A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 168

Rufus explained to Charlie and promised that he would not date Amanda again. He knew Charlie loved his daughter very much so that he would prefer keeping her around instead of developing her own career in G City. It was too far away from home and him.

"No, I'm not stopping you from seeing her. Instead, I actually want you to help me take care of her,"

Charlie said with a wave of his hand. His words completely surprised Rufus.

Then Charlie sighed and explained when he saw how surprised Rufus was, "As you know, Rufus, I didn't allow your relationship with Amanda when you were in Dark Night Group. It was not because I disliked you. The only reason was because you were both too young at that time. Besides, I knew why you came to the Dark Night Group. You entered into the group because you hated your father and you wanted to train yourself to be a strong man to take avenge on him. I didn't want my daughter to stay with a man who had so much hatred in his heart."

There was nothing Charlie could do now about the past. What's done cannot be undone. 'It's no use lamenting about all of that now, ' he thought as he sighed out loud.

When Rufus joined the Dark Night Group, he was far more mature than his peers at the time, even though they were all the same age. It was probably because he never had a childhood. Rufus had to make it on his own and had to grow up way too fast for his liking.

He barely socialized and communicated with others. He concentrated only on intensive training in his mind and body.

Rufus was still a student at that time. Charlie was a sophisticate. He recognized that Rufus was clever, and believed that he would have a promising future. So he took care of him. He even invited Rufus home to treat him. Then unexpectedly and completely unbeknown to him, Rufus and his beloved daughter fell in love.

Charlie remembered back to the day when he asked a question to all the students before they started training.

"Why do you all want to be a part of the Dark Night Group? I would like you all to individually tell me your reasons and elaborate on the importance of this in your life."

Charlie stood with his feet slightly apart and his hands clasped behind his back. The young faces looked back at him with great respect. Then one after another, they began to report their reasons and goals.

"I want to develop the most powerful physique, muscular arms, strong fists and legs!"

"I want to become focused and evolve into one of the most talented business geniuses!"

"I want to be the wealthiest man in my country!"

Every young man was ambitious. They had the most important quality of excellence, which was their confidence.

When it came to Rufus's turn, he stated in a low voice, "I want to make someone regret his choice."

At that moment he showed no emotion at all.

The training field went silent upon his words. Everyone turned their heads and looked at this handsome, well structured young man with curious eyes.

This was a very strange statement and they all wondered what he meant by this. They exchanged looks at one another, having no idea what this young man was talking about.

'And tell me, who would that be?"

Charlie asked. He narrowed his dark piercing eyes and looked intently at this emotionless man.

"My father," replied Rufus.

He kept his chin high and his face stayed expressionless. He would never stand down out of defeat, towards his father.

All the people were shocked by his words. 'Did he mean to pledge war against his father and bring him down?' they wondered secretly. 'But why?' they were completely confused.

Charlie was also shocked by Rufus's attitude. Being an experienced coach though, he didn't show any surprise or emotion in front of these young men, who were watching intently.

Rufus impressed Charlie the most out of all the new recruits. This was the first day they met.

His goal different from others' and the determination in his eyes left Charlie deep impression.

Rufus became obsessed with practice, working harder than anyone else. This became his way of life later on. He endured the hardship and pushed through, showing the most stamina during training. He never complained about his pain or being tired. He never got lazy but strove to better himself in every way, using training as his tool.

He focused on excelling every minute of the day. He knew what it would take to reach his goal, and step by step, he was getting close.

Charlie got to know more about Rufus gradually. Later, he understood why Rufus hated his father so much. How could a man do that to his family? It was inhuman. He treated Rufus's mother with such malice, and then threw her into a dingy hole of a place, leaving Rufus as a young boy to care for himself. That was where the inner strength had developed, unfortunately at a terrible price though. Charlie had paid a visit to his mother and arranged better care for her, in a far better establishment.

Rufus hadn't trusted anyone, apart from his mother. But what Charlie had done made him trust and respect him.

Rufus built a strong relationship with Charlie and understood where he was coming from as well. In the end, Amanda broke up with him as Charlie wished. But he didn't blame Charlie. Instead, he understood him. He was a good father who loved his daughter and would protect her with his life.

Rufus knew he carried a lot of revenge and had no place for anything else. If Amanda had stayed with him, Charlie would have been constantly worried about her, and for good reason. His heart was filled with too much hatred to have a place for Amanda, which would break her heart eventually.

The romance he shared with Amanda was over, a long time ago. This mention of their past made Rufus puzzled. Charlie asked Rufus to take care of Amanda, which totally confused him.

"You took over the Tang Group. And I know you're doing quite well. This is a real feather in your cap. You truly are a brilliant businessman. That makes me feel worthwhile. I'm proud of you, Rufus. You let go of your hatred with your family and have managed to get along well with them all. I'm so glad to see that. I knew you had it in you," said Charlie.

Then he reached out and patted Rufus's shoulder. He continued applauding Rufus, "How far you have come is outstanding.

You are a man, when you let go of the hatred. I'm confident that Amanda would live a happy life with you now. That's why I hope you can take care of her for me in G City. Could you give her stability and protection when she needs it? She's a woman, after all. It's not so easy for a woman to establish a school all by herself."

Charlie had been worried about Amanda. A woman shouldn't be living her life alone. There were too many terrible things going on in the world. He felt such relief at the thought of Rufus who could be his daughter's soul mate. There wasn't anyone else he would rather have as his son-in-law.

