A Graduation Gift

Taking a glimpse at Lionel, Jill hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke out, "I know you don't like Cassandra, but she was
selected by your father. It won't be easy for Ivy to replace her as your wife, Lionel.
Maybe, we should talk to Ivy. If she agrees to carry the pregnancy to term and give you the baby, we can pay her off with a huge
sum of money. We can make the whole sum negotiable, so as to find a fair deal for both sides." Lionel didn't even know how he
felt about that decision. Ivy had been with him for so many years, and he had promised her a lot of things. Right now, it seemed
that the marriage he had promised her wasn't going to come true.
To add to that, there was no way she could face the possibility of being stripped of the right of a mother. It would be too cruel for
her.
Carefully studying the hesitation on Lionel's face, Jill knew that it was hard for him to break up with Ivy, in whom he had been
emotionally invested for years.
But Jill persisted, regardless of his feelings. "How about, you let me do it on your behalf, if you feel too bad about talking her into
the deal?" she suggested.
Given the current state of things, the best person to carry out this task would be Jill.
However, she underestimated the resistance the pregnant girl would put up.
"This baby is mine. No one can take it away from me!" Ivy shouted.
To her, Jill must be kidding. She had been waiting for the day, when she would become a legal member of the Tang family, for so
many years. If she was just after the money only, she could have chosen a sugar daddy, anyone wealthy enough to shower
money on her. What she really wanted wasn't the small pay-off that Jill was offering. It wasn't even mere love from Lionel that
she wanted. The girl had her eyes set on the capture of entire Tang Group.
As a common trend in the society, a woman could turn her life upside down by a good marriage. For seven years of her
relationship with Lionel, Ivy had painstakingly planned for her turning point. How could she just give up for the paltry pay off that
Jill was proposing?
Over the years, Ivy had come to know that Jill was a cunning woman and not someone to deal with easily.
That emboldened the girl more. "Whether the baby will bear Luo or Tang as the surname, is yours to decide," Ivy threatened.
There was no way she was going to let Jill have the last word on this.

Inside, she told herself, 'I don't really care what the surname of the baby is. What I really care about is getting legally married to
Lionel!
Now this baby is my last chance and my bargain chip. I have to make full use of it.'
"I'm pregnant with your son's baby, Madam. The only thing I want is for him to be responsible and give me a home. Given the
complications I'm having with the pregnancy, I only want to live with him until the baby is born. After that, if Tang family doesn't
approve me as a daughter-in-law, I'll leave the baby to your family, go overseas and never come back again!" Ivy declared her
terms with her teary eyes.
It was difficult for Jill to tell whether the tears were genuine or she was just being melodramatic.
"All these years I have been with Lionel, believing we were meant to be a perfect couple. That was until Cassandra Qin came in
and ruined our relationship. Now I have realized that Lionel and I may be just doomed to part our ways. The only thing I ask for
now, is to have him take me in for the next few difficult months of the pregnancy. Is it too much to ask just for a few months of
him taking responsibility?" Ivy challenged.
This was indeed her last chance. If she could just outwit Jill on this, she would be closer to pulling her real clincher. As a woman
herself, Jill could feel for Ivy and her choice to trade the baby only for a few months of living with Lionel. With an open heart, Jill
fell for the deal.
"Rest assured. We will treat the kid as part of the family! He is my first grandson! You can start preparing yourself to move in. I
will talk to his father about the arrangement once I find a chance."
After seeing Jill off, Ivy, while still in tears, smiled sarcastically.
'Women are the most fragile creatures in the world, but are also the most cruel ones in the meantime.
Sometimes, for a woman, it takes a heart of stone to obtain what she desires; while a woman with a heart to love is bound to
lose everything.
Dear Cassandra, finally we are able to battle face to face now.
I'm looking forward to that. How about you?' she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, in a grandiose hotel, festivity was heightened with drinking and dancing. Everyone was in a sprite, enjoying the lively
and cordial atmosphere. It was where the party was held.

Together, Cassandra and Cloris arrived for the party. The hotel shone bright in the dark night. The main entrance was paved with
a red carpet to complete the sparkle of the place.
The two beautiful sisters stole the show with a perfectly timed late arrival.
When they came through the door, they made heads turn, and elicited excited talks form every corner.
One was dressed in a dazzling milk white evening dress, and the other in a stunning deep blue gown.
Though each was different in her own right, both looked stunning.
Cassandra in particular was simply ethereal, drawing envious eyes from the women all over. They just couldn't take their gazes
away from her.
While revelers kept guessing and talking in low tones about the identities of the two ladies, Rufus strode towards them.
In his navy blue business suit, he looked stunning as well, drawing even more envious gazes.
Gently, he extended his hand to Cassandra with a genial smile and signaled her for a dance.
With beautiful grace, Cassandra placed her palm into his, and put her other hand on his shoulder.
It was as beautiful as a picture. They were the most perfect couple of the night without a shadow of doubt.
No one had noticed, that the other woman beside Cassandra, had her smile gradually frozen.
She had dressed up carefully, thinking this would be the most enchanting moment of her entire life. But Rufus didn't even honor
her with a simple glance. To make it worse, he had all his attention on Cassandra.
'Cassandra! A married woman! How could she win the affection of Rufus!'
The picturesque scene in the eyes of everyone else, was a terrible, heartbreaking experience to Cloris.
With the background music on, Cassandra and Rufus took to the dance floor gracefully. You'd think think they were professional
dancers.
His eyes radiated with the balanced lighting in the room, giving her an even more elegant sparkles, but she was shy to look back.

