Chapter 682: Moon and Back

"What do you mean you can't find them?" Ian growled. "They obviously exist, otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

Zane watched Ian berate yet another person who was tasked with figuring out how information about investments he was planning to make was getting out. He had been undercut at nearly every turn, and while the losses the Lee Group experienced started off as minor, they were beginning to feel pressure from several angles. Each company they had investigated was acting in their own best interest and separate from the others, but it could not have been a coincidence that they were entities Ian planned to work with or buy out, nor could it be the work of one individual.

"Ian, calm down and let's approach this rationally. There have been no data leaks from within, the computers in this place all have encryption software on them, and no one has access to the data that is being leaked besides me and you."

"Then a ghost is following us, because it's the only thing that makes sense."

"It's not…" Zane whispered.

"What was that?" Ian asked, knowing exactly what his friend was going to say.

"Look, I miss her just as much as you do, but what you are doing for that Natalie woman is costing The Lee Group just as much as being undercut."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Ian, she isn't Mina." Ian flinched at the mention of Mina's name. He hated to hear it because it always made his heart ache with bitterness and guilt. Absent-mindedly, he opened his desk drawer and pulled the woman's family registry card out of a protective box. He had taken it from her early in their 'relationship' and he intended for his face to be etched onto the other side, but that was now an impossibility. "You have to let go man."

"I know, and I know." Ian gently stroked his thumb over Mina's image and returned the card to his desk. "After this, I will. The Lee group has a fifty percent stake in Miss Natalie's company and we won't feel the losses we are taking for long."

"I hope so," Zane replied, gesturing for the man who Ian had just been berating to start speaking again.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but could Miss Natalie have gotten access-"

"No," Ian interjected harshly. He had already gone down the road of accusing an innocent woman once and he was uninterested in doing it again.

----

Mina awoke to the smell of food being cooked, and although she knew where she was, she still panicked and scrambled to her feet, startling Melony who was in the kitchen. The woman ran to her side, and Mina felt her racing heart begin to calm. It was the first of many nights that she had not had a nightmare, and she had slept deeply.

"What time is it?"

"A little past noon; Peto went to get some things for you before taking you back to your friends." Mina nodded, and Melony pulled her into the kitchen. She poured her a cup of coffee, a liquid that Mina had once been nauseated by a few weeks after boarding Nael's ship. She remembered gagging with the scent that strongly reminded her of President Lee, but now, with her body well rested, she was able to sip the hot liquid without much reaction.

After eating, Mina waited for Lapeto, who came in with many bags; he dumped them all out and Melony went to work on helping her sculpt the scars for her face. They were easy to apply, but unlike the collodion scars which were flat, the wax ones were raised, so they made transitional scars that were meant to look like she had layered makeup over the area. It was well into the evening before Mina decided to leave, but not before having dinner with her friends.

----

Mina opened the door to Nael's suite, feeling gloomy about returning to the cabin. She wanted to find a place where she could be happy and free of burden or fear. She went straight to the kitchen where she placed the food Melony had packed for her down on the counter, staring at the containers as memories of President Lee once again consumed her thoughts. She used to feel so content cooking and baking for the man who had such a fussy stomach that it made her question his 'training.'

For a long time, Mina just stared at the containers on the countertop, and without really understanding why, tears started to fall from her eyes. She used to accuse President Lee's belly of being trained to disturb her peace, and while it was once meant as an insult, it later became an endearment. She felt complete taking care of him, and in a lot of ways she wanted to get that feeling back, only with someone who would appreciate her efforts.

The door of the suite aggressively swung open, and Mina instinctively pulled her gun on the person, dropping it when she saw it was Nael. He had the beginnings of a black eye and a swollen lip, and she panicked when she did not see Leal immediately follow behind his brother.

"Where were you?"

"Where is Leal?" They asked at the same time, and Mina approached the man in fear that she would hear unwelcome news, but as soon as she was within reach, Nael pulled her into a hug that was so tight it hurt.

"Don't ever do that again," he whispered. "Do you know how worried I was?" Mina gently pulled her body away from the man, completely confused by his statement and the fact that he had not answered her question. "Leal is fine. He did this to me."

"Why?" she asked, a little uncomfortable that Nael's arm was still wrapped around her waist.

"I shouldn't have left you behind," he replied, pressing his forehead against hers. "We went to that bar together, and we should have left together."

