Lionel reached for her, but he was a fraction of a second toote. Her hair slipped through his fingers, and he was left holding nothing.


    The first thing Hannah did when she got to her room was lock the door. This time, Lionel didn''t bother her.


    The next day, Hannah was in the middle of a meeting when her phone buzzed. A nce at the screen made her eyes widen. It was a message from Lionel.


    Her brow furrowed. She double-checked the name. They hadn''t messaged each other in ages. Why now?


    She waited until the meeting was over before opening it.


    Lionel: [Dinner at the main estate tonight.]


    The message hit her like a physical blow. A mocking smile touched her lips. She wasughing at herself. How pathetic, to be so shaken by a simple summons. What was she even hoping for?


    "Hannah, are you okay? You look pale. Do you need to take a break?" Anna asked,ing over to her desk.


    Hannah closed the app and shook her head. "I''m fine. Just didn''t sleep wellst night."


    "You have to take care of yourself!" Anna nced around, then leaned in conspiratorially. "I heard Mr. Rosenberg and Sandra were putting on quite a show


    at a fancy restaurantst night!"


    "A show?"


    Anna nodded,


    saw it on Facebook. Apparently, Sandra''s friends stood her up, and she was all alone. The moment Mr. Rosenberg heard, he rushed over tofort her. The restaurant staff had been really nice to her, giving her flowers and desserts to cheer her up so he paid for everyones meal in the entire, restaurant and gave all the staff huge tip as a thank you. Must be nice to be rich. Too bad we weren''t there; we could''ve gotten a free meal."


    Hannah listened, a strange mix of emotions churning inside her. One moment he was fighting with her, the next he was ying the hero for another woman. A chill ran down her spine.


    Their marriage was a secret. They had never appeared together in public Yet Sandra was constantly by his side, in the full light of day, while Hannah, his wife, could only watch from the shadows. ''


    Well, not for much longer.


    "Yeah," Hannah joked. "Next time, we should just follow Sandra around. We might get lucky."


    Anna pped her hands. "Great idea!" Then she added, "They seem so in love, Why don''t they just get married? Is it because the Woods family isn''t good enough for the Rosenbergs? Are their families against it?"


    Hannah shook her head. The memory ofst night''s kiss shed in her mind, and


    a wave of nausea washed over her. She pped a hand over her mouth and ran to the restroom.


    Anna, terrified, followed her, handing her a cup of warm water to rinse her mouth. "I''ll go tell the department head you''re taking the rest of the day off."


    As Anna helped her out of the restroom, they ran into Yves.


    “Taking time off? Are you not feeling well? I was just on my way to the hospital. I can give you a ride."


    Before Hannah could refuse, Yves was already gently guiding her toward the exit.