He had brought this all on himself. He deserved every bit of it.


    Lionel''s heart clenched as he listened to Hannah, but he was powerless to do anything. All he could do was stand there, rooted to the spot, and watch her walk away with Yves. The sight of them leaving side-by-side filled him with a fresh wave of regret over his own past foolishness.


    Why? Why did I have to do that? If I hadn''t, maybe none of this would have happened!


    He clenched his fists, his eyes shot through with red.


    Cora watched Lionel''s pained expression and felt a pang of sympathy for him. She shot a venomous re at Hannah''s retreating back.


    That damn bitch! How dare she disrespect Mr. Rosenberg, even here at the Rosenberg Group headquarters. She''s getting more and more out of line!


    "Sir, you should eat something. The food is getting cold," Cora said, her voice soft and tentative.


    A vein throbbed in Lionel''s forehead. He pulled out his phone and ordered security toe up and remove her.


    "And get a message out: this woman is banned from ever setting foot in thispany again! Drag her out of here!"


    Cora felt as if she''d been struck by lightning. She stumbled back, her eyes wide with disbelief.


    "S-Sir?" she stammered, staring at him. "You... you can''t do this to me! Everything I did was for you. I care about you more than she does, why can''t you see that? It was all for you!"


    Lionel ignored her hysterical cries, his eyes turning cold and dark. He spun around, walked back into the building, and immediately called his grandmother.


    Grandma, having just woken from a nap, was confused for a moment when she answered the phone.


    "That disobedient girl," she grumbled. "Just wait until she gets back, I''ll deal with her properly. I had people try to stop her this morning, but she insisted on going!"


    "Just make sure you keep a close eye on her," Lionel said, pinching the bridge of his nose as a headache began to form.


    "Don''t you take that tone with me, you brat! You were the one who brought that woman into our lives in the first ce!" Grandma snapped. "So what if Lily was sick? Couldn''t the household survive a few day without her? Did you really have to bring that one into our home?"


    If she had known Lionel was going to let that woman into the house, she would have stopped him immediately, and none of this would have ever happened.


    "Hmph. To be blunt, you brought this all on yourself. You don''t know how to handle your own affairs, letting your staff run wild. You reap what you sow!" she scolded him sharply. "And let me tell you something, she may be staying with me, but her legs aren''t broken. I can''t stopher if she decides to go somewhere, My staff have better things to do than babysit for you. If she runs off to find you again, don''t bother calling me!"


    With that final tirade, Grandma hung up, having no desire to waste another breath on him.


    That brainless fool, she thought. Letting just anyone into his life, into our home. He deserves all the trouble he gets!


    "Oh, my poor Hannah," shemented aloud. "What a disaster for our family. How did my grandson turn out to be such a clueless idiot?"


    An old family maid stepped forward.


    "Ma''am, when she returns, we could dock this month''s pay. And didn''t you say you have a grandson negotiating a deakout on the border? We could send Cora there to take care'' of him. It would save us the trouble of watching her."


    Grandma considered it for a moment, then nodded. It was a brilliant idea. She immediately sent someone to make the arrangements.


    Meanwhile, Hannah and Yves had left the office and settled into a nearby restaurant.


    "Is she always like that? And Lionel just lets it happen?" Yves asked curiously.