A Graduation Gift

Cassandra was in bed brainstorming about how she could talk Rufus out of his revenge plan when she heard a knock on her
window.
She sat up nervously and hurried to open the window. As expected, outside was Rufus.
Looking up at Cassandra, Rufus wore an enchanting smile.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing to do, he stepped over the windowsill and into her bedroom, stretched out his hands
and embraced her tightly.
"Cassandra, it doesn't look good for Horace. We might see the end of him soon. I'm just taking my time but I'll attend to business
again soon."
Recently, he had received information from the banks about the Tang Group's loan status. Lawsuits were arriving here and there.
It won't be long before they go bankrupt. This made Rufus feel very pleased.
What Rufus said made Cassandra feel sad. She understood what he meant. The Tang Group was in grave danger and someone
needed to save it fast. Rufus was the only one who could do that, but instead of finding ways to keep it alive, he was trying to
think of ways on how to kill it faster.
"Rufus, are you really going to watch the Tang Group go down without even trying to help?"
Cassandra asked, looking up at him in his arms.
"I know where this is going, Cassandra. You've already tried talking me out of my plan to destroy the Tang family out of hatred. I
told you once and I'll tell you again: I'm not going to change my mind. I will not do anything to stop what's happening to the Tang
Group. Okay? This is what I want so please don't try to convince me to do otherwise,"
Rufus replied as he stroked her back with his hands gently.
"Everything you hate about your father can be resolved. If your mother were alive, she would hate to see you do this,"
Cassandra sighed softly, recalling the photos she saw of his mother in his seaside castle. She seemed to be a reserved and
quiet woman. At a glance, it was clear that she had a very kind heart.
"I don't care what she would think. She had her own opinions, but she was wrong. She lived a miserable life. Moreover, she got
ill at such a young age and spent ten years in bed as a vegetable before she finally died. She did everything she could do for a

man who didn't even visit her on her deathbed," he said.
Talking about his mother filled Rufus's heart with more pain and resentment. He blamed all of her suffering to Horace.
"Rufus, you are wrong,"
Cassandra said as she pushed against his chest and looked at him intently with her black eyes.
"You should know the man your mother sacrificed everything for was not Horace. It was you," Cassandra said.
This hit home being a huge realization for Rufus.
"She had been working hard all those years in order to provide you with a good environment for growth. The reason why she
kept you from your father must have been because she wanted you two to live a peaceful life. She would be very sad if she knew
that you are now a man full of hatred,"
she continued as she looked at him with great sadness in her eyes.
"If she did what I was doing now, the man who made her suffer would not be alive in his worthless existence in the first place,"
Rufus replied as he let go of her, trying to suppress his own emotions.
"If she opted to dedicate her life to get her revenge, then I can't even imagine what kind of person you would turn out to be now,"
Cassandra immediately responded to what Rufus said.
"If the revenge were all she wanted, she would not have even given birth to you. And even if she did decide to still have you,
what would your childhood be like if you were raised by a mother who was full of anger and hatred?"
Being a woman, Cassandra felt that she understood Rufus's mom better. It was easier for her to empathize with her and her
situation.
"If I were your mother, I would probably walk away silently, then decide to abort you and have a new life. Still, she knew that you
were already growing inside her womb. She loved you more than she loved herself. That's what blood does. That's what a family
does. You are the person closest to her and because of that, she decided that you were the most important thing in her life," she
said.

