A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 174

Cassandra and Maggie left the company and drove to the A City together.

While inside the car, Maggie kept on trying to call her uncle. In spite of several tries, she kept on getting the busy signal. This left her frustrated and irritated. Cassandra noticed the worry on Maggie's face.

"Don't look so troubled. The cell is not turned off at least, be glad. This could be due to the poor signal. It is normal since A city has been severely affected by the earthquake. They must still be working on restoring signals,"

Cassandra tried to soothe her.

"Thank you for coming with me, Manager Qin!"

Gratitude was evident in Maggie's eyes. She had no idea what would have happened if Cassandra hadn't been kind to her. This wonderful woman granted her the permission to leave work midway and then also drove her to the A City. It wasn't easy to find such a helpful and understanding boss hence Maggie was completely touched.

"If you really want to thank me then just take a good rest at the back. Then you will have enough energy to find your uncle when we get there, alright?"

Cassandra replied, smiling. She looked at Maggie's reflection in the rear-view mirror to check whether she was resting.

Listening to her words, Maggie finally leaned back in the seat. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved her eyes from Maggie.

The closer they reached to the A City, the more congested it became.

Cassandra noticed that the road was cluttered with several vehicles moving here and there. Some were delivering relief goods; some were rescue teams of volunteers; and some were here also in search of people like Cassandra and Maggie.

It usually took a six-hour drive to reach A City but today it took longer because of the commotion.

It was already pitch dark when Cassandra finally stopped the car. She parked the car and observed the surroundings. She noticed that it was a small township, and there was no inn here. Due to this, they decided they had to spend the night inside the car. When silence was about to fall, Maggie began to speak.

"My uncle loves me as much as a birth father would love his child. He would make it a point to bring me everything that he gets for his kid, my cousin. In fact, he never ever made me feel left out."

Speaking of her uncle, Maggie had a lump in her throat.

"Hey Maggie, don't get sentimental. Your uncle is going to be alright!"

Cassandra comforted her. At this point, Vernon flashed through her mind. She thought about the treatment she received from him. In spite of being her birth father, Vernon couldn't even give her the love that Maggie's uncle showered her with. 'Or is it because there is something wrong with me?' Cassandra couldn't help thinking.

Her thoughts went back to the summer vacation when she was in the second year of junior school. She remembered the day so vividly like it was yesterday.

Cassandra was fully prepared for that day for it was Vernon's Birthday. Etched in her mind was an idea to make a birthday cake, thanks to her culinary class in school. She had bought all the ingredients in advance, hoping to surprise her father.

As all the family members were taking a nap at noon, she tiptoed into the kitchen and began to fly about in order to work on her surprise cake.

Cream, flour, milk... Cassandra followed the recipe in her memory and made a sponge cake batter successfully. She was about to open the oven to put it in when she heard a little voice.

When she turned around, Cassandra found Cloris, dishevelled and sleepy-eyed, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"What are you up to, Cassandra?"

Cloris asked in her sweet voice. She was so endearing.

"Hush... I am making a birthday cake for Dad. I wanna give him a surprise!"

Cassandra put her index finger against her lips, motioning for her sister not to talk aloud.

Cloris blinked. For a moment or two, a big glee was on her face.

"If you are making a cake for dad, then what should I do?" she asked.

Cloris walked over and stood by Cassandra. Eagerly she waited for Cassandra's orders.

After a while, a gleam of excitement lit up Cassadra's eyes as an idea crossed her mind.

"Dad likes fried eggs very much hence mother often cooks it for him. How about you fry an egg for him?"

Her father's high praises for her mother's extraordinary cuisine skills sprung into Cloris's mind. And she was tempted to make a fried-egg for him.

Cloris agreed enthusiastically, "It is a great idea! Let's cook some fried-eggs and we can eat together!"

Cloris clapped her small hands and then she stretched on her toes to open the door of the refrigerator. In her tiny hands, she held a basket of eggs.

"Break the eggs into the bowl. I will teach you how to make it!'

Cassandra passed a bowl to Cloris before she turned back to set the oven.

It should be preheated for five minutes so Cassandra carefully waited as she stood near the oven. The sponge cake mixture was in her arms. Just when she was about to open the oven, she heard a shriek coming from behind.

"Aaaah!! ... ..."

A fearful scream which came from her little sister had disturbed the whole house. Cassandra whipped around and the sight made her drop the cake pan. It fell on the ground and the cake batter spattered everywhere.

She had no idea how the pan on the gas stove managed to catch on fire. The kitchen was smoky from the whoosh of flame coming from the pan.

The sliding door was opened all of a sudden. Vernon and Edith rushed inside wanting to know the reason behind this commotion.

