A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 171

For Cassandra, Rufus's accusation of her was akin to standing naked in the middle of a freezing winter.

Dylon opened his mouth to explain but Cassandra chimed in right away. She had a huge smile on her face as she reached out and took his arm.

"Well, didn't you disappear after taking a call from some woman? Isn't that the same?"

Cassandra questioned Rufus and looked straight into his eyes boldly. It seemed like she was trying to provoke him but deep inside, she felt nothing but sadness.

Was he implying she couldn't wait to throw herself into another man's arms? Did Rufus see her as a slut?

All of the sweet words Rufus had once whispered in her ear meant nothing to her now.

Dylon was frozen because so many things had happened in the last few days from people assuming he was Lyndsy's boyfriend to being used by Cassandra as a shield.

Rufus narrowed his eyes and looked back into Cassandra's eyes. She was glaring at him.

Cassandra felt her legs weaken but she didn't give in—she managed to power through as she stared Rufus down.

In her heart, Cassandra tried to make herself feel better by cheering herself on, 'No one can defeat you, Cassandra! Don't give in now!'

She felt a lump in her throat. How she wished she could cry it all out but she held her tears back. She raised her chin and glared at Rufus.

"It's not what you think,"

Rufus said and looked at Cassandra, knowing very well she was just being stubborn and defiant. He didn't have much patience left.

While it was true that Amanda had called him, Rufus had refused Amanda and he only left to see Charlie. He simply chose not to tell Cassandra for fear that she might get upset.

He preferred Cassandra to know nothing. As long as she stayed beside him, she would be happy and satisfied, wouldn't she?

"So what's it like? I believe what I see; and what I saw was you went out after you answered the phone,"

Cassandra grimaced. Actions spoke louder than words, right?

"What about what I just saw now? Is there any truth to that?"

Rufus found Cassandra's smile unpleasant. His heart prickled as if a dagger was stabbing it.

"Yes, Rufus, what you just saw is the truth. Since you're lying to me, I don't see any reason why we should still be talking. Now if you'll excuse us, there's something I need to discuss with Dylon."

Then Cassandra took Dylon's arm, looped hers around it and walked past Rufus.

Everyone was bewildered. Lyndsy was so surprised that she almost dropped her sunglasses.

How could Cassandra humiliate Rufus in public like that!

Rufus clenched his fists. The veins on his temples bulged. Jasper was filled with apprehension how Rufus would respond, so he led Rufus out of the club to avoid more conflicts.

"Let's go, Rufus. We should go now!"

Rufus let himself be pushed by Jasper until they were outside the club. When they arrived at the gate, Rufus immediately threw a punch at the column on one side.

Jasper flinched at the sound of Rufus punching the hard cement.

Then he turned to look at Rufus. The latter still had a cold look on his face. His eyes were gleaming as if he was planning something that no one else knew about.

"You're too impulsive. How could you embarrass Cassandra in front of so many people! You went too far."

Jasper frowned. He felt what Rufus said to Cassandra was inappropriate.

Rufus was conflicted. He wasn't one to be impulsive and rash, but when it came to Cassandra, he just turned into a different man.

Seeing Cassandra close to Dylon just made him jealous, so he spoke those words without even thinking twice.

"But Cassandra was stubborn too! She could have explained to you but she didn't. Both of you are stubborn!"

Jasper placed a hand on Rufus's shoulder and patted him gently as a way to comfort him.

Rufus and Cassandra were so much alike. They would never let their pride down to talk to one another when they were fighting. It would take them a long time before they would understand one another fully.

Meanwhile, Cassandra, in the room, kept her head down. Lyndsy had to call her name to get her attentiontried since she was so preoccupied.

"Dylon's going to A City tomorrow for the rescue, so I'd like to propose a toast to him. Dylon, as your friends, we hope you can take a good care of yourself. Be safe and we will see you when you get back!"

Lyndsy downed the glass and turned to check Cassandra whose mind was obviously somewhere else. She didn't know what to do with this lifeless and downhearted Cassandra.

