A Graduation Gift

With Lionel's eyes pierced at her, Cassandra felt uneasy as if she was sitting on thorns. Her eyebrows crossed as she averted
her eyes away from him, pretending that he wasn't there.
"Since this was Lionel's first time to visit our home, why don't you show him around, Cassandra?" Vernon suggested.
He noticed the distant look and the uneasy treatment between his daughter and her husband. Suggesting something for them to
do and let them spend some time together might make things different.
"Father, it's late. It's been a long day and I need to go to sleep now," Cassandra rejected without a second thought.
It was pitch dark outside and she didn't think it was a good idea to play as a tourist guide and give Lionel a tour around the
house.
"Please don't bother. We would be staying here for long. I believe that Cassandra must be very tired and she needs to take a
rest. It was rude of me to come over untimely. Please go back to sleep. I'm fine," Lionel said sincerely.
He sounded like a polite gentleman, which made Vernon nod repeatedly to show his agreement.
"All right, take care of your husband for us, my dear daughter. Good night!" Vernon didn't insist.
He stood up and smiled at Edith, and she knew what he meant. It seemed that they had a language that only the two of them
could understand. They went back to their bedroom without any more words.
They thought that it would be better to leave the young couple alone.
Edith winked an eye at Cloris, implying her to go to her room too before she closed the door of their room. Lionel and Cassandra
were left alone in the living room.
The moment his in-laws were out of sight, Lionel loosened the collar of his shirt and put on the expression that Cassandra
dreaded the most. He extended his arms and suddenly grabbed her chin to force her to look into his eyes. His face was ablaze
with rage and pure hatred.
"Tell me! What's wrong with your lips? Did someone bit you?" he asked in a low voice.
Cassandra felt suddenly cold and tiny shivers were running down her spine making her quiver. He fixed his eyes on her like a
lion clenching his prey under his claws, ready to devour at any moment.

Cassandra's eyes dimmed and she bit her lips out of her instincts. Doing that, she managed to calm herself. The panic and
tension in her eyes slowly developed into overpowering confidence.
She responded calmly, "Why did you take the trouble to come here at such a time? Knowing you? I don't think you're kind
enough to put on a show in front of my parents. Seriously, I don't need it. I'm pretty sure you know what I mean!"
She felt awkward with any kind of body contact between them, despite the fact that they were married, but she was unable to get
rid of his hold. All she could do was turn her face away from him, avoiding his fierce eyes.
"Is that so? Then can you just tell me how it feels to bring Rufus here? Tell me! Just tell me, my lovely wife! What was it like to
cheat on your husband in your parents' house?" Lionel asked coldly.
He sounded a little sour, but the grinding of his teeth betrayed his temper. Cassandra knew that he was about to explode.
"A kiss is nothing compared to your sex video! Am I not right, Lionel?" she asked contradicting his accusations.
Lionel could see the rising anger on her face. Although she titled her head away from him, the disgust and sarcasm in her watery
eyes were clearly evident.
Her words didn't deny that fact that she kissed Rufus. This gave Lionel a death blow right on the face.
"You two are having an affair! I knew it!" he shouted with a suppressed voice.
Lionel felt like his heart was exploding, but when he was about to burst out into his tempest toast, Rufus, who was supposed to
be at the back yard, showed up in front of them.
"Do you think it's proper to treat her like that in her parents' house?" he sneered.
He sounded like having a casual chat with Lionel. He was careless but not insinuating. He was leaning comfortably against the
wall, and there was a smile on his face. His actions confused Lionel about his intentions.
Lionel let go of Cassandra right away. He stood up slowly from the sofa fixing his resentful eyes towards Rufus.
The next second, they were facing each other.
"I didn't know that Mr. Luo was so busy running my business. It turned out that you're not only dealing with Tang Group for me
but also looking after my wife. But let me remind you, Mr. Lou, that this woman is my wife, and please stop meddling into our

marriage!" Lionel demanded. "Or, is it just that you have the preference of collecting other people's properties?" He added,
slowly stressing each syllable in an effort to show his authority.
Lionel, however, was constraining himself because they were inside the house of Cassandra's parents. To his dismay, his unkind
remarks did not take any effect on Rufus's face, not as he expected.
He was so desperate that he wondered what was in Rufus's mind now.
All of a sudden, Rufus raised his head and looked at him with the gloomiest expression he hadn't seen before. Lionel quivered at
the sight of his eyes as if a bitter wind went through him. The hostility that Rufus was giving out now froze into his bones even
though he didn't utter a word.
"No matter it is the Tang Group or the woman behind you, they will be mine as long as I want them." Rufus declared, leaving
Lionel dazed and confused. "I find it ridiculous of you to talk about these things with me. Considering that all of us are aware that
you've been sponging off your parents all these years,"
Rufus added in a low authoritative voice. His words were stated clearly and stiffly as from a lawyer defending his client in court.
He snorted at Lionel, who he had never allowed himself to regard as his rival.
Obviously, what he said provoked Lionel. He felt like his dignity was trampled on the ground. No one dared to speak like this in
front of him before. Nobody treated him as if he was a piece of shit. He felt ridiculed and angry at the same time because of
everything about Rufus, the company and Cassandra. His mind was now blowing with different thoughts.
"You're so dead meat, Rufus!," he said, gnashing his teeth in hatred.
He widened his eyes and clenched his fists, and he gave the impression that he would throw his fists on Rufus' face. All he ever
wanted, for now, was to give the man a solid punch in the face.
"Oh really, I don't think so. I'm sorry, Lionel, but what can you do with me!" Rufus said in no hurry.
He had made up his mind that Lionel would lose his face before the night ended. There was a sharp contrast between the two
men, one was hovering in rage, and the other was careless and indifferent.
On the other side of the living room, Cassandra was burying herself in the sofa with a frowned face. She went curious as to what
was going on between Rufus and Lionel. Their voices were inaudible that she wasn't able to hear their conversation. The