"It's okay," Mina said. She was unsure of how to respond because the man was displaying uncharacteristic weakness and emotion that she could not explain. "Did something happen?"

"Just let me hug you for a little while." Mina's body went rigid, and Nael cuddled close to her, burying his face into her neck. Anytime he breathed it sent shivers down her spine, and each time her body shook, he held her closer. "Where did you go?"

"I had dinner with Lapeto and-" Nael released Mina so abruptly that she stumbled backward.

Sensing she had said something wrong, and not wanting to draw her gun on him again, Mina tried to change the subject. She went into the kitchen area and started to dish out some of the food Mandy made. It was still warm, so she did not feel bad about serving it to Nael, but when she was close enough for him to take the plate, he slapped it out of her hands. Mina shouted in both pain and irritation. She worked hard maintaining their living environment, and it would be her who had to clean the mess the man made.

"What is your problem with me?" She asked, barely able to stop her tears from falling.

"Leal and I were looking for you all night while you were out eating with your 'friend.' I hope the f*ck was worth it; food was probably poisoned." Mina's head jerked back, and she shook her head in utter disbelief.

"His fiancé cooked this just for me. If it were poisoned, I'd already be dead." Mina sighed loudly as she started to clean up the mess on the floor, once again feeling weak and pathetic, but Nael displayed yet another uncharacteristic trait by stopping her.

"Wait. I will clean it. I was just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Mina asked, her voice cracking a little as she spoke.

"Do you really not see it?"

"What should I see Nael?" The man pulled her to her feet and held the sides of her face tightly while pressing his forehead against hers. He was taller than her, so he had to bend a little and the action made Mina feel like he was going to kiss her.

"Ami, please feel something for me." Mina's heart began to race as she searched her brain for an appropriate response. She cared for the man, but it did not sound like he was asking her to feel in a platonic way.

"Nael, I- You- We- I don't want to be a part of anyone's collection," Mina finally said, finding it to be the safest option among all the other words she could have spoken.

"I'll cut everyone off. I'll send them all off this ship now if you want, just please, see me." Mina rested her hands on Nael's cheeks and pulled her face away from his so that she could look into his eyes.

"I see you, just not in the way you are asking me to."

"Is it because of Leal?" Mina could not help but to chuckle, and Nael took the opportunity to pull her close to him again. "Do you want him instead?"

"No," Mina replied. "Leal has been good to me, but I only see him as an older brother."

"And how do you see me?" He questioned, once again burying his face into the crook of her neck. The feeling was not revolting, but Mina disliked knowing and having witnessed him do similar things with countless other women, some he had only just met.

"I don't know how I see you," Mina replied. "Do you know how some of the things you've said and done to me made me feel?"

"Haven't I made up for them?" Nael asked, genuinely wanting to know. If Ami told him to fly to the moon and back, he would try his best to do it.

"Every time I set you back at zero, you hurt me again." Mina pulled away from the man, and this time she took two steps back and pointed to the food on the ground. "I already forgave a person who was like you, and this is where I ended up. I won't go down that path again."

"Then I will change," Nael declared. "Give me a chance and I will do it."

"I don't want you to change for me. I want you to change for yourself." Nael looked at the woman before him, unsure if he should continue pushing. He always had beautiful women around him, so trying to remain faithful to one who was physically imperfect was something he was not sure he could do, but he wanted to try. He stepped closer, but Ami took a step back, and while he would become angry with her for doing that in the past, he understood her fear.

"I will prove it to you,"

----

Leal returned to the suite after receiving a text from his brother that Ami was safe. He had practically sprinted back to the ship, expecting to find the woman in bad shape, but the only person who looked like they needed help was Nael, who was sitting near a shattered plate of spilled food with a bottle of liquor in his hands. Leal did not have to ask, because he already knew what happened.

"You told her, didn't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Nael sniffled and took a large drink from his bottle before setting it aside. "You cursed me; you know?" Nael chuckled bitterly as he looked up at the ceiling. "You told me that I would regret treating her like trash, and I do." Leal made his way to his brother's side, sitting beside him before nudging him with an elbow.

"We can always kick her off the ship," Leal teased, and his brother laughed at him.

"You know, it's funny; two months ago, I may have done it, but now, it's painful to even imagine."