Lowering his head to enjoy the beauty, he whispered into her ear, "You are so captivating that I can't even move my eyes off from
you."
That compliment made her face blush. It was not the first time she heard his praise, and it was not the second, but she would
never acquire the skill of remaining calm under such a circumstance.
This was noticed by Cloris, who was closely watching the two. Jealousy engulfed her like a raging fire.
Out of the blue, a neat young man reached his hand to her and invited her for a dance, "Miss Qin, may I have the honor to dance
with you?"
Cloris looked at the man for a few seconds. It was obviously a familiar face, but the name seemed to escape her.
After a moment of racking her brains, the name hit her. It was Arthur Zhuang, the head of Dawn Star Group. Of course, his
presence at the party was to be expected.
Suppressing her burning anger, she faked an innocent smile out and placed her slender hand on his. Following behind him, she
moved onto the dance floor.
Under Arthur's lead, maybe he was deliberate or maybe not - Cloris noticed they constantly got close to the pair of Cassandra
and Rufus.
Though she couldn't hear what Cassandra and Rufus were talking about because of their soft voices and the noisy background,
she could tell that Cassandra was really enjoying it, as indicated by the big grin on her face. Like a dagger, that grin pierced right
through Cloris's heart. Urgently, she had to do something.
"Mr. Zhuang, are you not with your wife today?"
Cloris asked this question deliberately, intending to get straight to the burning issue on her mind.
"Hmm, I am not married,"
the young man replied politely, not taking offence at the private question.
Feigning a sorry tone, she apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were married. I was thinking that your wife might have failed
to attend for one reason or another, like my brother-in-law, who couldn't make it here."
Being a successful business man, he acutely sensed something wrong in her statement, just as she had expected.

"Brother-in-law? Your sister is married?" he asked in doubt.
Winking with her innocent big eyes, she feigned naivety like a little girl, and said, "Right, they have been married for years. After
my sister's graduation, she came to the Tang Group to work straight, as part of the family."
Arthur was smart enough to understand who Cloris was referring to.
The husband must be Lionel, the other son of Horace.
The elder son of Horace who appeared from no where had already been a hot issue and raised many discussions in this circle.
Now it seemed that there was something even more interesting between Rufus and Cassandra.
Thinking of that, a playful smile crept on Arthur's face.
After the song ended, Cassandra muttered, "I... I have to go to the washroom."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and walked briskly away as if escaping from Rufus.
An involuntary smile formed on Rufus's face. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Cloris was also following Cassandra into
the washroom.
His eyebrows creased with suspicion, and he signaled to Victor with a wink.
Cassandra was too shy to be under the intent gaze of Rufus, and she kept worrying that there were something wrong with her
make-up, lipstick, or mascara.
Women always wanted to present their perfect selves to their men. And Cassandra was no different.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she could see clearly that she was blushed all over the face.
Abruptly, another figure appeared in the mirror. It was Cloris.
With a lovely and innocent smile, she slowly walked towards Cassandra, and asked, "Cassandra, are you here to fix your make-
up again?"
With a doting smile, Cassandra reached her hand to help Cloris tidy up her hair and answered, "Yeah. It's an exciting party, isn't
it? I just saw Mr. Zhuang invite you for a dance."

Now, Cloris blushed as well. In excitement, she shared with Cassandra, "Mr. Zhuang is a real gentleman. He even mentioned
that he appreciated your talents. We also talked about college life, and I was surprised to find out that he actually graduated from
the college I'm studying at!"
Amused by the cute red face of her younger sister, Cassandra couldn't help teasing her, "Then he surely should take care of his
dear junior. Ask him to show you around to meet more people. He must know more people than I do."
With a meaningful laugh, she whispered into Cloris's ear, "Mr. Zhuang is an outstanding man as well. If you have any feeling for
him, I will help you!"
At that Cloris felt a tinge of embarrassment. Blushing again, she avoided looking back into Cassandra's eyes.
When she lowered her head to dodge Cassandra's gaze, there was also a sign of derision flashing across her eyes.
What Arthur had told her was more than that. And what she had revealed to Arthur was also much more than what she had told
Cassandra.
'Cassandra, why are you blessed with all the good things? Why must men always ignore me, only to fall for you?' Cloris accused
in her heart.
While Cassandra was concentrating on applying her make-up, Cloris surreptitiously took out something from her purse. It was a
small pair of scissors.