"Don't do this, Cassandra. Come on. It's just a fight, nothing serious,"

Lyndsy said as she filled the glass with more wine. Her face was starting to redden.

"But you know what? I admire you! You won this round, you're awesome!"

Lyndsy remembered when she was asked to win the dress at the auction as a gift to Cassandra. At that time, she was already curious about Cassandra especially with what Rufus did. And here she was now, drinking wine with Cassandra! It was all fate!

"Cassandra, do you want me to explain it for you? I can go talk to him. It's nothing serious anyway..."

Seeing how unanimated Cassandra was, Dylon just wanted to make this whole thing go away for her.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to. We have many other things we need to worry about..."

Cassandra shook her head and gave a bitter smile.

The biggest issue between them was trust. Neither Cassandra nor Rufus ever mentioned it but now it was creeping up on them and causing a strain in their relationship.

The time they'd spent together was too short for them to know each that well or Cassandra just didn't know much about Rufus.

Rufus knew all about Cassandra and her past because she had told him everything.

But when it came to Rufus, he would just clam up and change the topic. He never talked about his past with her.

What had he been doing overseas all these years? What happened to him? Who did he meet? What was his relationship with Amanda? Cassandra knew none of the answers to these questions. She knew nothing!

Before, the only problem they had to solve was Cassandra's marriage to Lionel; but now the problem was settled, their trust issues started to surface.

Cassandra didn't know anything about Rufus's past or his secrets. He purposely hid them from her by not talking to her! What a joke! That was absolutely unacceptable!

Lyndsy and Dylon exchanged glances, both of them not knowing how to deal with or comfort Cassandra.

Cassandra was seemingly surrounded by a cloud of darkness that kept other people away.

"I have to get up early tomorrow and go to A City with the medical team. Let's call it a day?"

Dylon wasn't feeling all too well about what happened either. He barely ate anything despite being served with so much delicious food.

Lyndsy didn't eat much too. She only had a few drinks.

"Cassandra, I'll drive you home, okay?"

Dylon offered but Cassandra shook her head.

"I don't want to go back to Garden Villa now. I'll stay somewhere else tonight."

Dylon and Lyndsy exchanged looks again, both of them feeling helpless.

"All right, that's fine, I'm going to my father's place tonight and you can stay at my place then. It's close to your work, anyway."

Cassandra didn't object this time. She was fine with this arrangement because she was so exhausted that all she wanted to do was sleep.

The three walked out of the club. Lyndsy went to her car and Cassandra rode with Dylon. The two cars left the club.

However, a Range Rover was trailing them behind.

Rufus had been waiting outside for a long time. The night was cool which helped to cool both his body and his mind.

His heart ached when he thought of the hurt look on Cassandra's face.

He knew he went too far by embarrassing her like that. He accused her of something he knew to be false. He understood completely why Cassandra would act that way.

Therefore, Rufus decided to open up and tell Cassandra about everything when they got home. He would tell her that Amanda was his first love but it was all in the past now and she didn't need to worry about her.

He knew he could convince Cassandra by using reason and not force.

Rufus heaved a sigh of relief when he saw their cars separate at the crossroad. Dylon's car was driving in the direction of Garden Villa.

Would Cassandra be pleasantly surprised when she saw he was back?

Would she believe him if he was honest to her about everything?

However, Rufus's smile disappeared when he saw the car turning at a corner. 'This isn't the way to Garden Villa. Where are they going?'

Dylon's car pulled over in front of an apartment building. Both Cassandra and Dylon got off the car and went inside the building.

Rufus and Jasper had seen Cassandra here before. She was only cleaning herself up then because Cloris slopped her pigment all over her and stained her clothes. But tonight, she had no reason to be here.

Rufus lit a cigarette. He raised his head and looked at the floor where Dylon's apartment was on. The light was turned on and Rufus could see the shadows moving behind the curtains.

There was a cold look on his face; and he didn't even noticed when his cigarette burned out.

'Cassandra, how could you stay in another man's apartment at this ungodly hour?'