Chapter 425: Fool

Right away, Vanya knew she had been made a fool out of, and she could not even say a word because she was complicit in the plan. Bastien said he wanted to confess to Olivia using the 'knight in shining armor approach,' and she naively believed it.

Now, Cylus was asking her questions as if he suspected her of something heinous, and Vanya was being forced to compound her lies. She never expected anything bad to come of her actions, at most, Mina would not trust her going forward, but she had not foreseen anything happening to anyone else.

It was common knowledge that Olivia was precious to Cylus, and any person who was dumb enough to touch her would suffer. Unfortunately for Vanya, she was a main suspect, and she was wholly at fault.

"I went to get Olivia because I knew she would believe me, and you would blame me. You keep saying we are together, but it feels like I'm just a placeholder until you can get Mina. You ask me to trust, but you clearly do not trust me at all." Cylus hugged Vanya, choosing to believe her, solely because she had more to lose and he doubted she would have jeopardized their relationship.

He was busy consoling his girlfriend when someone knocked. Cylus opened the door, relaxing when he saw it was his friend. Oric did not bother to walk into the room, but he did look at Vanya accusingly.

Instead of what he had planned, Oric told Cylus that Mina had woken, and they quickly made their way to where the women were. Vanya did not dare to move, feeling as though it would only make things worse.

Inside of the room, which was once Bastien's, Mina sat at the edge of the bed muttering to herself. Cylus kneeled before her and her eyes scanned his entire face before she seemed to realize it was him. Fat tears fell down her cheeks as she took in the man's worried expression, but they were not for herself; they were for Olivia.

"I shouldn't have trusted her," Mina said, thinking that Cylus would believe her words regardless of anyone else's. He had done it so far, and she saw no reason for him to doubt her now.

"Who?" he asked.

"Vanya; now that I think about it, why would she have helped me?" Cylus shook his head and pushed Mina's loose hairs out of her face. That familiar feeling came over him and once again he felt like he was talking to someone he knew forever.

"Don't misunderstand Vanya. She was just trying to help." Mina's eyes snapped back to Cylus', unsure of what he was saying. Willow chimed in, realizing that Cylus did not believe Mina.

"Oric and I saw Vanya coming from this direction. She looked scared."

"She was scared. She knew Mina would accuse her, and she worried that I would believe it."

"Is that why she was smiling at me while I felt like my lungs were going to explode?" Cylus shook his head.

"Mina, I've seen you in that state. You may have seen something that was not there. I know you two don't like each other, but don't make things up without proof." Mina pushed Cylus' hand away from her face and closed her eyes so slowly that it looked like she was falling asleep.

"Do you not believe me?" she asked in a voice so low she sounded like a child.

"I believe your mind may have played tricks on you." Mina stood abruptly, nearly making Cylus, who was kneeled before her, fall from the sudden shift.

"I want to leave." Mina demanded.

"We all leave tomorrow, can't you wait?"

"I want to leave now." Mina turned to face Willow, who instinctively knew what her friend's eyes were asking.

"Oric, you take Mina back to her apartment. I will stay with Olivia until she wakes."

"Mina isn't leaving. Olivia is her friend." Cylus stood in front of Mina trying to guilt her into staying. "How do you think she would feel if she woke up and you were gone?" Mina just stared at the man, once again reminded of her sister who used to force her to bend in much the same way.

"Stop that," Willow shouted, knowing exactly what Cylus was doing. "Didn't you say that Vanya was Olivia's friend? As far as I know Mina is a new addition to this clique. I already said I would stay, and you know I will not leave Olivia's side. If I am not good enough, why not have your girlfriend stay with her?" Cylus glared at Willow because she had just decimated his argument. He believed Vanya, but he would never trust her with his cousin until he had the truth.

----

Mina and Oric walked toward the exit of the cabin, she was moving slowly and Oric knew she was hurt. He did not know if he should believe Mina about Vanya, but her account made sense. There was no way either woman would willingly walk into Bastien's room without a cause, and Oric supposed they had been tricked.

However, that theory also lent to Bastien's account of thinking he was being pranked. It was entirely plausible that he saw the women in his room and thought it was a joke. Anyone in that situation could get that impression, especially Bastien who never took anything seriously.

Still, Oric was unwilling to dismiss Vanya's role in the entire ordeal. It was obvious that she disliked Mina, especially after what happened with the 'breakfast trick' and for her to suddenly offer to 'help' was beyond suspicious.

Oric had driven his own car to the Cabin, it was one of the few that had been parked by where the minicars were kept. He had been following behind Mina, but he walked out ahead of her so he could lead her to where they needed to go. Mina had refused to go back to her room to get anything, and she was only wrapped in the light jacket he had worn for Connor's party, so Oric wanted to get her into his car quickly.

"Jeremy stop," someone called out, and Mina, thinking Doctor Witt had also come to Connors party, spun around to see a muscular man angrily making his way in her direction. She knew it was silly to think that the name Jeremy belonged to just one man, and in her state of confusion, her mind did not have enough time to process how the man glared at her before he shoved her out of his way, sending her sprawling backward on the frozen ground.

The other Jeremy threw a heavy punch that connected with Oric's face. Mina scrambled to her feet, wanting to get in between the two men that were now fighting. She had no idea who the man that attacked Oric was, but she was not going to just stand there and watch him try to hurt her friend. She tried running to the men, but someone scooped her up from behind and pulled her in tight.

"That isn't your fight," she heard Connor say into her ear. She looked up at the man, trying to read his expression, and he looked serious.

"I can't just let-"

"Oric can handle himself." Connor cut Mina off knowing that she wanted to break the two men apart. "This fight needs to happen; for both of them." Mina could not understand Connor's words, and she struggled against him, irritated that he was stronger than he looked. "You will only get in Oric's way." Mina remembered how angry James had been with her for getting mixed up in his fight, so she stopped squirming.

Connor did not release Mina from his hold, he knew the men were only just starting out. It was highly likely that they would draw blood from one another, and he had a feeling that Mina would still throw herself in the way if given the opportunity.