Rufus was speechless for a moment as he felt quite lightheaded. He wondered whether he should tell Charlie his real thought.

'Let go of hatred? That is not going to happen. I'll never let it go, ' thought Rufus to himself.

When he was in Dark Night Group, he kept reminding himself that he had to stand up and keep fighting. He couldn't allow himself to feel pain, even when he was hit so badly that wounds engulfed his body. He knew that he would lose the chance of staying in Dark Night Group if he lost the fight. There wasn't a better place for him to grow strong and to carry out his plan other than the Dark Night Group. He couldn't afford to be kicked out, at the time.

Rufus remembered the time when he gritted his teeth while applying rubbing alcohol to sterilize his wounds. It hurt so much that he wasn't able to fall asleep. The pain spread over his entire body, yet he managed to hold on. He never made a sound, though the sweat ran off his body like rain.

He remembered how he managed to survive in the treacherous business world. It was tough when he just entered the field. He risked his life and struggled for survival. Finally, he established and developed TY Group, a grand company, all by himself.

He did all of this, thanks to his hatred towards Horace Tang, his father.

Rufus reasoned Charlie might think that his hatred for his father was gone, otherwise he would have made Tang Group disappear by simply purchasing it via TY Group, in order to get even with his father in a mild way. But as a matter of fact, that wasn't the case. Rufus had a different plan to achieve his goal. He would get back at Horace and the Tang family in a more terrible way.

His poor mother had been lying on a bed for ten years. It was ten years in hell. He had experienced hell as well in hardship and torment. Rufus felt hopeless at one point and could do nothing about the situation to help his mother. He could barely look after himself as a child. He had lived with such guilt and no one to turn to. Life hadn't been fair to him. He still felt the sting of pain, as he remembered those days.

As he was growing to be a capable and independent young man, Rufus planned the establishment and development of TY Group. His great accuracy in planning and management made it all happened. He had big plans for the TY Group, intending to make it a huge company, even though it had come so far in such a short time. He still had a way to go, regardless of how tremendous it looked.

He worked so hard at everything in order to make that man whom he called father regret abandoning his wife and son the way he did.

Rufus was determined to make Horace experience pain and sorrow, the same way he and his mother had. It would never be as simple as that, making Tang Group disappear. No, Horace deserved a lot worse than that. He would pay for the wrong he had done, and there would be consequences.

He wanted Horace to know, how it felt to lose everything he had gained.

He wanted him to know how it felt when his son betrayed him! Rufus had been working this out in his mind for years. He would make Horace overwhelmed and filled with such sorrow.

Rufus's face stiffened and his muscles palpitated near his jawline. He clenched his fists so hard that they turned white and blue veins stood out on the back of his arms.

Finally, he said, "I'll never let go of my hatred, never a day in my life!"

He looked straight into Charlie's eyes. Charlie was shocked by his expression.

Rufus continued, "I'm sorry, Charlie, but I'm still planning for my revenge. I live, eat and breath my plans, thinking of different ways to destroy that man. I wish I could say, I had let it all go. You have always been such an inspiration to me. If it hadn't been for you, I would never have got to where I am today. So, I'm grateful for you. But I'm afraid I can't take care of Amanda. How can I become a loving, kind man to her when my life revolves around the destruction? Please forgive me."

He paused for a moment and then continued speaking again, "Amanda deserves better, someone without any hatred in his heart, a person who would love her deeply and defend her, give her babies and help raise them. I'm not the right one for her.

I can't predict who I'm going to be and whether I would stop my revenge plan in the future. But as for now, I'm sure I'll do whatever I can, to continue my plan. I don't want Amanda to be a part of something so destructive. I only want what's best for her."

Rufus took a deep bow, showing Charlie his respect for him as a master trainer. He didn't want to lie to him or let him down. He felt too much for him. Charlie was a good man. But Rufus must decline his request of taking care of Amanda.

Charlie couldn't understand why he could't let it go. He even offeredhis most beautiful and precious possession. He had never expected that Rufus would reject.

When Amanda told him she would establish a piano school in G City, Charlie strongly opposed. Amanda assured him over and over that Rufus would take good care of her, so he decided to pay a visit to G City to confirm Rufus's attitude.

At first, he was quite pleased when he learned about what Rufus had done in G City. He set up the TY Group and meanwhile managed the Tang Group well. Thus, Charlie reasoned that Rufus already stopped hating his father and believed that Amanda would be happy to be with this man who had love in his heart.

He thought Rufus and Amanda had already reached an agreement and he was just relaying his blessing. But this was definitely not the case as Rufus stated today. It seemed that it was Amanda's wishful thinking.

Charlie remembered that Amanda told him on the phone that she would go to G City where Rufus was. She said that she would never break up with Rufus again. That was why Charlie thought his daughter and Rufus had been dating all this time, and that was why he paid him a visit.

However, what Rufus told him now puzzled him.

So Charlie frowned at him and asked, "I thought you and Amanda are dating, aren't you?"

At this time, the door opened suddenly and Amanda walked in with a determined expression on her pretty face.

"Father, Rufus is the only man I love. I want to be with him!"

Then she walked straight to Rufus. She raised her eyes to look at the man she loved so much yet felt heartbroken for, and said with an affectionate voice, "Rufus, you are my destiny. We can be dynamic together. I will help you get over your pain. We will replace it with wonderful memories and more love than you could imagine. What do you say?"