A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 137

Cassandra had never paid attention to the sound of the wind so carefully before.

She hated the wind and the rain. She liked the sun. But tonight, she listened to the gush of the wind all night long.

It was still winter. The wind last night was still chilly. It blew through the trees and caused the leaves to rustle.

The wind sounded so sad as if it was worried that it would be soon be replaced by the warmth someday.

She kept calling Rufus. But she failed to get through. The automatic voice informing her of all the failed call depressed Cassandra. It was the cold voice of the machine, bereft of emotion, that affected her deeply.

Cassandra remembered what Rufus had once said to her.

"Let me be the one to turn to no matter what happens later, okay?"

Yes, and here she was, calling him again and again, to do exactly that. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, daylight came. Cassandra heard the bustle of the servants beginning their preparations for the day. She forced herself to bathe and get ready to go to work. However, the moment she opened the door, she saw Jill advancing towards her.

Before Cassandra could greet her, Jill had already raised her hand and slapped her in the face with full strength.

"You bitch! Ivy's baby is gone! Are you happy now?"

Jill shouted the words as she shivered with rage. Tears rolled down her cheeks quickly.

"It's my first grandchild! How did you have the heart to do such a thing!?"

Cassandra had not recovered from the impact of the slap even though she could not feel the pain on her face anymore.

'How is that possible? Ivy's baby is gone? It is a thirty-week old baby! And it is growing bigger and bigger!"

Cassandra felt like she was in the most unimaginably horrid nightmare. How she wished everything could've return to peace when she woke up from the nightmare.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again. Jill was still standing right before her, crying hysterically. Horace stood not far away with his hands behind his back, restraining his emotions.

There was no expression on his face. But people could feel his anger simmer within.

Even though Ivy was not his official daughter-in-law, she had been living with the Tang family whilst pregnant. She was well-mannered and Jill favored her a lot. Horace, himself, bore no ill will towards her. Shockingly, she had a conflict with Cassandra just before her due date.

"Jill, the car is ready. Let's go to the hospital to see Ivy!"

Horace did not acknowledge Cassandra. He spoke directly to Jill and led her away. Casandra could hear the soft sobs of Jill as she walked away with her husband.

Cassandra walked downstairs in a daze, her mind blank. Once downstairs, she noticed the servants scrutinizing her. They didn't greet her as warmly as they did before. Instead, they averted their eyes.

It seems to her now that in their eyes she had become an evil woman.

Cassandra could not concentrate on work the whole day. She asked about Rufus in a casual manner and learned that he had traveled abroad.

She was at her wit's end. His sudden, uninformed, absence had struck her harshly.

After managing to complete her work for the day, she deliberated for long and left for the hospital.

Ivy had been taken to Jenks's hospital. Upon reaching, Cassandra asked the nurse about Ivy and finally located the room. It was a VIP room on the top floor.

Standing at the door of the room, Cassandra could hear the unclear whispers and the softs sobs float from inside.

She hesitated for a long time. Finally, she gathered the courage and knocked on the door, holding a bouquet of flower in her hands.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Lionel stood at the door. He looked exhausted and weary.

His eyes blazed when he saw Cassandra. His rage raised instantly.

"Fuck off! I don't want to see your face!"

And he turned to shut the door, but Cassandra reached out to stop him hurriedly.

"It's for Ivy...the flowers. Please give it to her, please."

Lionel was beyond mercy. He seized the bouquet from her hand and threw it on the floor.

"What brings you here? Why have you come? Get the hell out of here! You are the last person we want to see!"

The door slammed shut with a resounding echo.

The nurses who witnessed the whole scene, fell silent for a while before they started whispering. They peeped and pointed at Cassandra while discussing with each other.

Cassandra lowered her head and smiled bitterly at the flowers.

Lionel turned around and walked back inside. Ivy knew that it was Cassandra. She implored tearfully, "Lionel, she's your wife, after all..."

Ivy had been recovering in bed ever since she regained consciousness. She delivered the dead baby with oxytocin injection instead of a genuine surgery. So she recovered slightly faster.

