"Marrying a guy like that is more humiliating than shitting your pants as an adult.”


    Their whispers weren''t quiet, and Lionel heard every word. But he ignored them, pretending not to see or hear.


    Nothing they said mattered now. All he wanted was to meet with Hannah and talk. But after waiting for nearly half an hour, there was still no sign of her.


    He instinctively reached for his phone, only to remember he was blocked. Calling her was pointless. And he knew the security guards and receptionist at her office were under orders to throw him out on sight, so going there wasn''t an option either.


    Just as he had been waiting for an hour, about to lose hope, he finally saw a familiar figure emerge from the building.


    It was Samuel.


    His presence meant there was still a chance. Lionel was so excited he almost jumped to his feet.


    He looked past Samuel, searching for Hannah, but she was nowhere in sight.


    As he wondered, he saw Samuel walking straight towards him.


    "You''re probably wondering why Hannah isn''t here, right? Well, she doesn''t want to see you, so I came instead. Whatever you have to say isn''t some big secret between you two, so I can hear it, right?"


    Samuel pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs with a smirk. "So, talk to me. If you think I''m not worthy of hearing it, then Hannah won''t hear it either, and we''ll have nothing more to


    ay. The choice is yours. Are you going to talk to me


    not?"


    Lionel considered Samuel''s words for a moment. He was right; it didn''t matter who he told.


    "Then please convey everything I''m about to tell you to Hannah, word for word, without any deviation."


    Hearing that familiarmanding tone, Samuel''s face fell. He crossed his arms, his expression darkening as he growled.


    "How dare you talk to me like that?


    Let me tell you something: I''m not your subordinate, I''m not your mother, and I''m sure as hell not your wife or lover. I''m the one charge here, so you better watch your tone. If you don''t start showing some respect, I won''t tell Hannah a single word of this!"


    Lionel himself didn''t notice anything wrong with his tone or understand why Samuel was so angry, but since he''d made it an issue, Lionel had no choice but to soften his voice.


    “Mr. Temple, I would be grateful if you would ry my words to Hannah. I believe this information will be very useful to her.”


    The formal, utterly fake tone made Samuel want to roll his eyes.


    It sounded even more grating than his usualmands.


    “Alright, alright, cut the crap. If you have something to say, just say it. I don''t have


    time to waste with you. Get to the point."


    Lionel didn''t know what he''d done to


    provoke him, but he knew this wasn''t the time to dwell on it. He took his phone out of his pocket, pulled up a recording and handed an earbud to Samuel.


    "Listen to this first."