Chapter 113: I Refuse to Accept It

Chapter 113: I Refuse to Accept It

"What? It was all her fault — her misleading you? Are you sure about that?"

Isabelle's face was ice-cold as she pressed him.

"Ms. Isabelle, I'm absolutely sure."

Armand's tone was firm. A seasoned operator like him had already read the room the moment the situation unfolded.

There was no way he could protect Rihanna here.

If that was the case, he might as well push her out front to take the fall.

"It was this Rihanna who told me that Anthony's wealth was of questionable origin."

"On top of that, she said he was an adopted son of the Bruce family who had just gotten out of prison."

"All of that misinformation planted serious doubts in my mind."

"Out of a sense of professional responsibility, I simply wanted to ask the relevant authorities to look into his funds — I had no idea he was Ms. Isabelle's honored guest."

"Frankly speaking, a sales associate at a corporate firm who passes along wild rumors without checking the facts first is a serious liability."

Gritting his teeth, Armand turned to Rihanna with pure venom in his eyes.

"Rihanna, do you have any idea how serious it is to go around saying things without getting your facts straight?"

"As punishment for your misconduct, you will apologize to Mr. Bruce in person."

"Furthermore, an employee with your track record has no place working at Tequila Properties Sales Center. You're fired."

"Go ahead and apologize to Mr. Bruce. Once he accepts it, you're free to go."

"What? You're — you're actually firing me?"

Only now did Rihanna snap back to reality from the shock that had gripped her.

Armand's rapid-fire series of moves had left her completely blindsided.

She never in a million years imagined that Armand — her lover, the man who kept her — could be this cold-blooded. So desperate to avoid Isabelle's anger that he would throw her under the bus without a second thought.

If he had stood beside her and taken the punishment together, she could have lived with that.

After all, this was the man who had whispered in her ear on a king-sized bed about how he would always take care of her and protect her.

This rotten man was more than twenty years older than her.

If he hadn't been the sales manager at this very office, if it hadn't been for all his sweet talk, why would she ever have given herself to someone like him?

But this old man standing in front of her now was utterly heartless.

That pushed Rihanna completely over the edge.

She thought to herself — I gave you my youth, my body, just to keep you happy. And when it actually matters, you couldn't care less whether I live or die.

So what do I need you for? If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me.

With that thought, Rihanna let out a furious scream.

It was the kind of cry that cut through the air like a wounded wolf — raw, seething with resentment.

The outburst startled Armand, who had just finished handing down his verdict.

He hadn't expected his decision to hit her this hard.

It genuinely caught him off guard.

He thought to himself — does this foolish woman not realize this is just a tactical move?

With things as they were, he had no choice. It was the only way to give Isabelle an explanation. Otherwise, who was going to answer for offending one of Isabelle's valued guests?

But he also knew that Rihanna, now in full meltdown, needed to be handled carefully.

Armand's eyes snapped wide.

"Rihanna, what do you think you're doing? Are you actually defying my decision?"

"This is the sales center's formal disciplinary action, and this is entirely your fault."

"Even I was seriously misled by you. If not for that, why would I have treated Ms. Isabelle's guest the way I did?"

Armand had masterfully turned the whole thing around, shifting every last bit of the blame squarely onto Rihanna.

At the same time, he kept shooting her pointed looks.

The message couldn't have been clearer — just play along with me for now, and we'll sort everything out later.

But Rihanna, looking like she'd been struck by lightning, didn't catch any of it.

Not only did she miss his signals — she was absolutely furious.

This man had just dumped all the blame on her again, right to her face. She wasn't stupid. She could see exactly what he was doing.

Rihanna's rage had hit its peak. She was a volcano about to blow — and in the next second, she did.

"What do you mean it's all my fault? Armand, I'm not accepting this."

That single line — "I'm not accepting this" — sent a ripple of shock through everyone in the sales hall.

The people who had come to look at properties had already assumed the outcome was sealed — this saleswoman was getting fired, no question about it.

After all, she was the one who had given out the wrong information in the first place.

But no one expected her to explode like this. To the sharper observers in the room, something felt off.

"What's going on? The rage coming off that saleswoman — it's like a volcano, and there's no stopping it."

"Yeah, I feel the same way. There's definitely more to this story. Let's stick around and see how it plays out."

Armand stood there, his eyes wide with shock.

His plan had been pretty clean — let Rihanna step up and take the hit. He wouldn't leave her hanging afterward. If things cooled down, he'd find a way to bring her back to the sales center.

He was the sales manager here. Getting an employee reinstated was just a matter of saying the word.

But why couldn't Rihanna see that?

God, this woman — in bed she had always done exactly what he wanted, every single time.

Back then, she was as docile as a lamb.

But right now she looked like an enraged lioness.

The shift shook Armand to his core, and his heart lurched.

He was starting to feel uneasy.

He had been so pleased with his own plan — use Rihanna as a shield, walk away clean.

But now it hit him: there had been a serious breakdown in communication between them.

After everything he had just done to her, the Rihanna who had always gone along with him was refusing to fall in line.

His frustration finally boiled over. Armand stepped forward and slapped Rihanna hard across the face.

"You ungrateful little — this is the sales center's decision. You dare defy it?"

The slap only made Rihanna angrier.

After everything that had just happened, she saw Armand for exactly who he was.

This older man who had made her all kinds of promises in bed — it had all just been a way to use her, to play with her while she was young.

The idea that he could ever be someone she could lean on was nothing but a fantasy.

The moment something threatened his own interests, his true nature came out in full.