BXBX NOVEL Chapter 60: Jealousy
Ayra knew her sister won\'t take things lightly and even she felt guilty and sad seeing her lover and nephew\'s face being bloody because of her.
The mother swiftly wiped the blood from Garnt\'s nose with a clean piece of cloth, her eyes flashing with a dangerous intent as she turned her gaze toward her sister and the other woman.
Ayra felt as if she were being stared at by a bobcat because her eyes showed nothing but pure anger, and even Rona flinched a little due to her fear.
Garnt, now on his feet, tried to ease the tension, "It\'s okay, I\'m fine." He then turned to his mother and urged her, "Please, help Kara. She is injured for some reason"
His attention returned to the two women who had been at odds. "Now, can someone please explain why you two were fighting?" Garnt inquired, his voice laced with concern.
His aunt spoke first, her voice sharp, "I don\'t want this woman in our tribe. She\'s ungrateful!"
"Hey! Don\'t raise your voice when talking to him," Gundo shouted in anger, showing that she was only holding back because Garnt was watching her.
Garnt looked at her and asked her to calm down, then went back to Ayra and Rona, who looked like they were regretting everything they had done until now.
The other woman, equally resolute, chimed in without any aggressivness in her voice, "I don\'t want to be with her either. The only reason I stayed is because of Garnt!"
Their eyes locked, and the tension was palpable as they demanded answers. Garnt, feeling the weight of the situation, probed further, "Why, Aunt, do you have such a strong aversion to her? You two got along nicely went I departed in the morning."
Aunt didn\'t mince her words, her voice trembling with anger, "Because she\'s an ungrateful woman who does whatever she wants. Look at Kara, she beat up my daughter without any mercy just because she has strength to do that."
"Shut up! How many times should I tell you, that she was the one who wanted to have a duel with me. It was a mistake on my part to use my full strength" Rona interrupted her and Garnt couldn\'t help but get annyoed.
"I\'m done with this. Both of you won\'t allowed to be part of any of the events in the village until you reconcile, and I will personally question Kara about Ayra\'s claims. If Rona actually harmed her without her permission, then she will be punished." Garnt said while holding his head.
Gundo nodded her head showing her approval, while slowly letting Kara drink some water.
Then with a gentle and worried expression, carefully sprinkled some cool water onto Kara\'s face. Kara\'s eyes fluttered open, and she blinked as she looked around, seeing the concerned faces of those gathered around her.
She immediately noticed the blood on Garnt\'s face and asked with a hint of alarm, "What happened here?"
Garnt, still visibly stressed from the confrontation, wiped away the blood and replied, "Don\'t worry, it\'s just a scratch. Are you okay, Kara?"
Kara slowly nodded, sitting up and taking the gourd of water that Gundo offered. She took a few sips before speaking, her voice weak but steady. "I\'m fine, Garnt. Just got a little dizzy.
I guess training with Rona can be tough."
Garnt nodded, relieved that Kara seemed to be recovering. He then turned his attention to Rona, who had been waiting anxiously to explain herself. But before she could speak, Garnt raised a hand and said, "Rona, not now. Let Kara rest.
Mother, please take her to her bed and make sure she\'s comfortable."
Gundo gently helped Kara to her feet and led her away, leaving Garnt with Ayra and Rona. Ayra\'s expression had shifted from anger to realization as she began to understand that she had misunderstood the situation.
Garnt got up from his seat, his tone stern but commanding as he addressed Aunt, "Aunt, you owe Rona an apology. It\'s clear there was a misunderstanding, and you accused her without knowing the full story."
Aunt, however, maintained her defiant stance, her voice showed how competitive she was. "I won\'t apologize. She\'s still responsible for hurting Ayra."
Garnt sighed in frustration but didn\'t push the issue further for now. Instead, he turned to Rona, "Rona, let\'s talk about this later. Right now, our priority is to make sure Kara is okay.
I\'ll handle this matter, but for now, I want you to forgive her, as her family member, I will take the full responsibility about her."
Ayra was shocked to see Garnt bowing his head. Even though Rona didn\'t understand the meaning of his apology, she knew it must be something serious, so she decided to let things go.
"It\'s fine. I don\'t care about little fights. Besides, the person I put my trust in is you, not her," she said, giving an angry stare at Ayra. But Ayra didn\'t react; instead, she looked like she was on the verge of crying.
Ayra\'s departure was swift and abrupt, her hard gaze fixed firmly on the ground as she made her way towards her hut. Garnt, concerned about her emotional state, quickly decided to follow her, leaving Rona behind with a reassuring smile.
"Rona, please understand, Ayra isn\'t a bad person, she is just confused. I\'ll explain things to her." he whispered to her as he passed, his voice carrying a sense of urgency and concern.
Rona nodded, her earlier anger dissipating as she contemplated Garnt\'s words. She understood that there was more to the situation than met the eye, and she trusted Garnt\'s judgment.
Meanwhile, Garnt reached Ayra\'s hut just in time to see her closing the door. He didn\'t hesitate; he extended his foot to prevent the door from shutting completely and gently pushed it open.
As he entered the room and closed the door behind him, he found Ayra sitting on her bed, her back turned toward him.
Garnt took a deep breath and spoke softly, "Ayra, why are you acting like a little child? I know misunderstandings can happen, but do you really have to act like that?"
Ayra didn\'t answer him, instead she remained silent until Garnt sat next to her and looked at her face.
"Why are you crying? What happened talk to me?" Garnt felt shocked to see Ayra crying, as he looked at her.
*Sobs
"Go away! You took that woman\'s side and scolded me. You should go and care about her," She said and tried to avoid Garnt, but he quickly hugged her from behind.
"You know I won\'t do that. Why are you acting like this?"
Garnt wanted to know, but suddenly Eva decided to help him a little bit because it was hard to watch an adult woman cry in front of her younger boyfriend.
[It might be because of jealousy. Most of the woman usually say those lines when they are jealous and insecure. No matter what era it is, somethings never change.]
"Ayra, tell me what should I do to prove that I care about you the most?" Garnt asked and she looked at him for a second and said the most selfish thing, she could possibly imagine.
"Send that woman back. We don\'t need her, I can help you with everything."
Garnt quickly shook his head showing his disapproval.
"Do you even realize how selfish your words are? You are telling me to abandon a whole group of people, just because you don\'t like Rona. Ayra, I know you\'re better than this,"
Garnt\'s harsh words were a wake up call for Ayra. Her eyes went wide when she realize what she just said.
"Garnt... I\'m sorry, I was-" She kept mumbling the same thing without knowing how to respond.
"You\'re jealous of her right? Why? Why do you feel jealous about her?"
"She is equally talented as me and she is more beautiful than me. Beside, she told me how you acted with her, when she first met you." She paused for a minute and looked at Garnt\'s eyes. "You like her, right? She might not understand since she doesn\'t have knowledge, but you taught us everything.
And I don\'t like this unpleasent feeling. She can replace me anytime."
As soon as Ayra said those words, Garnt couldn\'t help but feel bad about her.
[I told you. If woman act like this it\'s because they are jealous.]
"Oh! Are you talking about how I pushed her down?"
"..."
Ayra didn\'t respond to Garnt\'s words, so he decided to be more proactive and show her that his intentions were different from what they were with Rona.
\'I guess, I will have to go an extra round to satisfy her this time\'
Garnt thought and get ready for the action, as he wrapped his hands around her hips.