Chapter 561: Just Trust Me

Another sleepless night plagued Mina, and this time it was not because of nightmares. She had since found out that the Staton family was holding a matchmaking event for their youngest three children and Mina had a feeling that Mills was going to show up with Melony; not that she blamed the woman.

Drax had backed Mills into a corner and Melony had pulled her out of it. Mills went through something tragic, and instead of Drax being patient and showing her that he cared, he threw a tantrum and left. It was no wonder she was not eager to have him around. Mina knew what it was like to have someone push their will on her while she was mentally broken, and it was a horrible feeling.

Drax was wrong for trying to 'rekindle' while Mills had just received heavy news and when Mina had told Drax to find Mills, she was wrong for getting involved. No matter how much she loved the pair as a couple, it was not her place to push them together. Mills and Drax were not characters in a romance novel, and there were real emotions involved.

Mina rolled out of bed and waddled down to the kitchen. She had been walking on her toes to prepare for the Staton's event, and it was not easy. She half wondered if she could fulfill Mills' subtle request for her to be there. She roamed around the kitchen pulling out random ingredients to prepare breakfast for herself but started to feel guilty knowing that President Lee would also be awake, and that there was no chef, nor was his nan around.

Not wanting to be rude, Mina made breakfast for two. As soon as she finished cooking, she transferred the food to serving dishes and used one of the kitchen trolleys to get it upstairs. Aside from the noise she was making with the cart, the Lee mansion was completely silent. It was scary being in the giant home without staff, but Mina knew it was for safety.

Other than the head butler and a handful of other people, everyone who had worked in the mansion had been removed. They were not in trouble the way Carmen was, but they were each being retrained. Mina was the one who negotiated that outcome, and this time she traded nothing for it. She simply told President Lee the truth; all members of his staff that were familiar with Miss Lisa were afraid of her.

They feared that Miss Lisa could have them fired or worse, and those who had witnessed her being slapped actually believed they were acting in the benefit of all parties involved by not saying anything.

Mina pushed the food into President Lee's study, and as she had expected, the man was just settling in behind his desk.

"What is that?" he asked as a greeting.

"I made breakfast so that you wouldn't have to order."

"Is it poison?" President Lee questioned skeptically. Mina did not answer; she instead revealed that the food had yet to be plated. She took a serving for herself and began eating before she spoke.

"I added a serving because I would have felt bad eating in front of you." Ian was not sure if he believed Mina, but he did not have the heart to reject her meal. "If you do not trust it, you do not have to eat it." Mina could tell the man was on the fence about her cooking, which was why she left it up to him to serve himself.

"I want your plate." Mina shrugged and handed the man her food. She fixed another for herself and sat back in the chair that had become like a safe zone for her.

----

It was late in the evening when Mina's parents called. They wished her a happy birthday and as she expected, asked why she had not come home. Mina lied, telling them something they would always believe; she had to work. Her parents went through the entire 'don't work too hard' speech before they finally let her get another word in.

"Mommy, I am curious, have police officers come to the house looking for me again?"

"No, just twice and it was the same fellow both times; an older man with a mustache." Mina felt her shoulders lighten. Her mother had described Chief Soya of the first district. He had probably been trying to find her.

"Why didn't you mention it before?" she asked, feeling as though her mother would not have brought it up unless she had a reason.

"Mina, you have been sending us a lot of money. Your father and I don't understand how you are taking care of yourself if all of your funds are coming to us."

"I have a decent job now, it may seem like a lot, but it's only half of my salary, the other half goes to living expenses." Mina was not lying, her employment with the Lamar family was salary based. She was paid whether she worked or not, and she had arranged through Willow to have her wages split between two accounts; her parents account and the one that she had given Mills access to. Mina's conversation with her parents was pleasant, but it suddenly became sour with the mention of her cousin.

"Mina, did you know that Lennard is still smitten with you after all these years? He says he wants to visit you." Mina's brow furrowed because something was up. Her parents had never tried to push Lennard onto her, and she was worried.

"Why?"

"Well, how old are you now?"

"Anne," Mina heard her father say. "Leave the girl alone; she will find someone when she is ready."

"And when will that be? When there are more rumors about her floating around or when she is photographed straddling someone else?"

"Our daughter has already explained that to us, and I choose to believe her story, with much difficulty might I add." Mina's mouth was left hanging open at the exchange between her parents.

"Mommy, what rumors are you talking about?" She was half afraid of the answer she would hear.

"Someone in town said you were dating a woman." Mina burst into laughter and her mother began scolding her through the phone.

"Mommy I am sorry; I didn't mean to laugh but that is ridiculous." Mina could imagine her mother's expression as she listened to her father making annoying 'told you so' comments in the background. "I miss you so much." The line went silent, and Mina realized she had let too much emotion into her voice.

"Mina, you would tell your father if something were wrong, right?" Mina nodded despite being on the phone. She wiped her tears, assuring her father that she would, even though she would not.

"Are you crying?"

"No mommy, I am just tired." Mina forced out a yawn, but somehow it invited the actual feelings of fatigue into her body; fatigue that quickly disappeared when Zane walked into her room.

"Happy birthday beautiful." Mina fumbled with the phone and hung up on her parents, who immediately called back. She ignored the call, but they called again, and Mina glared at Zane, who was holding a cupcake while wearing a frown.

"Boyfriend?"

"My parents," Mina said through gritted teeth. Zane tried to walk away, but she hopped after him. "No, you have to help me explain to them. I told them I was at home already, now they are going to think I live with a man." Zane looked at Mina as if she were the dumbest person in the world, stunned that a genius could be so stupid.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because you do live with a man." Mina's eyes went wide, and her phone started to ring again.

"What is going on out here?" President Lee asked, seeing Mina and Zane in a staring contest with a phone between them. They told him the story, and when Mina's phone rang again, he told her to answer it.

"President Lee, I don't know."

"Can you just trust me?"