Chapter 366: Deadline

Mina walked into a boutique with Cylus, and as she expected, she was greeted with glares. Not just from the staff, but from other women who were walking around the place. Mina hated to be stared at for any reason, but it was especially so when she knew that the people staring were unfriendly at best.

"Mr. Rue, I think we should go to another store," Mina said, and Cylus snapped to look at her. He had caught her use of semi formal speech with him, and he did not like it.

"What is wrong?" he asked, sensing a bit of agitation in her tone. Mina looked down at her clothing, which was simple, unlike the other people in the boutique, who were dressed more properly. "Ignore them," Cylus said while circling his index finger around the room.

Mina tried to follow Cylus' advice and ignore the looks she was getting, but the small microaggressions that were coming from all around her were making her feel like she needed to surface for air. Cylus had taken a seat on one of the waiting chairs, while Mina searched the racks for dresses she liked, and while he was expecting her to be well taken care of, Mina was being discussed within earshot as if she could not hear.

"How long do you think this one will last?"

"She is pretty, so maybe until she wants more than gifts?"

"I wonder what happened to Vanya."

"Probably the same thing that happened to the one before that."

"And the one before her," the other salesperson continued. Mina could tell that the women were purposefully trying to ridicule her, but she decided not to back down and run away. Instead, she continued to shop, pretending to be mute.

Mina scanned the aisles, until she found an extremely beautiful gown that made her feel like she had to try it on. She brought it to a fitting room, and felt her heartbeat quicken when the dress fit exactly the way she expected it to.

The black dress was made out of a smooth material that had a stretch to it, but Mina could not name off hand. The dress flared out at the bottom and transitioned into black lace with a floral print. Under the lace, was a golden fabric that captured the light. The sleeves of the dress were off shoulder, and only a small amount of her cleavage was left to show, but if Mina lifted it up a little, it showed nothing at all.

Mina changed back into her own clothing, and without letting Cylus see her, she walked to the register to check out on her own. The cashier was one of the women who had been talking about her, and as Mina expected, the woman claimed to need Cylus to show his ID for the purchase.

Mina produced her card, and her identification, which President Lee was somehow able to get without her being present, and the cashier studied the information hard. She reminded Mina of the cost of the dress three times before she finally swiped the card. After the woman boxed and bagged the gown, Mina finally responded.

"For the record, he and I are just friends. Also, I will send your greetings to Miss Vanya," Mina said, making the woman's eyes narrow. It was then that Cylus looked up from his phone and realized that Mina had made a purchase, but she did not look happy.

"What is wrong?" he asked, he glanced back and forth between Mina and the cashier, but Mina just stormed away with a red face. Cylus did the thing where he scurried behind her, and for the sake of helping him preserve his dignity, Mina stopped walking.

"Please do not take me to places where you take the women you are sleeping with." Cylus flinched at Mina's words, but he did not need to wonder why the conversation had come up. He knew someone must have said something to her.

"Mina don't take it that way. That place has a variety of gowns, I thought it would be easier for you to find something you would like if you had a wide selection to choose from."

"Right," Mina said sarcastically.

"Don't you think you are overreacting?" Cylus asked. After all, he had not done anything wrong.

"Yes, I am overreacting, but you'll have to forgive me. I do not need another enemy. I don't have time for it." Mina went to walk away but Cylus caught her by the arm.

"You've been doing that a lot lately. You have been speaking as if you have a deadline. What are you not telling me?" he asked. Mina felt her chest burn, she realized that she would have to push Cylus away from her sooner than later. He too was beginning to see through her, or maybe she was just becoming easier to read?

"I'm just a little annoyed. Let's go meet with your grandmother before it gets too late, okay?" Cylus had not released Mina's arm, and he wanted to question her further, but he could wait. In the meantime, he dragged her back into the place where they had just left.

----

Mina was hiding her face behind her hands as the woman who had been talking badly about tearfully apologized. She hated to see people put on trial, but Cylus was not listening to her. He was too busy berating the women, who were begging to keep their jobs. That was the worst part for Mina, she knew how hard it was to find employment, and the women had not done anything other than hurt her feelings. It was not worth their livelihoods.

"Cylus please stop this. Please remember that I am the same as they are. I know how hard it can be."

"Mina, you have to stop feeling sorry for people who cross you. Did any of them consider you when they let their words flow?" Cylus pointed at the two women as he spoke, and Mina started to have flashbacks to her past.

"Please Cylus, this doesn't make me feel good. It makes me feel worse. I will remember their faces forever. Just let them off this time. If you do, I- I will attend Connors birthday party." Cylus' attention peaked, but he did not let it show. In his opinion, Mina was too forgiving, and he wanted her to learn an important lesson from him.

"I'll let you decide what to do with these women, and absolving them is not an option," Cylus said, filling Mina with terror. Cylus took a step toward her and held her shoulders. "You have to learn to deal with this or every Lisa, Mary and Luna will stomp you into the ground until you lose the will to stand." Cylus stared into Mina's eyes, and the woman sprang a leak.

----

It took almost twenty minutes for Cylus to get Mina to stop crying. Even though he had let the women who offended her off, she was still sniffling the entire car ride and Cylus knew she was not crying for strangers she owed nothing. If she were, he was going to have a tough time doing anything authoritative around her, and the idea of a relationship between them once again drifted away.

"Mina, want to tell me what that was about?" Cylus asked and Mina nodded. She did not want the man to think she was crazy, but the situation she found herself in was too much for her to bear.