Chapter 616: Willingly
Ian brushed past Drax and ran straight to his restroom. He could tell the man was confused, but he did not care what he thought at the moment, he needed to go, and hearing Mina laughing behind him was not helping. When he was done, he showered, then went to find Mina so he could strangle her. She had introduced him to the chips, and while she had told him not to eat too many, she had neglected to tell him why.
Mina was not in his study, not in her room, and not in the sitting room, so Ian went to his private kitchen where he could hear Mina exaggerating his facial expressions, while Mills mocked Dom who she says was panicking the entire drive.
Ian made a mental note to tell Dom that if Mina killed him, she was definitely fair game, but he hoped it would never get to that point and with everything that he had already done to her, he would tell the man to make sure that Mina's involvement in his death was solid, and confirmed, not speculation.
As Ian approached, Drax raised a brow at him, but it was not mocking. It made him slow in his pace and instead of telling Mina off the way he wanted to, Ian took in the scene. He made a face at Drax, and Mina who had her back toward him turned to see where Drax was looking. She let out another round of laughter that made Ian glare at her, but when she was done, she went to the stove and served a bowl of what looked like dingy water.
"Will this destroy my insides as well?" Ian asked and Mina snorted while trying to hold back her laugh. She told him that it was bland broth.
"It doesn't taste very nice, but it will help."
"Did you make this for me?" Ian asked, not exactly sure what to think or how to feel.
"Of course it is; I should have been specific when I warned you not to eat too many. It is something that could happen to anyone who does not eat deep fried foods often. I also could have driven faster, but it was my first time."
Ian cast his eyes to Drax who was still wearing the 'do you have something to tell me?' face. Mills was also wearing a sly smile that told him that Mina had acted on her own. He sat at the small table that he had put in the kitchen and sipped at the broth. It was not horrible, but it was extremely bland. It was almost like oniony water. He asked Mina for the details of the broth, telling himself that he would ask his chef to duplicate it. Since Mina had told him to try Broth when he was having stomach anxiety, he had been drinking a lot of the stuff, and he was beginning to worry about his sodium levels.
Although Mina's broth was bland, it was not bad, and he could see it being paired well with something salty. Feeling the situation become awkward as Mills and Drax kept looking between him and Mina, Ian mentioned the random tantrum she had thrown, and the woman pulled in air as if she had forgotten all about the situation.
"What happened?" Mills asked, eager to listen to Mina's story because, as Ian was aware, the woman was an animated storyteller.
"I was stereotyped," Mina said as if it was the worst thing in the world.
"So what?" Drax said. "You both get profiled all the time. I thought you said you were used to it." Mina shook her head at Drax, almost as if she were annoyed, and when she responded she addressed Mills instead.
"The woman looked right at me and said, 'you can afford it.'" Mills gasped and chimed in with a story of her own.
"The same thing happened to me. The woman at the shop kept following me around, and when I put my hands up, she pulled out a measure to tell me the size of my waist, then she picked every item in the store that would fit me." Mina's mouth hung open in shock.
Ian and Drax listened to the women complain about their changed social status as if it were a terrible thing. Drax very unwisely made a comment to express his confusion and Mina told the man that she did not want people to start treating her better because she 'appeared' wealthy. She said she would prefer to see the true face of an individual, not a mask. Mills, on the other hand, feared that the treatment would make her soft. She claimed that she had not earned her scars so that people would be nice to her. She wanted, and preferred when people were afraid of her.
"If you think they are treating you good now, just wait until after you become my legal wife." Mills smacked Drax's arm affectionately and Mina smiled at the couple. She missed them being together; they just felt right.
"Oh right, Mina before I forget. Milo needs a date to a banquet he has to go to. I told him to ask himself, but he is still kind of depressed about Cala. Will you go with him?" Mina shrugged before agreeing, making Ian's eyes snap to Drax's.
"What event is it?" he asked, making sure that his annoyance was heavy in his voice, but Mina took the words out of his mouth with her own.
"Is your stomach bothering you again?" Drax struggled to compose himself, but Mills showed no restraint.
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Mina arrived at the Station Mansion dressed in what Mills had insisted she wear. It was a black, off shoulder dress that had a flared bottom that stopped above her knee in the front, but below her knee in the back. Not wanting to seem as though she was trying too hard, Mina messily pinned her hair to the back of her head, and used a curler to shape a few loose strands in the front. Unlike the other men who had invited her to events, Milo was not as romantic. He had not sent anyone to help her get ready, and if Mills had not pre-picked her outfit, she would have worn something much less elegant.
