Chapter 705: Chapter 705: Don't Say It

Mina did not know how to process what had occurred in President Lee's office, but she was proud of herself for not being afraid. At first, she was a little shocked that the man moved into his father's old office, so when she first arrived, she went to the wrong place before someone who recognized her pointed her in the right direction. The man's face was so pale when he saw her that Mina felt bad for him, and she wished she had taken the time to add her scars along with her wig and contacts.

There was also the fact that President Lee believed that Lady was his child, which meant that at some point he had gone against her wishes, and while she had never monitored his actions, she was almost certain she would have noticed if he skipped using protection completely, which meant that he had tampered with it.

Mina did not know why she believed President Lee anytime he told her that he would wait because it should have been obvious that he could not and was not planning to. Her mind told her that there may have truly been some fertility issue with Miss Lisa, and he had impregnated her to keep his family line going.

While there were things about relationships she struggled to understand, Mina knew that people wanted to have children with her simply because they strongly believed that they would be smarter, but President Lee had crossed a line. She now knew why her mother kept asking her questions about wanting children or having her own children. She was never talking about the ones that Mina financially supported. It hurt to know that her own parents knew of something she had been oblivious to, and because of her negligence, she had miscarried.

Mina stared at her niece, silently crying as she thought of having a child of her own. She often wondered what would have happened if she had a baby with President Lee, and now, she felt like she had the answer. He would have slept with Miss Lisa, and she would have ended up a single mother; alone with a child that would probably get dragged into a custody battle she was bound to lose.

In some ways, Mina was relieved that a baby had not been brought into the chaotic environment, but in other ways she was heartbroken. Before she left, she had enough money to comfortably settle in a remote part of Pan. She could have hidden for a couple of months and that would have been all the time she would have needed to save money for a safe get away. She also could have gone to Cylus to borrow money to escape, but she had chosen an extremely dangerous route, which ultimately cost her a precious life.

No matter who the father was, for Mina, a baby grown within her was still her child and she would have kept it. She would have loved the child unconditionally, and she would have given the child all the love of two parents. However, if she had known the truth, she probably would not have run into Sadie, and she could not deny that the path she took was a lifesaving one.

Mina would not have been given the closure of knowing that her sister was alive, nor would she have been able to meet Lady, but in her heart of hearts, those things were not an even trade-off for a child of her own. If she had successfully given birth, she would not have been so angry with President Lee because then at least she would have been able to say that something good came away from the relationship. It would not have been just a broken heart, but she would have been given a gift of a small life to pour her love into.

The heavy sounds of someone running grew loud, and Mina intuitively knew it was Sadie and Troy who claimed to have been trying to lure danger away from them. Her sister scooped Lady into her arms as Troy squeezed them both, making Mina's heart ache. She knew she would never have what they had because the person she wanted that with threw her away.

"What happened?" Sadie questioned, and Miss Claire explained the situation, evoking an explicit laced response from Sadie before Troy pulled his mother out of the room. In truth, Mina did not feel sorry for the woman, and a small portion of her felt as though she had taken Lady on purpose.

"They were gone before 7AM," Mina said. "I went to get her back immediately, but he had already gotten to her."

"And he just let you go?"

"He thinks she's his, so he didn't try to stop me." Sadie did not have a reaction, and Mina found that to be odd. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I know what mother told me, but I also know that she isn't above lying. I'm guessing you didn't." Mina shook her head, and Sadie put her daughter back into her crib. "Were you ever?"

"I don't know, but I think I was."

"And you lost it?" Mina's lips quivered and her sister pulled her in for a comforting hug.

"Before Lady, Troy and I lost four of our children. Each one hurt as much as the next, so I know how you feel, but Mina, maybe it was for-"

"Don't say it Sadie. Please don't say it. There is nothing good about losing something you wanted."

----

Ian sat in the dark unwilling to believe that the woman who had thrust his company into chaos was the same woman who had once been afraid of her own shadow. He was not sure how he felt about the changes Mina made, but now that he experienced who she had become, he wanted her more. Gone was the woman who was afraid to speak loudly, and in her place was someone who was confident and in control.

