A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 73

Lionel thought he knew what kind of person Ivy was.

They had been together for seven years now. And for all that time, everything she did was for him.

Even though Lionel would hook up with other women once in a while, Ivy never got mad at him. When Lionel was upset or had issues at work, Ivy would stay with him, and encourage him, giving meaningful suggestions on possible solutions.

He had come to depend on Ivy so much that he thought she could be his best woman ever.

But that was the problem. The reason why Horace didn't like Ivy was that Lionel had a soft spot for her at the expense of his marriage. This woman was the person behind Lionel's mistreatment of Cassandra. It angered Horace that Lionel would neglect the woman that his parents had chosen for him, opting instead to waste all his time, energy and money on Ivy. In Horace's eyes, Lionel was challenging his power.

What the ungrateful bastard didn't realize was that Cassandra was given to him in marriage to entrench the Tang family's economic supremacy. The Tang family had found their son a resourceful wife with better social networks. Cassandra was gifted, professional and beautiful to boot. Why would Lionel leave such a gem for any other woman? It pained Horace to see Lionel, the designated successor to the Tang empire head in the direction he was taking with Ivy. That girl would only waste the family wealth.

Besides, Lionel himself was also not much of a talented person who would greatly benefit from Cassandra's vast skills in managing the company. If he ditched Cassandra for this clueless girl, Horace was sure enough that the whole business would go down. That left Horace with no other option but to entrust Rufus at the helm of the Tang Group. There was no doubt, Rufus was competent, charismatic and hungry for success. Just the right man for the job.

Suddenly, Jill turned around to dry her tears. She choked up, "To some extent, I know why you have a problem with allowing Ivy into the family. She's a rather uninspiring, ordinary woman with neither education nor family background that the Tang family can approve of. But you don't have to worry about her in the long run, because she'll only be here for a few months. Also, you don't have to be angry at Lionel. It's just that he fell in love with the wrong woman and now he has a whole mess on his hands to deal with and a child out of wedlock, just like you!"

"Just like you!" these three words hit Horace. Painful memories flooded into his head, leaving an empty gaze on his face.

Images of the woman he loved and treasured most in his life started to play in his mind like a slow slide show. Every slide played to the accompaniment of the sweet promises they made to each other.

"Horace, I'll wait for you, no matter how long it will take. Even if you have nothing, I'll still be with you."

They were so deep in love at that time. Eventually, she got pregnant for him and gave birth to Rufus, a handsome, intelligent boy. But he couldn't bring the boy and his mother home because of Jill. The woman had to bring Rufus up as a single mother. But thank God, she did just fine and even gave the boy the best education she could. Now, Horace had brought Rufus back to the Tang family, in an attempt to make up for his mistakes. Hopefully, she would find the grace to forgive him.

After a long silence, when he looked at Lionel who was still kneeling, his anger faded. Looking back at his own mistakes, he began to understand Lionel. The more he thought about his shortcomings, the more he realized he was no angel to slam Lionel as irresponsible. The only thing that unsettled him was Ivy's ridiculous demands. Whatever she was asking for was just too much.

Letting a pregnant mistress live in the Tang mansion was impossible. That aside, would Ivy be proud of meeting Cassandra, the legally married wife of the man she was chasing after? How would Cassandra feel about that?

From downstairs, he heard servants greet someone. 'It must be Cassandra, ' he guessed.

Then excusing himself, he said to Jill coldly, "You and Lionel go and pass this, in your own way to Cassandra. I can't do this. It's way too embarrassing!"

Then he stood up and left. He was disappointed at Lionel's letdown and worried about Cassandra.

As she watched him leave, Jill heaved a sigh of relief. At least, Horace, the head of the family, agreed. The only problem was how Cassandra would receive the news.

As soon as she got home, Cassandra changed from the torn dress. Exhausted, but unable to sleep, she sat down on the couch, closed her eyes and drifted deep into thoughts. But only a few minutes on, she was startled by the opening and closing of her bedroom door. Without knocking, Jill had walked in and was coming straight to her. That was strange.

Never in Cassandra's four years of marriage, had Jill walked into her bedroom. Moreover, the two of them never talked much. What would bring Jill to her room, at this late hour of the night?

Without greeting, Jill sat on the extra chair and went straight to the point of her unannounced visit.

"Ivy is pregnant and it is Lionel's son. The Tang family won't abandon the baby. You can regard him as your baby if you like. Or you can just ignore him," she blabbered without a hint of courtesy.

Cassandra was dumbstruck. What was Jill talking about?

"A son? What do you mean?"

Rising from her chair with an imperious air, Jill put her arms across the chest and declared, "Starting from tomorrow, Ivy will move in to live with us. It's for a short time, though. Once the baby is born, she might only stay until he is weaned. After that, she'll be gone for good. Out of the country, and out of Lionel's life, you won't have to worry about her again. For the short time that she'll be here, you can just act the way like you ignore Lionel. I don't think she'll pose any problems to you."

Ivy… Speechless, Cassandra ran the name through her mind, trying to remember who the woman was. Suddenly, she recalled the beautiful face of...

Ivy Luo! She was the woman in that sex tape! The one who appeared alongside Lionel in public on a few occasions only to disappear before anyone could know her real identity. It looked as if she was playing hide and seek, especially against Lionel's family.

Was she now coming to the family to replace Cassandra? That would be OK with Cassandra. After all, what would make her want to fight for an unfaithful man who ignored her all the time? There was nothing fulfilling in her marriage to Lionel at all. If Ivy really wanted to replace her, Cassandra would gladly get a divorce. Oh, how liberating that would be!

