Chapter 404: Invited to Flirt

The staff inside of the registration cabin looked worried, as it was highly unusual for VVIP guests to personally come into the area for any reason. There were several intercoms throughout the large group accommodations, and if they needed anything, all they had to do was press a button. Not wanting to lose her job, one of the hosts personally escorted the group to where the staff congregated for their break, but there was no one in the small room.

"Maybe she joined the bonfire?" The woman added and she quickly guided the scary looking man toward where the large fire had been set up for guests in the outdoor camping areas. It was well into dinner time, and for guests who wanted the camping experience without the struggle of cooking outdoors, meals were prepared and served for a fee.

Cylus scanned his eyes over the area, not realizing how many people chose to camp so close to Giving Day. He was scared that someone may have dragged Mina away while everyone was distracted by his petty words.

The four people split ways, each one frantically trying to find the woman who had now been gone close to a full hour. Almost at the same time, they found her sitting at an arts and crafts table coloring with children who must have gotten bored of staying with their parents.

"Mina Harlow!" Cylus shouted loud enough to scare everyone who could hear him. Mina shot up and the look of fear took over her once happy expression. Cylus rushed up to her and scooped her into a hug that she did not dare to pull out of. "Do you have any idea how long we have been looking for you? Why didn't you answer your phone?" Mina peeled her body away from Cylus' and studied his face; he didn't look angry with her anymore.

"My phone didn't ring," she said, pulling out her device and showing the man that it registered as having no signal. "I didn't mean to embarrass you," Mina continued. "Miss Holly explained why what I did was wrong. I did not think people would look down on me for cooking for everyone. I'm sorry." Cylus was relieved that Mina had gotten the wrong impression because her cooking had nothing to do with his outburst. What bothered him was the way she looked at Brayden.

"It's fine, but in the future, ask me. I would have had Olivia help you and Willow would have helped as well. That would have left little room for misinterpretation." Cylus saw no reason not to continue with the misunderstanding because it helped him.

"Can we start over? I don't want to ruin Connor's trip." Cylus nodded and hugged Mina again. He knew he would have to check his anger, or he would risk pushing her away entirely.

----

Back at the cabin, Mina started to unpack the small number of things she had brought with her. Her phone continuously displayed 'no service' and she had not brought her backup device out of fear that President Lee might randomly show up and find out she had it.

Willow, who had not bothered to unpack at all, did not say a word. She simply stared at Mina, wondering what was going on between the woman and Cylus Rue, who she had never seen behave affectionately toward any woman. Not to mention the fact that he had a girlfriend.

"Mina, does Cylus like you?" She finally mustered the courage to ask, and Mina nodded. "Do you like him?"

"Not in that way," she replied, and Willow shook her head in understanding.

"Then why did you agree to go on this trip?" Mina looked up with a baffled expression on her face.

"I was invited," she said as if it were obvious.

"By him?"

"So?" Mina asked, and Willow palmed her own face.

"Mina, I know you don't think the way most people think, but Cylus didn't invite you here so you could flirt with other men." Mina looked up with an expression of pure shock on her face.

"When did I flirt with anyone?" She asked incredulously.

"I saw the way you looked at Brayden and Oric." For some reason, the thought bothered Willow when she said it aloud.

"I like Oric, and Brayden is handsome, but looking doesn't mean anything. You were staring at President Lee." Willow made a face knowing that Mina was right. She was staring at President Lee, and it was not in an innocent way, but that did not mean she wanted the man. "Besides that, Cylus might be my brother." Willow took in a gasp of air so sharp that it hurt.

"What?" she asked. "Explain it to me fully, no skirting around the edges." Mina took her time and explained her belief to her friend whose eyes were comically wide. She was serious about not wanting to keep things from Willow, especially since her friend was going to help her escape. She went into detail about how much Cylus favored her father, down to his facial expressions. She had even back tracked the dates and she knew their parents were not yet married when Cylus was conceived.

"Don't say anything to anyone. I still have to convince Cylus to compare our DNA." Willow shook her head. She had only met Mina's father in person once, but it was true that Cylus favored the man greatly.

"So, you're telling me that Cylus might be your older brother?"

"I spoke to my mother recently. When my father lived with his adoptive family, he travelled a lot. Anything is possible."

Although Mina's parents had lived together for years, they both claimed to have waited to be married to move into the same bedroom. That was in part due to the fact that Mina's mother had falsified age documents and was younger than what was listed on her identity papers.

"There might be an easier way to convince him," Willow offered. She explained her idea to Mina, but her friend flatly refused it.

"If my mother sees him, she will die of heartache. She always wanted a son, but they stopped trying after-" Mina cut herself off realizing that she was sharing too much, and Willow noticed.

"After what?"

"After I was born, they didn't think they could afford another child," Mina lied. The sad truth was that they did not trust her.

Mina's parents were relatively young, and after she was born her mother was still healthy enough to have more children, but because of her they stopped trying. They were too afraid to bring an infant into the home after being told to sleep with one eye open.

"Mina I hope this isn't one of those times where you withhold vital information thinking you're doing someone else a favor." Willow did not mince her words. She had never had a favorable impression of Mina's parents, who only seemed to call their daughter when things went so bad they could not fix it themselves.

"It's not. My parents really stopped trying because I was born. If my mom sees Cylus she will break, even if there is no DNA test, like me, she won't need one to build a conclusion." Willow shuddered. She had never understood Pan's genetic testing requirements until now.