Chapter 625: The Parents

Mina had been miserable the entire time she was in The Four Cities. People talked down to her any chance they got, they believed her time was for purchase, and she was treated like a source of entertainment; not a human. Anytime someone asked her to sing impromptu, Mina would just pretend she did not understand what they were saying, switching between languages to confuse the offending individual, but it did not stop them from wanting her to dance, sing, dress up, and several other extremely rude requests.

Mina wondered how Olivia and Willow survived the environment, but Director Porter insisted that what was happening to her was only typical for actresses from Pan. She was shocked to hear that it was commonly believed that all actors from her country were available for some kind of hire. Whether it was just to have them as eye candy at an event, or to have them physically, it was not an uncommon occurrence and considered normal.

The harassment had gotten so bad that Mina shut herself in her room when she was not working. Even then, several people had gotten her room number and called her until she unplugged the phone. Dom was so uncomfortable on her behalf that he stayed with her, even when she was in her room. He and James would take turns standing outside of her door, while the other slept on the floor by the foot of her bed. It was not an ideal arrangement, but Mina had been woken up several times by rowdy men and women who would either get into a shouting match with James or actually call the police on Dom.

Alighting from the plane felt relieving to Mina, even though she had to cut her friends off, it was great to be home; a feeling she never thought she would experience. It suddenly occurred to her that President Cam was right, citizens of Pan only knew The Four Cities based on what they saw on television. For those who could afford to visit, she could not see their opinion of the place remaining untainted by reality.

Climbing into Dom's car, Mina allowed herself to relax in the back seat. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her. She had been kept awake for most of the plane ride by Dom, who insisted that she needed to stay alert, but in the quiet of their drive, she saw no harm in catching up on some much-needed sleep. After what felt like hours, Mina opened her eyes, surprised to be in an area she recognized, not because it was near the Lee mansion, but because she was close to home; less than an hour's walk away.

"Why are we here?" Mina asked, rubbing her eyes to make sure that she was not in a dream. When James gave her a vague answer, she turned her question to Dom, who was also of no help. "I will jump out of this car if you do not tell me why you have brought me here." Mina was serious, she knew the back doors were not child safety locked because she had developed the habit of checking, and she was not vain enough to care if she were injured leaping out of the vehicle.

"Please don't," Dom pleaded. He knew Mina was completely serious. He had been the one to show her how to jump out of a moving car, and although they never practiced it, he knew she would remember the basics. "We weren't actually briefed. President Lee called and said to bring you to the location he sent."

Mina calmed a little, but she kept her guard up. It was not that she did not trust Dom, she did, it was just that President Lee had been extremely accommodating and kind to her, and while she knew the man had confused his guilt toward her for affection, she could not ignore the fact that he could be slipping back into his old ways. Her mind wandered until her throat became dry and she started to breathe heavily, making James, who had been watching her from the rearview mirror, turn to face her.

"Do you think I stand a chance with Emma," the man asked, snapping Mina out of her dark thoughts. She had always believed that Emma and James would rekindle, but the more time passed, the less likely the relationship became.

"If you want a second chance, tell her directly. Emma has changed, she is better at communicating her expectations now, and to be quite honest, she likes you too." James nodded and handed Mina his phone. She sighed deeply before inputting Emma's number into the device, prompting the man to thank her.

Mina had begun to settle until the car slowly came to a stop in front of the last place she would ever have expected to be taken. She fumbled with the door handle and bolted out of the car without even questioning Dom or James.

The worst thoughts were going through Mina's mind, and when she stopped at the front desk and her family name was able to be searched in the system, she almost died of fright. She dashed from the visitors' check-in and toward the lift, pressing the call button repeatedly as if it would bring the elevator faster. When the doors finally opened, Mina pushed inside, not caring about the people who were trying to get out.

Dom and James had caught up to her in the wait, but neither man spoke as she rapidly tapped the button that would take her to the sixth floor of the hospital. Mina ran toward the room number she had been given, and her heart sank when she saw her father connected to several pieces of equipment. She ran to the man's side, only noticing President Lee after her father assured her that he was okay.

"Why didn't you call me?" Mina asked. She noticed President Lee step out of the room, something she was grateful for. She had not seen her parents in years, and she hated the fact that they were coming face to face in a hospital, obviously as a result of a medical emergency.