Talking about a baby in a womb filled Cassandra with sorrow as she remembered her own. Unlike what happened to Rufus's
mom, though, her baby never got to come out into the world. 'Maybe I'm not meant to raise this baby, ' she wondered.
"She didn't ask for anybody's help and she did not blame anybody for what happened. Instead, she focused on you—giving you
a good life, and a good education. As a mother, that was all she wanted: her child to have a good life. I think this was the reason
why she did not need a revenge. It was because she already had you and that was all she could ask for. Rufus, please. Let this
go,"
Cassandra said with a cracking voice as tears filled her eyes.
"No, I will never let this go. What you said is true. My mother did everything she could because she loved me. But that is not
enough to make me forgive Horace," he replied.
Looking at her tearful eyes distressed him but he had to stay firm. Horace had to pay for his mistakes. Unable to think of any way
to appease her, he turned to avoid seeing her sad expression.
'I have worked towards this goal for many, many years. For so long, I have wanted Horace to feel remorse about his actions and
to regret what he has done. How can I give it up now that I'm so close?' he thought.
"Horace came over to apologize because he knew what he did was wrong. As for Jill, I know she regrets what she did to your
mother. If they both apologized, would you forgive them?"
Cassandra asked, reaching out to hold his hands. For the first time, his hands were cold. He had always been so relaxed and
composed. This was really something that was important to him.
The coldness in his hands reflected the coldness in his heart.
"That's impossible. Horace never really felt bad for what he did to my mother. He only apologized because he had to. The only
reason he came here was because of the Tang Group, not me. As for Jill, she's even more unlikely to apologize. She thinks
she's better than everyone else, especially me, who she always regarded as nothing more than an illegitimate child. Not once in
my life did I see her look at me as an equal. None of their apologies matter to me,"
Rufus gritted his teeth and said. There was finality in his words. There seemed to be no way to convince him otherwise.
The light of hope in Cassandra's eyes dimmed after she heard what he said. She thought that she would manage to change his
mind, but it seemed to be impossible even for her to sway him.

"Rufus, if the Tang family goes bankrupt and Horace suffers, I can't be with you," she said sternly.
Cassandra determined to use all the cards she had to bargain and hoped he'd change his mind.
Suddenly, Rufus turned to her with an incredulous expression.
"Cassandra, why are you saying that?"
Rufus asked as he tried to find clues of a bluff in her face. He didn't understand why she was trying to protect the Tang family.
'She should stand on my side and support me, shouldn't she? Why is she doing this?' he wondered.
"I don't want to stay with someone who can do this to his family. I want someone who is responsible, forgiving, and loving,
especially to the people closest to him,"
Cassandra replied as she emphasized every word. She knew what was important to her and what she was looking for in a
partner.
"They are not my family!"
Rufus argued angrily. He could not understand why Cassandra still regarded them as his family. His last name was Luo, not
Tang.
"I will tell you again as gently as I can: the Tang family is not my family. You are my family, Cassandra. Do you understand?"
Rufus grabbed her arms with both his hands, letting her look at his anxious face.
"You are going to stay with me and we will be family. It's just the two of us. The Tang family is our enemy. Why can't you stand in
my shoes?"
Rufus said in frustration. He felt very disappointed that she could not seem to understand him. Sadness flashed in his eyes.
"Rufus, I just don't want you to regret this in the future,"
Cassandra answered with apologetic eyes.
"I used to hate my family, too. I hated my father because he was always so distant with me and he clearly favored my younger
sister. I could even say that he never showed me affection. He was even willing to marry me off to someone I did not love for the

sake of his business. Of course, you know that I'm talking about Lionel," she shared.
Thinking about her past made Cassandra very sad. It was as if she was going through it all again. Still, if this was what it took to
persuade Rufus, she was willing to do it.
"I was miserable and frustrated then. I disobeyed what my father asked me to do and I saw the Qin family as my worst enemy,"
she continued.
Cassandra could still see herself during those years, vengeful eyes and a crooked bitter smile on her face.
"Later on, my mother cried in front of me with desperation. She begged me to do it for she did not want to see everything that my
father worked for be destroyed, and she didn't want our stable life to be threatened. To do as she wishes, I agreed to the
marriage even if it meant giving up my freedom."
Cassandra remembered her mother's tears. She bit her lips and closed her eyes for it was difficult to see the memory.
But soon, she opened her eyes again and continued to look at him.
"I had no choice but to agree with what my mother wanted in the end, so I married Lionel. You have no idea how embarrassed I
was, especially at the beginning; how much I wanted to escape this marriage and how much I hated my father."
Cassandra shook her head gently, thinking of herself at that time. She avoided her family. She did not even stay in contact with
them. It was all to protect herself from more pain.
"Then, I saw the news that the Tang Group started a cooperative project with the Qin Group, so the Qin Group could continue to
run. Suddenly, I felt that my heart was not as heavy."
Cassandra relaxed slightly. The memory clearly made her a little bit happier.
"Only then did I realize how much I have helped my family. My hatred for my father and the rest of my family disappeared. I
found purpose,"
Cassandra said as she looked solemnly at Rufus with sincere and unshakable eyes.
"Rufus, I'm telling you this even if you don't realize it now. Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge. They are your family
whether you like it or not. You have the same blood and you're all connected. Their pain will become your pain and their joy will
likewise be your joy."