A Graduation Gift

Ivy's eyes went straight to Amanda's disheveled clothes. At once, she had an inkling that something had happened in this office.
But she asked no questions. Taking her eyes off Amanda's clothes, she gave her a smile and said, "The project is going on as
planned. Don't worry."
A practiced smile remained plastered in her face but her eyes wandered, scouring the whole room for any clues.
Amanda's appearance had always been so impeccable—from head to toe, that she would be seen with rumpled clothes was
abnormal.
Her gaze landed on Amanda's desk. Like the rest of her, it was usually neat and well-organized; however, today was a different
case. A large area was left vacant and on one end were files strewn in a disarray, as if someone had swept over the table
carelessly and left everything at its edge.
It was indeed very strange.
She took a look at Clark next. At first glance, he looked to be the same as he always was, save for the slight wrinkles on his shirt.
Ivy's eyes did not miss the way it was haphazardly tucked into his pants.
Ivy came face-to-face with an appalling possibility as she pieced everything together. Even she herself could not believe it.
Did they make love in this room just now?
At once, Ivy's senses recognized the telltale scent of sex that lingered in the air.
With Ivy in the room, Amanda went through the report slowly. She could have sent her away and checked the file later, but she
didn't want to stay with Clark alone in her office. Ivy's presence was godsend, and she had her waiting there as she proceeded to
business.
The longer Ivy stayed inside the room, the more abnormalities she found.
With all the clues she picked up, she was able to deduce that Amanda and Clark had some special relationship. They were more
than 'friends.'
No friends would make love in an office.

Her heart sank at the realization. She had planned to seduce Clark, one of the richest bachelors in the G City, and take him for
herself. Nothing could have prepared her for this.
And Amanda. That bitch! Hadn't she been running around and professing her love for Rufus? And yet, here she was, hooking up
with Clark secretly. What a slut!
No wonder Clark ignored her own advances. He had already been sleeping with Amanda.
A feeling of hate spiked through Ivy's chest. Her eyes narrowed on Amanda. Why did this bitch always compete against her?
On the outside, she remained calm and collected as Amanda checked the file, but she cursed the woman in her head repeatedly.
Clark, on the other hand, lingered nonchalantly, showing no intention of leaving at all.
Amanda felt suffocated as his presence loomed over them. Forcing a smile, she turned to Clark and said, "Clark, I still have
things to discuss with Ivy. It'll take a long time. Why don't you go back for now?"
Amanda fought against her trembling legs and was about to walk to the door when Clark answered her.
"Oh, no. I don't have anything urgent to deal with as of the moment. I'll wait for you here. Let's have dinner later. It's on me,"
Clark smiled at her as he spoke, but his eyes glinted with malice.
Seeing Amanda cower in front of him gave him a rush. It felt so good to conquer a woman. He had been having a hard and long
time with Cassandra. Now, facing Amanda, the obedient little woman that she was, he reveled in the feeling of his own
wickedness.
Despite his smile, Amanda felt the chill from his eyes to her bones.
Her hands trembled a bit and she closed the file.
"Ivy, I'm finished with the file. Follow it up, please. Thanks, and you can leave now."
Clark insisted on not leaving. Amanda was left with no other choice but to confront him now.
"Yes, I understand."
Ivy smiled and turned around to leave the office as if she knew nothing.

When the sound of her steps disappeared, Clark rushed to Amanda, stretching a hand out forcing her to raise her head and look
at him.
"You played a dirty trick there, didn't you?" he sneered as Amanda whimpered against his grip. "Are you trying to send me away?
You would do better to keep this in that pretty little head of yours, Amanda. You will never escape me. I will come to you
whenever I want, and you will do exactly as I ask. Understand?"
His practiced smile had all disappeared. In its place was a cold and evil expression, like that of a hunter watching its prey. He
approached her face slowly.
Amanda shuddered. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks, her whimpers bouncing off the walls of the office.
"Take off your skirt! Now!"
Clark ordered impatiently. His mood had soured now, and he would use this woman to vent out his anger.
Amanda crumbled at the force of humiliation, but she had to follow. She swallowed thickly and continued crying as she took off
her clothes. Her eyes dulled as Clark used her body, and everything around her seemed to echo.
As her mind wandered, her thoughts came to Rufus. 'Rufus, where are you? Why won't you come and save me?' His image
flickered before her, and then Cassandra's. Fury burst forth from inside her as she saw them in their happiness.
Her nails dug into the wood of the table and she gritted her teeth against her cries. Rufus was gone. He had found his happiness
with Cassandra. And here she was, at the palm of Clark's hands, bending to his every will and desire.
Hatred crawled in her heart like numerous tiny snakes. Their venom flooded her every vessel and there was nothing but burns
and acid.
She was damned. There was no escape for her now, and she would take everyone else with her.
'I'll make you all suffer.' She bit her lip against her rage. 'I'll kill you all! I will tear you into pieces until there's nothing left!' Vicious
thoughts echoed repeatedly in Amanda's head as she fought against the sound of her cries.
After it was done, Clark fixed his tie and walked out of Amanda's office without so much as another look at her.
As he strode out of the office, Ivy caught the satisfied expression in his face, confirming her earlier suspicions.
When Clark passed by Ivy, he took a look at this woman, and stopped, remembering her interest in him.

