Sandra pushed herself to her feet, her eyes fixed on Lionel as she asked a question that came straight from her heart. "You were so good to me back then, but I have no idea what''s going on in that head of yours now. Fine, I''ll give you the stupidest piece of advice I can think of!"


    This ce was terrifying; a primal fear of it was etched into her very being.


    She desperately wanted to stop helping Lionel, but if she didn''t, she would be trapped here forever.


    "If you really don''t know how to be good to Hannah, then just pretend Hannah is me! Treat her exactly the way you used to treat me. How''s that for an idea? You understand what I mean, don''t you?"


    As she said it, Sandra thought her idea was brilliant.


    Even a fool couldn''t mess this up, right?


    She had already told him what to say, what to do, what was right. But it was like his brain was made of stone.


    Everyone was telling him to be good to Hannah, but it seemed he just didn''t know how.


    He could be kind to anyone else, so why not her?


    "Lionel, I don''t care what you do to me now. I know that no matter how much I beg, you won''t let me go. So just answer me this one thing: why can''t you be good to Hannah?"


    After everything that had happened, this was a question that had been nagging at Sandra.


    If his poor treatment of Hannah before was because of the drugging incident before their marriage, what was his excuse now?


    He had imed he would do anything to avoid a divorce, but she hadn''t seen him do a single thing that was genuinely good for Hannah.


    Instead, all she had seen was Lionel constantly bullying and humiliating her.


    She continued, "Is it because from


    the moment you met, for over a


    decade, Hannah was the one always giving, so you can''t bring yourself to lower your pride? I showered


    you


    with money, resources, and O


    from


    Connections, helping you ge


    penniless kid to a busmess tycoon. You feel you owe me a debt of gratitude for making you who you are."


    "But Hannah was different. She worked part-time jobs while in college, using that meager ie to cook and clean for you, and you never even noticed. Because what she did was all small, insignificant everyday things, you felt she was supposed to do them for you, right? So even now, you still think Hannah isn''t worthy of your kindness."


    These words weren''t calcted; they poured out of Sandra, raw and unfiltered.


    They were simply what she had sensed from him all along, so they came out without a second thought.


    And in that very moment, Sandra understood the root of Lionel''s skewed perspective.


    That was it. Because Hannah had always been the giver, treating him with the unconditional, unreciprocated care of a mother for her son.


    This had created a sense in Lionel that Hannah was inherently supposed to be good to him, and that if he showed her even the slightest bit of kindness, she should be eternally grateful.


    This fundamental belief was why all the advice from everyone, including herself, had fallen on deaf ears. In his mind, he and Hannah were not equals.


    Although Sandra had also given Lionel a lot their dynamic was different. She had been the high and heiress, and he was


    mighty Woods from the poor boy A boy. A few resources from her, a taste of sess, and his life


    was transformed.


    Inparison, what Hannah had offered a full stomach—was a small, simple


    thing.