A Graduation Gift

"I have no idea who let out this message! But I'm wondering for how long can you conceal the truth, especially when it doesn't
even depend upon you? It solely depends on Rufus. If he wants, he can go tell your parents right away. You cannot change the
fact that he owns the TY Group, Lionel, no matter how much you shout on me!"
Ivy stated bluntly with a new-found confidence. There was resentment in her face, and her lips tightly pressed together.
"But why would he finally admit it now when he has kept it a secret for such a long time?" Lionel asked.
He was totally confused. He looked at Ivy with squinting eyes, thinking of how she once used to seem beautiful to him. Alas, not
anymore.
"Ha! Are you really asking me this? See how the tables have turned! How did we end up in this situation? I remember how you
and your parents forced me to leave the Tang house. It's not hard to imagine how you might have kicked out Rufus similarly.
Obviously, he revealed this secret as revenge. Don't you regret it? You drove away the God of wealth by your own hands!"
Ivy shrieked with frustration, clenching her teeth. She could never forget the day they kicked her out of the Tang house. She
could never forget what Lionel and his father did to her. Both of them were exactly alike. They could step on anybody if they saw
any benefits stemming out of it. No wonder Rufus gave up on them.
"Stop talking nonsense, Ivy! If you hadn't asked for the fifty million, I wouldn't have made such an unwise decision in the first
place. As a matter of fact, it was you who forced me to kick Rufus out!"
Lionel answered with much vigor, overcompensating. He didn't want to admit his own mistake, hence put all the blame on Ivy.
He pointed his finger around the villa and then at Ivy, his face full of disdain and resentment.
"If it wasn't for me, could you ever have afforded to live in such a house? Stop pretending to be innocent and disinterested after
already having taken a fair share of advantages! Can you even imagine how much this house costs? And as for that fifty
million...For me, it's just a small amount I threw at a bitch like you!"
Lionel barked the words at Ivy. Enraged, he kicked a chair to the side, and then turned around and left.
Ivy stood quivering behind him, and her hands clenched into fists. His words hit her so hard, she gasped to catch up with her
breath.
"Who the hell does he think he is? Ivy, I'll go right now and find some of my friends to teach him a lesson!"

Joel hissed fiercely after Lionel left. When the man was around, he didn't dare say a word and simply just stared at his back.
"Enough! Please don't bother. They just let you out of the jail, do you want to go back?"
Ivy would never allow her younger brother to take any risk, even though she hated Lionel to death. She knew clearly it was Rufus
who had sent Joel into the dock. If he showed up in public now, it would piss Rufus off and he would simply send him back like
before. He had so much power, and it was a piece of cake for him.
Ivy lifted her hand to her neck, touching the red mark on it. She tried to calm herself down, but the image of Lionel kicking the
chair played in her mind over and over again. She closed her eyes miserably, pressing her lips together with frustration.
'It's my fault that I didn't see you through before! But since you started it, I will make you regret it. You would wish you had killed
me. Watch me make you suffer.
Not just you, I'll make Horace and Jill suffer too! All of you will bite your tongues off for kicking me out!'
Ivy sat down and thought with vengeance, her eyes glittered, and her decision firmly made. No body could tell what a woman
turned mad would do.
"Cassandra, you need to take a break! When was the last time you took a day off?" said Stella.
She was worriedly looking at the dark circles under Cassandra's eyes. There was actually no need for her to work so hard,
especially with Stella's help. Still, she kept working overtime everyday, as if she was unable to stop.
"It's okay, Stella. I can manage it. Anyway, it's so boring to stay home and do nothing," Cassandra replied.
Truth was, she didn't want to stay home because Edith kept asking her to get into a relationship with Clark, assuming she would
be happy with him. There was another annoying thing. Rufus hadn't contacted her for the past few days, not even bothering to
give her an explanation. The anxiety was killing her. Only work could help take her mind off it.
"Cassandra, are you still bothered by what Lyndsy said the other day?" Stella asked, suddenly.
She eyed Cassandra with her big, bright eyes, confusingly.
Cassandra made no response. In fact, she was still bothered and was simply waiting for Rufus to give her an explanation. But
somehow it felt like he had vanished from the face of earth.

Stella waited for a while for her response, but finally gave up. "Listen to me, Cassandra. Just stop waiting for a reason. He's
Amanda's fiance now. I watched the news the other day. Amanda's piano school is under construction. They were together at the
spot, and were interviewed afterwards. Amanda's face was beaming with joy as she threw herself onto Rufus. I mean, I don't
understand why they have to be so intimate in front of the cameras..."
Stella kept going on and on, and then suddenly saw the expression on Cassandra's face. It looked like she was going to faint,
her face as white as snow.