A Graduation Gift

There was a dull sting on the hand that Cassandra had just put down. It was expected, as she put all of her strength in that one
slap, making sure that her retaliation would mark its way into his skin. Lionel was glaring at Cassandra, and their heated gazes
met. He could feel his skin warm with irritation.
It was not the first time she hit him. He resisted the urge to bring a hand to his cheek to provide some relief for the biting pain on
his skin. It would definitely leave a mark, but he refused to allow her the pleasure of seeing him affected by it.
Placed at the center of his silent but evident fury, Cassandra began to feel uneasy, her earlier grit wavering. "You insulted me
first. I just returned the favor," she said, trying to modulate her voice to keep it from shaking.
She could sense his anger. It seemed to rise and thicken the air around them. She took a few steps back to create a distance
between them. Lionel's eyes did not leave her even as he remained in stoic silence. 'Did I overreact?' Cassandra wondered to
herself.
"Cas-san-dra Qin,"
he finally spoke, pronouncing her name syllable by syllable, as if taking each syllable in his mouth and crushing it, then walked
towards her step by step. He moved forward; she retreated. It was a slow chase as the distance between then gradually
shortened. Cassandra could feel fear occupy the crevices in her chest.
Her hands grew cold as they touched the wall behind her - she had no more space to back up to.
Cassandra had nowhere left to run. She raised her head in defiance, clenching her fists at her side and meeting his eyes. Her
heart was hammering in her chest, awaiting his next move. 'I have hit him anyway. Nothing can change this fact. There's no use
worrying, I'll see what he will do, ' she thought to herself.
Lionel towered over her and bent his head. "No woman has ever dared hit me. And you have already done it twice," he hissed.
"Are you sure you're ready for the consequences?" He was leaning forward so close that she could feel his breath on her skin.
He wore a brutal expression. The coldness of his eyes as he looked down on her rivaled that of a winter storm, and Cassandra
could almost feel herself freeze under his gaze. She was petrified, unable to move. Fear was gripping her heart, squeezing it
with cold, clammy hands.
Despite this, she did not avert her gaze and challenged, "I can't change the fact that I slapped you. It's already done. If you feel
that it's unfair, you can hit me back. If you're a man then act like one. I'm not like those who would use despicable moves to
frame others."

It was the only thing Cassandra could think of to make things even. She did not expect any graciousness from him. She raised
her face, as if preparing herself for what was to come, and her eyes met his with all the audacity she could muster.
"You think I'm not going to do it?" he threatened her back.
His anger rose to uncontrollable heights. The nerve of this woman! He had never hit a woman before nor thought about doing it -
he was better than those lowlifes who would raise their hands against women - but his patience was sorely tried by this one
particular woman in front of him.
"Then do it. If that would make you feel that we're even. But please, consider your actions better in the future. Even if it's just on
paper, I am still your wife in name. Are you that eager to see me getting into a relationship with another man? Aren't you
ashamed of yourself?"
Cassandra hurled her anger at him without holding back. Lionel was baffled by her words. 'What the hell was she talking about?'
But before he could question her, she started throwing an onslaught of questions which allowed him no chance of speaking.
"I know you hate me. Do you think I wanted this? If not for my own family, do you think I would have married you? I don't care
what you want to do. I won't bother your life, but can't you at least leave me alone when we're at the company?" She was
breathing hard, and tears were running down her cheeks as more words fled from her lips. "I won't even ask you to treat me well,
but don't you think that it was too much to try to drug me?"
The last question sounded pitiful, even to her own ears, but Cassandra could not stop the anguish that was boiling inside her
chest. It was just wrong. She did not even think he was capable of that.
If not for Rufus, there was no telling what sort of scandal would have ensued. 'Was he that bent on destroying her?'
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lionel snapped, cutting her off from her thoughts.
He put a finger under her chin and forced her to hold his gaze.
At this, she gave out a bitter laugh. Now he was refusing the responsibility. "What? Mr. Tang, I didn't know you had such a bad
memory?! What a pity, right? Sadly, your plan fell through. Were you expecting me to end up at the hospital with a bottle of
champagne so you can celebrate? Too bad."
Her laugh was a scathing sound in the room. Her tears still streaming, she heaved, trying to catch her breath as the reality that
she was alone dawned on her. She was barely keeping herself upright on her own two feet. 'What have I done wrong exactly?'

