Chapter 581: No Choice

Mina listened to Miss Maggie's rant without interjection. The woman had every right to be angry with her because she had crossed a line. She had done something that she regretted the moment she realized that it held real consequences for Maggie, who was 'secretly' living with Paul. If she had listened to Zane when he had warned her, she could have avoided the situation she was in, but she did not.

She had once again become too full of herself to consider anyone else, and in Mina's mind, Miss Maggie did not deserve Paul; but she did. The woman continuously poked Mina's shoulder and because she knew she was at fault; Mina was prepared to take all the abuse Miss Maggie had planned.

The intensity of Miss Maggie's finger became increasingly intense, and it was not long before the woman was using both hands to push Mina backward. As much as she disliked what she was hearing, Mina remained quiet, but then Maggie said something that forced a reaction out of her. It was not that Maggie had spoken the words, but it was the fact that the vial the woman was spewing had caused Mina to relive the memory of when her sister told her why her parents hated her.

Maggie's face shifted, and Mina no longer saw the woman before her. Instead, she saw Sadie who was continuously pushing her as she claimed that Mina had caused their mother to miscarry. She shook her head and whispered the word 'no,' but 'Sadie' kept pushing her and just like before, she snapped. Mina lost control of herself, just as she had done in the past. Mina found herself wanting to shut 'Sadie' up, and the hard slap she received was all the incentive she needed.

Recalling everything she had learned from Dom, Jessica, James and anyone else who had shown her how to defend herself, Mina punched Maggie in the throat, leaving the woman unable to speak. When Mina successfully knocked Maggie onto the ground, she climbed over the woman's body and continuously punched her.

Mina allowed every time she cried herself to sleep for being a failure and every time she was so hungry that she had to steal food or eat the scraps of others to pour into her blows. She wanted to destroy all the negative feelings that were surfacing, but no matter how hard she hit the woman on the ground, it was not hard enough.

The next thing Mina felt was her body being pulled and thrown roughly. The pain of her elbows hitting the hard tile helped to clear the fog she was in, and Mina looked down at her hands which were covered in blood. She looked down at herself and saw that her satin gown was also blood stained. She then took in the sight of Paul holding his fiancé close to his chest.

Mina stood and walked toward the man, resting a hand on his shoulder but he violently pushed it away as if he were sickened by her. She could not blame the man for being wary, she had not meant to hurt Maggie as badly as she did, she just wanted the woman to stop talking.

"Paul, you don't understand. I did not mean to hurt her. She has done so much to me I-" Paul cut Mina off.

"What has she done to you Mina? The whole reason we are here is because she wanted to help you." Mina's heart clenched and she found her head tilting to the side in confusion.

"She is the reason I am in all the mess that I am in. For two years she would not let anyone hire me. She wouldn't leave-"

"Mina, look at yourself. I don't know what you are talking about, but you seem fine to me."

"Paul?" Mina took a step closer to the man, but he pulled away from her, shielding his fiancé with his body. "I thought you were my friend."

"I was your friend, but Maggie is my fiancé. It's funny that you accuse her when she cannot defend herself and when you have someone like him to back you up." Mina's eyes snapped to where Paul had indicated, and she saw President Lee looking at her with a worried expression.

Mina was embarrassed that the man was witnessing someone she told him she could easily love reject and dismiss her words as if they were nothing. She tried to run out of the room, but President Lee stopped her.

"You cannot leave like that. You are covered in blood and people will see." The man wrapped his jacket around Mina who found herself shaking although she was not cold.

"President Lee I-" the man physically covered her lips with his finger.

"There are no witnesses to what happened. Paul and I walked in on you giving Miss Maggie first aid. You were so shaken up by what you saw tonight that you had to leave early. Isn't that right Paul?" Mina saw President Lee's eyes land on Paul, and then she heard the man behind her agree. "Because Mina is a generous person, she has agreed to pay for all of Miss Maggie's medical expenses, and I will help compensate her family in the form of use at one of my wedding venues free of charge."

----

Ian's eyes never left Mina's form as she quietly sat in the backseat of his car. She was no longer shaking but she was just staring at nothing, which worried him. He knew she was overwhelmed by guilt, but he saw Mina's actions as a healthy expression of the two years' worth of pent-up frustrations. It was only a matter of time before she snapped, and he was grateful that he had been there to protect her from herself.

The driver on duty was one of the few who was friendly and close with Mina, and every time the man caught sight of her in the rearview mirror he frowned. When the man opened the car door for her, Mina did not move. The driver gave his boss a pleading look that told Ian he did not know what to say or do, so he pulled Mina out of the car and into his home.

Once inside, Ian guided Mina into her restroom where he sat her on one of the surfaces meant for something that he told himself he would have to ask his nan about later. The woman was still silent, and although Ian had left her alone for several Minutes, she made no move to clean herself up.

Using a damp washcloth, Ian began to dab at the small scratch on Mina's face before turning his attention to the cracked corner of her lips. She finally looked at him, and although it had been months, it was only the second time that Ian felt the woman had looked at him in a way that was not full of hatred, mistrust, or fear.

"This isn't the first time this has happened to you?" Ian said as a question. He knew from Doctor Sancho that Mina had a similar episode with her sister, but he wanted to give her the choice of speaking to him freely.

Sadly, Mina did not speak, but she shook her head while looking down at her lap. She must have noticed the blood on her hands again because she panicked and stood to wash them as tears spilled from her eyes.

"I don't want to go to jail," she sobbed, and Ian grabbed her hands and forced her to sit again.

"You did nothing wrong. What happened back there is because people like Maggie and I have backed you into a corner. You had no choice but to lash out."

"But she was right. I wanted to take Paul from her. I-" Ian stopped Mina from finishing her statement.

"You made a mistake that you did not follow through with and will not make again." Mina nodded slowly. She would never try to take what was not hers again.