A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 143

Rufus looked at Cassandra affectionately. Her vulnerability and innocence, her complete submission to him as her only pillar support made his heart melt. Rufus lowered his head to kiss her but was stopped by her hand.

"From now on, you will not drink with any man without my consent. You should also tell me before going anywhere. If you break the rules, you will see the consequence." Rufus frowned as he warned Cassandra and pretended to be angry.

Cassandra became all the more petrified to hear Rufus speak in such a stern voice. After she pulled the blanket tightly out of natural reflex, she looked up at Rufus.

He glanced over her body as she pulled the blanket on herself and then fixed his gaze on her face. His eyes softened at her innocent look.

"You are my only love. Don't suspect anything else,"

Rufus said in a sultry voice. Cassandra looked into his eyes as his words echoed in her heart. There was so much of sincerity and resolve in his eyes! Cassandra suddenly felt so light that her whole body got relaxed. The tension on her face gave way to a relaxed and contented look.

That was all she needed—to be the one and only for each other for ever and ever.

Initially, she was hesitant to bring up the topic of Rufus's relationship with Amanda. But after his confession to her, she did not need any more reassurance. It was the first time that Rufus made his promise with so much of determination. Cassandra pushed her urge to dig more about Amanda to the back of her mind and relaxed in his arms.

It had been so difficult for her to come out of the troublesome marriage. But from today onwards, she was resolved to live her own life without any unwanted interference from anyone.

And Rufus… She could trust him with her eyes closed! At every step of the way, it was Rufus who gave her a helping hand and removed obstacles from her path.

Even if not for the help he had given her, she would still be indebted to him for the unicorn he gave her when she helplessly stood in front of the machine. Needless to say, it was Rufus who helped her with loads of opportunities when she first started her career as an architectural designer.

He was the one who healed her in her past and continued to support her even now. What else could she ask for?

Cassandra closed her eyes, buried her head into the warmth of his arms and indulged in his tenderness. At this very moment, she felt absolutely complete.

However, miles away, at the same time, there was a storm raging in the Tang household.

"Father, I am planning to marry Ivy. I have made up my mind this time!" Lionel affirmed.

He had mustered all his courage to confront his father. Horace had been a very strict father and Lionel could never speak or do anything against his wish throughout his life. Even this time, as he spoke to Horace, he could feel his knees tremble. Yet, he was resolute this time.

Lionel loved Ivy and both of them had been through a lot already. He had almost lost Ivy once when she met with a car accident at the time of his marriage with Cassandra. And now, again, he was the one to be blamed for Ivy's miscarriage. Had he not been so outrageous in forcing Cassandra into a physical relationship, which was accidentally spotted by Ivy, she would not get in conflict with her. Now, there was nothing he could do to pay her back, except for giving her the recognition and respect her as his wife. Getting married to her was the only way to compensate for her miseries and the long years that she had spent waiting for him.

Horace had a stern look on his face. He sounded rather disgruntled to hear Lionel's appeal. "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't forget, that you just divorced Cassandra. Aren't you bothered about what people would say about your flash marriage?"

Horace scolded his son in a displeased tone, his face turning grim and a stern frown settling on his face.

Lionel had complete freedom to do whatever he liked all the time. As a result, he fulfilled his wishes without considering the possible consequences. Though Cassandra was gone, it was still not the right time to make Ivy a part of the Tang family. And moreover, Lionel was not the one to take the call in this regard. Horace would have a lot to consider before making the decision. It was not as simple as Lionel believed it to be!

And the first thing that Horace would evaluate was the personal background. Though very few people were informed about Cassandra's marriage with Lionel, it didn't mean that Cassandra was too ordinary a girl. Just like Lionel who was the son of the Chairman of Tang Group, Cassandra was the daughter of Vernon Qin, the owner of Qin Group. Back then, Qin Group was still one of the leading real estate companies in the industry that earned much fame and recognition in G City. Plus, Cassandra herself was a befitting match for the Tang family. She was also a thriving young talent who made full use of her time in her college. Besides, she was doing very well as the Architectural Manager in the Tang Group. She was even named for the design of the amusement park project, which was a crucial case for the tourism development of G City.

And as far as Ivy...

Her parents had long passed away. She graduated from a nameless university. The only thing she was good at was to splurge money on expressive dresses for herself. What could she contribute to the Tangs?

Horace had two sons, Rufus and Lionel. Rufus was capable to handle everything on his own. Horace had complete faith in him that he would garner a lot of success in future and Rufus lived up to his expectations. However, Lionel was just the opposite. Horace was seriously worried about him all the time. He not only was short-sighted but lacked management and leadership skills as well. As much as Horace wanted Lionel to take charge of the Tang Group in the future, he couldn't be assured, unless Lionel had a capable wife to help him.

Ivy, at least for the time being, was far from Horace's expectations. So he decided to take his time to consider before making a decision.

"Father! Ivy has lost her baby and she is in a very vulnerable state. She is spending the whole day daydreaming on the hospital bed. I am so worried about her that she will not be able to recover unless I give her some reassurance!"

Lionel sprang up from the chair anxiously to persuade his father. His face was red and his eyes blazing clearly showing his desperation to convince his father to give a nod for him to marry Ivy.

"Take your divorce with Cassandra as an assurance!"

Horace stated with his voice raised and his eyes glaring at his son.

