Chapter 542: Options

***𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈***

Vanya had been in bed for days. Sasha had come home drunk and broke his promise. He was rough and uncaring the entire time, and if that were not bad enough, she overheard him bragging to his friends, as if he were more of a man because she was in pain. The worst part was that she had slowly been warming up to him. He was an ass, but she had learned how to navigate him. If she did not do anything he considered disrespectful, she was fine. He had even overlooked the fact that she could not cook and had hired her an instructor.

Uncomfortable, Vanya finally stood up and made her way into the shower, startled when Sasha followed in behind her. She was afraid the man was angry with her because he had invested a lot of money into kidnapping Mina, only to have his plans thwarted by the Lee family. She had tried to warn him, but he responded by slapping her, so she kept her knowledge to herself.

"Stinky," the man teased, burying his head in her neck. Vanya resisted the urge to push him away, but her tears escaped her eyes. "Still angry?" she remained silent. "I broke promise. Sorry." Vanya still did not speak, and the man forcibly turned her to face him, making her cry out in pain as the movement was too much for her body. "Still?" The man asked as if he only just realized she had not moved since that night.

Vanya began to tremble, suddenly wishing she had just settled into her relationship with Cylus, no matter how many women he stepped out on her with. If she could go back, she would just share the man with Mina or whoever else he wanted. Anything was better than what she was experiencing with Sasha. She watched the man lift his hand, and she flinched away from it in fear, almost falling, forcing Sasha to reach out to stabilize her.

When Vanya next opened her eyes, she was already in bed, wrapped in Sasha's arms. Her body ached all over and she forced back the cries that were threatening to escape her lips. She had fallen and hit her head, but something about knowing Sasha tried to help before she fell, was terrifying. Noticing that she was awake, he whispered to her in her ear, speaking in the Sclevanian language. It was not a threat, but a warning, one Vanya knew she could never heed.

"I don't like that you are afraid of me."

----

Mina had gotten to a place in her recovery that no longer required Doctor Witt to constantly check in on her. The man had checked her wounds anytime the bandage needed to be changed, and he gave her some sort of ointment that he said would help with bacteria and scarring. She took the man's word for it, but could not distract herself from the melancholy in his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Karen scored average on her IQ exam." Mina picked up her pillow and threw it at the man, horrified that Karen went through with the test. "I didn't even tell you the worst part. She was happy that she scored in the middle." Mina found herself chuckling despite her irritation.

"Do you think my parents are geniuses?" She asked with a raised brow.

"My father may be slightly gifted, but only with business structure, and my mother, as uneducated as she is, taught me how to stretch money in ways I would have thought impossible." Doctor Witt brightened up and smiled.

"Have you changed your mind then?" Mina looked at the man in confusion.

"Give up. Mina can tell you the book she read at three o'clock on the twenty fifth Sunday after her tenth birthday but can't differentiate between flirting and comforting."

"DOM!" Mina shouted excitedly. She shifted in her bed, wanting to sprint to the man, but was still unable to move. "I'm so happy to see you." Dom came to stand close to Mina and pulled her into a hug that was separated by Doctor Witt.

"She was about to answer my question." Dom laughed at the man, making Mina curious as to what they were talking about, so she asked. "When I told you my problem, you presented yourself as an option." Mina uncomfortably shifted in the bed.

"No, I gave you an example."

"Then why use yourself? Why not use Bressaw? My sister and I are clearly more gifted than he is." Mina felt herself turn red in embarrassment. She wondered how many times she had used herself as an example, and she wondered if other men had gotten the same impression. She felt the need to double scrutinize all her actions, so when Dom reached out to help her shift into the wheelchair, she denied his aid.

Mina balanced on one leg, hopping into the wheelchair that was waiting for her. Dom felt guilty, because he knew he had made Mina doubt him, but a part of him was glad for it. He had heard from Rebecca that President Lee was personally involved in the woman's recovery, and it scared him that Mina was ignorant to the fact that the man was unhealthily obsessed with her.

----

Mina was terrified of going back to the Lee mansion. President Lee had been trying to make small talk with her the entire ride, but she feared inadvertently flirting with him, so she kept her answers to a minimum. When they arrived at his home, he tried to help her out of the car, but she refused, making up a lie that Doctor Witt asked her to move around more.

She watched the man nod, and stan behind the wheelchair, holding it steady while she pulled her body out of his car and into the seat. She was nervous, but when she saw Miss Ruby come running out of the mansion, she felt herself relax. Mina remained mostly composed until she saw Ellie, and she greeted the woman by one of the names she had given her, making Ruby look at the girls in confusion.

"Do you two know one another? Why is she calling you 'ghost?'"

"Nan, didn't she tell you?" Ellie panicked as her mother turned to face her.

"Tell me what?"

"Mom, Mina is talking about-" Mina cut the woman off.

"Your daughter helped me with something, and I never saw her again. Up until recently I thought she was…" Mina paused studying Ellie's frightened expression before continuing. "A figment of my imagination." Ruby smiled brightly.

"That sounds like my daughter. Had I not spent so many hours in labor, I too would think she doesn't exist." Ellie frowned before responding.

"Well, I am here now." Ellie gripped her mother's shoulders and Mina felt President Lee lean in close to her ear. She flinched away, but he moved closer, making a chill travel down her spine. She swallowed hard, not knowing what the man was going to say.

"That was mean," he whispered. Mina's eyes snapped to the man, who wore a smile that was so beautiful she felt her face flush from their proximity. Her mind started to wander and race as she once again replayed Dom's words in her mind. She wanted to tell the man that he had gotten the wrong impression, but she was near certain it was her who was reading the situation incorrectly.

"President Lee, is there something wrong?" Mina asked, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"I don't have wheelchair access." Mina looked up at the man, not sure what he was insinuating, but almost positive she would not like it, otherwise he would not have categorized it as 'something wrong.' "I can carry you in myself, or I can find someone else to do it."

"Where is Drax?" Mina asked, feeling like he was the only man who would not misunderstand her. He was also the only man she felt comfortable around, because she knew he had Mills, but at the thought of him no longer having Mills, Mina felt conflicted.

"Can't Ellie Carry Me?"