Hannah drew a deep breath, a wave of warmth spreading through her as a lump formed in her throat. She nodded, watching him disappear into the small room. The gentleness and care he''d shown hertely reminded her of a time, long ago, when Lionel had treated her the same way.


    He had been even gentler than Quennel, but that tenderness was long gone, reced by a hostility that had them at each other''s throats.


    Hannah closed her eyes in despair, a tightness gripping her chest. She let out a long, slow breath, her gaze falling on the door with a dull, lifeless emptiness.


    It doesn''t matter anymore, she thought. None of it. We''re getting divorced anyway. Whatever happens, happens.


    She just had to get through this. Once the divorce was final, things would be better. She''d go find Tess, and they would live out their days together in the south.


    The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached, and tears began to flow uncontrobly.


    "Don''t cry, don''t cry," she whispered to herself, taking deep, shuddering breaths. "Stay calm. You can''t let this happen again."


    She ced a hand over her heart, trying to soothe the frantic rhythm, terrified of having another panic attack.


    In Sandra''s room, Lionel stared at the figure on the bed, covered in bandages and casts, hooked up to a web of tubes and wires. A strange feeling stirred within him.


    "The doctor said she''s still under anesthesia," Edith whispered from a nearby chair, her voice thick with tears. "She''ll wake up once it wears off, but they don''t know when that will be."


    "Crying, crying, what''s the use of crying?" David suddenly shouted at his wife. "I told you to watch her! What did you do?"


    His voice was a harsh bark in the quiet room. "If you had just gone in there and talked to her, would she have jumped? All you do is cry! What else are you good for?"


    Edith clutched a tissue, her eyes filled with hatred. "What did I do? What did you do? If you hadn''t locked her in her room, would she have gotten so desperate?"


    The couple''s argument escted until a nurse rushed in to quiet them, but they ignored her, each hurling usations at the other.


    Lionel sat quietly by the bed, his


    eyes fixed on Sandra. The Sandra he knew was an optimistic, cheerful girl who never gave up, no matter the obstacle. When he''d heard shed attempted suicide, he couldn''t believe it.


    ?


    "Did you approach Quennel and ask him to set up a match for you two?" he asked suddenly.


    Mr. and Mrs. Woods stopped arguing, exchanging an uneasy nce.


    "Well?"


    David shot his wife a look, but Edith simply crossed her arms and turned away, refusing to speak.


    Meeting Lionel''s terrifying gaze,


    met


    David swallowed hard. "Well, it wasn''t exactly intentional," he stammered. "We just happened to run into him one day, and we sat down for achat. was justining that Sandra''s dates weren''t going well, that she kept rejecting men because their families weren''t good enough."


    "I told her that with our family''s situation, she should be grateful anyone is interested at all and stop being so picky. That''s when Mr. Quenne Rosenberg mentioned that Kim Rosenberg was also looking for a match, and I... well, I just asked."


    Lionel''s eyes narrowed. "You asked what?"