Bella naturally didn't go back.
After leaving the chairman's office, she went straight out of the company and headed to a bar she frequented, intending to drown her sorrows.
In the dimly lit hall, she sat at the bar, downing one strong drink after another.
Before long, Bella showed signs of drunkenness. Her face was flushed, her eyes were misty, and she seemed on the verge of tears.
"Why? Why don't you like me? What's wrong with me?"
"I've liked you for so many years. Why can't you see me?"
"That Deanna, she even had a child with someone else. What makes her better than me? You'd rather have her than me. Lance, Lance..."
She held her glass as if questioning Lance himself, her voice choking with emotion.
At that moment, a sarcastic female voice sounded from behind Bella.
"Oh, isn't this the young lady of the Cody family? Why are you drinking alone here?"
"What else could it be? She broke up."
"No way, has she ever been in love? Mr. Mercer said there's no engagement."
Hearing these mocking words, Bella wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and turned her cold gaze toward them.
Three steps away stood several women dressed in designer clothes. Bella recognized them; they used to flatter her. She looked at them disdainfully. "I was wondering who it was. Turns out it's you crows squawking here. What, found a new master and stopped wagging your tails around your old one?"
Her words were sharp and cutting.
Without using a single curse word, she had insulted them thoroughly.
The women were furious.
"Bella, watch your mouth. Do you think we're like you, throwing ourselves at someone who doesn't want us?"
"Exactly. We used to hang out with you because we thought you were nice. Who knew you'd be so scheming, trying to force Mr. Mercer into marriage with public opinion."
"No wonder Mr. Mercer doesn't like you. With your deep scheming, who would dare marry you?"
Hearing them repeatedly say that Lance didn't like her and that she wasn't good enough for him, Bella was enraged.
She grabbed a nearby glass and smashed it at their feet.
With a loud crash, the mocking women were startled.
Bella's eyes swept over them coldly as she sneered. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Lance doesn't like me, but he definitely doesn't like you either. I may have been rejected by Lance, but I have the Cody Group behind me. I'm the heiress of the Cody Group. And you? You're just dogs that used to follow me around. What, now that you think you've grown wings, you want to bite the hand that fed you?"
Her last words were filled with anger, making the previously confident women show signs of fear.
Two of them even tugged at the curly-haired woman leading them and whispered, "Lina, maybe we should just leave."
Lina's face was ugly with anger but she didn't dare to speak against Bella, feeling utterly humiliated.
Bella saw all this and snorted coldly, losing her patience. "I'll give you three seconds to disappear from my sight, or I'll crush you like ants."
Hearing this, Lina and the others were both angry and scared.
But as Bella glared at them, they didn't dare say anything and left in frustration.
Soon, Bella was alone again.
Perhaps because she had just vented her anger, she felt a bit better but still stifled.
"Waiter, another glass."
"Sure."
The waiter handed her a glass.
Bella poured herself another drink.
At that moment, her phone rang. It was her assistant calling. "Miss Cody, I've found out what you asked me to investigate. Mr. Mercer has indeed returned, and..."
"And what?"
Hearing the assistant's hesitant tone, Bella squinted her eyes with a bad premonition.
After leaving the company, she had asked someone to find out about Lance to make amends.
The assistant paused for a few seconds and then said truthfully, "Mr. Mercer returned yesterday morning but went straight to that private doctor's house and stayed there until evening."
"You mean Lance came back from his trip and went to Deanna's house first thing and stayed there all day?!" Bella repeated in disbelief.
The assistant confirmed again, "Yes, he stayed there until very late in the evening before leaving."
Hearing this, Bella's face turned extremely sour.
She hung up the phone, gritting her teeth, her dark eyes filled with jealousy and hatred.
"Why? Why does it have to be that woman?!"
Bella couldn't understand what she lacked that made Lance reject her so completely!
At this moment, she felt that Deanna was the biggest obstacle on her way to marrying Lance and hated her even more.