Chapter 155: Returned

Staff began to line up in front of the door and to Ruby and Zane, it indicated that Ian had returned. The pair found his speedy arrival odd and both stood outside to greet him.

"Do you think he found her?" Ruby asked.

"He would have called if he did." Zane said, as they watched an unfamiliar vehicle come to a slow halt in front of them. The rear door opened, and Mina wearily alighted from the car. Zane and Ruby rushed her with a litter of questions.

"Where have you been? Where did you go?" They asked in unison. Mina was still shivering and re-entering the cold made her body tremble violently again.

Paul and Maggie were baffled by the worried greeting Mina received. He had been tainted by his fiancé's words and had begun to believe he was driving Mina to her lover's home. He thought she would be embarrassingly driven away, and he had already mentally prepared himself to witness her humiliation.

Every memory Paul had with Mina was a happy one, and while he was no longer in love with Mina, she still held a special place in his heart. If he had to witness her setting aside her pride for anyone, he was not sure he would be able to contain his emotions in front of Maggie, who he knew still disliked Mina from Wayvair.

Paul was relieved and pleasantly surprised to see that the scene they drove into was not what he imagined, and Mina still had people, other than him, who cared about her.

----

Maggie was fuming, she was expecting Mina to be thrown out and dragged away, but instead, she was being carefully inspected by a very handsome man. She quickly exited the car with a few questions of her own.

"If I am correct, you are not President Lee," Maggie said. The man seemed to only notice her after she spoke.

"You can address me as CEO Zane," he said coolly. CEO Zane was Maggie's type of man. She could tell that he took great care in his appearance and that every detail, down to his accessories, was chosen with the specific intention to impress. The man was so attractive to Maggie that for one second, she felt aggrieved by the plainness of her fiancé. It was not that he was less handsome, he was just a subdued person by nature, and preferred a basic and common style as opposed to a flashy one.

'How did Mina capture the attention of a man like this?' Maggie thought.

The old woman, who had been standing next to the man, was now ushering Mina into the home with such delicate affection that Maggie lost her sense of self.

"CEO Zane, I am not sure you are aware, but we found Mina walking the highway. I am not sure what her relationship is to President Lee, but my best guess is that he abandoned her. Don't let her innocent appearance fool you," she said. Zane narrowed his eyes at the bold woman.

"And you are?" he asked.

"My name is Maggie Arden," she said confidently. Zane chuckled internally; he recognized the name and knew this must be the infamous Miss Maggie.

"You are a very capable woman," Zane said mockingly but Maggie took his statement as praise. She blushed and only stopped staring when she saw her fiancé glaring at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Will Mina be okay here?" Paul asked. He was still concerned for Mina because, as his fiancé pointed out, the girl had been abandoned at the side of the road and anything could have happened to her. It was pure coincidence that he and Maggie just so happened to be driving by.

"She will be fine," Zane said as he turned to walk away.

As Zane was leaving the man behind him called out. He voiced his earlier thoughts.

"CEO Zane, if it hadn't been for my fiancé and I chancing upon Mina, anything could have happened. If she is not welcome in the Lee mansion, send her back with us." Maggie's mouth hung open as she stared at her man.

"I think you should run that by your woman first," Zane said as he shut the door of Ian's home behind him.

----

Inside, Miss Ruby was helping Mina drink hot water. The girl's face was still pale, and she looked like she could not get warm enough. When Mina stopped shaking, Miss Ruby instructed someone to run a warm bath for her. It was then that Zane remembered to contact his friend. He sent Ian a text, letting him know that Mina had been brought back to the mansion.

----

Zane felt like it had been hours, but in reality, only a few minutes had gone by since Mina had gone to bathe. When Miss Ruby left the girls room, she indicated to him that it was safe for the man to enter. Mina was wrapped in a heated blanket on the bed, but her body occasionally shuddered.

"Why did you leave the hospital?" Zane asked. His tone was neither accusatory nor hostile. He was genuinely concerned.

"There was a man," Mina said. Zane did not need to ask for details. He knew what Mina meant by her statement.

"Did he touch you?" he asked. Mina shook her head at the question.

"He just scared me, that's all." He could tell that Mina was struggling to stay awake, but Miss Ruby had asked him to try and keep the girl talking until her body temperature had stabilized. He asked her to be specific and Mina recounted the entire day to him, including the details of what happened in the car.

"It wasn't a test," Zane said. "Something serious happened and President Lee was unable to get to you in time." Zane repeated Ian's statement, which now seemed even more untrue, but Mina just nodded.

"Miss Luna and Miss Lisa; are they okay?" Mina asked, and the question broke Zane's heart.

"Worry about yourself for now," he said. The girl's eyes closed, and Zane watched her sleep until he felt a presence behind him.