Chapter 631: A Dangerous Game

It was odd to Mina; she had been begging to be allowed to return home and now she was grateful to be away from the place. It was not just Lenard, but her parents as well. She loved them dearly, but at the end of the day they still only saw her as a monster and she found herself missing Sadie, who had affectionately commandeered the term as her own, even more.

"What are you thinking about?" Ian asked, sensing that Mina had slipped into one of those times when she said whatever was on her mind. He liked to exploit those moments because it was a rare glimpse into how her brain worked, and despite everything, he was still fascinated by the woman.

"I was just thinking about my sister. If she were still alive, I likely wouldn't have gone to Wayvair." Ian's brow furrowed.

If Mina had not gone to Wayvair, a myriad of issues she faced would not have happened. She would not have met Maggie Arden, she would not have been blacklisted, she would not have been tricked by the Youngs' and she would not have ended up in his bed.

Likewise, Mina may not have applied for a position within his company, and Ian would still be under the impression that Lisa was the ideal woman for him. The reality of how big an impact one far away decision could make had been made manifest in Mina, and Ian took the lesson to heart.

"The game you are playing is dangerous," Ian replied, and Mina pulled her eyes away from the window to look at him. "The what if game," Ian clarified. "I've played for a while now, and it never makes me feel any better."

"What do you regret?" Mina asked, turning her body to slightly face the man.

"Mostly it's what I did to you." Mina looked away, looking down at her lap instead. She was not expecting President Lee to say that, especially so freely. "I mean, how I treated you after that night," Ian said. He intuitively knew that Mina's mind had gone to the night they spent together, but her memories were still gone, and while he told her what happened, he knew she did not believe him.

"Why?" the woman whispered, shocking Ian who thought she would have shut down.

"It was cruel; I should have reacted more rationally, but in truth, I was disgusted." Mina apologized, and Ian quickly corrected where her mind had gone. "I was angry with you, but I was disgusted with myself." Mina's face twisted into a confused expression, but the conversation they were having was making her feel uncomfortable, and she did not want to continue, so she changed the subject.

"Should I read?" Mina asked, thinking the man would deny her, but he agreed a little more enthusiastically than she thought he would.

----

Willow opened her eyes and smiled up at the beautiful face of Oric who had his arms wrapped around her as he slept. She traced his chest with her fingers, and he grabbed her hand, smiling without opening his eyes. He playfully warned her that she had tapped out the night before, and she responded by climbing on top of him. Their relationship had improved from late night visits and quick rounds of sex to weekends spent together and romantic dinners. They were not in a relationship, but they were doing everything a couple would do.

Responding to Willow's clear sign that she wanted him, Oric gave her what she had been asking for. She giggled as he entered her, closing her eyes as if she were relishing the sensation, but it was short lived when loud banging boomed from Oric's bedroom door. Willow jumped off him, pulling the sheets up over her body as he quickly put on his shorts.

"Who did you give your key to?" She whispered, thinking that one of Oric's many flings had shown up in anger. She knew he had slept around, but she also knew that he had stopped sleeping around before they had even reunited. She too would have taken many partners if she could, so it did not bother her.

"No other woman has ever been here. The only people I have given the key to are my housekeeper, you, and my sister, who doesn't count." Oric could read the meaning behind Willow's words, but he, Connor, and Cylus had another place they used for one-night stands.

The banging became louder and more aggressive, and Oric, after having been warned by the Lee family to invest in personal protection, removed a small pistol from under his bed. Willow nervously stood, looking around for her clothes, but they had been removed in the kitchen, so she had nothing of her own to slide into. She quickly slipped into one of Oric's shirts and the man gestured for her to stand behind him as he pulled open the door.

The pair both paled when Willow's father barged into the room, they had been against the opposite wall, so the man had to turn and face them, brandishing a belt in his hand. Instinctively, Oric turned to protect Willow, and his back suffered from the blows of the woman's father in her place.

"I knew it," the man shouted. He only stopped swinging his belt when his wife pulled him away with a tearful face.

Oric could hear his own parents arguing with his sister outside of the room, and he felt bad that the girl had gotten involved in the game he and Willow had been playing. She was supposed to say she was with Willow anytime the woman's parents were looking for her, but obviously she had gotten caught.

"So, everything back then was true?" The man asked, clearly more upset that his daughter had lied.

