A Graduation Gift

A heavy silence permeated the elevator. Cassandra glanced at the redness spreading over Rufus' hand, and felt her heart
squeeze in pain.
She tried to keep the tears in her eyes from running down her face.
"Rufus... You... You asshole!"
The words burst from her. She struggled to get her emotions under control, barely noticing that her fingernails were dug into her
palms. Her voice trembled with emotion.
Her reaction made Rufus's face soften.
He looked away from her, wanting to conceal the swirl of emotions in his nebulous eyes.
Each droplet of tears that escaped from her eyes splashed straight onto his heart.
His heart became heavier and heavier.
As soon as the lift doors opened, Cassandra rushed out. After a second Rufus realized that she was heading not toward the
carpark, but towards the exit.
While he stood there stunned, Cassandra disappeared into the heavy rain.
He dashed to the main gate, but Cassandra was nowhere to be seen.
The swirling sky above him, was dark as ink. A traffic light stood out in the storm, a beacon in the night.
He stood for a second, and then spun back toward the carpark. Climbed into his car, he sped out of the building right away.
The car seared through the thundering weather; the wipers screeching hopelessly against the downpour. He peered through the
rain, barely able to see the road. He had no idea how he would find Cassandra.
But Rufus was determined. Slowly, he circled around the block, driving back and forth for some time before finally spotting a
bedraggled woman at the corner of the street.
She was huddled under a ledge outside of a darkened shop. The ledge barely kept the rain from her, with water lashing at her on
either side.

As he parked the car and leapt out of the door, he saw her sitting on haunches and staring blankly at the rain.
He ripped his coat off and covered her with it.
He crouched down and put his arms around her, almost flinching as he felt how cold and drenched she was.
"What were you thinking? Do you know how severe this typhoon is?"
Rufus tried to keep the anger and fear out of his voice. The rain streamed across his face, and the wind ripped the words from
out of his mouth.
Cassandra gave no indication that she had heard him. The tears streaming out of her eyes mingled with the rain pouring down
her scalp.
Just now, she leapt into the rain at the spur of the moment. She was almost knocked flat by the storm, but her need to escape
pushed her forward.
Her hair clung to her face, getting in her eyes and mouth and entwining around her throat.
Her clothes were soaked and heavy, and the cold had seeped deep into her flesh and bones.
Cassandra didn't know where to turn. She needed to get away from Rufus, but she had nowhere to run in such a storm.
She couldn't see a way forward. And she couldn't go back either. Cassandra kept running.
Blinded by the rain, she tripped and fell to her knees. When she lifted her hands she found them covered in dirt and mud, and
after standing up she saw her clothes just as filthy.
She pressed her lips together, unaware of how blue they were turning, and her body was trembling so much that she could
barely stand.
She hadn't thought about the cold when she ran out of the carpark nor realized how dangerous this weather would be. In
desperation she ran to find some kind of shelter. This was when Rufus found her.
It was him again, now, emerging like a hero from the rain, but why did the sight of him not fill her with relief?
Rufus went furious when he saw the frightened look on Cassandra's face.

"Stop crying. Let me take you to tidy yourself up," the man ordered firmly.
But nothing Rufus said could provoke anything more than just cry more tears. Her eyes looked empty and unfocused, and she
seemed to lack the strength to lift her limbs.
Rufus grew more worried. He reached out a hand to wipe the water from her face, and nearly drew back in shock when he felt
how cold she was.
"What happened to you? I'm with you. Don't worry. It's okay," the man tried to reassure her and himself.
He had never seen her look so much like a corpse, and the lifelessness in her eyes sent a chill down Rufus's spine.
Hugging her close to him, he tried to use his body to shelter her from the rain.
Finally, he felt her stir a little, and her eyes looked momentarily up at him, and then away.
Rufus realized that he couldn't waste another second asking her how she was feeling.
He reached his arms under her arms, lifting her gently and cradling her head against his chest. He brought her carefully to the
passenger seat of his car, buckled her in and brushed some of the hair out of her face. He wished he had a blanket to give her.
He drove to his house, as fast as he could through the dangerous weather.
He had kept this place a secret from his family, spending nights here at times instead of at the office.
The house was simply but stylishly decorated, expensive but not luxurious. It was spacious, but tidy and well-maintained.
Cassandra wondered why Rufus would have such a secret space to himself.
The tears had dried on Cassandra's face, but her body still trembled all over.
Rufus remembered that she had just recently come out of the hospital, and feared that her time in the rain would make her sick
again. His heart hammered at the thought.
"What possessed you to run out in the rain like that? What, not even a typhoon could stop you from acting out?" Rufus scolded
her, but with no real anger behind his words.
She could feel the warmth in the gentle way that he handled her.

When he saw that she still could not move, he respectfully helped her peel off her ruined clothing, and lowered her into the hot
bath.
The heat of the water seemed to calm her; she gradually stopped quivering and began to come to her senses.
It seemed that...he had just... 'Oh no...' she thought, 'not again.'
With his uninjured hand, Rufus trickled some water over her shoulders to warm her body up.
Finally, color started to return to her face, and as the mirrors steamed up in the room, a blush rose to her cheeks.
At last, she spoke softly, "I can do it myself..."
As she whispered, she didn't dare turn her head back to look at the man behind her. Rufus just ignored her small request.
It was so rare that the little woman didn't firmly resist. He would definitely take the chance to serve the beauty.
After all there were many women who would love this kind of treatment from him, but he would only do this for Cassandra.
Rufus was a proud man, and his own willingness to serve this tiny woman caught him by surprise. Plus, this woman that he was
taking care of would even turn to bite him.
His lip stung, and he noticed that his right hand had started to bleed again. Rufus grimaced and wondered why he found himself
getting injured so often since he had met this woman.
While he was deep in his thoughts, Cassandra whined out, almost a whisper, "I suppose I'll have to go to the hospital again. I
don't feel so good. Why do I seem to become a regular at the hospital after meeting you? I have never felt so weak, so fragile."
Hearing this, a thought flashed across Rufus' mind. He lowered his voice and murmured, "With your body being so weak, I don't
think you could possibly have a baby with Lionel."
Lionel had given up his attempt to coerce Cassandra last night, but who knew what would happen in the future.
Until he had sorted out his own troubles, there was only so much that he could do to help Cassandra. He would have to continue
to look out for her in secret, and to find indirect ways to come to her aid.
Cassandra's body stiffened. She seemed to have understood what he meant.

"I will do it myself. Thank you Mr. Luo, and you can leave now," she demanded.
Rufus was not pleased that she addressed him as 'Mr. Luo', but at least it was better than being called 'brother-in-law.'
Seeing how exhausted and fragile she was, he did as she asked and stepped out of the room.
As soon as he was gone, Cassandra sank under the water, trying to bury her humiliation.
'Where do your resolve and determination go, Cassandra? Why is it that all he has to do is to treat you kindly for a minute, and
your anger dissolves?' she asked herself in her heart.
"Cassandra, you weak foolish woman! How will you ever escape the influence of Rufus! You have to be firm and strong!" she
muttered out loud.
While she spoke, she shook her head, and tried to shake off the guilt and shame.
Little did she know that Rufus had been waiting at the door to make sure that she was alright. What she had said out loud went
into his ears, and a trace of smile leaked from his dark eyes.
After a while Cassandra climbed out of the bath, and wrapped herself in a soft white towel. She looked at her clothes on the floor
and let out a defeated sigh. They were soaked with water and mud.
There was no way she would be able to wear those now.
Glancing around, she found a shirt on the towel rack.
Luckily, Rufus was tall. This shirt of his could cover her until thigh and be used as her dress.
Well! She decided to just put it on. 'Worst case scenario, ' she thought, 'I'll just buy him a new one.'
Seeing her emerge from the bathroom in nothing but his shirt, Rufus caught his breath.
Her skin almost turned transparently white under the light, and her silhouette shone subtly through the cloth.
He wanted to turn his eyes away respectfully, but found it impossible to break from her allure.