A Graduation Gift

"How's it going with your work?"
In prison's visiting rooms, Vernon sat across Cassandra. He had grown thinner but he seemed to be in high spirits.
"It's doing great, Father. Don't worry about me. As for my mother, she can't come today because she has been very busy, but I'm
sure she will visit you next time," Cassandra said.
She made it a point not to bear bad news because she did not want her father to worry too much. It was important for her that he
behaved well in prison so he could be let out soon and they could all be together. Because of this, she and her mother agreed
not to tell Vernon about Edith's illness.
"Do you have a boyfriend now?"
This was the next question he asked. Of course, this also brought him concern because he didn't want his daughter to grow old
alone. It only made sense that he would ask this too.
Cassandra already anticipated this and she was able to prepare an answer.
"Yes, but we haven't been dating long yet. I'd like to bring him so you can meet him when it's time. It's still too early now,"
she replied smoothly without hesitation.
Vernon smiled with relief when he heard her reply. That was good news to him because in his mind, that meant that he did not
need to worry about Cassandra too much. There was a man who was taking care of her.
"I'm sorry I haven't been a good father. You and your mother must have been having a hard time recently,"
he started apologetically. He felt sorry for leaving Cassandra the burden of taking care of his family.
Right then, Cassandra suddenly remembered what Rufus told Ivy.
Joel had threatened Vernon to the point of him considering suicide. She realized that Ivy must have done this because of the
things happening between them back then.
Cassandra's heart ached. Her father almost died because of her. This filled her with guilt.
"Father, please, no more apologizing. We are family. We're all waiting for you—mother, Cloris, and me,"

she said as she reached out to hold her father's hand to comfort him.
"How about Cloris? How is she?"
It had been a long time since he saw his beloved younger daughter. He missed her very much.
"She's fine. She came back a few days ago and she has a boyfriend now,"
Cassandra replied with a smile.
"Boyfriend? Who? What is he like? Is he treating Cloris right?"
Vernon shot one question after another.
Cassandra smiled and replied patiently.
"You probably know him. He is the president of Dawn Star Group, Arthur Zhuang. Cloris likes him very much,"
she said as Cloris's lovestruck face appeared in her mind. The girl seemed so happy and she always looked at Arthur with such
loving eyes.
What she did not understand, however, was that from what she knew, Arthur broke up with Cloris before. She even came back
just to see him but they ended up fighting. It confused Cassandra to see them dating again.
"Arthur? I know him!"
As expected, Vernon grew even more excited. Arthur was part of the business circle. Of course, he knew who he was.
"I'm very happy for her. Arthur is a very good man!"
Vernon smiled. He seemed to be unable to wipe it off his face. Realizing that his daughter was dating a great man filled him with
so much joy.
His smile brought Cassandra joy, too.
"Oh, you should also hurry up with your love life then, Cassandra. By the way, who were you talking about? Who is your
boyfriend?"

Vernon then asked his eldest daughter. He realized that he forgot to ask who the mystery guy was. A part of him felt bad that he
did seem to show more concern about Cloris than Cassandra and he hoped that this lapse did not make Cassandra feel
uncomfortable.
As for Cassandra, though, she was actually hoping that he would not investigate as this was a topic she would have preferred to
avoid. Left with no other choice, she had to respond, "It's Rufus."
She could not find it in herself to lie to her father. Hurriedly, she explained, "I know we shouldn't be together. I mean, there are so
many odds against us. We've been through a lot, clearly. Mother doesn't like him very much either, but I'll introduce him to you,
Father, and you'll see that he's really a great guy! I promise! I mean, I think you'll really like him and you two will get along."
Cassandra was worried that Vernon might object. As best as she could, she explained the situation and put in as many good
words for Rufus as possible.
Vernon stayed silent for a few seconds and then sighed in resignation.
"Choosing him will make your life complicated, Cassandra. He is your ex-husband's brother. What will the Tang family say when
they find out that you plan to be their older son's wife?" he said.
Given that all he worried about was the Tang family's approval, it was likely that the news about Rufus's identity had not reached
him yet. It was a good thing that all the rumors had not made their way to his ears.
"I don't have the energy to think about the future, Father. Please let me just worry about what's in front of us, for now,"
she replied gently with a bitter smile.
The truth was that the Tang family did not even have the time and energy to think about her relationship with Rufus at this
moment. Currently, keeping the Tang Group afloat was their priority.
The pain in her eyes made Vernon's heart ache. Would Horace agree if she married his other son?
"Please promise me you'll take care of yourself. Don't allow yourself to be hurt, okay?"
Vernon begged as he held her hands and looked straight into her eyes.
"Yes, Father, I promise. Thank you," she replied.
The warmth of her father's love overwhelmed Cassandra so much that she almost wanted to cry.