The woman was now lying weakly in bed. Earlier if she had been spurned, she would chart a savage course for revenge. However, the loss of baby had greatly affected her. She was completely demoralized and devoid of energy.

How Lionel wished to see his former arrogant and wilful Ivy. This peaceful and quiet woman made him anxious.

"She will no longer be my wife. I'll divorce her, immediately!"

Lionel was heart-broken. His baby was gone thanks to Cassandra. He had hoped to be favored by Horace once the child was born. Now his hope was gone with the baby. Holding onto the wife just wasn't something he cared about now.

Ivy's eyes sparkled with joy. She lowered her head to hide her joy so that Lionel would not notice it.

Earlier, she had discovered information that Joel had been prosecuted for plagiarizing Cassandra's design and selling it to another designer. The Tang Group had suffered major losses due to this incident and had incurred a damaged reputation.

Ivy hated Cassandra so much that she gritted her teeth every time she thought of her. Cassandra not only stole her position in the Tangs but also led to the arrest of her brother. This was just unacceptable for her!

In a live broadcast, Cassandra even made a speech on the stage as the representative of Tang Group. Cassandra was in good spirits while her brother was going jail! 'Why? That is unfair, ' Ivy had screamed at that time.

The baby in her belly had started kicking her. She even lost her delicate figure because of the pregnancy.

She paid a heavy price to get Cassandra out of the Tang family when she had a chance. However, Cassandra's proposal to divorce Lionel was denied by Horace even as the date of the delivery drew closer.

Now there was no turning back for her. Ivy had decided to grab the last opportunity and take a supremely risky step.

Ivy stood behind the curtain at the time, waiting for Cassandra. When she saw Cassandra come in, she went out pretending she was going to fill the vase with water downstairs.

Later, she kept provoking Cassandra, hoping to irritate her. However, Cassandra just responded calmly.

Finally, she decided to take further steps. She touched Cassandra on purpose and missed her step falling downstairs deliberately after Cassandra gently pushed her away.

She was also questioning herself during the whole time. A million thoughts ran across her mind. Was it fair to the baby? What if something terrible really happened to the baby? Would Lionel feel sad?

However, it was too late for her to regret when she felt the pain course through her. She struggled to say something to Lionel, through her gritted teeth, before she fainted away.

For the rest of the day, Ivy suffered from great pain. She got through all her battles steadily; the one in her belly, the one where she was injected with the oxytocin and the one when she delivered the baby.

She pretended to have had a change of heart and behaved generously, only in order to win more of Lionel's sympathy. Only in this way would he be incensed enough to ruthlessly deal with Cassandra!

Everyone knew Lionel was a romantic person. But Ivy was shrewd enough to sense that he might have a special feeling for Cassandra. She was his wife but she never allowed him to touch her, not even a finger. And Lionel did not force her! He must have a strong protectiveness towards the woman.

As for Ivy? She had no other way but to put herself and her baby at risk to keep Cassandra away from Lionel for the rest of her life.

Ivy was fortunate. She had won this round.

After leaving the hospital, Cassandra roamed around aimlessly. She had no idea where she could go.

If she went back to the Tang house, she would have to face Jill's wrath. Cassandra had no energy to handle her anymore.

So she decided against going back and booked herself into a hotel.

She tried to maintain distance from the Tang family. However, Lionel came to her.

When Cassandra was absorbed designing in her office, Lionel broke in and threw a file at her.

"Sign it!"

Cassandra was confused. She took the file. It was a divorce settlement.

"Cassandra, I want to divorce you. The biggest mistake I've ever made during my whole life was to marry you!"

Cassandra stared at the agreement on the desk with mixed feelings.

She had been desperate to sign this paper, then walk out of the Tang family and forever leave that cage with her head held high.

Now this dream was about to realize but in such an absurd way. She was being dismissed by Lionel.

"Just sign the damn papers! Do it! Then we'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the divorce certificates!"