A Graduation Gift

Lionel put his arms around Cassandra tightly all of a sudden. Her first instinct was to push him away.
But Lionel had already thought of it. He pulled her closer to himself, making escape impossible.
Rufus marked this in his deep eyes.
Victor had reported to Rufus that Lionel and Ivy seemed to be planning something in the past few days. They were having
serious talks for hours. Rufus had no idea what the plan was so all he could do was to wait and figure it out.
Cassandra was his woman. No one could change that. Yes, Lionel was her husband and so what?
"There is no need to display affection in public,"
Rufus mocked Lionel, with a look of disdain.
Just one hour ago, Lionel was kissing Ivy. Now, he was hugging Cassandra.
Rufus knew that Lionel was just using these women. He didn't take his relationship with Cassandra seriously. But he still felt
jealous when he saw Lionel hugging Cassandra.
Cassandra was very embarrassed by Lionel's hug. She hated Lionel's touch. Lionel was not comforting or reassuring as Rufus.
Suddenly, Lionel lowered his head and kissed Cassandra's face. Cassandra got goosebumps.
"Honey, let's go now. Father and mother are waiting for us at home. And I have good news to announce when we're back home!"
'Good news?' Cassandra worried. If the news was good to Lionel, it probably would not be good for her.
Lionel dragged her to the car as she screamed.
"What is this dirty game?"
Lionel smirked, as if he had conquered Cassandra.
True, he didn't like Cassandra. But he didn't want Rufus to get the love of his life. His original plan was to divorce Cassandra and
kick her out of the family. Now he had a change in mind.
Rufus loved Cassandra. Instead of divorcing her, Lionel decided to torture her and make her life hell.

"Be patient, sweetie. You'll know when we get home!"
Lionel said with an evil laugh.
Cassandra called the house to inform that she was coming home with Lionel. Horace answered and breathed a sigh of relief
over the phone.
Cloris couldn't wait to speak with Cassandra in her excitement. She took over the phone and said, "Cassandra, I reported today
to the Tang Group. Leo showed me around the offices."
Cloris continued, lowering her voice to a whisper, "It turns out that employees in the company don't know about your true
relationship with Lionel. You can rest assured. I will help you keep it a secret."
Cloris finished with a reassuring wave of her hand even her sister couldn't see.
Cassandra wasn't listening. She was nearing a breakdown. She wondered why Lionel was torturing her mentally.
A chill went down her spine when she thought of what happened between her and Rufus in Rome. Although she tried her best to
forget, she had slept with Rufus on the cruise after the graduation. If Lionel persisted, he could find out about it.
She was lost in her fears as the car arrived at the Tang family mansion.
Autumn had arrived. The trees had shed their leaves and turned into bare bones.
A chilly wind blew up, making her shiver.
Lionel kept holding Cassandra's hand as they got out of the car. She tried to pull out, but he only gripped her harder.
"Stay still. Otherwise, I'm not sure what's gonna happen tonight. You'll feel more pain."
For other people, Cassandra and Lionel's argument seemed like a sultry joke between a young couple.
"What do you want from me?"
Cassandra was red with anger. She was visibly hating him and her displeasure at being touched was obvious now.
Lionel remained silent. He just grabbed Cassandra's hand and kept walking.

The Tang family mansion was lively and busy as usual. Servants were bringing dishes to the table. The long dining table,
covered in bright red cloth was topped with dishes of delicacies. Luxury was everywhere under the chandelier lights.
There was darkness undisturbed at one place, though. Rufus was standing near a window next to the staircase.
A thousand thoughts came to Rufus' mind when he saw what was happening between Lionel and Cassandra. She blushed when
Lionel whispered in her ears.
Rufus could guess Lionel's words when he saw Cassandra's face.
Only a lover's prattle could make a woman blush like that.
Rufus was full of confidence when he returned to destroy the Tang family. Everything was going according to his plans until
Cassandra made her appearance. She upsetted his plans completely.
He had checked the resumes of everyone in the company, including Cassandra's.
She was supposedly the plainest member in the family. A woman who had married Lionel in a marriage of convenience.
Though she married to the Tang family, her own family could not recover and gain the place of esteem they once had. They kept
going downhill. They were neither a help nor a threat to the Tangs.
Such women didn't catch Rufus' attention at all initially. He wouldn't take such women seriously.
Cassandra's photo on her resume was from her high school graduation.
She looked innocent and childish, very different from how she looked now.
The description Rufus got about Cassandra at that time was very different with the Cassandra he knew now.
Back then, Rufus was told that Cassandra was introverted, ordinary and vulnerable. But when he really got to know Cassandra,
he found out that she was a strong woman of extraordinary achievement.
All the information from the investigation he got previously in Rome had been proved to be incorrect.
The cupid had fooled Rufus. The woman he loved turned out to be Lionel's puppet wife.

Cassandra was conscientious about her work. Sometimes, she would cry in front of him and run away from him. Rufus fell in
love with her anyway but he didn't know whether to confess to her.
He still had a lot to do in his plan. Every time he made a decision, he had to think hard. He had not just himself, but Cassandra to
think about as well.
He tightened his grip on the wine glass. It crushed into pieces.
Everyone in the room was startled. The carpet was a mess with red patches of wine and shards of glass.
Cassandra immediately rushed to take the medical kit, but Lionel grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"Oh no! Rufus! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Cloris was the first person to run to Rufus. She gently took his hand and checked his injury.
There was a wound in the center of his palm, bleeding red blood. Cloris burst into tears.
"Does it hurt? Why are you being so careless, Rufus?"
Rufus was silent. There was no change in his expressions till he took a glance at Cassandra who was sitting with Lionel. He
went into a rage and lost control.
In his heart, he felt defeated.
The person who came to care for him first was Cloris, not Cassandra.
The attention and care was not from Cassandra.
Horace, the master of the house, didn't freak out like Cloris even though he was worried as well.
"Get the medical kit and help him stop bleeding first. Dr. Jason is out of town now. I'll ask Jenks to send another doctor."
But Rufus didn't care about his injury. He broke free from Cloris' grip and said indifferently, "It's no big deal. It looks like that we
might need to buy wine glasses from a different maker."
Jill was silent all this time. She didn't want to get involved. But when she heard Rufus, she couldn't help herself and said angrily,
"I bought these wine glasses from France myself. They are the most expensive ones. We don't need to change anything!"

Rufus just laughed, with no regard to her anger.
"Price isn't the only standard when judging a wine glass, just as not everyone has the taste or the sense to tell whether a wine is
good or not. It is like casting pearls before swine. Wine is worthless if it is given to someone who knows nothing about wine."
Jill's family were the new money. She knew that she wouldn't have married Horace if her family wasn't in the upper class.
She became angry and embarrassed when Rufus implied in public that she had no taste but only money.
"I'm the lady of the house now. I handle everything in this family. These wine glasses, since I brought them from France, have
served many guests. No one has ever complained about them!"
Rufus remained calm, as usual, in spite of Jill's tantrum.
"Of course, strangers won't say anything. But I'm a member of the Tang family. I think it is fine that I make suggestions which will
benefit our family."
Hearing Rufus, Jill stood up.
She had been in charge of the daily affairs of the family for so many years and no one had questioned her. Rufus was the first
one to challenge her and he did it in front of so many people, embarrassing her.
What's more, he was just a bastard child.
"Rufus, when did you become a part of the Tang family? Your last name is Luo. You have nothing to do with the Tang
family!"