A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 185

As promised, Amanda gave Ivy a job in her company. She only needed to work short hours but her salary was much higher than she could imagine.

Ivy knew very well why Amanda was giving her the job, and it was because Amanda wanted to learn more about what Rufus was up to. Consequently, Ivy was always happy to share everything she heard and saw in the Tang House, whether deliberately or unintentionally.

However, the only pieces of information Ivy had at the moment were the recent developments of Tang Group and unimportant conversations between Rufus and the Tang family, which Amanda could find out on her own too.

To her surprise, Amanda treated her even better. Aside from chatting with Ivy, she had never asked Ivy to do other things in the studio. It seemed that Amanda believed everything she said without suspicion. Ivy felt lucky and was very pleased to work with Amanda.

"Ivy, there will be a dance party in three days. All the government officials will be attending. Please do come as well with Mr. Tang," Amanda invited Ivy with a pleasant smile on her face.

Amanda seemed to be on her way out of the studio already as she was wearing her coat when she knocked on the door and invited Ivy.

On the other hand, Ivy had learned about the dance party and heard that the spokesperson for enterprises in G City would be selected during that event. This person would also be representing the tourism area of G City with Amanda.

Because she had not formally married into the Tang Family, Ivy assumed that she wasn't invited to parties like that. But, Amanda did come to ask her in person to attend so she was overwhelmed.

"I don't know whether Lionel will take me to the party. It's embarrassing but we hadn't gotten married yet..." Ivy responded technically.

She looked at Amanda for a response even before she could finish her sentence.

With an assuring smile, Amanda told her to be patient.

"I'll talk to your future father-in-law and he will talk to Mr. Tang. I think that my opinion carries an important weight to him now," Amanda promised.

She was too smart to not know what was in Ivy's mind and knew how to make Ivy satisfied.

This was a very good opportunity for Amanda. She was making sure that everyone she needed was there. The more, the better.

And Ivy was an important part of her master plan, she needed to make sure that she showed up to the party.

At the same time, Cassandra was very busy working in her office when suddenly her assistant came in carrying an invitation.

"Manager Qin, the government office sent an invitation here asking you to take part in a dance party in three days," the assistance reported eagerly.

She placed the invitation on Cassandra's desk but her eyes were fixed on it curiously.

She wondered who sent this invitation and why they invited Cassandra. The company was not big enough or well-known for such occasions.

Cassandra was obviously confused thinking who had sent this invitation to her too.

She grabbed the white envelope containing the invitation and hurriedly opened it. The dance party, as mentioned, was scheduled in three days. The letter was from the mayor's wife.

Cassandra remembered that she played mahjong for the first time in her life with the mayor's wife, but couldn't figure out why she would ask her to the party.

She didn't suspect anything with the invitation and decided to go out of politeness.

Cassandra thought for a while before she took her phone to call Michelle with the intention of asking her to make a dress for the party.

"Really? You've got to come here now! I just made a dress and it would be perfect on you!" Michelle excitedly exclaimed.

Cassandra could clearly hear the suppressed excitement in her voice.

Both of them were designers, so Cassandra knew the feeling of wanting to share a piece of work they'd done to others. The feeling of kicking their heels in excitement.

Cassandra smiled over the phone and she went straight to Michelle's studio after hanging up the phone.

The moment she entered the studio, Michelle thrust a dress into Cassandra's hands. Before she knew it, Cassandra was being pushed into the fitting room. So she got changed and walked out. Michelle's face became radiant and she covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes were on the verge of tears.

"Perfection! You're gorgeous, Cassandra!" she held her breath and exclaimed.

It was a pink dress dotted with numerous silk flowers which were grouped in clusters. They were so vivid that they seemed more like real flowers. When people saw the dress, they felt like they could smell the fresh flowers of spring. The color was especially complimentary to Cassandra's fair skin. It looked as if she was the Goddess of Flowers herself.

"Wow, Cassandra, even I can't take my eyes from you! I'm sure that Rufus's jaw will hit the ground when he sees you in this dress," Michelle whispered in her ear.

She stood behind Cassandra and placed both hands on her shoulders while grinning a mischievous smile.

Cassandra flushed up to the roots of her hair. Compared with the vivid flowers on the dress, she was a lot more charming.

"Actually Michelle, I have no idea about any of Rufus's past. Can you tell me more about him when he was little? I want to know more," Cassandra asked, switching the topic.

Michelle was the younger sister of Rufus's mother and she must know lots of things which Rufus had never talked about. Cassandra looked at her expectantly.

Michelle drifted away for a second and she knew how Rufus was now. She believed that Rufus might not be ready to talk about his past experiences to anyone at the moment, even to the woman he loved. She looked into Cassandra's eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Rufus was quite stubborn even when he was a little boy and would turn a deaf ear to all advice from others once he made up his mind about something. He always focused on a certain way even if the end of it was dark," Michelle recalled and shook her head.