"Daddy I-"

"No,'' the man said rudely. "Don't daddy me. Not when you have been sneaking around with the person who dragged your name through the mud until you were too embarrassed to show your face."

"Mr. West, it wasn't like that. I did not bad mouth Willow. I don't know why she didn't tell the truth back then, but I had no idea things had gotten so bad for her."

"And now?" Adam asked, terrified that his daughter would once again fall back into that bubble of isolation that led her to fall in love with someone as tactless as Jeremy Barnes. He had always hated the man, but he thought his daughter was happy with Jeremy, so he did not stop her from seeing him.

"Willow and I will be getting married," Oric said. Adam flinched and the look on his daughter's face told him that she was also taken aback.

"When?" Adam asked.

"As soon as possible." Willow's eyes went wide as she listened to her father and Oric go back and forth about her 'wedding.' When her mother and Oric's parents got involved, she finally found her voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember agreeing to this," she said, making a face that showed everyone in the room that she was completely uncomfortable with the discussion at hand.

"Your lack of clothing tells me otherwise," Adam said, and Willow went pale.

----

Cylus chuckled into his phone, he loved speaking to Ashlyn, who said she was in a country that did not have a reliable cellular network, so she had to use a satellite phone. Anytime she called, she first asked after Mina, something he appreciated, and then they would fall into casual conversation. She was an extremely funny woman, and while it was odd, he enjoyed hearing her tell stories about the woman he believed was his sister.

"Was she really like that?" Cylus asked. Ash had told him that Mina was an introvert with extrovert qualities, which did not make any sense. She said that the woman kept to herself, but given the opportunity, she was eager to make friends. "How did you meet?" Cylus asked and he heard the woman take a deep breath that he believed carried a smile with it.

"Mina didn't have any money. She was clean, but she was simple, and it was obvious that most of her clothing was second hand. A group of girls had been talking bad about her, but she ignored them. Later, I asked her why she did not stand up for herself and she told me that she did not like to waste her energy on vacuous and half-witted individuals who were laughably senseless and insensitive. I fell in love with her after that."

Cylus found himself laughing again. He could imagine Mina casually saying that line while packing her things, or taking notes, and while he found Ash's memory pleasant, he knew that Mina's past was far from ideal. He always asked Ash about things Mina had mentioned to him in passing, and sometimes, he wished he could go back in time to save her from the future she had fallen into. He hated that one jealous woman had been able to wreak havoc on Mina's life, and he also hated that the same woman was the reason she was tangled up with the Lee family. It was true that without Maggie Arden, he would never have met Mina, but he also knew that Ian Lee would not have hurt the woman if she had been able to use the education she had worked hard for.

The pair stayed on the phone in silence for a long time before Ash said something that made him chuckle again. He enjoyed speaking to the woman, who was amazing at twisting and manipulating words. He had hated that trait of hers in the past, but now it was his favorite part of the woman. She spoke her mind freely, the same way that Mina often spoke to him, only it was different. Mina was always trying to be polite, but Ash was almost always trying to be rude.

----

Mina could not sleep. She kept wondering if her parents were okay being left behind with her uncle's family, but since they had not called, she assumed they were. She was afraid to reach out to the couple because her mind was telling her that she would have another bill to pay when she did; another debt that would take decades to crawl out of, and another burden she would feel obligated to carry for her parents. She tossed back and forth until she heard the voice of President Lee. The man was standing in the doorway that connected their rooms and he too looked as though he could not sleep.

"I came to check on you," the man admitted, seeing no reason to lie. He had expected Mina to be asleep, and he was worried she would have a nightmare.

"I can't sleep," Mina replied. "I keep wondering if my parents are okay. We left suddenly, and they have not called." Ian took Mina's openness as an invitation to step into her room. He sat at the edge of her bed, keeping his back to her as he responded.

"You know that you can't take on everything, right?" Ian was afraid to look back at the woman, but when he did she was nervously picking at her nails.

"I know, but if my parents had more children, the division of responsibility would have been split evenly." Mina had never been so open with anyone regarding her commitment to her parents, but since President Lee knew the truth, she saw no need to lie.

"Because your sister had the same expectations from your parents?" Ian was not trying to be rude, but Mina's logic was flawed. She had made herself believe that things would have been different if she had other siblings, but the truth was that it may have been worse.

"Sadie and I were different. She needed to focus on school. I could manage both."

"But could you really?" Ian asked.