Another wicked thought formed at the back of his mind and he smiled at her. "Amanda is busy tonight. Won't you join me for
dinner instead?"
he offered. Having more than one woman wasn't bad. When he got bored with Amanda, he could just use this one instead.
"Sure. I'd love to!"
Ivy replied quickly. It was a pleasant surprise. She hadn't expected that he would invite her. He definitely wanted something from
her, and she would find that out for herself.
"I'll wait for you outside. Come to me after work."
Clark flashed a charming smile and then turned around to leave.
Ivy, on the other hand, kept her eyes on his back, her gaze watchful, like a cautious fox.
The corners of her mouth tilted upward slowly. What would happen when these two scheming people who were planning to dig a
pit for each other, came together?
Little did Ivy know that she was about to enter into a prison of her own doing.
"Ah Cassandra, Clark's house was really quite nice. It was convenient to live there, and there were maids who took care of
everything. Now that we're back home, I'm even starting to feel a bit uncomfortable..."
Edith had been rambling on and on since they got out of Clark's villa. Cassandra felt as if stones were filling her chest at her
mother's words, but she couldn't explain everything to her.
Clark was far from the man she would believe. He was an expert at manipulating people and disguising his true self. Despite her
best efforts, Cassandra was unable to figure out his real intentions, and so she chose to stay as far away from him as possible
as a measure of caution. He was dangerous, and she had her family to protect.
"Don't worry, Mother. I have already arranged for everything. There is someone who will be looking after you and the house. You
won't have to take care of the chores. You can just focus on your health," Cassandra assured her.
She could not tell her about her suspicions of Clark. For now, all she could do was make sure her mother was comfortable.

Besides, she hadn't even told Edith that she was with Rufus again. She wanted to wait for more time because Edith obviously
favored Clark now. Telling her about Rufus would just displease her.
"I know what you are thinking about. You are afraid that I would urge you to be with Clark, right?" Edith said, breaking
Cassandra's train of thought. Edith sighed before continuing, "I'm worried about you and I'm just thinking of what's best for you.
Is that so hard to understand?"
Edith prattled on, her voice laced with worry. She was desperate to see Cassandra be with a good man instead of wasting her
time on Rufus. It would bring her peace to know that her daughter was being taken care of by a reliable man.
"Look at Cloris! Her boyfriend is perfect! He is polite and is handsome too. What's more, he loves her so much! They broke up
once, but he came back to her!"
Cassandra decided to just bear with her mother's nagging. It was typical of older people to be anxious over the younger ones.
"Please, pay more attention to yourself. You are not getting any younger, and I am worried about you. You are the eldest. You
can't be married later than your younger sister!"
As Edith continued on, Cloris, who had been standing beside her, became upset.
"Mother, what are you talking about? Wasn't she married once? Even if I marry now, I would be still married later than her! And
by which law does it have to be that a younger sister has to marry later than her elder sister?"
Cloris pouted. She was a bit angry.
She wanted to marry Arthur as early as possible. There was no way she would allow Cassandra's being single to be a barrier on
her way to be Arthur's legal wife.
After all, her sister was a complete tragedy.
She married Lionel, and then they divorced.
She dated Rufus, and then they broke up.
She took charge of Qin Group, and then the company went bankrupt.
She worked in Lyndsy's company, and then Lyndsy had an accident.

It was like ill fortune followed her wherever she went.
If all went according to what Cloris wished, Cassandra would marry into another family as soon as possible so that she would
stay away. What she didn't know was that all her living expenses abroad were from Cassandra after Vernon went to jail.
Instead of getting angry at Cloris's words, Cassandra simply smiled slightly, thinking that Cloris was just still too young to
understand.
For now, she just thought Cloris was being naive like a child. However, she would never anticipate that her own sister would stab
her in the back someday and that their bond would shatter in pieces eventually.