Chapter 165: His Nightmare
It was late when Lisa received a call from a familiar number. She crept into the shared powder room in order not to wake her sleeping friend. Over the past five years, she had a secret contact within the Lee mansion. In the beginning, she had been sent by her father to befriend Luna and act as a spy, but she was only allowed to visit one area of the Lee home anytime she came for a visit. There was also Miss Ruby, who she knew never liked or trusted her.
At the time, Lisa had been earnestly trying to do her father's bidding and used every excuse possible to convince Luna to show off her bedroom. It was then, completely by chance, that she first saw Ian, and from the moment she laid eyes on him, her plans changed. Originally, she had been befriending the maid, who was only a few years older than her, for her father's interest, but now they were for her own and she would not let all her hard work of earning the woman's trust go to waste by being careless. Everyone held a certain amount of ambition, and for the woman on the phone now, it was to take over Miss Ruby's position.
"Speak," Lisa said. She did not want to waste words with Luna sleeping right outside the doors.
"Miss Mina and President Lee have been spending more time outside of the mansion separately. They are barely home and often do not exchange a single word with one another."
"Did something happen?" Lisa asked.
"I haven't been able to determine the cause," the woman said.
"Call me when you find out more, remember I want her out of the house," Lisa said.
"Understood."
Lisa quickly opened her mobile banking app and sent $2000 to her contact.
"Don't forget our deal," Lisa said and she ended the call.
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Luna heard Lisa's phone ring and through half lidded eyes she watched the woman sneak away to take the call. She could only make out soft whispers, but the conversation seemed intimate and Luna guessed it had been Ian on the phone. She thought back to her brother's riddle and shuddered. They probably had not found time to be together and then Luna suddenly called Lisa halfway across the globe. Ian was probably frustrated with her and Luna hoped she had not ruined their plans too badly.
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Mina's body was sore all over. She had been feeling sick, but the ache of her muscles made her forget about whatever cold she had caught. It had only been seven days and she was already feeling like she should give up. On top of that, Miss Ruby had gone back to visit her husband for the weekend. She promised she would only be gone a few days and Mina was fine with it until something strange happened. President Lee had ordered his staff to stop cleaning Mina's room and instructed them to allocate her a few products to do it herself. Mina was not lazy, so she had no issue with the arrangement, but her aching muscles complained as she scrubbed the tub. She was literally counting the days until her freedom or death.
Once the tub was clean, Mina finished up with the rest of the room, and lugged her laundry down to the ground level to wash her clothes. After that first day of working out, Dom had one of his 'friends' go out and buy Mina some appropriate clothing for the gym. He told her that she was distracting the men and she needed something more subtle. He even gave her a few Lee guard sweatsuits that he had 'borrowed' from people similar to her in size. Mina was grateful and it made her daily workout more bearable, even though President Lee still had not given her the stuff Miss Ruby had purchased on her behalf. While Mina waited for her laundry, she made a mental note of all the people she needed to pay back as soon as she found gainful employment.
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After bathing, Mina stood half dressed in front of the mirror and swore she could see the changes in her body. She had not been overweight before but now her body lines seemed a little more defined than usual. She flexed her muscles in the mirror and laughed at herself. With President Lee gone for most of the day, her smile had gradually returned. Although she was still trapped in the mansion, she had at least made several new friends at the gym. Some of the women had even shown her a few self-defense moves that she knew would come in handy. Besides that, there was something relieving about being around normal people who did not expect much of her. She only hoped she could maintain those friendships until the end.
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Ian had been purposefully spending less time at home. From what his maids told him, Mina was happier and smiled more than she used to.
Apparently, Mina had opted to begin doing her own chores and while he would normally not allow such a thing, he had promised he would not interfere with her wishes anymore. If she was happy with Dom, he would just have to accept it.
Zane had suggested for Ian to avoid Mina as much as possible and that is just what he had been doing. Especially now that both his sister and Lisa were out of the country for an unspecified amount of time. He did not trust himself alone with her.
Several times since Mina started with Dom, Ian found himself waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. In his nightmare, Mina affectionately laid in his arms as they passionately kissed. Then his face morphed into Zane's, then Cylus' and finally Dom's. Despite the shifting face, Mina was oblivious. She casually repeated the intimate things that she had told him that night at the hotel, and she lovingly drew circles on his chest. He hated that dream the most.