Chapter 332: Too Coincidental

As she stared in the mirror, Mina felt herself zone out trying to recall things from her ordeal that still confused her. The first was the traffic; Mina and Dom had been in the same spot for such a long time that they decided to park and walk the remaining distance. Had they stayed in the car, they would not have just missed Miss Lisa, but they also would have avoided Miss Luna, who 'just so happened' to be at the same location, around the same time.

The second was Mina's torn shirt. Miss Lisa had said it was ripped during a struggle, but Mina knew she would have stopped struggling completely if her clothing had been torn in anyway. It was one thing to try and get yourself killed, and another thing completely to put yourself on full display for a group of strange and clearly violent men.

As much as she did not want to think so foully, Mina was left believing that her shirt had been tampered with by Miss Lisa. It was the only thing that made any sense. The woman must have torn Mina's shirt as a way to send the girl into a panic. She probably knew what Mina's fears were from Miss Luna and was trying to exploit them.

Although Miss Luna had admitted to 'accidentally' distracting Dom, Mina did not believe the woman at all. She believed that the Lee siblings were working together with Miss Lisa to torture her into madness. That way, even if she were released in the future, she would be too damaged for anyone to believe a word she said or too scared to speak up.

Back in the present, Mina felt her chest constrict. She knew she was about to have a panic attack, so she tried to distract herself from her own thoughts. She began to pace back and forth, trying to think about things she could control, when Zane walked into the guest room. He shouted a curse, closed his eyes, and quickly backed out of the room.

Mina was mortified, she had not fully wrapped her body in anything, and Zane had just gotten a good look at her in barely any clothing at all. She quickly put something on and tried her best to pretend that Zane saw nothing but failed.

Mina sat on the bed, unable to stop herself from hyperventilating. She was going into a full-on panic attack, and she was scared. The last attack she had hurt so badly that she considered calling an ambulance.

After a few minutes, Zane knocked and reentered the room. He saw Mina clutching her chest and rushed to her side. He immediately apologized thinking he was the one who had sent her into a panic. It took so long for Mina to calm down, that Zane called his mother for help. He knew that she had experience with Mina's panic attacks, and he hoped she could help, but the woman could do nothing.

Zane was told that the best thing for him to do was hold Mina's hand. He doubted that she would like that, but when he held her hand, she squeezed him tightly, and he squeezed her back. The contact helped Mina focus, and she stared at Zane's hand, studying his ring. Within a few short minutes her breathing had slowed, and she no longer felt faint, but she was exhausted.

Zane looked at his mother and with a slight nod, the woman left the room, closing the door behind her.

"You know, you should really lock the door," Zane said in a low voice. He was trying to distract himself from the awkwardness of holding Mina's hand, but he was not joking.

Mina had an amazing body, and had it not been for the fact that Ian would kill him, Zane would have lingered to stare for a while. He now knew why Ian did not trust him to be alone with Mina. It was because there was no reason to. Anyone would be attracted to Mina on a physical level.

"Mina, are you going to tell me what it is you want from Ian?" Zane asked. He assumed that the intimacy of holding hands would help to soften the woman's defenses, but he was wrong.

"I don't want anything from him," Mina said, and that was the truth. She did not want anything from President Lee, but she did need him for something.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what is bothering you," Zane continued. Mina knew she had to say something convincing, so she blended the truth.

"It's just that after you walked in, I started to think about my shirt being torn." Zane reminded Mina that they found her fully clothed and she forcefully shut her eyes and nodded. "I know. I know. It is just that, I know my shirt did not tear during a struggle. I think someone intentionally ripped it."

Zane just stared at Mina. He too had suspected that Mina's torn clothing was too deliberate. It was almost as if the person who had torn the blouse was trying to send a message, either to President Lee, or to Mina herself.

"I agree, but Mina; nothing happened to you." Mina nodded at Zane's words and released his hand. She asked the man for a few minutes to rest and he agreed. "I'll put the clothes you asked for in the closet. Call me when you are ready." With those words Zane left.

----

Ian sat in Zane's study listening to his best friend tell him that he had walked in on a half-dressed Mina. Then he listened to Zane tell him that the woman had a panic attack, and that he had to hold her hand while she calmed down. Zane did not know why he was telling Ian those things, but somehow, it felt wrong not to.

"Was she dressed when you were holding her hand?" Ian asked and Zane nodded vigorously. "I thought you said we weren't rivals," Ian finished.

"No. I said that I didn't want Mina, not that I was uninterested in her. I also said that I would not go after Mina, and I haven't." Zane was good friends with Ian, almost like brothers. He did not want to fight the man over a woman, and he wanted Ian to know that it was because of their friendship that he had not already tried anything with Mina.

"Should I still take her to see Dom?" Ian asked. He ignored his friend's words, pretending they were said without thinking.

"If you change your mind now, she will never trust you again. You already know she wants something, and you might as well play dumb until she asks."

"What if she wants something I can't give her?" Ian had another nightmare involving Mina the night before.

Ian dreamed that Mina was a bride. She was beautiful in her gown; so beautiful that he could actually feel his heart racing at the sight of her. As Ian waited at the altar, additional red carpets were laid out for Mina. At the end of each, was a man who Ian considered a threat, and Zane and Dom were among them.