The only source of concern was that she could put her family in debts if she filed for a divorce.

Then she realized, the divorce would be unnecessary. Since their marriage had never been a public affair, she could as well stay and carry on as if Lionel didn't exist in her life. That was the way she had learned to live for the four years of their marriage, and Ivy moving in would make no difference.

But too many things happened today and Cassandra was in no moods to talk with Jill.

She was a chatterbox that would talk on and on if you let her. So to cut the long story short, Cassandra simply acquiesced in the decision.

"Okay, I got it. I don't have a problem with that. Just let her move in then. Maybe, I'd only request to be excused from having dinner at home. Would that be alright?"

The thought of sitting at family dinner together with Cloris and Rufus made her wish she could be excluded.

She knew it was a very improbable wish, but she still asked anyway.

"That's impossible!" Jill replied without hesitation. "After working the whole day, dinner is the only chance that family members get to sit down together and bond over a meal. It's a family habit that Horace religiously follows, and he won't trade it for anything. There's no way anyone could skip dinner in his house, except once in a while, and only for a special reason,"

she added, as she pushed the door and made her way out.

Upset about every experience of the day, Cassandra slumped into her bed, kicking her legs in the air, out of helplessness. Coming home, she had badly needed a rest. But now her problems had only pilled up, leaving her mind in a muddle.

Sobbing softly, she lifted the quilt over her head, tears freely rolling down her face and washing her pillow wet.

The next day, Cassandra woke up pretending not to know what Cloris had done. As if nothing had happened between them, she treated Cloris pretty much like on any other day.

But she avoided Rufus as much as she could.

When he asked Leo to take her to the president's office, Cassandra made an excuse that she wanted to check the construction site. Then she sneaked out of the office, and killed time wandering on the streets.

A lot of thoughts ran through Cassandra's mind, turning from one name to another. Cloris, Rufus, Ivy. One minute, she mulled about last night's humiliation at the party. The next, she was agonizing over Rufus and their complicated relationship. But then there was the issue of Ivy, who was moving in today. How Cassandra wished she could skip the awkward dinner.

But did she have that option?

Immersed in her own world, she didn't even notice the traffic lights as she crossed the street.

Until, someone firmly grabbed her arm and jerked her back to attention. Just then, a taxi stopped in front of her, the driver applying breaks with a squeal. Angry and concerned for her safety, the guy in the driver's seat rolled down the windows and studied her.

"Young lady, be careful!" he admonished, a contemptuous look written on his face. "Go somewhere else if you wanna die. I don't want to be involved! I hate those 'crash for cash' victims most!"

Then he drove away, leaving the dumbfounded Cassandra alone.

As she turned around, she saw a man with mustache, thick eyebrows and big eyes watching her. Although he wasn't well-dressed, he looked cordial and sounded sincere.

"Be careful, my daughter. It is downtown here and usually, the traffic is heavy," he cautioned in a fatherly tone.

It was him who had grabbed her arm and pulled her out of danger, only a fraction of a second before the car screeched to a stop in front of her. Were it not for him; she would have been hit by the car which had just driven off. Thank goodness, he was driving slowly and had enough time to react when she was grabbed and pulled back by this good man.

"Thank you, sir. I was lost in thoughts. I have a full plate right now, and it's really stressing me out. Thank you so much for saving my life!"

The man gave her a smile.

"No problem."

Suddenly, something occurred to him. He looked Cassandra up and down. Then he asked with suspicion, "Aren't you the manager of the design department at the Tang Group? What is it that has got you so upset?"

The question threw Cassandra off balance for a moment. The man was a total stranger. How did he come to know she was the manager of the design department at the Tang Group?

Reading her reaction, the man could tell Cassandra was puzzled. An amiable smile beamed on his face as he waved a folded magazine in his left hand.

"I was reading this in the Starbucks just now. It features an interview of senior executives in the Tang Group. There's a photo of your side face, but I recognized you anyway."

Cassandra knew he must be talking about last month's interview, when some reporters came to the company's offices. But she wasn't the focus of the interview.

"You're such a keen observer. I'm impressed. It's a very tiny photo. I'd hardly recognize anyone based on it."

The man was pleased to hear Cassandra's compliment. But trying to down play it, he calmly said, "No big deal. If you ask me to live with fifty spotty dogs for a few days and then give me a picture of them, I could easily tell them apart. Not to mention a beautiful woman like you!"

His way with words lifted Cassandra's moods so much that she burst into laughter.

Forgetting about all her troubles, she began to enjoy chatting with him.

"That's a clever metaphor you have," she said, referring to the man's claim.

But the man feigned a serious face and said, still with tongue in cheek, "Not that I'm so smart with metaphors! It's just that, I... I'm a lover of animals."

Laughing again, Cassandra asked, "So, you regard me as an animal?"

The man hesitated, not sure what he should say next. 'Is she someone that can catch the drift of my joke? Or will she take it literally and get angry at me?

Someone who takes things literally, will not read it as a compliment if I used that analogy of animals.' he wondered.

Thankfully, Cassandra had noticed the man was weighing what to say, and she didn't want to embarrass him.

Reaching into her clutch bag, she took out her business card and handed it to him.

"I'm Cassandra Qin. This is my business card. If you want to contact me, you can call me or text me on the numbers given," she said seriously.

With gratitude, the man took the card and Cassandra was about to say goodbye, when something occurred to her. After a moment's thought, she said, "Well, if I were an animal, I would certainly be a deer!"