Chapter 209: Fall of the prince
Third person POV
Recovering herself, Lee Hua adjusted a strand of hair and winked at Liam cutely.
"Sorry for going too far, okay?" She extended her hand to him. "As an apology, I’ll take care of that guy for you for free. What do you say?"
Liam hesitated for a second, staring at her as Lee Hua held out her hands to him.
"Come on, you can trust me."
"Okay," Liam agreed with a sigh and shook her hands firmly. "Just don’t pull a stunt like that again."
"Alright, lesson learned," she said lightly, massaging her hand, which ached after the strong handshake.
"Anyway, shouldn’t we head back already? They’re probably waiting for us," the girl added.
With lively steps, Lee Hua took the lead, walking while thinking about the exciting future ahead of her. Liam followed close behind. Just to confirm, he asked Lee Hua a few questions, wanting to understand who she really was.
Lee Hua answered some of his questions and omitted other details. Partly because she couldn’t reveal everything, and partly because omitting things seemed more fun.
But from that brief conversation, Liam understood that this woman was truly wealthy and powerful.
Then they reached the meeting room. Without hesitation, Lee Hua opened the door and stepped inside with arrogant strides.
Leo had a worried look on his face and seemed exhausted. Next to him, the bodyguard remained impassive, always acting with absolute rationality.
The bodyguard had proven to be infinitely more competent than Leo had expected. And he was quickly forced into a weaker position in the negotiation.
The worst part was that he couldn’t back down. His reputation would be ruined if he failed to secure this deal.
If many of his colleagues started to see him as weak, he’d face a lot more problems in the future. In the business world, appearances often matter more than reality. And, in particular, appearing competent was extremely valuable.
"Miss," the bodyguard immediately turned to Lee Hua, "the negotiations are going well at the moment..."
"I don’t need the details," the woman cut off her employee in an instant. "We’re no longer doing business with this guy." She declared without leaving room for questions.
The bodyguard, who knew his place, didn’t even flinch. He simply accepted the decision and remained silent.
Leo, on the other hand, couldn’t accept it. Not after all the effort he had put in to get the deal.
His pride was wounded, and he simply couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. Why had things suddenly fallen apart?
He was certain everything would go according to his plans.
Leo clenched his fists in frustration, his heart racing and adrenaline coursing through his body. The problem with people who aren’t used to losing is that they don’t know how to handle defeat when it finally comes.
And for Leo, the final straw was Lee Hua’s next words.
"Let’s sign a contract with them instead," Lee Hua pointed at Vanessa and Liam.
She didn’t even know what kind of contract it would be. Vanessa didn’t even have a proposal, but that hardly mattered. To her, it was just a small amount of money anyway.
"What?" Leo asked, raising his voice.
He knew he should stay calm, but at that moment, he couldn’t accept any of it.
Lee Hua, on the other hand, was starting to get excited, as things seemed to be growing more interesting. Even so, her eyes remained utterly cold, betraying none of her true emotions.
"I don’t recall asking for your opinion. My decision is made, so get out of my way," Lee Hua said in a cruel tone.
Seizing the moment, Liam smiled sarcastically and added with an ironic tone: "Don’t forget the bet we made."
Leo’s face turned red, consumed by the burning rage coursing through his veins. He couldn’t tolerate that situation.
He turned toward Lee Hua, ready to shout at her, but hesitated when he noticed the mountain of muscle standing by her side.
Instead, he decided to pick a fight with someone his own size. He turned to Liam with rage filled eyes.
"Shut up, that stupid bet doesn’t matter," he growled, moving to throw a punch at Liam.
With surprising speed, Lee Hua’s bodyguard stepped in, placing himself between Leo and Liam.
"I cannot allow you to harm one of our business partners," he said coldly.
He was about to strike Leo, but Liam grabbed his wrist firmly, stopping the motion.
"Don’t worry, I can defend myself." He smiled with confidence.
The bodyguard nodded respectfully, clearly impressed by the strength Liam had just displayed.
Meanwhile, Leo’s mind was racing, searching for a way to come out on top in this situation. But he wasn’t foolish enough to try violence a second time.
Leo took deep breaths, trying to rein in the fury corroding him from the inside. The heavy silence of the room seemed to mock him.
The man had never felt so humiliated.
Then, with his thoughts boiling, an idea came to him... It wasn’t a good idea, but it was an idea. He straightened his posture, lifted his chin, and declared:
"This won’t end here, Lee Hua! Your employee just assaulted me in front of everyone! I could easily sue you and your company for this attack."
The words echoed through the room, but instead of creating an impact, they only drew a faint laugh from Lee Hua.
She tilted her head, eyes half-lidded as if watching a child throw a tantrum.
"Assault?" Her voice came out sweet, though every syllable dripped with venom. "All he did was protect our business partner. You were the one who attacked first."
She raised her delicate hand and pointed upward, discreetly indicating the ceiling.
"These meeting rooms have cameras. Everything was recorded. In fact, I’m the one who could threaten you with a lawsuit."
Just hearing that made Leo take a step back. He swallowed hard, his whole body flooded with emotions too tangled to describe.
But Lee Hua was only getting started.