Hannah drove, feigning a calm she didn''t feel, her eyes asionally flicking to the rearview mirror to check on the car tailing them.


    Anna,pletely oblivious, chattered away, jumping from one topic to the next.


    It wasn''t until they reached Anna''s ce and Hannah had watched her go safely upstairs that she drove on. Her speed gradually decreased until she finally pulled over to the side of the road.


    The car behind her stopped as well.


    The two vehicles sat there, one behind the other, neither driver getting out.


    After a minute that felt like an eternity, Lionel couldn''t stand it anymore. He got out and strode to her window.


    "It''ste. Why aren''t you home? What are you doing wandering the streets?" he demanded, knocking sharply on the ss, his deep-set eyes fixed on her.


    Hannah leaned back against her seat, took a deep breath, and slowly lowered the window, ncing at the man standing outside.


    "What is it?"


    "Do you have any idea what time it is?"


    Her nonchnt attitude grated on him. He couldn''t stand seeing her like this; she was never like this before. When he''d gotten home from work, she wasn''t there, waiting on the sofa for him. There was no dinner, none of his favorite dishes prepared in advance. In that moment, the familiar house had felt utterly foreign, leaving an empty, aching void in his chest.


    Hannah picked up her phone and checked the time. Not even eleven.


    She put it down and turned to face him. "You''re being very strange today, beating around the bush with everything." It had to be something to do with Sandra. He was just taking it out on her.


    "Go home," he said, his voice cold.


    "Lionel, you''re a man who''se home less than ten times in three years of marriage. What right do you have to order me home now? Whatever you''re on, don''t take it out on me. And stay away from my colleagues. I don''t want anyone knowing I have anything to do with you."


    With that, Hannah started to raise the window, done with the conversation.


    But to her surprise, Lionel mmed his hand down on the ss, forcing her to stop.


    "Are you that ashamed of people knowing about us?"


    Her disdainful tone made his face darken instantly. Was he really that much of an embarrassment to her?


    Hannah took a deep breath and forced a smile. "You''re just figuring that out now? Move your hand, or I won''t be responsible if it gets crushed."


    She pressed the button again, but Lionel didn''t budge. Giving up, Hannah ignored him and turned the key in the ignition.


    He was betting she wouldn''t have the heart to go through with it. But as the window closed in on the back of his hand, she showed no sign of stopping. He yanked his hand I back just in time.


    "Hannah, you "


    Before he could finish, she mmed


    Iné


    her foot on the elerator. The engine roared, and the car shot


    leaving hip standing stunted


    away leaving


    in the middle of the road.


    Hannah nced at his dumbfounded figure in the rearview mirror and sneered.


    The nerve of him, asking a question like that. He was the one who had been terrified of their rtionship bing public.


    She had been such a fool. A man who wasn''t even willing to publicly acknowledge her as his wife, and she had still married him without a second thought. No wedding, ring no photos, Ju?ka secreto marriage she had once been proud of. She used to think that as long as she married the man she loved, nothing else mattered.


    Now, she realized marrying him was the biggest problem of all.


    They arrived home one after the other.


    Cora, the housekeeper, heard the door open and rushed over excitedly. "Sir..."


    Her face fell when she saw Hannah walk in first. She shot Hannah a disgusted look before turning her attention to Lionel, who was right behind her.