Chapter 661: Reality

Although there were guests, Ian still found himself glued to Mina's side. If she stepped left so did he, and he did not even notice it until his nan made fun of him. When Mina had referred to them as a 'we,' Ian felt as though he needed to show her that he also felt the same way, but after a while, he gave her some space to talk to Mills, who was clearly irritated that she knew nothing about their budding relationship.

"So… you and Mina?" Drax asked, casting a glance at Lisa, who while smiling as she spoke to Luna and Tavin, was clearly uncomfortable.

Ian had seen her face when he and Mina walked into his home, and it was an expression of pure hurt. He felt bad for the woman, who he realized had liked him as much as he liked Mina, and it was part of the reason he had tolerated her being in his home, despite the fact that he was very clear with Luna about his feelings toward Lisa.

Once upon a time, Ian thought he would marry Lisa and they would live happily ever after, but that would not have been the case. At the end of the day, he only liked Lisa as a close family friend. Where personality was involved, they had very little in common, something he once thought he could overlook, but now knew he could never. Lisa was cruel and entitled, and while he also had those qualities, he did not misuse them on those under his employ the way she did.

"She and I have worked things out," Ian replied, finding Mina still chatting with Mills, who was clearly unhappy.

"So, I may have made my fiancé think you and Lisa were-"

"I know," Ian interrupted, glaring at his friend. "But how did you get to that conclusion?"

"When you asked for advice I…" Drax paused, cringing as he realized that the advice Ian was asking for was in reference to Mina, not Lisa. "That long?" He continued excitedly, realizing too late that he was loud. Drax looked around before lowering his voice. "Does Zane know? And why isn't he here?"

"I texted him and he said he wasn't invited." Drax made a face, and Ellie, who had been eavesdropping swooped in.

"Luna told us that it was a family-only event. I told Mills because I didn't want Mina to feel alone." Ian raised a brow at his sister, who he knew was not very friendly with Mina, so it made no sense why she would care. "She and I may not be friends, but we don't hate one another," Ellie continued. "Besides that, mom likes her, more than she likes me if I'm being honest." Ellie crossed her arms, and Drax patted the top of her head.

"Mina is more passive than you; anyone would like her more." Ellie's mouth hung open, and Ian chuckled before he noticed his sister's eyes turn to slits. He turned to face where she was looking and saw Lisa approaching.

"Well," Drax said. "Ellie and I will let you handle that." Ian sighed as he was abandoned to deal with Lisa alone. He cast a quick glance back over to Mina, whose eyes were locked on his form. He gave her a subtle nod and she returned it before continuing her conversation with Mills, and now, Drax, and Ellie, who had joined them.

"Looks like I shouldn't have come," Lisa said, chuckling self-deprecatingly. "Call me a fool but-"

"Lisa," Ian interjected. "Let's not go there." The woman nodded and took a deep breath.

"Can we talk in private?" She asked, and Ian reluctantly agreed. Before heading up to his study, Ian approached his nan's wheelchair. Ellie was near, so he waved his hand to get her attention.

"Please see everyone out. This wasn't something I anticipated, and Mina and I have plans to celebrate alone." Ian watched his nan's eyes go wide, before he kneeled to whisper in her ear, changing her concerned expression into one of joy.

"Ellie, hurry up. Let's close the evening."

----

Mina watched Ian and Miss Lisa heading up the stairs, and her heart thumped in her chest. She wanted to follow them, but that was not trust, and if there was one thing she knew they needed between them, it was the ability to know that the other would not betray them. She helped see everyone out, including Mills, who wanted to stay, but Drax whispered something in her ear that made her smile brightly before she waved with excitement.

Miss Ruby and Ellie also left, leaving Mina alone with Miss Luna, who refused to leave without Lisa. Just as her foot touched the first stair, Miss Luna called out to her, asking her if they could speak. Mina did not want to talk to the woman, but she figured it was better to get it out of the way early. If she wanted to have a happy future with Ian, she knew she needed to include his family in it as well.

"I thought you said you weren't interested."

"I wasn't," Mina replied bashfully. "But things have changed."

"Mina you-"

"Miss Luna, your brother and I are happy. Can you just be happy with us?"

"He isn't happy, he is sick, and so are you."

"Then we can be sick together," Mina said, repeating the same line Ian had once said to her, but that was before she could see the changes in him, and had she opened her eyes back then, she probably would not have wanted to keep things between them a secret.

