Chapter 575: Chapter 575: Incapable
Mina listened to Dr. Bell explain his research and she found herself disgusted by it. Yes, it had the potential to help, but she could not see the positive aspect of the very same compound that had taken so much away from her. She was also told that she could have died, and a small part of her wondered why she had not.
With president Lee staring at her wearing an unreadable expression, Mina told Dr. Bell everything she remembered, making sure not to leave a single detail out of her story. She watched the man flinch and wince as she spoke, but President Lee made no move to stop her from speaking until her memory ended.
The man then told his version of events, and Mina found herself rolling her eyes at what she was hearing. She was not an idiot, there were many men who had promised her all sorts of riches, and if she believed them, she would not have been a virgin when President Lee got to her.
"She had a seizure shortly after waking, but at the time we weren't sure if it happened due to her head injury or something else." Mina shuddered. She remembered how hard she hit that nightstand, and she remembered the feeling of thinking she was going to drown in her own bile.
"Does anything President Lee said sound familiar?" Mina shook her head slowly.
"I would not have agreed to someone who had just thrown me across the room despite my pleas for leniency."
"Mina please listen, I told you before; not everyone has a story as fantastical as yours." Mina shifted in discomfort and Dr. Bell asked President Lee to leave the room.
Once they were alone, the man asked her if Cylus knew what happened, and Mina answered with a slight nod. She knew there was a very distant relationship between Cylus and Dr. Bell, and she assumed the man was trying to look out for his cousin. President Lee must not have been entirely comfortable leaving the two of them alone, because he came back just a few minutes after stepping out.
"President Lee, you should have brought her to me from the beginning. We could have tried recollection therapy. At this point, her mind has built its own conclusion and if we try to walk her through the events of that night, she may not remember the truth."
"Please do not talk around me, and trust me, I do not want to remember. As 'sweet' as President Lee has made things sound, I know what the recovery felt like." Tavin's eyes flashed to President Lee. The man had not taken his eyes off Mina, who was looking at the ground. "If we are done; can we leave now?" She stood and without really thinking she started walking toward the exit.
Mina walked out of the doors, into an already waiting lift, and then out of the building. She passed several buildings and did not stop, even after she reached a point where there were no more pedestrian sidewalks. Her mind was all over the place as her brain tried to place President Lee's story into the gaps of her memory, but it did not fit.
The sun was starting to set, and visibility on the highway was becoming difficult. Mina slowed, realizing that she had put herself into a potentially dangerous situation. She turned around, wanting to start heading back, and was surprised when she saw President Lee standing a few yards away from where she stood.
Taking a deep breath, Mina approached the man. They did not exchange words but continued to walk back to where they came. Mina's leg was beginning to pain her again, and her pace slowed, but instead of asking what was wrong, President Lee called Zane, who showed up half an hour later. The pair crawled into the man's car, both sitting in the backseat because Ellie was sitting in the front.
"Do you know how worried your sister is right now? Dr. Bell called her and told her that you and Mina left hours ago, but your car was still in the garage." Ellie pinched her fingers together to make her point. "She was this close to calling your father after she reviewed the cameras and saw you two leave through the front doors."
Ian knew that Luna was probably taken aback by a call from Tavin, and she had been worried about him and Mina spending too much time together since she had seen him kissing the woman's forehead in the hospital. He had gotten tired of her constantly nagging him about being sick and needing help, so he blocked her number on his phone.
Ian could not be bothered by his sister right now though, Mina was still silent, and he felt like that had pushed too much on her too soon. He tried making small talk with the woman, but she gave him one- or two-word answers that made him give up on trying.
When they arrived at the garage where his car was parked, Ian was surprised when Mina got out of Zane's car and followed him to his own. He was even more surprised when the woman sat in the passenger seat instead of in the back, but he did not comment on it, because he was afraid he would make her pull away again.
When they pulled in front of his mansion, Ian stopped Mina from leaving his car. He did not want her to go to bed thinking he had gone back to tormenting her because he knew she would not sleep well, and he hated to see her in that state.
"Mina, I am capable of a lot of things, but what you are thinking is not one of them; I have sisters." The woman did not look at him, and she replied in a faint voice that Ian had to struggle to hear.
"I hear you, but believing you is something else entirely. Do you remember one of the last things you said to me before giving me that chocolate?" Ian shook his head, he did not remember and in all honesty, he had tried hard to forget a lot of things he said and did that night. "You told me that it was going to be a long night."
"But I didn't mean it that way. Why would I force myself on someone who I thought was trying to kill me?" As soon as Ian said it, he realized that Mina thought that was exactly the reason he had done it. "Do you know how sick that is?"
"President Lee, since I have met you, I have been confronted by some of the sickest individuals I have met in my entire life. I used to wish I had grown up with money, but the more time that passes, the more I realize that I would have really been a monster if I had."
"Who said you are a monster?" Mina shook her head. She was not about to get into that conversation with someone she did not fully trust. So she switched back to the actual issue.
"If things really happened the way you said they happened; I want you to know that it does not matter to me. I am telling you now that I would never have agreed to be with someone who had attacked and beat me just minutes before. Especially-"
"You don't have to tell me that." Ian cut Mina off because he realized that she was equally put off by him using being drugged as an excuse, but it was just that. He knew that Mina did not want to be with him. She was unsure the entire time he was trying to convince her, and in the end, she did not even agree, he just did not give her a chance to say no. "I know that I was wrong, and if you want, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone