A Graduation Gift

The exquisite gown was sure to catch everyone's attention. Cassandra was as calm as ever, looking at the mirror. Her beauty
was breathtaking.
She politely nodded her head to the designer.
"Michelle, thank you so much. May I get my tailored dress?"
Michelle nodded in acknowledgment. She pointed to one of the inner rooms proudly.
"It's there in that room. Try it out and see."
Then she looked at Cloris, mildly curious.
"You are... ?"
Cassandra was about to introduce her sister to Michelle, but before she had a chance, Cloris extended her hand and introduced
herself, "Nice to meet you, Michelle. My name is Cloris. I am the younger sister of Cassandra!"
To her surprise, Michelle didn't shake her hand. She just nodded, acknowledging Cloris in a half-hearted manner.
Cloris pulled her hand back in embarrassment. She was dreaming of connecting with this famous designer but got a flat-out
rejection. She couldn't believe it, having been the center of attention all her life.
Cassandra had heard about how proud Michelle was. Now she had witnessed it in person. This side of Michelle was really
unique from other people.
'If Rufus hadn't asked the favor from Michelle to customize my dress, I might have not even been able to see her.
But... How did Rufus get to know about Michelle?' Cassandra wondered.
Pulling herself back from the reverie, she spoke to break the awkward silence, "Cloris had heard about you a long time ago. She
is an admirer of you! I have brought her to ask a favor from you. Could you help her select a gown to the wine party next week?"
Cassandra glanced at the luxuriant dresses hanging in the room, beaming with adoration.
"It is an honor to have the opportunity to wear a dress designed by you," she added.
Michelle looked at Cassandra from head to toe, then at Cloris, paused for a short while, and turned to retrieve a dress.

"If you are asking for a tailored one, it would take at least one month. It's impossible to make it this soon. So I will select one from
my collection. This one should suit her style," Michelle explained, unemotionally.
The dress was full of Chinese symbols, with lace strips decorating the waist and the chest. It was both tidy and solemn.
Michelle gestured towards the fitting room and told Cloris, "Try it out first. I will see if I need to adjust anything."
Cloris happily took the gown and dashed to the fitting room.
Cassandra was now in a conundrum. 'If customizing a dress takes one month, does that mean the dress specially tailored for me
was ordered at least a month before?'
Rufus had thought about it in advance for her. Cassandra couldn't help feeling moved.
Michelle pointed at the room she first gestured to Cassandra. With anticipation in her eyes, she said, "Try your dress as well.
Rufus gave me your measurements. Let's see if it fits."
Cassandra blushed. 'Did Rufus give Michelle my measurements? How could he reveal such private information to another
person?'
Then she thought of his big hands which knew every part of her body. 'Could he measure out my sizes with bare hands?'
Suddenly she went red at the thought. 'Gosh, how could I think of such a thing?' She blamed herself for the shameless thoughts.
When Cassandra finally changed into the gown, Cloris had already finished dressing and was checking how the dress fit on her.
As Cassandra appeared, Cloris could hardly believe her eyes.
The gown was deep blue like the ocean. It was covered with a thin voile, as if it was surrounded by a mist.
The hemline was scattered with shiny diamonds that looked like pearls floating on the ocean. a sight that only could be found in
a dream.
Her hair was resting smoothly on her fair shoulders, covered under a voile. The translucency of the voile added to her charm and
allure.
Apparently, Michelle was happy with her own design. As an experienced designer, all she needed was just one glance to judge
the fitness of the dress. She commented, "It fits you well. I don't need to make any adjustments."

At first, Cloris was quite happy with her dress, thinking that she had a perfect piece. However, when she saw how beautiful her
older sister looked, her confidence vanished, and envy took its place.
Masking her jealousy with a feigned smile, she praised Cassandra, forcing sincerity, "Cassandra, this dress really suits you! You
look so beautiful!"
Michelle smiled mildly at the compliment and whispered into Cassandra's ear, "Rufus has a great taste."
Cassandra slightly lowered her head to inspect the gown, which looked like the dress of a fairy-tale princess. The face of Rufus
surfaced in her mind.
'He must be anxious to see me in this fantastic dress!' she thought.
After they changed back to their own clothes, Michelle walked them out of the door. After they left, her assistant walked briskly
towards Michelle and whispered into her ear, "Just now, before they left, I saw Cloris intentionally stepping on the tail of
Cassandra's dress. I noticed that there was a shoe mark on it."
Michelle winced for a moment and regained her composure.
"Just clean the dress," she ordered coolly.
The assistant noted and walked away. An ironic smile crept on Michelle's face.
'Cloris Qin, you jealous and envious girl... You'll soon be in great trouble, ' Michelle warned Cloris in her heart.
After saying goodnight to each other, the sisters went back to their own rooms. The moment Cassandra stepped into the room,
she was pushed against the door by someone.
The familiar raspy and sexy voice whispered to her ears, "Are you satisfied with the special dress I ordered for you?"
Cassandra's face was burning. In the dark, Rufus' eyes pierced hers, which made her shudder.
"Thank... Thank you. It's really beautiful," she stuttered.
She was tense. Rufus laughed, as if to pretend that he didn't notice anything wrong with the her. It was his quaint way of
protecting her self-esteem. But she was still blushing and her heart was racing.

"I know, you like blue...
And I know, you like me...
Ha-ha, why is your face burning?" Rufus teased her.
Too embarrassed to answer his question, she almost slumped down to the floor.
Rufus couldn't help thinking, 'Why is it so hard to entertain this woman!' Then, something else came to his mind.
"At the party, I will invite you for a dance. No rejection!" he demanded.
His stony words allowed no room for her to decline. Having no choice, she had to nod to agree. Rufus found the nod an absolute
turn-on.
"Accepting no invitations from any other man!" he made another request. It seemed more like an order rather than a request.
She nodded again without giving it a second thought. Then, winking her eyes intentionally, she put up a sly grin and spoke with
her innocent voice, "Rufus, I am married..."
Upon hearing that, the hand around her waist suddenly tightened the grip, which made her scream out, "Ouch!"
Rufus had a look of sadistic pleasure, as if he was enjoying the reaction from Cassandra.
"Good that you know it hurts. I believe you know how to reject the invitations from others," he said.
Cassandra pouted, thinking to herself, 'Why does he always behave this way?'
"There's another thing. Your sister will be accompanying you. Just be careful.." Rufus randomly gave her a reminder out of a
blue.
Nonplussed, Cassandra wondered, 'Be careful of what?'
Rufus didn't speak more, but just rubbed her head instead. After all, Cloris was Cassandra's own sister, who always had her
trust. If she ever came to know that her kindness towards her sister was paid with jealousy rather than gratitude, she would
surely be grief-stricken.

"Just be more cautious. Sometimes, the person who is the closest to you will be the one that hurts you the most," he reminded
her again.
Michelle had told him about what she had discovered at her place today. The best he could do was to subtly remind her. He had
no evidence, after all, to show that Cloris would carry out more sinister moves against Cassandra. The action of hers today was
just a manifestation of jealousy and didn't cause any real harm.
However, if she dared hurt Cassandra in any way, he would certainly make her pay!