Mina watched Milo Slump down the stairs and then brighten when he saw her waiting. She assumed that he did not want to hurt her feelings because Mills had told her that he did not want to attend the event, but had to network, and with Mina's name on the mend, she could help him socially.
"You look…" Milo paused, stopping in front of her, and pressing a kiss on her cheek that made her flush. She knew it was a common greeting in Sani, but not in Pan. "Sorry, I keep forgetting that I'm not at home." Mina frowned at the man.
"Do you miss Sani?" She asked, knowing that the man was more like a hostage in the country; not just being held by President Lee, but also by Mills who kept convincing her boss that her brother would be in danger without her.
"I miss normalcy," Milo admitted.
"Can I offer you a compromise?" Mina asked. "How about we speak your language the entire night?" Milo smirked at the woman and extended his elbow.
"Sure, and sorry for not coming to get you. I had a meeting with President Lee."
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Ian was seated in an event hall that he had not entered since he was a teen. He sat facing the entrance, eager to see when Mina walked in. He knew what Mills was doing. She was trying to force his hand while simultaneously trying to set her brother up with Mina. To Mills, it was a solution where either man could benefit. In some ways, Ian felt bad because he knew that Mills did not know the real story of how they met. He had warned Mina not to tell the woman, who he knew would take the information negatively.
"Staring at the door won't make her get here faster," Zane said. He did not want to be at the small-scale event and had only accompanied Ian because he wanted to watch the man stew in jealousy.
Zane was there when Ian called Milo to the Lee building for what he knew was no reason. He was simply out to waste the man's time, and when Milo was running late, Ian released him, but not before reminding him to call Mina and have her meet him at the Staton home to 'save time.' Zane knew it was to make Milo appear uninterested, but the man was so taken aback by the near impossible tasks that Ian had given him that he did not even process the slight.
"I'm not staring, I'm surveying the environment." Zane scoffed at his friend.
"Well, I'm going to get a drink. By the way, one of your cousins is here." Ian made a face. He had many 'cousins,' but he did not know all of them, especially those who did not share his surname.
While Zane was gone, Mina and Milo strode into the hall laughing. Ian rolled his eyes at the dress she was wearing, he knew Mills had picked it, and he equally hated and loved her for it.
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Mina and Milo were making up fake background stories for the people around them. Since few individuals spoke the Sani language in Pan, they were not concerned with offending, and for the first time since his girlfriend left him for Cade, Mina actually got to see the man smile. She was enjoying herself until Drax's sister approached and told the man he was needed for a private matter.
Mina greeted Fiori and gave the pair space. She walked around the hall, mentally noting the style which she found comfortable and inviting. Instead of the standard tables and chairs, there were several small sofas positioned around the hall, and each sofa held a small group around it, except one.
Mina went to that area and sat next to a woman who was holding a child of no more than seven months. She heard the woman speaking in a dialect she had only heard in person once, and when Mina responded the woman looked shocked.
"You speak Luody?" The woman asked, still speaking in her own tongue. Mina smiled as she replied, and the baby the woman was carrying practically jumped into her lap making her giggle. She bounced the chubby baby on her leg, and the little boy roughly grabbed at her hair while playfully nibbling on her face. Mina knew that children his age like to explore with the mouth, and she giggled at the child's antics, glad she did not wear foundation.
"Mirabelle," a man's voice sounded from behind, and the woman who Mina was standing next to turned to face the sound. He gently scolded the woman for allowing a stranger to hold their son, saying that people could not be trusted. When Mina responded to the man in the language he was speaking, he flinched.
"I'm sorry miss, but my wife isn't exactly welcome at events like this.
"Once upon a time, neither was I." Mina introduced herself to the couple, still playing with the baby on her lap, who had stopped biting at her chin and had started to fiddle with the necklace around her neck.
"Are you married?" The woman asked, and Mina shook her head.
"No, I'm here with a friend," Mina said, thinking the couple was wondering if Milo, who was clearly arguing with Fiori, was her husband.
"In my culture, we believe that the first person a child goes to willingly is either going to be pregnant soon or married." Mina immediately pushed the child back toward his mother, making the woman's husband laugh loudly, and drawing the attention of President Lee.