Chapter 628: Visiting - 1

After being comforted by her mother, Mina lied and said that she had been making a new budget in her mind and it was distracting her. That was close to the truth, she was thinking about the money she had sent her parents and she wondered if it made more sense for her to pay her uncle directly, but knowing the man, he would charge her parents as well.

Mina knew her father would not want to offend his adoptive brother, so he would pay whatever he was being asked to pay, regardless of what Mina said. She needed to find a way to pay her uncle while simultaneously having her parents aware of her actions and she needed a way to offer them the choice without insulting them. If she brought it up now, it would look as though she were telling her father she did not trust him, but that was not the case. She just wanted to make sure that he took care of himself.

Mina's father always worked hard at the factory. Whether he was on the floor or running machines, he was the best employee the place had. She had remembered a time when his bosses had let him go and production slowed to an unsustainable pace. When dealing with recycled products, which are more expensive but carry higher tax write offs, prompt completion of an order is a must. Back then, Mina had tried to negotiate better working conditions and a higher fixed salary for her father, but the man was so afraid to fail his family that he only allowed her to make one offer and accepted their counteroffer immediately.

"I was also thinking about where I want to visit first. It's been a long time and I want to take a walk." Ian glanced over to Mina who had resumed smiling, and this time it looked real. It was sad to finally get down to the truth of who Mina actually was; a woman who had been raised in a mentally abusive environment.

----

Ian showered and changed into a set of clothing he had one of his people bring him. It was more casual than he was used to, even for going out with friends, but he could not see himself walking around Mina's rural town in a full suit. He settled for gray pants and a thin button-down top that had no collar. Ian had also sent for something for Mina, and while she said what she had was fine, he did not fail to notice that she had changed into the blue jeans and tan short sleeve shirt he had arranged, and not what she had laying around.

As soon as Mina's mother saw her, she started to adjust her clothing, and offered her a cardigan to put over her blouse. Only when Mina produced her own did her mother relax, and while the woman's father had not said anything, he was glaring at Ian disapprovingly. Taking the hint, Ian moved closer to the man, hoping that they would be able to speak without Mina or her mother overhearing. It was clear to Ian that Anne did not want her daughter to date him, David on the other hand, seemed mostly bothered that he could not tell whether his daughter was in a relationship or not.

The men stepped outside, and while Mina caught the action, she did not follow. Her parents may not have had the best life, but both grew up with proper etiquette, so when the men excused themselves, the women did not follow.

Outside, Ian and David walked a good distance away from the home before they said any words to one another. Ian knew that the man had no power to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do, and even if he flat out told him that he did not want him dating Mina, Ian would not listen if he saw a way in. Still, he wanted to humor the man, who was obviously concerned about something.

"I'm not sure if I'm reading wrong, but I feel like this conversation needs to happen."

"I'm listening," Ian replied, trying to remain casual with the man. He appreciated the fact that Mina's family did not seem to be afraid of him.

"Mina is not like other gir-" David cut himself off, realizing that his word choice was wrong. "My daughter is not like other women. She gets hurt easily." Ian remained silent. He could not believe how different David and Anne described their daughter. "As parents, we haven't made things easy for her, and if you aren't truly interested in her; I'm asking you to pull away now."

"You don't have to worry about that," Ian replied cryptically. "I can assure you that your daughter and I are just friends. If things change, I will make sure you and your wife are among the first to know." David flashed a tight smile before continuing.

"And your fiancé?" Ian cringed, not expecting the man to question him about something outsiders knew little about.

"I'm not sure who your source is, but I was never engaged. There are many rumors involving me, but only a few are true."

"I have a proposal request for Mina, the only thing stopping it from going through is her unclear involvement with you. I'm not blind President Lee, I know it was you in the ocean."

"That was an unfortunate situation which was taken out of context, and as far as an engagement goes, Mina would not like being arranged to marry anyone."

"She would if she saw this." David handed Ian a tightly wrapped envelope from his rear pocket and paled when he saw the photo inside. It appeared to be a nude Mina, wrapped in the arms of Ren Loam. "She doesn't know, and Ren wants to make things right by her." Ian scoffed, shaking his head at Ren's desperate attempt to make Mina his.

