"Let go... of me... let-"


    Hannah struggled, pushing him away, gasping for air. But before she could finish, his mouth was on hers again. She stumbled back, her body hitting the hard closet door with a thud that made her wince. Lionel, noticing, pulled her away slightly.


    The kiss was long and punishing. It wasn''t until she was on the verge of suffocating, making muffled, pleading sounds, that he finally let her go.


    "I thought you didn''t want to look at me? Go on, close your eyes," he taunted, leaning against the central ind, his arms caging her waist so she couldn''t escape. He admired her lips, now red and swollen from his kiss, and his Adam''s apple bobbed.


    "You don''t like being in the samepany as Sandra? Fine. I''ll transfer you to a different subsidiary. Or I''ll move her. You cane work with me. How about that?” His thumb traced the line of her waist. "Stop being so difficult. Just be good."


    Hannah pressed her hand against his, stopping its movement. "Lionel, is there any point to this?"


    He tried to pull her hand away, to move closer, but her words stopped him. His brow furrowed. "What do you want, then? For her to be banned from the Rosenberg Group entirely?"


    He fell silent for a moment, as if making a monumental decision. "Fine. If that''s what you want, I''ll have her transferred to another firm. Are you satisfied now?"


    He said it as if he were making a huge sacrifice for her, once again casting her as the viin.


    She wrenched her hand free and stepped back. "We''ve already signed the


    divorce papers. In a little over twenty days, we can finalize it. What''s the point of any of this now?"


    The temperature in the room plummeted. A dark cloud settled over Lionel''s face, his piercing eyes fixed on her his jaw clenched so tightly she could see the muscles working.


    "Hannah, don''t you even think about it! I told you, I only had you sign those papers to appease her. Now that she''s calmed down, that agreement is null and void."


    "Lionel, what kind of man makes his wife sign divorce papers to appease his mistress?" She tried to stay calm, to speak rationally, but in the end, she couldn''t stop herself from shouting.


    "Those were divorce papers, not some trivial agreement! If you love Sandra so much that you would use our marriage to cate her, then fine give up my position as fars. Rosenberg Jr. altogether You can use that to cate her, tool


    Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, standing her ground, her face flushed with anger.


    "Lionel, from the moment you handed me those papers, I''ve wanted a divorce."


    A marriage that could be so easily discarded to soothe a mistress wasn''t a marriage worth saving.


    He stepped forward, grabbing her arm. "Hannah, a divorce is not happening. Not now, not ever."


    Her lips trembled, but no words came out.


    Seeing her tear-filled eyes, Lionel released her and stormed out of the closet, mming the door behind him with a deafening crash.


    Hannah''s legs gave out, and she sank onto the plush carpet, tears streaming down her face. As she sobbed, a glint of light from under a cab caught her eye.