"Cassandra Qin, what exactly are you talking about?"
Lionel grew more and more perplexed with every passing second. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
He had spent his night with Ivy, so it was just impossible for him to have done anything to her. He was callous, true. But she
should have been used to that by now.
Lionel felt himself being pushed back and he disentangled himself from his thoughts. "Get off me," Cassandra spat. "You disgust
me."
Cassandra already knew that he had hated her from the beginning, but everything that happened was a low blow. She tried to be
as civil as she could, despite his attitude towards her, but if this was how he wanted things then she was prepared to return every
favor. Grabbing her things and turning around, she hastened to leave, not wanting to even be in the same space with this
despicable man.
But before she could get to the door, Lionel had moved to block her. "Tell me clearly what did you mean," he demanded.
He was not letting her go without getting to the bottom of this, and he would make her tell him.
Cassandra wiped a hand harshly on her cheeks to dry her tears. Then, she met Lionel's eyes, the fire of her rage burning.
"Last night, the assistant you assigned to me drugged my drink. I lost consciousness and my sexual desire was heightened. He
put a mini camera in the office. You should know the rest of the story," she said accusingly. "If you want a divorce, then please
talk to your father. If he agrees, I certainly won't say no. I won't hold you back. In fact, it would be a blessing to be free from all
this. You think I like you? You think that I want to marry you? You absolutely disgust me!" she screamed at him.
Her eyes were ablaze with wrath and resentment. She had enough of everything, and she would let him know now.
Lionel's face turned thoughtful.
But before he could speak, Cassandra shoved him aside furiously and walked out of the room.
Lionel was left inside, alone and nonplussed. He scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to make sense of what she had just told
her, the words bouncing off repeatedly in his mind:
"If not for my own family, do you think I would have married you...
You think I like you... You absolutely disgust me...

If you want a divorce, then please talk to your father...Don't you think that it was too much to try to drug me?"
Her face appeared back into his mind. She looked tired, defeated. Lionel felt his chest tighten as an unfamiliar feeling came to
him. He hated this woman, so why did what she said matter? It unsettled him how her words impacted him. He felt strange, then
confused, and irritated. Choosing to focus on the matter at hand, he decided to divert his attention to what had happened.
'Drug? Sex? Camera?' he thought to himself.
He stood motionless as he thought for some time. Finally, he slowly took out his phone and made a call, giving out direct
instructions, "Help me look into something."
...
Darkness fell and embraced the city in somber colors.
Inside the Tang family's house, Horace had finally returned after some time of absence. Rufus, however, was no where to be
seen.
Dinner proceeded in silence, save for the occasional clinking of tableware. The young husband and wife ate wordlessly, not
exchanging even the smallest of glances. There was an obvious tension between the two, but it was as if the older couple who
sat with them had already grown accustomed to the awkward atmosphere that they brought with them. They continued their
meal as if everything was perfectly normal, until the older man spoke, "Lionel, Cassandra, you two are not young anymore. You
should be making plans to have a baby soon."
The words were just a murmur, but Cassandra felt as if she heard porcelain shattering in the silence of the room.
It was unexpected, and the subject had never been brought up before. She was so caught in surprise that she almost coughed
her food out. A baby with that man? They could not even stand to be in each other's vicinity without negative feelings, let alone
touching each other. It was out of the question. Lionel, on the other hand, was much more composed and continued his meal
without responding to his father.
Jill however, did not take kindly to Cassandra's reaction. "What? You are not willing to? Four years ago you wanted to study in
Rome, and we said yes. Now that we have granted you that favor, don't you think it's your turn to give back by giving an heir to
the family?" she derided.
Cassandra found herself unable to reply.

Her eyes wandered, as if there was something missing. It was then that she realized that a space in the table was unoccupied.
Rufus wasn't back yet. It was strange. She wanted nothing else but for him to be away from her when he was around; but now
that he was absent, she felt somewhat uneasy and worried.
Unable to bear the situation she found herself in at her mother-in-law's words, Cassandra decided to take her leave. "I'll think
about it," she replied politely. "I'm done. Thank you for the meal. May I be excused?"
She carefully put down her chopsticks, and stood up to walk to her room.
Lionel didn't say a single word at all throughout. He ate and listened, and when Cassandra rose to leave the table, he watched
her from the corner of his eye.
"Look at that woman. What's that supposed to mean? As if we owe her something!"
the old woman scoffed the moment Cassandra was out of earshot. Horace just warned her with a glance hinting her to stop. She
fell quiet at once and continued eating.
Cassandra opted to take a shower to calm her nerves. When she finished, she dressed herself in her sleepwear and rested her
head on the window frame, her thoughts wandering. She felt a mist gradually creeping on her eyes, as if she was in a mirage.
'Where is Rufus?' she asked herself. In the hospital, she had already sensed that something was wrong. There was traces of
panic in him, far from his usual composure. To make matters even stranger, he didn't return home tonight. Horace never
mentioned him as well.
'Where has he been?' she kept thinking.
Cassandra sighed.
There was a very strange feeling in her chest as she realized how much she had been thinking about him. Since when has she
started to care about that annoying man?
"Are you missing me?"
a masculine voice spoke from behind, flowing in smooth octaves, as if from a dream. She spun around. For a second, she
thought her ears were playing tricks on her.

But she was wrong. There was Rufus standing behind her. 'Gosh! How long has he been here and how did he get
in?'