Cassandra lifted the corner of her lips and gave an approving smile, as that was the Rufus she knew. He had never changed. He was so stubborn and no one could make him turn back.

She remembered the time when she was living in the Tang House. Even when she tried her best to avoid seeing him and turning him down, he would not give up. He set his mind on her and always tried to be with her.

Thanks to his stubbornness, they were able to be together now and Cassandra felt really lucky.

"Rufus was very close to his mother, who brought him up all by herself. Because of him, my sister gave up the chance to study abroad because she was pregnant during that time," Michelle continued the story.

The oil painting that Cassandra saw one time suddenly popped into her head. It was his mother and the young Rufus, both looked peaceful and happy. She could clearly see a deep connection between the mother and son.

"But life was tough even for a pretty woman like my sister. She was very stubborn too; Rufus inherited most of her personality. My sister have lived in poverty for a long time and carried everything on her shoulders, but she never asked me for help. She took on multiple jobs just to support both of them until finally, the heavy work took its toll on her body. Then she passed away after spending ten years on the sickbed," Michelle's voice choked and paused for a while.

"Ever since his mother got sick, Rufus had changed. He wasn't born cold. You just never know what will happen next, right?" she asked, as she tried to compose herself as she recalled the painful past.

The moment she and Rufus met for the first time flashed into Cassandra's head. She guessed that his mother was still alive during that time since he offered to help a strange little girl and even tried to comfort her.

The man was very different from that little boy from the past. Now, he always showed a cold exterior especially to people he didn't know. This was why most people were scared to meet him in person.

"Rufus has been an outstanding boy in my eyes. I understood why he was like that to other people. Imagine going through that pain and suffering with your mother and eventually losing her. He has grown to look more mature than his peers. Even with all that, I know he's looking forward to a family of his own. But he will never speak that out," Michelle concluded and winked at Cassandra.

Cassandra's eyes widened in shock. She had no idea about that and it was the first time she ever heard it. She always assumed that he wanted to keep away from family life due to his deeply traumatic family history.

Meanwhile, Michelle was not surprised at Cassandra's response.

"Cassandra, I know that Rufus loves you, and he fell in love with you even when you were still Lionel's wife. Once he has committed to you, it will be impossible for him to leave you or cheat on you. As his aunt, I certainly hope that the two of you can grow old together; as your friend, I want to warn you that you need to be more tolerant of Rufus. He's been hurt more than you can imagine before he's met you!" Michelle said with a serious tone now.

After that, she heaved a long sigh and decided to tell Cassandra about what happened between Rufus and Amanda. But before she could even begin, she was interrupted by her assistant.

"Michelle, some officials' wives are insisting to see you immediately. They said that their dresses didn't fit properly and wanted you to alter them immediately," the assistant explained hurriedly in a low voice that only Michelle and Cassandra could hear.

Cassandra was aware that they needed to pay more attention when dealing with officials. It was difficult to keep a good relationship with them.

"Please go and see what happened, Michelle! Thank you for telling me so many things about him, and I owe you a lot. Just let your assistant wrap the dress for me and I'll be out of your hair. I also got other plans," she urged Michelle.

Cassandra gave a sincere smile and her eyes glimmered with gratitude.

Michelle also smiled at her, knowing that she had to leave now. She planned to tell Cassandra about Amanda the next time they met. With that, she bid goodbye and left hurriedly.

Cassandra returned to her office with the dress and to her surprise, Lionel was waiting for her there.

"Why go through the trouble of visiting my office, Mr. Tang? What can I do for you," she asked directly.

She put the bag on her desk and looked at the unexpected and unwelcomed visitor, wondering whether he was there to argue with her and if it was, why.

"Cassandra, are you stupid or are you pretending to be stupid? Did you already forget about what happened at the hotel the other day?" Lionel asked ironically.

He sat on the guest sofa comfortably as if he was in his own living room, with his legs and arms spread in the most comfortable position he managed. Noticing Cassandra's face slowly changed, he couldn't help but flash a piece of triumph in his eyes.

'My dear ex-wife, I don't believe that you trust that bastard completely, ' he thought.

The fact of the matter was, Cassandra didn't really believe what Rufus told her the other day. She had lost consciousness and couldn't remember a thing. She had no other choice.

Besides, David's design was taken away by Rufus too, and the residual payment was made. The case was completed, but she still couldn't figure out what really happened and she was curious about it.

"If you want to know, I can tell you, but I have one condition. You need to come to the dance party in three days, as my partner," Lionel proposed.

There was a wicked and self-satisfied smile on the corner of his lips, as he believed that Cassandra would agree to his demands.