If it were possible, Ian felt as though he loved Mina even more than before. Yes, she had run away from him; yes, she hid from him, but she kept their child, seemed to be raising her well, and she came back to save the baby at the risk of herself. Well, she had not actually put herself in danger, because when she left, Ian tried many times to call his security to intercept her, but his cell signal was jammed, meaning that the woman had planned her entry to his office.

Mina knew the layout of his building, and for a structure as large as it was, she must have had devices planted throughout. That told Ian that she had people working within his company and he wondered how long she had been pulling the wool over his eyes. However, in the same breath, he was absolutely smitten by her display of dominance. No matter what, he was going to marry Mina, even if Cylus was the father of her child, she still belonged to him.

"Ian, I don't think you're looking at this situation realistically. How do you know Mina is not already married to Cylus?" Ian rolled his eyes at Zane and produced the information form from Lady's daycare.

"Because, in the space where it asked for guardian information, only Ami Aych is written. There is no mention of a husband or father, and Mina wouldn't do that."

"But that is just a daycare form, people lie on more serious documents every day, and some people don't feel like completely filling them out; it means nothing."

"It does to Mina," Ian replied. "She spent months working with single parents. You should know that because she worked with your mother directly. She would not have wanted to put Lady in a situation where she could be deemed illegitimate."

"Yes, but she clearly has influence now. She does not have to worry about those sorts of things. She can take care of herself, and a lot of these establishments don't care who the parents are as long as they are getting paid to watch the children."

"Zane, why can't you just be happy for me?" Ian questioned. He felt as though his friend was being purposely negative in a situation where he should be jovial. "I'm not crazy because Mina is alive."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I am hurt, but I deserve everything Mina does to me. I will not make the same mistakes I made in the past. I will tell her everything she doesn't know."

"I don't know Ian. I am with Cam on this one. What if Mina was trying to drive you crazy?"

"Then all I can say is that it worked," Ian casually replied. He could see Mina using his emotions as a tool, sending people who resembled her to areas where she knew he would be to keep him distracted from issues at work, and he had fallen for her trap.

"And if Cylus doesn't let her go?"

"Then I'll kill him."

----

Ashlyn rushed to the place where Cylus told her he would be, uncaring if she would get in trouble. She now knew Mina was alive and she wanted to see her friend. Unfortunately, Cylus was alone, and it appeared as though he had some sort of injury.

"What happened?"

"I kind of got into a car accident on my way over here," the man said, and Ash quickly helped him steady himself. They got into her car, and she took him to the one place she knew he would be safe. "Is this where you live?"

"I think you have a broken rib," Ash replied, ignoring the question as she pulled off her wig. She was scared for Cylus, and for her friend.

"You have red hair," Cylus said, stroking Ash's cheek before pinching her chin. "Can I see what you really look like?"

"Sure, survive and you'll see my face in the morning." Cylus chuckled before pain seared through his chest.

"Yup, definitely broken," he said as he laid flat on Ash's couch while the woman gently removed his shoes.

"How long have you been hiding?" Ash knew that Cylus was on the run for some time. She was only told that he had critical information, but now she knew it involved Mina.

"Only a day, but I need to call someone." Ash handed the man her phone and he dialed a number that seemed to connect him to several different people before he got to the person he wanted to talk to.

"Cylus? Where are you? I'll come to get you." Ashlyn recognized the voice at once, and she snatched the device from the half sleeping man.

"Madam? Please tell me where you are?" There was a long silence before the line died, but Ash knew it was not because of Mina. "Cylus, get up. We have to run." Cylus grunted as he pulled himself to his feet, and Ash helped him put his shoes back on. They climbed out of the window and used the fire escape to get into another apartment before entering yet another apartment through its main door.

"I don't think I can go any further. Just leave me here. Mina will find you." With a burning chest, Ash pulled off all her prosthetics and pressed a deep kiss onto Cylus' lips.

"I will distract them; wait here until I return."

----

Mills could barely contain her excitement when she eavesdropped on Drax's conversation, and as soon as her husband left, she called Ashlyn to come up with some sort of plan, but the woman did not answer, which left Mills to act on her own. She quietly snuck out of the house, but as soon as she climbed into her car, someone entered on the other side.

"Take me to wherever you were just about to go," Drax said with a cheeky smile. "And don't lie."

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