A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 43

The air suddenly seemed to freeze, and Lionel's face had turned grim. After Rufus finished his wine, he glimpsed at the couple in front of them casually, before turning to give Cassandra a reassuring grin.

Cassandra was touched. Warmth began to rise in her heart. As she gazed at the man who stood beside her, her eyes couldn't help but turn watery.

No one had ever protected her like Rufus. No matter how desperate the situation was, the man seemed to materialize out of nowhere to defend her. She felt so safe around him.

"Mr. Luo, it looks like you care a lot about your subordinates. How magnanimous of you,"

Ivy spoke ironically, breaking the awkward silence among them, while casting a meaningful glance at both Cassandra and Rufus.

"Rufus, you've gone too far!"

Lionel said out loud, unable to keep calm any longer. This man had, once again, shown too much concern for his wife. Not once, not twice, but many times now. Though who else could he blame, except for himself? It was he who had always pushed his own wife away.

"Well... She already stated that she couldn't drink. Why was it so important for you to press her into submission, just because you're her superior?"

Rufus questioned, his voice dripping with contempt. To him, Lionel's actions were simply childish and naive. He already brought his lover along to publicly humiliate Cassandra. Now, he was even trying to get her drunk. It pissed Rufus off completely.

The words rendered Lionel speechless. How could he argue with that? He fumed silently, unable to get another word out. All he could do was to glare at his wife fiercely.

When he found nothing to say, Ivy pounced on the opportunity. "Mr. Luo, do you have some sort of affection for Manager Qin? Is that why you are protecting her? I wouldn't find it surprising. Manager Qin is young and beautiful. It's quite natural for you to fall for her, isn't it?"

Ivy thought she was being clever, but she was only adding fuel to the fire. Lionel's entire body became tense at her words. He wondered how Rufus would respond to what she said.

'Perhaps, ' he thought, 'keeping my marriage to Cassandra a secret from the Tang Group employees has been a mistake.' He opened his mouth and was about to say something when Cassandra beat him to it. She had been silent for some time, but now she glanced at Ivy disdainfully and jeered, "Would you mind reminding me of who you are?"

Cassandra smiled at her disparagingly. The arrogant woman had been provoking her and Rufus throughout this encounter. At first, Cassandra didn't care to take notice, but now she was increasingly getting annoyed.

Ivy was stunned. She didn't think Cassandra would ostracize her so publicly, and she glared back at her in disbelief.

"This is a celebration banquet for Tang Group. How did someone irrelavant like you get in here? Or are you here as Mr. Tang's arm candy?"

Cassandra continued derisively. She crossed her arms across her chest as the cold grin on her face widened. She was Lionel's wife. Ivy, nevertheless, was only his mistress! How could a mistress who held no status in the Tang family insult her like this?

Ivy was caught by surprise. Never had she imagined that Cassandra could be so severe and straightforward. The very next moment, her arrogance was gone, to be replaced with pity and grief. Hugging Lionel's arm, she said, whining, "Lionel, I was just speaking the truth. How could Manager Qin insult me like this?"

Lionel, on the other hand, was surprisingly not mad at Cassandra's rebuke. In fact, he was delighted. His disturbing thoughts were forgotten. He stared at his wife, tilting his head to the side. It was the first time he had seen Cassandra being so harsh to someone. Thrilled, he assumed that she was jealous.

A surge of inexplicable joy rushed into his heart at the thought.

"The banquet has begun. I have some things to take care of. Sorry, but I have to leave."

Cassandra quickly excused herself, utterly disgusted at the woman who painted herself as a victim. She couldn't stand to be in her presence for another second. She turned around and left without waiting for a response.

Rufus glowered at the pair silently before turning to follow Cassandra.

"Cassandra! Are you upset?"

he asked. His voice was low and sensual, but it wasn't enough to make Cassandra, who was still furious, turn around.

"Do you think I was jealous because that woman was cling to Lionel? Or because he brought her with him?" she said scornfully.

Cassandra paused for a second before resume walking. She impressed him. He was now convinced that she was not a weak woman by any means. Nothing and no one could bring her to her knees.

"I just didn't like what she said. It had nothing to do with Lionel."

Her previous response had failed to garner a reaction from Rufus, so she turned around and further explained herself.

For an instant, a brilliant light flashed across his fathomless dark eyes. His lips were curved seductively as he gazed at the beauty in front of him with quiet intent.

"What? Why aren't you saying anything?"

the woman asked, perplexed. His strange, hot gaze made her flush all over. She couldn't understand why she felt the need to clarify her stance to him. Was it because she didn't want him to misunderstand her lousy relationship with Lionel? He was just her husband in name. 'But what does that have to do with Rufus?' Cassandra scolded herself mentally.

"You look gorgeous tonight," he finally said.

Confused about where that compliment came from, she blinked her eyes ingenuously. It enticed Rufus even more. Unable to resist his impulse, he unknowingly extended one hand. Just as he was about to touch her, he withdrew self-consciously and made a low sound from the back of his throat, "Hmm." It was as if he had caught himself in time and was utterly lost for words.

Cassandra blushed instantly. Their eyes were met, burning passionately. The moment was abruptly interrupted by the host, whose voice reverberated through the microphone, "Next, let us all watch a video together. This is the proposal Tang Group pitched for our new client's collaboration. It has been put together by Manager Qin. Let us give her a big round of applause!"

As soon as he finished his speech, a flash of light was thrown on Cassandra. She was suddenly the focus of attention. Not used to the scrutiny, her body quivered a bit. Rufus sensed her anxiety and gave her a reassuring smile, infusing her with much-needed composure. Slowly, she calmed down.

She bowed to the guests in courtesy. The crowd clapped loudly and the screen lit up.

Meanwhile, Ivy, who sat on the front seat, leaned towards Lionel. Her seductive lips curled up in glee and she whispered in his ear in a playful tone, "Hon, the show has begun."

He raised his eyebrows at her and gazed at the huge screen on stage. Perhaps today, he hoped, he would finally defeat his adversary, Rufus, and his annoying wife, Cassandra. He could already envision his imminent triumph.

The applause began to fade as the audience fixed their eyes on the screen. The first few minutes of the video detailed general information on Tang Group. When the office building of Tang Group was shown, the screen suddenly turned pitch black before jumping to another picture.

Puzzled, the attendees exchanged curious glances, hoping that someone would offer an explanation. The crowd was unsettled and the whispers grew.

The picture on the screen resurfaced and stunned everybody in the room. It was obviously a scene from a hotel room, with a huge canopied bed covered in rose red sheets.

A man and a woman were on the bed, their faces reconstructed into digital mosaics that rendered them beyond recognition. The obscene sounds they made echoed in the entire hall.

Their faces had been concealed on purpose. However, the voices of the pair sounded familiar.

Cassandra's pupil contracted and her mouth opened wide with astonishment. She was stunned. Blinking her eyes repeatedly, she twisted her head to look at Rufus, who had an indifferent look on his face.

Their eyes met again and she read on his face that what she suspected was true. Suddenly, she felt like she was frozen all over and unable to move. Rufus had shown her the video before. The two protagonists in this scandalous video were none other than Lionel and Ivy…