Never did she ever imagine that she would share a moment like this with her father. Sitting across him and holding his hands,
she had never felt this loved by him in all her life. It was as if she were in a dream.
For as long as she could remember, her father had always been distant to her and showed obvious favor towards her sister. She
could not recall a moment in her childhood where she felt that he loved her. He never seemed to care what she did in her life or if
she were hurt.
Not even in her wildest imagination did she imagine this moment to happen.
Then and there, Cassandra felt as if she had everything she needed. She felt as if she were the luckiest girl in the world. If she
had left her family and allowed her hatred to get the best of her during her bitter days, she would not have reached this moment.
She was grateful that she did her best to protect it. The love she felt right now made everything worth it.
How she wished Rufus were beside her right now. She wanted to tell him how she felt, how beautiful these kinds of moments
were, and how things would always get better with love.
She wanted him to understand the warmth of having a family and how it was worth fighting for.
It was much more satisfying than revenge.
Still, she knew it would not be easy to convince him. He was very stubborn and nothing she did or said about this particular
matter ever seemed to get through to him.
The Tang Group was already so deep into their problems. No matter what Lionel did, nothing seemed to work. They needed help
and they needed it now.
As a member of the Tang family, it would have been Rufus's responsibility to lend a hand. But unfortunately, absorbed by his
hatred, he barely showed concern for their circumstance.
Cassandra soon bid her father goodbye and turned to leave. The moment she walked out of prison, her phone rang.
"Is this Cassandra Qin?"
a stranger asked from the other end of the line. It was an unknown number. Puzzled, Cassandra responded, "Yes, this is she.
Who is speaking, please?"
she replied politely, not knowing his intention.

"Great! I'm so happy I've reached you. I'm a member of the crew in the last shoot. I was told that you wanted to terminate
Lyndsy's contract and the producer wants to meet with you. He is in the M hotel downtown. Would you be able to drop by?"
"Oh!" Cassandra exclaimed realizing what the man was talking about. Stella must have reached out to him regarding Lyndsy's
arrangements.
"Oh, sure! Could you send me the address and room number? I'll drop by as soon as I can," she immediately responded.
The shoot was keeping Lyndsy busy for now, but the sooner she settled this, the sooner she could fly out and have her
treatments. Cassandra wanted to make sure that things were set up before she went abroad.
The man gave her the details she requested and then hung up. Cassandra headed for the place at once.
At the same time, Lionel received a text message.
"Come to Room 907 at M Hotel downtown. It's done," it said.
His eyes widened, staring at the message with disbelief. He was soon filled with excitement.
It must be from Cassandra. He had asked her to persuade Rufus to help the Tang family. The text was a good sign.
Too thrilled to even give it a second thought, he headed off to the place in the message.
Cassandra knocked at the door gently and a man replied.
"Come in, please."
It was a young man's voice. Cassandra put on a courteous smile and turned the doorknob to walk in.
The moment the door opened, she was met with a towel to her face.
She immediately grew anxious and was about to shout for help, but then everything went black; before she knew it, she was
unconscious.
Still, right before completely fainting, she managed to catch a glimpse of a man. His face, though, did not seem to be
recognizable.

Lionel entered the room and saw a woman standing with her back facing him. 'Cassandra, ' he thought. With a smile on his face,
he walked in, eager to hear the good news straight from her mouth.
Suddenly, a towel with a strange smell covered his nose and mouth. He struggled to fight against the man who caught him.
But the moment he tried to catch a breath, he lost consciousness.
Before he could even manage to decipher who it was, he heard a woman's voice say, "Good job."