"And I was out with colleagues. Would you like to see the pictures?”


    As she spoke, she opened her photo gallery right in front of him. There were five group photos from the evening.


    Lionel''s eyes were fixed on the five images, surrounded by empty white space. There were no other photos.


    Thinking it was a trick of the light, he snatched the phone back, closed the gallery, and opened it again. The main album contained only those five pictures. Nothing else.


    "Where are the other photos?"


    Hannah''s eyes flickered with a brief, startled tremor. She looked up at him, surprised.


    His expression shifted rapidly as he frantically scrolled through the phone, searching, but he found nothing beyond those five images.


    After a long moment, Hannah regained herposure and took the phone back with a dismissiveugh.


    "They were taking up space. I deleted them."


    She left him standing there, alone, and walked toward the stairs.


    Deleted them?


    He remembered a time she had identally deleted a single photo and cried inconsbly until he''d had a tech specialist recover it for her.


    And now she had just deleted all of them, just like that?


    His voice was like ice. "Good. Better to delete them than to give people the wrong idea."


    Hannah''s foot froze mid-step on the stairs. She paused for a fraction of a second before nting it down firmly. Her lips trembled, but she said nothing.


    The wrong idea?


    The wrong idea about what? That they were married? That they had a rtionship?


    Of course. A man who was too ashamed to acknowledge his own marriage would naturally be terrified of anyone finding out, terrified that the world would discover Sandra was his mistress.


    Hannah had justin down in bed when she heard the doorknob turn. It rattled twice, then went still. She hadn''t bothered to lock it.


    She didn''t give it a second thought and simply turned over to sleep. The symposium was early tomorrow, so she would head there directly from the house.


    When she arrived at Pinnacle Tower, she saw Anna already waiting for her.


    "Sorry, I''m a littlete," Hannah said as she pulled up. Anna rushed over, opened the passenger door, and slid into the seat.


    Before Hannah could ask what was wrong, Anna was pointing excitedly. "Over there, over there! I told you! They''re totally a couple!"


    Hannah followed her gaze and


    immediately recognized Lionel''s car. He was wearing a grey suit that softened his usual sharp edges, He got out walked around to the passenger side with practiced ease, opened the door, and leaned in,


    extending a hand.


    Sandra ced her fingers in his palm and emerged from the car. She casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear her eyes saft and smiling as she looked at him: She said something that made Lionel break into a fond, indulgentugh.


    They walked toward the building side-by-side. At the entrance, they paused to talk.


    "You were just discharged. You should be resting for a few more days, there''s no need to rush back into things."


    Sandra shook her head. "I need something to do, or I''ll just sit around overthinking everything. Thank you so much for bringing me today and for everything these past few days I''ll have to treat you to dinner soon to thank you properly."


    Lionel nodded. He watched her go inside, and as he turned back to his car, his eyesnded on a familiar vehicle. He gave it a long, meaningful look.


    "Whoa!" Anna eximed, ducking down in her seat. "Is that guy a sniper? His senses are insane. You don''t think he''s going to cause trouble for us, do you?"


    Hannah pulled her gaze away. "If he''s not ashamed of doing it, we shouldn''t be ashamed of watching. If he tries to sue us, it just proves he''s got something to hide."