"Mina that is ridiculous. Ian needs help. You need help." Mina's eyes narrowed as Luna spoke, and she found herself wondering how she ever considered the woman a friend. "I don't know what you and Ian have going on right now, but it won't last long. I'm going to get my brother treated."

"Miss Luna, your father is ill. Your family knows something is wrong, and if you start insisting that Ian gets treated for mental illness; what do you think will happen?" Luna went silent. Mina was right, but more than that, she could not believe that the woman knew about her father's health.

"Ian told you?"

"Yes," Mina admitted. "And you should get used to me being in the picture because as far as I can tell I'm not going anywhere." Luna stared at Mina, unsure how to respond to such a bold declaration, so she went for what she knew would work; guilt.

"Mina, do you know that Lisa is having fertility issues because of Ian?" Mina flinched. She did not understand how Ian could be responsible for something like that, but she did not raise her voice to defend him either. "She gave him ten years of her life, and he rewarded her by dumping her for you after she was tricked into getting rid of their baby.''

"What?" Mina questioned, feeling a lump in the back of her throat.

"Oh, come on Mina. Lisa told me that she told you she was expecting. She even told me that you helped protect her when you were taken. Ian got the doctors in the hospital to tell her one thing, but when she followed up with another physician, she was told the truth. That is why she threatened to kill herself; at that moment, she knew that Ian was going to leave her, and she felt like she didn't have a choice." Mina swallowed hard, and Luna shook her head. "Please make the right decision. I know you do not believe it right now, but if you leave, Ian will go back to Lisa."

Mina blinked back her tears, and Miss Luna walked away, heading to the bar where she poured herself a drink, leaving Mina to consider her heavy accusation with no reference to draw back on except for her own experience with President Lee. He had also given her an emergency contraceptive, and she knew from general health lessons that taking those pills often could lead to fertility issues.

Ten years was a long time to be with a person, and even though Mr. Wei had told her that it was more like three or four years, that was still a decent portion of their lives. Had President Lee pressured Lisa into going without protection the way he was pressuring her? It could not have been true, if it were, he would not have told her that she did not have to take the pill, but then again, there were other ways he could have given it to her.

Mina lived in his home, ate his food, and cooked in his kitchen. There were plenty of opportunities for the man to slip her a contraceptive if he wanted, but why would he lie? She stood in a trance, wondering if, like Willow had said, everything was a game for him. He had taken her out, showed her off, made her feel special, and now it all felt like a set up to her.

What were the odds that President Lee's nan, for the first time ever, decided to throw him a surprise party at Midnight? What if he just needed enough people to see them together to be able to have a defense if anything about them ever came out? Her mind was racing as she desperately tried to make sense of the added information Luna had dropped on her. It was like she was having an out-of-body experience, seeing everything that had happened between herself and President Lee from an old angle; from the perspective of negativity that she had once only ever been able to see.

No, Mina told herself. She could feel the man's sincerity in his words, in the way that he touched her, and in everything that he had done for her. At the hospital, she inquired about her father's bill and they told her that it had already been taken care of. He was a man of money, but he would not have done that if he had no intention of being with her.

Then there was her old bedroom, the man had upgraded it and made it a more pleasant place to be. Surely that was an indication that he wanted a future with her. A future where her family was included, and their reluctance to leave their old home understood as something that could be worked around; or, Mina's mind told her, he had upgraded the room because he was preparing to send her back.

Trying hard not to cry, Mina made her way up the stairs. The door to President Lee's study was ajar, so she stood next to it, wanting to hear the conversation, but the voices were so muffled that she knew they were in the bedroom within the study. Pushing the door open as quietly as possible, Mina took a single step into the room before her entire world came crashing down.

"Ian, please. Mina is right downstairs."

"So what?" The man said in a tone that sounded labored. A tone that Mina had heard often; it was the way he would sound when they were in bed together.

"She will hate you," Lisa said, and Mina heard the man moan before she could not take anymore. She quietly exited the study, went to her room, removed the suitcase of cash from under her bed, took only the notebook with the picture of Sadie, and headed toward the garage.

Willow was right, the pain of finding out that it was all a lie was excruciating; almost so unbearable that Mina barely had the ability to think straight. The pain was more than emotional, it was physical. Her chest hurt, her head ached, and her jaw throbbed as she struggled to hold back her tears.

Entering one of the cars she knew would respond to her fingerprint, Mina left the Lee mansion.