A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 75

Squinting slightly, Rufus turned to gaze upon Cassandra, lying on the sickbed with a strange flush covering her cheek.

Suddenly standing up with his tall and strong figure, Rufus responded in his deep and velvet voice, "Yes, she's my wife."

Upon hearing this, the doctor's expression turned colder, and displeased with the man's lack of care for his own spouse.

"What are you doing? Do you have any idea how long she stayed in the wind and snow? Why didn't you stop her? She's barely wearing enough clothes for the weather! Even if you quarreled with her, you should, at the very least, pay attention to her health. She's too weak with a low blood pressure. It's so cold outside that she can't stand it at all."

Being the rather strong and intimidating figure he was, Rufus had never been blamed and chastised by others, much less a woman, in such a harsh tone. Faced with the blame the doctor placed on him, though, he was not angry at all.

In the doctor's eyes, Cassandra and Rufus were merely a young and carefree couple, making it easy to put the blame on him.

"When will she wake up?"

Without commenting on her scolding, Rufus didn't say anymore as he just wanted to know of Cassandra's physical state.

With a roll of her eyes, the doctor tapped the case folder to show him.

"Look at this case! The diagnoses and treatments are all recorded online now. Looking at her hospital admission records, she's been hospitalized with a fever so often in the past six months. She gets sick so easily. And now, seeing you, her husband…I'm curious about how you take care of her. Her physical condition is poor. When she gets discharged and return home, you need to nurse her body very carefully. I can't emphasize enough how you need to pay attention to her physical state. You need to be vigilant in taking care of your wife's health. After all, she's so weak that the wind could practically blow her over," the doctor explained reproachfully.

In the midst of the little sermon, a nurse came in and went to the doctor in a hurry.

"Doctor, the patient in bed 27 on the 7th floor vomited again. The doctor on duty is asking you to have a look!"

Upon hearing the news, the doctor quickly signed the current diagnosis and hung it on the bedside table. Even as she turned away and followed the nurse out, her grumble could be heard from far away.

"There is no need for the patient in bed 27 to hurt himself. Even if his family doesn't come to see him, he should know enough to take good care of himself. I've tried to persuade him a number of times, but he kept refusing my advice. Goodness! I wonder what's going on in the heads of young people now..."

After she left, Rufus simply stood next to Cassandra wearing a gloomy expression as he looked at her, who was passed-out with her eyes closed shut. Faced with such a situation, Rufus had no idea how to make her regain consciousness as soon as possible, so he only stared at her with a worried expression.

Standing beside her sickbed, Rufus thought about how little attention he had paid to Cassandra, since she'd been to the hospital so often. A trace of remorse sparked in his heart.

Although she was in a coma, Cassandra slept uneasily.

Her body shook from time to time - her face twisting into a frown and the sweat trickling down her forehead, as if she was being plagued by a nightmare.

All the while, Rufus held her hands, bringing them up to cup his face so that he could warm them up. Still, her hands remained icy cold.

"Cassandra, I'm here. Don't be afraid. I will always be with you." His deep voice was soothing.

Regardless of Rufus' words of comfort, Cassandra still suffered the nightmare.

Having stayed up late to take care of her, Rufus's eyes had already turned red. By midnight, her fever turned even more severe than earlier. Being worried about her condition, Rufus abruptly grabbed the arm of a nurse passing by.

"Where is the doctor? She's been passed out for such a long time, why hasn't she woken up yet?"

Unsurprisingly, a flush crept into the nurse's face as she looked at the handsome man who grabbed her.

"I'll find the doctor for you," she whispered.

Upon saying it, the nurse shyly walked away. After a short while, she came back with a doctor, who happened to be the one checking up on Cassandra earlier.

Before Rufus could say anything, the doctor examined Cassandra immediately and chattered again, "Her fever has gone up to 39.5 degrees. It's not easy to bring down a high fever like this. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if you had a fever it, but she's not as strong as most people. Looking at her weak condition, I guess she pays little attention to her own nourishment. She's so thin too and can't afford to lose any more weight. If she were to lose weight again, she'd find it difficult to get pregnant."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to get a word in, Rufus simply kept his mouth shut.

Suddenly, Cassandra frowned and murmured something.

It was so soft that Rufus had to bring his ear closer to her mouth before he finally heard her words.