"That man has a surgically modified clone of Mina with him at all times. He is sick, and that is not your daughter in those photos; I can guarantee it." David took back the photos and glanced over them, holding his hand over the woman's body as he tried to get a closer look at the face.

"Are you sure?" the man finally asked, not certain if President Lee was just going based on Mina's usually conservative nature.

"I have seen the woman with my own eyes. You of all people would know what that man did to your daughters." Ian made sure to pluralize the last word because he had already gathered that Mina's sister was the family favorite. "They recently had a run in with one another and it did not go as well as he expected it to go. That photo is obviously his desperate attempt to force her to be with him." David sighed, tightly wrapping up the photo before tearing it into pieces and putting it back in his pocket.

"I almost made a terrible mistake," the man admitted.

----

Ian was already exhausted after just walking to the community center. It was hot, and just when he thought he would get relief from an air conditioned facility, he stepped inside to find that it was equally as hot, but it had multiple industrial fans running to help keep the people inside cool. Mina, while glistening with sweat, did not look annoyed at all. She handed him a bottle of water she had kept in her bag and told him to sit in front of one of the fans.

Ian did not even argue, he did exactly as she had asked because he knew their tour was not over, and he was not sure he could keep his promise and walk to all the places Mina wanted to go. The distance was not too bad so far, but the sun was extreme.

"Excuse me sir, can I help you?" A female voice asked, and Ian rolled his eyes. He turned to see a tall woman with dark hair and eyes, someone he would consider pretty but not attractive.

"If you could turn on the air conditioning it would be great." The woman laughed and Ian rolled his eyes again. He knew she was flirting; he could see it in her eyes. Community centers were public areas, and there were plenty of people who looked like they needed help, like the old man who was struggling to wheel himself closer to a fan, but Ian was not one of them.

"Sorry sir, but we have a tight budget. The air conditioning only gets triggered when it's hotter than 30°C inside."

"30°C?" Ian questioned. He had been staring at the woman when his eyes were drawn to Mina, who was laughing with two people who he could only assume were past coworkers. As she walked, she noticed the old man, and helped push him closer to a fan. She then pointed in his direction, and the couple nodded at whatever it was she was saying.

"Sir," The woman said. "If you don't mind my saying, you do not look like you are from this area. Maybe I can show you around after work?" Ian raised a brow at the woman, pointing toward Mina so she would turn and look.

"I already have someone. Thank you for the offer though." The woman rolled her eyes, but she did not leave.

"Oh, not her," the woman said mockingly. "She used to talk in numbers when we were children. People used to throw rocks at her." The woman chuckled, but when she saw that Ian's face had gone dark, she tried to switch gears. "She isn't normal. She once attacked a boy, hurting him so badly that my parents wouldn't leave me alone with her, and after her sister died, she didn't even take a bereavement period." Ian glared at the chatty woman, and while he had not known that information, he was certain there had to be a valid reason for it.

The annoying woman did not take the hints Ian was giving, and she stayed chatting his ear off about terrible things Mina had said or done. She even went as far as to insinuate that Mina had been selling her body as a child, and that was when Ian stood menacingly. His action caught Mina's attention, and she jogged over to the area, standing in between him and the woman as if she could function as some sort of buffer. Mina was barely five foot six, and even with her healthy weight and muscle she was no more than one-hundred-thirty pounds. If he wanted, he could lift Mina up and use her body to knock the obnoxious woman back a few feet.

"President Lee?" Mina questioned, "Is everything alright?"

"Do you know this woman?" Mina turned to face the person speaking and nodded.

"Her name is Deidra; she and I were in high school together. Why?" Ian asked the woman to repeat some of her earlier claims, but she had gone silent, so he repeated them for her. "Why would you spread lies about me?" Mina asked, clearly put off. "We never even interacted with one another."

"Y-you didn't mourn your sister," the woman said, choosing to focus on what Ian could only assume was a truth within the stack of lies.

"I couldn't. My parents needed to mourn, but death doesn't stop bills from piling up. If I had not worked, we would have become homeless." Deidra looked down and Mina shook her head in disbelief. "President Lee, I've already seen who I came to visit. We can leave now." Ian nodded, not expecting the woman to stop him.

"Be careful of her. My mother told me that she killed her little brother, and that is the truth. Everyone knows about it."

"Shut up," Ian snarled, but when he looked over at Mina, she looked sick,

"President Lee, can we go?"