now felt sad and sickening. She was not the Mira Jia Hao used to know. That Mira was dead and if the old owner of this body did not die, the torture Jia Hao faced would have probably continued till now.
Mira swallowed. This was a tough pill to swallow. She hated the thought that came with her not dying on Earth as weird as it sounded and she hated to think that if she did not die of the anticipation of sex, someone else bearing her name with equal compatibility would be here. With her husbands belonging to the person. With a man she grew so attached to that she was carrying his child.
"Mira?" Jia Hao called. Mira snapped out of her thoughts. She had nothing to say that would not feel like a lie. Right now, she felt like an imposter.
"Sorry, I just got stuck in my head a little bit." Mira gushed, her voice a whisper.
Jia Hao sighed. "I understand if this is a lot to take in but I need answers, Mira. I need to know that I can trust you again and not get hurt before I decide where my loyalty completely lies. I need to know that you are not using me, and that you love me." Jia Hao swallowed, pausing to catch his breath. He had been hurt before and he did not want to be hurt by the same person again. "For me."