Yet Lionel wasn't ready to retreat. As he stepped forward to confront his father again, Jill intervened to stop the argument between Horace and Lionel from getting worse.

"Alright, alright. Lionel, finish your breakfast and go to work. Don't be late. Later I will cook some soup for Ivy and visit her. You don't have to worry about Ivy for the time being."

Before Lionel could react, Jill pulled her son aside. After stealing a glance at Horace, who seemed not to pay attention to what she was doing, Jill hushed Lionel, "Don't argue with your father. Now that Ivy has lost her baby, you have to be extra careful. Don't give Rufus any chance to overtake you."

More than anything else, Jill was bothered that Horace would deem Rufus more important than Lionel. Had it not been for Rufus, Lionel would have taken over his father's role in the company naturally. Ever since this illegitimate son came along, Jill had been noticing each and every move of Rufus in the family all this while. He had been increasingly gaining Horace's trust. And unfortunately, this baby which could have been a perfect bargain chip for Lionel was gone. Thus Lionel had to stay obedient so as not to stimulate Horace at this crucial point in time.

Lionel looked at the worried face of his mother and realized that he had indeed been too impetuous and agitated in front of his father just now. However, this feeling of regret for his argument with his father was soon replaced by his remorse for Ivy. He became gloomy thinking about the striking contrast between Ivy's normal demeanor that was so full of life and the quiet and gloomy patient that she had become now.

"Mom, can you at least try to understand my feeling for Ivy? We have been in a relationship for seven years, seven long years! I admit that she is not the only woman that I've been with. But she is the only woman that I have loved! Why do you choose to be on my father's side instead of me? Ivy has totally changed since the accident. I feel so sorry for her!"

Lionel was provoked again when his mother asked him to stop mentioning Ivy in front of his father.

Jill patted Lionel on the shoulder and said in a persuasive tone, "Go to work now. I will talk to Ivy later. Don't worry."

The stubbornness of Lionel irritated Jill. However, she could never help but coddle her son no matter what the circumstances were. And even this time there was no exception. She was displeased with Lionel venting his anger on her, but she still pacified him and persuaded him to go to work. When she returned to the living room, her motherly composure gave way to a rather helpless state of mind.

"Horace, Lionel has always been a sympathetic son, especially when it comes to Ivy, who has been his true love. They have indeed been through much hardship. I can see why he loves her so much. Why can't you just let them be?"

Failing to convince her son, she tried to resolve the issue with Horace. The quarrel between the father and the son was certainly something she didn't wish to see.

"It's too early to talk about it now. Let's settle it in some time later!" Horace maintained a completely nonchalant look as he said.

He was clearly not in the mood to discuss this issue right now, so he just pushed it aside.

Jill rolled up her eyes as she realized it was too tough a wall for her to break through. Then suddenly something else came to her mind.

"Horace, I heard from Mrs. Zhuang, that Dawn Star Group is going to be funded by TY group. It is very likely that they are planning on some big moves. Do you plan to do something about it?"

Horace had been out of the company for an entire year due to his health conditions. He stopped monitoring the activities of the company since then, which were handed over to Lionel. However, right now, all the decision making power was with Rufus instead. Jill was worried that Rufus would take over the whole company and sideline Lionel completely.

Currently, the Tang Group was mapping great heights of success under Rufus's leadership. They even managed to establish a partnership with the government. The projects on tourism that were deemed crucial by the government had been assigned to the Tang Group. If everything went well, the Tang Group would be rewarded profusely both in terms of profit as well as reputation. Once that happened, only sky would be the limit for them. And if no action was taken to restrain Rufus's power... She was afraid that it would be too late by that time.

"Well, do you really think I am just idling around at home? The Tang Group is certainly more attractive to investors than the Dawn Star Group! But why are you bothered about all this? As a woman, you should be concerned only about the family matter. And don't forget Ivy. Take care of her. I don't want Lionel to be brainwashed by her to challenge me anymore!"

Horace stood up angrily and walked into the study, leaving Jill alone. As she watched Horace walk out of the room, Jill threw out the fork she was holding in her hand. The fork smashed onto the plate making the room reverberate with the sound of the collision.

"Both of you, father and son, put the blame on me. Have I ever complained about what I have done for the Tang family all these years? I am in no way your emotional trash bin!"

It was only after Horace shut the door that she started to complain to the empty room. By that time Horace had got busy on the phone with one of the investors.

After the call was picked up, a hoarse voice came from the other side. It was hard to deduce the age of the person, and the sound was unnatural, as though had been purposely modified using some sort of equipment.

"We are still discussing our investment to your company. You don't have to worry. But now, I need you to help me with something."

The voice was so unnatural that anyone who heard it would feel uneasy.

"Of course. What is it that you want me to do?"

Horace didn't seem to be bothered by the bizarre voice, perhaps because he was used to it. It was apparent he regarded the person on the other side as his superior, so much so that he was eager to meet his demands without even knowing the details.

"Well, well, well. Your son, Rufus, is not married yet, is he?" the man asked, giggling.

The weird voice as he giggled sounded horrifying as it literally echoed out of the phone and broke the silence of the room.

"That's right, my son is not married yet," Horace replied with the same composure as before.

However, the question put Horace into a conundrum. 'Why would the investor ask such a question?'

"Then," the man demanded emotionlessly, "arrange a marriage for him. The bride's name is Amanda Ke." And then there was silence on either side of the phone.