peculiar atmosphere around her brought her heart beating wildly, and it was about to jump out of her chest when she saw Lionel
cackling his hands.
They were both staring at each other and were on the verge of breaking out a fight. At the moment when Lionel lost control of
himself and was about to grab Rufus by the neck. Cloris showed up at the door unexpectedly.
"You're here, Rufus! I thought you were in the back yard!" she exclaimed.
Her sweet voice broke the tension between the two men.
Cloris had no idea what was going on. She ran over to Rufus and put her hands around his arm happily, switching her eyes from
Rufus to Lionel.
"Rufus, come and play chess with me! You haven't forgotten what you just promised me, right? A promise is a promise! Look,
I've brought my father's favorite chest board here!" she chuckled.
Lionel took a deep breath and loosened his grips. He turned around and walked back to Cassandra after casting a warning
glance at Rufus. He had to bear up his tail since they were at the Qin House. He had to be considerate of Cassandra's parents.
Rufus's attention was not on Cloris now. His eyes followed Lionel to Cassandra who was sitting on the sofa.
Even he himself didn't realize how much he cared about her just now. He began to hate himself for not being able to protect her
from such an asshole. He wished that he could be with her all the time, free to hold her in his arms, kiss her and sleep together.
It had to be him and should have been him, not Lionel.
"Cloris, it's been a long time since we've been together, right? How about I sleep in your room tonight? I have a lot of stories and
let me tell you one before you go to sleep," Cassandra suddenly suggested.
She was worried about how to deal with Lionel now, and apparently, she didn't plan to sleep in the same room with him. Cloris
saved her and made a perfect excuse to avoid Lionel.
Cloris nodded her little head in excitement. She ran to her sister immediately, buried her head into Cassandra's arms, and looked
at Lionel with a sweet smile.
"Please don't be angry, Lionel! I miss my sister a lot. We haven't seen each other for such a long time. Can we sleep together
tonight, please?" she asked pouting.

Lionel frowned at the idea for he had planned to teach Cassandra how to respect her husband when they would be left alone in
the room. However, he couldn't find any excuse to refuse his sister-in-law.
"Please, Lionel, please! I promise I won't disturb you later! Just let me have my sister for one night!" Cloris kept on pleading.
She had seen the expression on Lionel's face, making her pout her lips and plead for Lionel repeatedly.
Lionel was left with no choice but to give in. He didn't say anything but just nodded his head to her.
There would be a long way ahead for him and Cassandra. The days were long to count for him to deal with her. 'Her wife-lessons
would be best taught later, ' Lionel presumed. He needed to make her realize who her husband was by making love to her, for he
had never touched that woman before. It would be a more memorable and one of kind lovemaking.
"Cloris, listen, it's too late to play chess. Why don't we just go to bed now? I believe that Rufus is tired too," she tried to persuade
Cloris.
Saying those words, she glanced at Rufus with the corner of her eyes, with the expectation that she could go now.
"All right! Rufus, let's play another time," Cloris agreed without any hesitation.
The night was deep and Lionel gave Cassandra a fierce stare. She might get away today, but not tomorrow. He had come a long
way to her parents' house, determined to get her in bed by hook or by crook.
There were no love and passion involved when he married Cassandra. He did not expect that Cassandra would adore him or
honor him as her husband, but he just couldn't let Rufus win over him.
Things were getting more and more complicated as Lionel joined the game played by two. The game that Rufus and Cassandra
were enjoying to play. Cassandra felt a growing sense of despair in her heart, desperation on the fact that she couldn't tell what
Lionel was planning. For she knew that it would be something horrible.
However, her heart was softened when memories of the way Rufus kissed her, touched her, caressed her, pulled her and gave
her a warm embrace flashed back her mind. She felt reassured with the thought that Rufus had her back.
'Would it be ridiculous to fall in love with Rufus, my brother-in-law?' she pondered. But on her mind lingered another question,
'Does Rufus love me too?'