Vernon scooped up Cloris into his arms and immediately hurried away. He only stopped when he was certain that there was a big distance between them and the kitchen. On the other hand, Edith put the lid on the pan in haste and finally the flame died down.

Cloris kept wailing with fear. Vernon patted her back to soothe her. All the while Cassandra was gazing agape at the mess on the ground.

"What was going on, Cassandra?"

Vernon questioned her in a harsh tone.

During normal days, she and Vernon didn't talk much to each other. But as she heard his furious tone, Cassandra started to shudder with fear. She dropped her eyes and bit her nails out of anxiety. Panic had overtaken her and she couldn't find her voice.

Looking at Cassandra, Edith shook her head and let out a sigh. By now she had given up the hope to get an answer from Cassandra and went on to take Cloris from Vernon's arms.

"Cloris, how did the pan catch on fire?"

Vernon turned to Cloris and questioned her. But now he had used a gentle voice. He brought his arm forward and started wiping Cloris's tears.

"Cassandra... Cassandra asked me to fry egg..." she replied before she resumed wailing.

Concern and anxiety was written all over Vernon's face as he saw Cloris's tears streak down her little cheeks.

"Cassandra, how can you let your sister touch the gas stove? I cannot believe you asked her to do such a dangerous thing! Do you consider her as your sister or not? Don't you know how old she is?"

Vernon scolded her. His knitted eyebrows indicating how upset he was at this moment!

"Sweetie, don't touch those stuff in the kitchen anymore, okay? Come on poppet, daddy will take you out and we will do something fun!"

Coaxing Cloris, Vernon stretched out his hand and took Cloris's hand before leading her outside.

Now Edith walked towards Cassandra and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Cassandra, don't ever bring you sister to the kitchen. She is still a little child. You have no idea how heartbroken we would have been if something happened to her."

After that, Edith stretched out to stroke Cassandra's face briefly before she went out as well.

The servants entered the kitchen and began to clean up the place. The crushed cake batter had been swept into the dustbin.

Gazing at the unrecognizable batter mixed with dusts, Cassandra felt her heart break into pieces.

Cloris was only two years younger than her yet her parents were always partial towards her. All she did was ask Cloris to break the eggs and there was no harm in doing so. 'I never asked her to touch the stove!' her mind had screamed.

Yet in the presence of her father, she turned inarticulate. She was unable to defend herself even though she knew this wasn't her fault.

What stopped her from speaking was Vernon's scowl. She remembered how it was filled with repulsion and impatience. Ages had passed since this incident but even now it haunted her mind. Cassandra still remembered how she shifted her gaze from her father and tried to fight back the brewing tears.

To the 13-year-old girl, her father's love for her was too little. In her mind, she even questioned whether her father loved her at all.

But after this unfortunate day, Cassandra didn't mention this incident inside the kitchen to anyone nor did she enter the kitchen until she studied abroad. Slowly, she tried to forget it and began to cook food items that interested her.

Yet she never cooked anything for her parents anymore. She lost the desire to please them.

Even after several attempts, sleep wouldn't come to Cassandra. Thinking about the past had left her feeling suffocated. She badly needed to get off the car in order to breathe.

As the town was the only way to go to the A City, she noticed that there were lots of cars parked by the road. People sat in groups and had a chitchat while they smoked.

All of them looked uneasy. They were all heading for the A City, but they were skeptical whether they could squeeze their way there.

After all, the government rescue team had to pass smoothly hence they heard news that the road had been blocked for private vehicles. They might be sent back and their effort might end up being futile.

Leaning against her car, Cassandra gazed at the starry sky meditatively.

She prayed that everything would go well tomorrow. She sincerely hoped Maggie would be united with her uncle. Therefore, Maggie's filial piety and her thousands of miles' drive wouldn't be an utter waste.

After two hours of rest, they resumed the journey. Soon Cassandra realized the highroad to the A City was indeed blocked. It was under the traffic police's scrutiny and no private vehicle was getting the permission to pass.

"Please, my friend's uncle has been out of touch. Let us pass through, please, we are really anxious,"

Cassandra pleaded, but the police seemed indifferent to her pleas.

"It is not that we thwart you from passing by, but there is an alarm of landslide on the highway ahead. It is at the foot of the mountains. It's too dangerous and we can't let you go. We are here for your safety, please try to understand,"

The policeman explained helplessly. Maggie was so anxious that she was close to tears.

"Cassandra, what are you doing here?" someone called her.

Cassandra turned around and found Dylon getting off the bus, with a look of surprise.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the G City? What are you doing here? Go back immediately. At the moment, it is quite dangerous over here!"