Yves''s eyes widened, and he whipped his head around to look at Hannah. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, her expression unreadable.


    "Is he insane?" Yves whispered.


    Just moments ago, he''d been thinking Lionel would have to do some serious damage control with Sandra after publicly denying her. But this? This was him publicly denying Hannah. He was cating one woman by utterly betraying another.


    Yves had known Lionel was a bastard, but he''d never imagined he would be this cruel. To deny his own marriage...


    Hannah slowly lifted her head and looked at the man on stage. A question that held the entire weight of her world had been dismissed with simple words. He was already moving on to the next reporter.


    It was true, then. What felt like a catastrophe to her was nothing more than an insignificant nuisance to him.


    Hannah took a deep breath and stood up, walking out of the press conference.


    "You''re not staying?" Yves asked, hurrying after her. "Are you going to post the marriage certificate now? You could destroy him."


    Hannah shook her head. "He wasn''t wrong."


    Yves looked at her, confused.


    "We''ll be divorced in a couple of weeks. He''ll be unmarried then, won''t he?" A long, slow breath escaped her lips, and the tension in her brow finally eased. "He was just answering the question ahead of time. Besides, by saying that, he''s basically agreeing to the divorce. Why would I post the certificate now? He might get angry and refuse to sign."


    Listening to her desperate rationalizations, Yves didn''t know what to say.


    "Take the afternoon off," he offered. "Go rx, clear your head.”


    "There''s no need. A little thing like this won''t affect me." She pulled open the passenger door, then turned back to him with a faint smile. "Don''t worry about me, Mr. Lancaster. I''m much stronger than you think."


    Seeing her resolve, he didn''t push it. He nodded and got in the car, driving them both back to the office.


    For the rest of the afternoon, Yves had someone keep an eye on Hannah, instructing them to report any sign of distress. But just as


    vel.n''


    shed said she was strong ne


    Frighteningly so She threw herself


    into her work with such intensity that if a colleague hadn''t reminded her it was closing time, she might have worked straight through the night.


    After work, Hannah sat in her car, her body finally slumping against the seat in exhaustion. The moment her mind went quiet, Lionel''s words echoed in her head.


    Unmarried...


    Whether it was a pre-emptive truth or something else entirely, those two words felt like a p in the face. Her eyes began to burn, and she tilted her head back forcing the tears down. Gutting her teeth, she gripped the steering wheel and pulled out onto the road.


    As she drove off, she didn''t notice the ck car that pulled out from a side street and began to follow her staying a car''s length behind. At first, she thought she was imagining things, but when sharp he made a sudden turn, the car behind her did the same.


    It was then she knew. Someone was following her.


    Was it Lionel? Or someone he''d sent?


    She nced in the rearview mirror, but the driver was wearing a mask and a hat, their facepletely obscured.


    Hannah mmed her foot on the elerator, trying to shake them, but the car stuck to her like glue. Just as she was reaching for her phone to call for help, the car vanished.