"I didn't do it, Mother! It wasn't me!

Mother…don't leave me…

Rufus, my heart hurts…"

Tears slipping from her eyes, Cassandra twisted her body back and forth under the quilt as she suffered from her own subconscious.

Meanwhile, the doctor checked her hands and feet before releasing a sigh of relief.

"Her fever is almost gone," she then said to Rufus, "She should wake up soon. She's lucky because you sent her to the hospital in time. If she were to stay in the snow for even another half hour, she wouldn't recover so quickly."

Turning to the still unconscious Cassandra, the doctor said, "You should pay more attention in the future, alright? Don't treat yourself like this! Every time you get ill, you won't only have to spend money, but also take medicine and get injections. Moreover, your partner will spend loads of time and energy taking care of you. It's not worth getting sick over quarrels."

After expressing his gratitude over and over, Rufus walked the doctor and nurse out.

Fortunately, when he turned to look at Cassandra, he found that she had finally calmed down, with only the last tears trickling down her cheek.

He sat on the chair beside the sickbed. His eyes sparked with something unique only when he was looking at Cassandra.

'In her nightmare, she is dreaming about her mother…and me.

Her mother is the one closes to her. Why would she have a nightmare about her?

And I…' Rufus's thoughts trailed off. The brightness in his eyes faded at the thought and he started feeling a little depressed instead.

He thought to himself, 'I always want to bring her hope but keep failing. What have I done that would frighten her?

In her dream, what do I look like?'

As soon as she started waking up, Cassandra could see a blurry image of Rufus's profile. When she came to her senses, she could see that he was fast asleep, and bent over the sickbed.

His handsome profile seemed as if it was carefully sculpted by a master, looking especially dazzling under the morning sunshine.

With his eyes closed, Rufus was in a deep sleep, and at this moment, he was only a boy without any aggression.

With that image in front of her, Cassandra couldn't help reaching her hand out to touch his beautiful face. Midway, though, something made her retract her hand.

Sensing that his eyes began flickering, she put her hand down completely and pretended to be sleeping.

At that moment, Rufus was being rather clever. Even with his eyes closed, he was all too aware of her movements. If he had opened his eyes, he could have easily interrupted what she was doing.

Sporting a rather content smile, Rufus opened his eyes and deliberately lifted the lid off the food box of congee with minced pork and preserved eggs that he ordered someone to get for him.

The delicious smell of food filled the ward as soon as the container was opened.

"Mmm...It's really delicious," he said, deliberately raising his voice to catch Cassandra's attention.

With an exaggerated tone, he took a spoonful and slurped the congee loudly. It was satisfying enough to see Cassandra swallowing quietly as he teased her.

He wondered, 'Because of staying in the snowfield for so long, she suffered from a high fever all night. Hadn't eaten anything since yesterday noon, so she's definitely hungry right now.'

Intentionally luring her with the porridge's aroma, he wondered how long the stubborn woman would resist the delicious food and pretend to be asleep.

Wanting to play with her a little more, he waved one spoonful of porridge right above her nose, letting the aroma fill her senses before eating it himself.

"Well, this porridge feels so soothing for my throat. It's really good…" he exclaimed.

Hearing this, Cassandra swallowed again. Her long eyelashes flickered as if it took her everything to not open her eyes.

"Unfortunately, a certain someone is still asleep and can't enjoy such delicious food. Well…I guess I'll just eat it all!"

Giving in to the hunger, Cassandra abruptly opened her eyes and sat up. Without a word, she stole the tin and spoon from Rufus's hands and scooped a mouthful of porridge into her mouth.

"Ahhhhh!" Without realizing it, Cassandra released sighs of contentment as she ate. She thought, 'How delicious it is!'

Practically inhaling the food, Cassandra felt much warmer after the meal. With the empty tin in her hand, she lifted her head to look at Rufus sheepishly, as she had almost forgotten he was sitting there in her rush to finish the porridge. Unexpectedly, she met his eye, realizing he had been staring at her with such a gentle gaze the whole time.

Even so, she cleared her throat and ignored him as she adjusted herself to get into a more comfortable position. After a little while, she felt much better and was ready to push off the quilt and get out of bed.

Seeing this, though, Rufus immediately prevented her from doing so. Fixing his deep eyes on hers to force them to meet his, he made her freeze in her actions. When he looked at her in such a way, Cassandra couldn't escape his gaze.

