Chapter 310: Distracted

In the care of the staff at the Lee family Hospital, Mina had secretly arranged for an additional examination. She had woken up terrified for Miss Lisa, then horrified by the thought that she may never get to see Dom again. She knew the rules for Lee guards, and Dom was no exception; he had failed, but it was not for his lack of trying.

Mina had seen the man's face as he tried to get to her, and she had clearly seen the unidentifiable woman block his path. On top of that, Mina felt that the crowd between herself and Dom had thickened from what it had been. It was something that caught her attention the same way the free-flowing traffic had. If it was not a part of the plan to abduct her, then it was one heck of a coincidence.

Still feeling weakened and fatigued, Mina was wheeled to a room that she was told was a private treatment area reserved for her. Since the hospital staff had not only been accommodating, but also friendly, Mina only felt the need to question the nurse a few times before she relaxed. Her examination revealed that she was likely untouched, and she did not want to tempt fate by letting her guard down, even if she were in a hospital.

Eventually Mina shut up and relaxed, but it was not because of the nurse's assurances. She calmed because Zane was sitting on a chair in the room she was wheeled into. Mina was not in the mood to chat, but Zane appeared troubled, and having had a chance to look at her own face, Mina figured it was because of her injuries.

Instead of ignoring Zane like she wanted, Mina allowed the man and the nurse to help her get into bed. She was not aware, but as she shifted her body, Zane caught sight of the plate sized bruise on her lower thigh area, and his face contorted from a mixture of emotions.

When the nurse excused herself, Mina could take the awkwardness no more. Zane was staring at her and although her eyes were closed, she could feel the intensity of his gaze. Whatever he wanted to ask was important, and she had a feeling he wanted to speak to her while she was alone.

"Whatever it is, please just ask. You are staring and it is stressing me out," Mina said. She did not expect Zane to immediately comply.

"How did they get you?" Zane was unsure how Mina and Dom had gotten separated or how Mina ended up with Lisa, but to him it was all too suspicious.

"Someone was distracting Dom; the sun was too intense, so I couldn't quite see who, but it was a woman," Mina replied. Her eyes were still closed, so Mina did not see how Zane looked at her.

"Are you sure?" Zane asked excitedly. Mina nodded very slowly, as if it hurt to move her head, and considering her injuries, it might have.

"I even saw her block his path." Zane stood up, wanting to leave but Mina sat straight up in fright, which pulled his attention. "Don't leave me please." As much as Zane wanted to act on the new information he was given, he stopped himself. He pulled a chair closer to Mina's bed, and sat down, offering the girl his silent support.

----

Olivia had accompanied Cylus to the birthday gala of a much celebrated actor, who had just announced his retirement from the silver screen. Her cousin had originally wanted to invite Mina, but after what happened at the last event he invited Mina to attend, he thought better of it.

Unenthused, Olivia strode around the hall admiring the decor. As a set designer, little things caught her attention. Things like the placement of utensils after they have been handled, or how a person placed their napkin after they used it. She even studied how active drinking glasses appeared on an abandoned table. All those things were an important part of making an audience feel a production was realistic.

Normally, Olivia would have been in the center of a group of people, trying to make them laugh, but since she had met her new band of friends, that no longer seemed important. Mina liked her even when she was not trying to be funny, Emma did not require much of anything to be entertained, Jay was the funnier one between them and Jessica was, just Jessica.

Olivia had not known the women long, but in the time she had, they had changed her. She also could not discount Dom, whose words repeated in her mind like a sutra. She was fairly certain the man was uninterested in her, but she liked him enough to not care.

In the past, Olivia believed she would have already been married or at least engaged by her current age, but she had never even had a boyfriend. If she had to wait a few extra years for Dom to be ready, she was okay with that. There was also nothing stopping her from meeting someone more fitting in the meantime.

Olivia may have been naive and even a bit dense, but she knew her worth. Dom appealed to her because he also saw her value, and unlike other men in Pan country, he did not expect her to conform to social norms. It gave Olivia the hope that she had only been looking in the wrong direction.

----

Matthew and Peter had been mingling among the guests in attendance at the birthday gala. Both men tried to steer clear of CEO Rue for obvious reasons, and they managed to do so successfully. The evening was moving along without issue, but Peter's attention was soon captured and held.

"You seem distracted," Matthew said. As much as Peter was his assistant, he was also his friend, and Matthew had only just realized how greatly he depended on the man.

"Sorry," Peter said without excuse. He was distracted, and the cause was Olivia Kent. He had always seen her as beautiful, but since he had gone through her phone, he now saw her as resilient and strong.

Peter, like many other men, had assumed that Olivia was casually sleeping around, but from the messages shared between herself and her cousin, she was innocent of the charges against her. In fact, she had even gone as far as to reach out to others asking them to help her clear up misunderstandings, but the men either denied hearing anything or ignored her.

Peter pitied the girl, who was being given the advice to ignore the rumors until they went away. Unfortunately, that only worked if the person went away as well. Since Olivia was a friendly woman, the rumors persisted and even evolved. Matthew had told Peter about the rumor regarding himself, Olivia, and Mina, which was completely false, and it made Peter think that maybe nothing he heard about the woman was true.

"Just go and talk to her," Matthew suggested and Peter mustered the courage to agree.

Peter walked toward Olivia, wanting to just say hello but he stopped when another man got to Olivia first. He was about to give up and walk away, because anytime Olivia gathered a crowd it was for the entire night, but the woman did something that shocked both Peter and the man who had approached her.