"Mina, your mother called you several times, but your phone always went straight to voicemail." Mina turned to her mother, who wore a sad and bitter expression, as if she were angry about something.

"Mommy?" Mina said as a question, and the woman took a deep breath before replying.

"Your father and I have never asked you for anything. The money you sent us is because you choose to, not because we have asked for it." Mina's face morphed into a perplexed expression while her father said her mother's name in a warning tone, asking her to calm down. "No David, I will not calm down. I wonder what else she's been telling people about us."

"What are you talking about?" Mina asked in a broken tone. She was still shaking because she had yet to find out what was wrong with her father, and she felt like her mother's words could have waited until after she had gotten an answer about his health.

"I called you and your assistant told me you were busy. When I didn't hear from you, I called back, and she told me that she was told to tell us that you were tired of us asking for money and we would get our regular allowance as scheduled." Mina gasped. She did not have an assistant, more than that, she would never have told anyone she was tired of helping her parents. As her mother had said, it was something she had done on her own.

"I don't have an assistant," Mina replied, and President Lee stepped back into the room.

"Mrs. Harlow, I don't mean to jump into family affairs, but Mina is telling the truth. The woman you spoke to was Mina's temporary assistant during filming. She read your accent and assumed. She confessed and was fired by her company." Mina looked at her mother, whose expression softened as the man spoke.

"I told you our daughter would never say anything like that," David said, and Mina turned her attention back to her father.

Whether it was out of embarrassment or anger, Anne excused herself from the room, saying that she wanted to check on the status of her husband's blood work. Mina ignored it; she was used to her mother accusing her of terrible things and never apologizing afterward, so it was in a way, a normal behavior.

Mina took the opportunity to ask her father what had brought him into the hospital, and he told her that he started to feel dizzy at work but ignored it. After weeks, the feeling continued, and it had begun to affect his work performance. Eventually, he was having trouble with his balance, and then his hearing started to dull.

"Your mother and I called you because we wanted to get your opinion before wasting money, but…" David paused, and Mina used the silence to remind him that she would never instruct anyone to say such an awful thing to them. "Well, I'm being treated now, and whatever they are giving me has me feeling much better already." Mina chuckled at the man, who started small talk.

From the door Ian watched Mina and her father interact with one another. The man was more affectionate toward Mina than his wife, who had not even hugged the girl, despite having last seen her in person at her college graduation ceremony. On the other hand, David had held onto his daughter's hand from the moment she threw herself onto his bed, and had continued holding it, even when his wife was picking a useless fight with her.

"Do you like her?" Ian heard, and he spun to see Anne Harlow, watching him watch Mina.

"She is a wonderful person," Ian replied, wanting to indirectly answer the question by praising Mina.

"She is an amazing woman," Anne corrected. "But President Lee, please be careful with my daughter. She is not what she appears." Ian's brow furrowed, and he hoped his cousin would never hear those words leave Anne Harlow's lips. He was aware that Mina's parents once believed she was dangerous, but he had not realized that the feelings had not dissipated over time.

Anne nodded at him meaningfully, then reentered the room. This time she actually hugged her daughter, who hugged her back tightly, seeming to relish in the feeling of being embraced by her mother. She kissed the woman's cheek before moving off her father's bed and standing off to the side, allowing her mother to see to the man.

As Ian watched the trio interact, a doctor cautiously approached him and handed him a lab report that Ian had to wait longer than he wanted to for the man to explain. He realized that the doctor was waiting for permission to speak, so he made a gesture to the man, who blurted out what was wrong with Mina's father loud enough for everyone on the floor to hear.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, standing up to address the doctor with a ferocity in her stride that Ian found sexy. "My father did not try to kill himself," she growled, and the doctor shook his head vigorously.

"No miss, but he has been self-medicating. Aspirin poisoning can occur slowly, he must be taking more than the safe amount daily." Mina looked over to her father who covered his face as both his wife and daughter stared at him.

"Daddy, have you been in pain?" Mina asked, walking back to her father's side in a manner that was much less fierce than she had approached the doctor. "What is hurting you?" she asked gently. Ian watched Mina's mother's expression as her daughter spoke, and while he found it odd, he could not really put an emotion toward it.