<b>Chapter </b><b>159 </b>


    Several people at the venue were already ncing in Bianca’s direction–among them, new contacts and potential investors she’d only just managed to connect with. No one said a word, but their looks were enough to make her wish she could disappear.


    Humiliation burned hot across her cheeks. She simply couldn’t understand <i>how </i>data and images pulled straight from InnoCore’s project had ended up in her meticulously prepared presentation. This was the first time in her life she’d ever felt so thoroughly humiliated in front of such a crowd.


    She didn’t even dare look at Seth, afraid of finding disappointment written <i>on </i>his face–or worse, seeing his attention drawn to Noreen, who was now dazzling everyone in the <i>room</i>.


    Perhaps sensing her distress, Seth was quick to shield her from the whispers, offering quietly, “Let’s go home.”


    Even though the summit wasn’t over, Seth didn’t hesitate to escort Bianca out. As for Jude, he stayed behind, not sparing them a nce.


    Jude’s expression was a tangled mess of disbelief, frustration, and confusion. How <i>could </i>this be happening? How could InnoCore possibly belong to Noreen? The facts were right in front of him; whether he liked it or not, he had to ept them.


    Meanwhile, his phone buzzed incessantly with messages from the group chat, goading him to upload a video of Noreen’s supposed embarrassment for everyone’s amusement. Jude, in no mood to exin, shot back a sharp “Drop it,” and promptly left the group. At this point, he was the one who’d


    lost face–not Noreen.


    Outside, away from the prying eyes and hushed gossip, Bianca finally felt her pulse begin to steady. She wanted to say something, to exin or apologize, but the words wouldn’te.


    Seth, ever considerate, spoke first. “Don’t be discouraged. No matter what happened, your project still made the shortlist. That’s already a big achievement.”


    Hisfort soothed her bruised pride. It was clear Seth genuinely cared about her. Even with Noreen basking in the spotlight, Seth hadn’t given her a second nce.


    “This was my oversight. It won’t happen again,” Bianca said, both a promise and an exnation.


    Seth smiled gently. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”


    “Alright.” She let herself finally rx.


    “I’ll go get the car, Wait here for me,” he said before heading off to the parking lot.


    As soon as he was gone, Bianca exhaled slowly, reying the whole humiliating episode in her mind, trying to pinpoint exactly where things had gone wrong.


    Noreen’s project was the one Bianca had personally rejected after she became head of Department Three–a decision colored by personal grievances, though she had run it by Seth at the time. He hadn’t objected, telling her she had every right to veto any project in her division and that she owed no one an exnation. He’d supported her every decision.


    10:03


    That meant the me was hers alone. If she’d set aside her personal bias, the InnoCore project would have been hers, not Noreen’s. Noreen had just gotten lucky; Bianca hadn’t lost to her–she’d


    lost to herself.


    The realization made the sting of failure easier to bear. Seth didn’t me her, and he still believed in her, just as he always had.


    She needed to shake this off ande back stronger. After all, she was a PhD in economics from WT Business School; her track record spoke for itself. Noreen was just an ordinary college grad–how could she possiblypete?


    Bianca’s resilience was remarkable. By the time Seth returned, she was alreadyposed and ready


    to move forward.


    She was just about to scan the crowd, hoping to spot Seth, when a familiar figure caught her eye.


    It was Dn.


    She opened her mouth to call out to him, but the bouquet of flowers in his arms made her hesitate for


    a moment.