Chapter 253: About Cylus...

Mina wanted to find a quiet place to sit for the rest of the evening. Her plan was to find Mr. Zane or wait for Mr. Robert to return. The man had been the one to drop her at the venue, and she figured he would be the one to send her off. All Mina knew was that she would not leave with CEO Rue, nor would she allow herself to be alone with the man for any amount of time.

Mina's hand trailed to her neck and she fought back the urge to remove the necklace she was wearing. When she had met CEO Rue, she had commented on his necklace not expecting the man to remember and gift her with a similar one. At that time, Mina was still thinking that Cylus wanted to be her friend, but his statement to President Lee erased all those feelings in an instant.

Mina felt conflicted about the accessory. Now that it was reworked and redesign, it had become a completely different piece with a completely different meaning. Mina sighed deeply as she moved her hand away from the charm. She felt she would be no better than Miss Maggie if she trashed the old woman's hard work all because of someone else's actions.

----

It had barely been an hour since Mina had been bid on. She had been approached by several people, but oddly enough, they were not vulgar or hostile toward her. In fact, they seemed more respectful. Even the men kept their eyes on her eyes.

Mina realized that they must have thought too deeply into the relationship between herself and President Lee, but she would not complain about it. If the misunderstanding kept her from being verbally molested by perverts, she would accept it for now. However, her solace was short lived.

Mina felt her blood turn cold as a slimy and familiar figure slithered his way toward her direction. She instantly braced for his disgusting comments, but instead the man bowed and apologized. Mina was not foolish enough to believe his words, but after the man had said his piece, he left, leaving Mina to wonder if he had become possessed or was scheming.

Once again, Mina had somewhat begun to relax in the environment that she felt had become a little more subdued, but then she heard the call for the donated items auction. Not wanting to stick around to see if she had been 'donated', Mina fled the hall.

Mina did not stop moving until her feet carried her out into the night air. Even then she kept walking at a brisk pace until the streets were no longer illuminated by the lights emanating from the beautiful building. When she felt she had gone far enough, Mina sat on the ledge of a stone garden that surrounded a nearby store of some sort.

There were not many people out in the cold weather, but the cars passing by were numerous. Mina busied herself by counting them as they passed, and then she averaged out the time between cars and found that at least two vehicles per minute went by the spot she sat.

That, of course, was a night figure, and Mina wondered what the frequency of cars would be during the day. Mina closed her eyes and tried to visualize rush hour, but her adrenaline rush had faded and the cold kept distracting her from her task.

Giving up and ready to head back, Mina opened her eyes just in time to see a black luxury car pull up in front of her. The passenger side window came down and she was surprised to see that it was Dom. A giant smile creased her face and without being asked, she hopped into the passenger seat of the vehicle and turned the heating all the way up.

"Did you get a new car?" Mina asked Dom, who was eerily quiet. She had not noticed that the man made a U-turn and was heading back to the venue. "What happened to your old car?" Mina asked. As she studied the car's interior. She felt like she had seen the front panel before, but she could not quite place where she had seen it or how.

Mina was still searching her memory when the car stopped, and Dom spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said as he opened the car door and exited the vehicle. Mina looked at the man in confusion, but then realization struck her when she saw who was taking the driver's seat.

Mina tried to open the passenger door to get out of President Lee's car, but the child safety was engaged, and it could not be opened from the inside.

"Let me out," Mina said. Although she knew her words were useless, it did not hurt to try.

"Zane isn't here." Came president Lee's reply. "Of course, you could always stay with Cylus if you are more comfortable with him."

Mina gritted her teeth. She was not more comfortable with that option, and President Lee knew it. She also had no idea if Mr. Robert would return to fetch her.

Seeing that Mina had nothing to say, Ian engaged the vehicle and drove in the direction of his mansion. Mina sat quietly in the passenger seat, and he realized it was the first time she had ridden in the front with him.

"Are you warm enough?" President Lee asked, and Mina scoffed.

"President Lee, please do not misunderstand me. I did not sign myself up for that auction and I have no intention of paying you back, in any way, for the money you spent."

Ian fell silent. He was okay with her response; in fact, he expected a much more hostile reaction from her. The fact that she was calm about it was refreshing.

"No need, the money went to a good cause and in the end, the Lee group will benefit from that event." Mina studied President Lee's face trying to see if she could find a hint of deception in his features.

Ian could feel the girl staring and he noticed that she was absentmindedly playing with the necklace around her neck. He hated it and he felt the need to warn her about who Cylus Rue really was.

"About Cylus," Ian said, but Mina cut him off.

"You don't have to explain. I know you must have said something to set him off." Ian turned to stare at Mina who was gazing out of the passenger side window.

"Do you trust him that much?" he asked.

"I do not; but so far he hasn't lied to me." Mina allowed her words to hover for a while before sighing out her next sentence. "You were right by the way," she said.

"About?" Ian asked.

"Miss Lisa looked beautiful in that dress tonight."