A Graduation Gift

Amanda snickered, her bright white teeth peering behind her lips. Rufus looked straight into Amanda's glossy eyes, which
memorized every curve and line of his face.
He wasn't the young, dashing man that he was so many years ago, Amanda noted. The Rufus of today was now so much more
handsome. Well-built, well-established, and mature. Age was kind to Rufus, a trait that only few were ever lucky to have.
Amanda had merely used the opportunity to help introduce TY Securities to some major clients. When she invited him over to
Paris, expecting to feel like the time back to when they were together all those years ago. Only now, they were both much older.
Amanda and Rufus could be alone together. She didn't have to worry about Cassandra getting in between them again. No one
could bother them here in Paris.
She looked at his wine glass again. The drug had long dissolved in the red liquid. As long as Rufus drank, even if it was just a
sip, he would be bound to surrender to her enchanting charms.
"Come on, you know what I want,"
Amanda smirked, eyes now dark and heavy. She eagerly wanted to make him drink.
She wasn't even trying to hide her desire any longer. Both of them knew that Amanda wanted him. All Rufus had to do was
reciprocate.
Feigning sickness to get him to pity and pay attention to her only worked for a short time. It also wasn't the kind of relationship
she wanted. She wanted to be able to hold him, and be happy with him, and she wanted him to return her feelings.
What she needed was care and love. She needed him to tell her that he loved her!
Rufus, seeming to get the grasp of the situation, lowered his eyes. He averted her intense gaze, slowly shifting to turn around to
face the skyline again, elbows leaning against the railing.
"Amanda. I can only give you this much of love and care. I can never give you what you want. Not anymore. I'm not the same
man."
Rufus' voice was quiet and gentle, but to Amanda, it was deafening and harsh.
Her voice began to crack as she asked him, "Y-You've already broken up with Cassandra. There's no one left for you back at G
City. Why can't you give me another chance?"

Amanda's face turned pale. He hadn't been with Cassandra for a long time, and Cassandra was now trying to salvage the
already-shattered Qin Group. Why was Rufus still so hung up on her?
"You can never be the same as Cassandra. I'm sorry,"
Rufus sighed, shaking away the thoughts of the little woman's face.
Cassandra had always kept her distance from him. Even when they were still together, she was always hesitant to accept his
gifts.
She was always so independent. Strong, proud, and tireless. He would often get mad at her for being so stubborn.
But he just couldn't seem to let her go. No matter how hard he tried, the image of that little woman would always creep back into
his mind.
"Who's more important, then?"
Amanda choked, biting her lower lip anxiously as she looked at Rufus. She was trying to hold back the pain she was feeling over
being rejected over again.
Amanda could see Rufus smile quietly to himself, which made her heart clench. She could never make Rufus smile like that. It
hurt her.
"Amanda. She's irreplaceable. No one could ever compare to her,"
Rufus said as he smiled wider, letting his own thoughts consume himself.
Even if Cassandra would get mad, even if she got really upset, she wouldn't even ask such a ridiculous thing.
Cassandra would never bother to ask if he loved her. She would never bother to ask if she was more important than anyone. She
never had to ask those things because she had already known the answers anyway.
Cassandra was just...so much better.
Amanda held her tears back even if her heart ached so much that she could barely breathe.
She closed her eyes shut and tried to compose herself. She breathed a few times to steady her heart. When she opened her
eyes to look at Rufus once again, he had already turned to face her. He was smiling so tenderly.

Her eyes widened, and she saw Rufus holding his wine glass up to his lips as he chuckled, before sipping from it.
She watched Rufus gulp down the wine. The dark red fluid, like a lethal poison, went down his throat and dissolved into his
blood.
Amanda smiled. She smiled sinisterly at the sight of Rufus succumbing to the drug. She wiped her eyes dry and beamed.
She picked up her own glass and gulped the wine down in excitement.
She approached Rufus by the balcony as her hips swayed beneath her. She held back the gleeful squeal that wanted to escape
her lips and went to hold him by the waist, guiding him back into the room.
Rufus had always refused her, but she knew his weakness.
Charlie, Amanda's father, would have forced Rufus to marry her if he ever found out that she had slept with him.
Amanda relished Rufus's attention to her now. Years ago, she wasn't able to fully appreciate it when they had touched hands and
kissed each other. She regretted never crossing that line with him. However, now that she had him at the tip of her finger, she
would never waste such an opportunity.
Rufus was right. He wasn't the same man as before. And neither was she.
Amanda quietly urged Rufus to finish the rest of his drink, and when he did, he coughed a few times from the sudden burst of
liquid in his throat. He placed his wine glass on one of the end tables as he settled in the chair.
Amanda sat on the edge of the bed across him in silence. She watched carefully how the drug took a hold on Rufus quickly—his
chest rose and fell quicker than usual.
Rufus was restlessly shifting in his seat, until he reached for the tie by his neck, attempting to loosen it.
"It's getting a little hot in here, isn't it?"
Amanda said with a hoarse voice.
Rufus turned away from her gaze, feeling incredibly embarrassed over nothing. It was as if his mind was moving on its own.
"I could see your forehead sweating," Amanda said, turning from the bed to grab the tissue on the end table.

She proceeded to wipe him dry, but he only seemed to be sweating more profusely. Rufus was still trying to struggle with his tie,
until Amanda held his hands still over his chest.
"Oh, Rufus. Let me do that for you. Let's take off your clothes so you could cool down. You're starting to sweat through them,"