"What? From you?"
Cassandra was stunned, in disbelief. Lionel was thrilled at the sight of her face.
He was so proud of finally being able to surprise her.
"Of course they're from me! What, you think Rufus would ever give you something like that?"
Lionel smiled widely at her, knowing what she was thinking. He just wanted to tease her.
Cassandra couldn't hide her disappointment. Her eyebrows were scrunched together.
She had always thought that these flowers would only ever come from Rufus.
Even if she tried to refuse them, they would still be sent in anyway. He was incredibly persistent that he
wouldn't even let her leave.
"Of course they're from me, Cassandra. I know Rufus has been busy recently because he was helping
Miss Ke with her concert abroad. But you shouldn't trust him so easily, Cassandra. They could be
enjoying a romantic time in Paris for all you know."
Lionel laughed to himself, deliberately trying to provoke Cassandra. He really wanted to see her
devastated.
However Cassandra cleared her throat and held her chin up, refusing to give him what he wanted. She
suppressed her devastation, trying to not look intimidated.
"We've already broken up, Lionel. There's no need for you to use him against me."
Cassandra kept her tone as calmly as she could, her face devoid of any emotion.
"You know what? Your break up is a good thing. It means you and I could get back together. Ivy means
nothing to me; it's easy for me to break up with her. I think you'll like that. I'm nothing like Rufus. I
wouldn't cheat on you with Amanda."
Lionel leaned closer to pluck a rose, caressing the delicate petals between his fingers.
He peered at the stem of the rose. It had been stripped clean of its thorns; the entire stem seemed to
have shed a new layer, courtesy perhaps, by the meticulous florist at the flower shop.
"Don't you think you're being unfair to Ivy?"
Cassandra never expected that Lionel would say such a thing. Did he ever love Ivy?
"Cassandra. I've already been with Ivy for a good number of years. I'm getting tired of her, honestly. Of
course I loved her at the beginning, but time has taken a lot of things away from me. Her face, for
instance. She's starting to show wrinkles, it's disgusting! Isn't she also only staying with me for my
money, anyway? She doesn't even make it entertaining for me anymore. I'm tired of it."
Lionel laughed mischievously. Cassandra could feel how Lionel truly felt about Ivy. To him, Ivy was
disposable and immediately replaceable.
Cassandra didn't know what to feel about the entire situation. It wasn't that long ago when Ivy had
confronted Cassandra by insisting that she would never let Lionel go. Now, Lionel was not only saying
that he was sick of her, but also claiming that he was the one sending all these flowers to her. Wasn't
he technically cheating on Ivy?
Men really were such heartless pigs!
"Aren't you afraid that I'm after your money, too?"
Cassandra asked as she was suddenly reminded of the painful memory of what she had said to Rufus
when she first rejected him. She tried to shake the thought of Rufus's beautiful face off her mind.
"Well, no. I know you'd rather strive to work alone than use other people's money. I know you're nothing
like Ivy."
Lionel smiled, genuinely. Cassandra noted that, for the first time.
If Cassandra really was after his money, Qin Group would have paid off its loan by now.
Cassandra was unable to describe what she felt at this particular moment. She knew that Lionel was
only telling the truth. Cassandra too, really knew the truth anyway. But why did hearing it coming from
Lionel make it seem all the more real, and all the more embarrassing and unbearable?
Cassandra was prideful. She was also extremely stubborn. She knew that she didn't want to live on
anyone's charity. She tried to fight the tears seeping out of her eyes by roughly shaking her head and
clearing her throat, her attention whirring back towards Lionel.
"Lionel. Thank you for the flowers. But I'm sorry, I'll have to say no again this time. Please go,"
Cassandra said, shifting a few steps to the side to gesture Lionel towards the door. Lionel looked at her
quizzically.
A few moments later, when Cassandra refused to move, Lionel gave up. "Fine," he started, "I'll come
back."
Lionel gently stood up from where he was seated, before cooly walking past Cassandra without saying
another word.
Once he was gone, Cassandra quietly shut the door in front of her and sighed, feeling incredibly tired
all of a sudden. She walked over to her desk, noticing the single bright red rose Lionel had left on top of
it.
Cassandra brought it up to her face to inspect it. It looked so delicate and beautiful. She suddenly
remembered the times that Rufus would send her roses just as exquisite as this.
Shaking her head angrily, she tried to snap out of her thoughts.
She tried to remind herself that it was already the past. She gripped the rose and threw it into the bin
beside her desk.
Composing herself, Cassandra sat down and looked at the financial statements in front of her. The
stress started to creep deeper and deeper into her mind. Cassandra's eyebrows were twisting into
knots. She couldn't figure out how Qin Group could survive in the next few months.
If she could convince her new clients to start new projects with her as their designer, she could earn
enough to support the company's day-to-day expenses. However, the divorce settlement between her
and Lionel made it clear to her that she couldn't do the design work.
Cassandra suddenly fell silent. She was upset. What the hell was she going to do with this mess?
"Rufus, what's on your mind?"
Amanda asked, standing behind Rufus with a glass of wine on her hand.
Rufus had been standing on the room's terrace, which overlooked the beautiful Paris skyline.
The skyline was bright with the twinkling stars above, as well as the city lights below. It gave off such a
surreal ambience that one would only normally see in movies.
"Just business,"
Rufus replied, turning to look at the beautiful woman behind him. He took the wine glass from her and
swished the liquid in his glass.
Amanda glanced anxiously at his wine. She tried to suppress her nervousness, clear her mind, and
smile at him. She raised her glass to say cheers.
"Business, huh? Are you thinking about how you're going to thank me for what I did for you today?"
Amanda grinned, tilting her head slightly to tease him.
"Do you have anything in mind?"
Rufus asked, smirking at her. He did have a lot to thank Amanda for today. The customers simply
adored Amanda, and the talk went very well because of it.
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