Chapter 466 You Should Get Out Now

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The day of the bidding arrived as scheduled. Everything seemed to go as planned until Lionel discovered something awry.

When he inserted his flash drive to upload his presentation, a notification appeared saying that there were no files that could be found. Confused, he removed and plugged it in again. The same message window appeared. All his files were gone!

Of course, this was no time to troubleshoot. Anxiously, he walked down the stage, found his secretary, and asked her to fetch a backup disk. To his surprise, it also failed to read anything.

Several minutes passed and Lionel still could not begin his presentation. The audience began to murmur and the project director frowned in dismay.

Beads of sweat started to form in Lionel's forehead. Embarrassed, he mumbled an apology to the awaiting public. He felt like an ant in a hot pot.

'What happened to my flash drive?' he wondered. He remembered checking it in the computer yesterday and not encountering any issue. How could he have anticipated something like this to happen at such a critical moment? What was more, what was he to do to fix this?

Suddenly, he remembered that the same thing happened to Cassandra at another bidding. Still, she managed to push through with her presentation. Lionel doubted he could pull off the same stunt.

Left with no other choice, however, he had to make do. Without his notes, he started his presentation. Stumbling over his words once in a while, he soon finished presenting all the pieces of information he could remember. Nervously, he scanned his audience and spotted the project director's face. He did not seem pleased. Then and there, Lionel knew he was done.

As he was stepping down the stage, he met eyes with Arthur who was now about to present next.

"Thank you, Mr. Tang, for making this easier for me,"

he said in a low voice with a smirk on his face. This made Lionel as enraged as he was embarrassed.

Out of words, he stared at Arthur who then responded with a meaningful smile.

Restraining himself, Lionel continued to proceed to his seat. His secretary could not seem to look at him, possibly scared of his reprimand. Nervously, she sat, half expecting her boss to scold her anytime.

Arthur delivered his presentation smoothly and confidently. It was a stark contrast to Lionel's awkward and seemingly unprepared performance.

It was clear that the Dawn Star Group would win the bid. Realizing this, Lionel decided that he no longer had business staying. Void of hope, he left even before the bidding finished.

Seeing this, Arthur smirked as he was presenting. Satisfaction filled him when he saw his opponent accepting defeat. He would have laughed out loud if he were not in the middle of a business presentation.

Arthur beamed as he descended the stage. Victory felt certain. Now, all he had to do was just sit and wait.

Still, a part of him no longer needed the confirmation. With Lionel's bad performance, the Tang Group did not stand a chance. He was certain that his company would emerge as the winner.

"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours."

Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them.

Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman...

wished she could read his mind at that very moment just so she could understand his train of thought. How could a man be so dumb but so sure of himself?

The mention of Rufus made Lionel even more furious.

"Oh, come on, stop that! Stop acting. I already know, okay? Instead of helping us, Rufus chose to stand on the sidelines and watch us crumble and drown. Still, after what my father did to him, I can't really blame him for feeling like that about the Tang Group. As for you, though, I trusted you! You were my ex-wife! You used to be part of our family! Then again, you were kicked out. I should not have trusted you! You probably want to help Rufus destroy our future! How could I not have seen that before? I will never forget this! I will never forget! You, Cassandra, are an evil woman!"

Cassandra's face turned pale at Lionel's words.

"Lionel, I would suggest that you keep your mouth shut if you don't have proof about the things you are saying right now. Believe it or not, I did not do anything of the sort. Your parents came to me and begged for my help and I did what I could. Your family owes me. Now, you totally discredit my work and my effort. If you have a problem with me, please ask your parents to confront me and present me with pieces of evidence on why they're pinning all these on me. As for you, I never want to see your face again. You should get out now!"

Cassandra said as she pointed a trembling finger towards the gate. As if wiping away the remaining warmth of the room, the cold wind blew through the open door.

But nothing—not the wind nor the look on Lionel's face—was colder than Cassandra's heart.

"You're asking me to get out? Aha, who do you think you are? Are you the owner of this villa? You're just Rufus's pet and you can be kicked out anytime. Cassandra, let me tell you: you are nothing. I look down on you and you are not worth anything!"

Lionel said, mustering all the hurtful words he could think of to insult Cassandra, totally forgetting he had begged sincerely for her help.