"You're not well, yet. Stay in bed and have a good rest. Don't worry about work. I've already asked for a leave on your behalf." His tone was firm as he said it.

Looking at Rufus, she still refused to listen to him and started trying to get up again. Her attempts were fruitless as Rufus would just press her back down on the bed again.

"Cassandra, I'm ordering you to lie down and rest as your boss," he said, loud and stern.

His arbitrariness and brute force rendered her unable to move at all. In such a situation, she frowned and bit her lips. Although she felt a little aggrieved, Cassandra felt warmth blooming in her heart.

As he pursed his lips, which Cassandra happened to find sexy, Rufus suddenly reached out his hand to flick her forehead. "Ow!" Bringing her hands up to cover her forehead, she cried out in pain and then glared at him with pouted lips. At that moment, Rufus couldn't help but think she looked terribly cute.

"What? You didn't like what I did? Is that it?" Rufus asked.

Since she woke up, Cassandra had been rather restrained. Biting her lips with increasing force, the more she looked at Rufus, the more she wanted to say something but failed to do so.

Without perceiving her thoughts, Rufus simply caressed her face and coaxed her with a rarely used gentle tone, "Cassandra, please be good. Lie down and get more sleep. What would you like for lunch? I'll buy it for you. It's too noisy in the emergency ward, so I'll transfer you to the VIP ward later."

A trace of despair came over her as she closed her eyes. As Rufus was ready to leave, she couldn't help but stretch out her thin hands to cling to his clothes, as if to cling on for her life.

"Rufus, I…I want to…to go to the bathroom. I...I really have to go," she mumbled, feeling frustrated and embarrassed.

As she confessed, her face turned red and got more and more flushed.

It was when Cassandra finished speaking that Rufus understood her behavior. 'It's no wonder it looked like she was trying to say something earlier…' he thought.

It's really no big deal if she could just directly tell me she wants to go to the bathroom…'

Suddenly, the two heard a sound from inside the ward. Splash! A middle-aged woman next to Cassandra's bed was having breakfast.

Apparently, upon hearing what Cassandra had said, she spit out and sprayed the food from her mouth.

With the woman's reaction, Rufus looked rather flushed and was at a loss for what to do so Cassandra wouldn't feel embarrassed. After clearing his throat awkwardly, he murmured to her softly, "Uh…do you want me to come with you?"

Cassandra's eyes were full of frustration and glassy with tears as if she was about to cry. Shaking her head hurriedly, she thought, 'Every time…every time I'm in trouble, he's by my side.

Even when I need to go to the toilet, he would want to accompany me.'

"Then why are you waiting, just go quickly then," Rufus said hastily.

Reaching his large hands out to stroke her long hair, he reveled in the feeling. Raising his brows, he was rather amused.

'What a silly woman you are. There's no need for you to ask my permission to go to the bathroom, ' he thought.

Slowly, Cassandra got out of the sickbed. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she felt week at her knees, wobbling and barely able to stay upright. Seeing her struggle, Rufus quickly went to support her waist with worry flashing across his handsome face.

"You're such a silly woman," he said with a light chuckle.

Raising his lips, he suddenly reached his arms behind her knees and picked her up with ease as soon as he made his remark. Ignoring others' eyes, whether full of awe or judgment, he carried her to the restroom.

"Woah! Rufus, what are you doing? Hurry and put me down!"

Cassandra's face was clearly flushed as she clenched her thin hands, unsure of where to put them. After some struggle, she finally gave in and let them rest on his chest. Her burning cheeks made her feel a little light headed.

Completely ignoring Cassandra's complaints, Rufus simply strode towards the bathroom.

"Shut up. You talk too much," all he murmured.

Though she opened her pink lips as if to say something, Cassandra couldn't utter a word. Lying in his arms, Cassandra inhaled his unique scent, calming herself down, almost like a kitten. As she closed her beautiful eyes, her lips curled naturally into a sweet smile while she savored the feeling.

'Earlier, my heart didn't feel so open…I was even a bit cold, maybe, but what Rufus has done for me keeps warming my heart over and over again, ' she thought.

In truth, Cassandra wanted to relish in the feeling of being in his arms for as long as she could. If she was to be completely honest with herself, she had to admit that she absolutely lusted after his scent and warmth.