A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 207

Charlie avoided telling Amanda the ugly truth. She was his dear daughter. He would do anything to avoid hurting her. Rufus's plan was ruthless. As her father, it was his sole purpose to make sure Amanda was happy.

"Amanda, listen." Charlie stepped forward before continuing,"I don't think Horace is as kind and gentle as he makes out to be..."

Charlie let his mouth open, wanting to continue but could not find the words. Amanda was clever. She knew exactly what Charlie was trying to say.

She knew that Horace had his own agenda. Amanda had always been the more competitive daughter-in-law as compared to Cassandra. Her higher social standing and reputation could help the Tang family enlarge their network and access better resources. Horace was indeed a clever businessman. He took advantage of that fact.

"Father, you don't need to worry. Rufus will be the one living with me and I believe he'll protect me."

Amanda beamed at Charlie.

Charlie's hardended heart gradually softened. His daughter looked so innocent. He decided right there and then to withhold the truth.

If things got bad between Rufus and Horace, Charlie would spirit Amanda away from the Tang family altogether.

Meanwhile, Rufus left the Tang family and went back to the Garden Villa, only to find Cassandra packing her bags. This infuriated Rufus.

"Cassandra, didn't you hear what I said this morning?"

Cassandra ignored him, neatly packing her clothes.

"Rufus, I'm not breaking up with you. I just need to move out. We're not married. This?" Cassandra gestured at the whole room,"This is wrong. I have no reason to be staying with you. Your reputation is taking hits."

Cassandra kept on folding her clothes as she explained.

She didn't stop, so Rufus went to her side and grabbed her wrist to catch her attention.

"I'm telling you. Don't test my patience. I don't care what people say about me. If you think you don't have any reason to live with me under the same roof, then I'll give you one. Let's get married."

Rufus reached into his pocket and took out the gorgeous diamond ring he always had with him.

"Just slip it on. Let's head to the office and get registered!"

Cassandra's mouth was agape, visibly dumbstruck.

The diamond was almost the size of a small rock. It rested on a platinum setting and almost blinded her because of its sheen. It looked priceless. However, Cassandra didn't feel excited at the moment. She found the proposal foolish. It wasn't even done in a proper way. It felt rushed, forced even. Rufus only did this because he had to stop her from leaving. Cassandra felt her eyes welling up. She felt so sorry for herself.

She closed the ring box gently, and handed it back to Rufus.

"Rufus, you don't have to force yourself to do this. You really don't."

Cassandra took a deep breath and looked directly into Rufus's eyes. She looked passive and emotionless.

"So you're saying you don't want to marry me?"

Rufus raised his eyebrows in confusion when he saw Cassandra close the box. An uncomfortable feeling flashed in his eyes.

"No, Rufus. I want to marry you, but not like this."

Cassandra closed her eyes when she said this, and then slowly opened them. She bit her lower lip as she looked at the tall man in front of her.

"Rufus, I think we need to give each other some space so we can understand what we want. We need to ease into each other's life. When the time comes, we can reconsider if we really want to be together or not.

I just got out of a messy marriage. You knew first hand how bad that relationship was. It was a failed marriage. I don't want that to happen again. I've developed this kind of phobia about marriage. It's not just about the two of us anymore. It's about two families. I need to clear my head and not to ruin our relationship at the same time. I hope you understand.

Sure, I long for a happy family of my own. But as of now, we really don't have a sense of security, right? Neither of us is confident of this relationship."

Cassandra spoke her mind and the words rang true. She had always wanted to say these things to Rufus but she never was able to muster the courage. Today she finally did.

Rufus clenched his jaw and fists, trying his best to hold his temper at bay. He was about to lose himself, but opted to stay silent.

He wanted so bad to understand Cassandra because deep down, he knew she was right.

All throughout, neither he nor Cassandra felt any security.

They didn't really meet, and fall in love like any other normal couple. He had his own revenge on the side. He always treaded carefully as if he was on thin ice. Cassandra sacrficed everything.

Rufus had always been assertive with Cassandra, and she had never said anything about it and just persevered.

"Rufus, we need to cool off. Let's take things more slowly. Isn't it better if we had more time to get to know each other more? You have your own goals to achieve and I have the Qin Group to manage. We can talk, chat and even date when we're free. It's way better than living together and slowly destroying this relationship."

Cassandra lowered her eyes. Under the bright light, her thick eyelashes cast their own shadows and fluttered elegantly.

"Destroy? You think us living together is destroying this relationship?"

Rufus lowered his voice. Cassandra could feel his immense sorrow.

It turned out that living with him was a torture for her.

Rufus thought she moved to the Garden Villa by her own choice. He thought she would wait for him and was willing to be his woman. But judging from what she just said, she didn't want this life at all. She had been suffering from the start.

"You're taking this the wrong way, Rufus. I'm moving out for your own good. I'm doing this for you!"

Cassandra remembered the news headlines she saw today. They were all rumors about her.

She didn't want Rufus to face these unfounded rumors. That was when she decided to leave the Garden Villa and give each other some breathing room.

If she didn't and things continued the way they were, their relationship could have deteriorated even further, to the brink of collapse. What was worse, they couldn't even enjoy their private life because paparazzi would be at every corner stalking them. Cassandra didn't want that to continue. She had to leave.

"Fine. Just leave, if that's what you really want!"

Rufus flung the box on the floor in his rage. The ring fell out and bounced towards the corner.

Rufus's loud voice terrified Cassandra. She trembled in fear as Rufus shifted his anger into sorrow and grief.

"Cassandra, I don't really know what you think of me now. But as for me, I have a clear conscience. I have always treated you well and cared about you. If you really feel that you want to leave. We can break up. Are you good with that?"

Rufus lifted his head a little to look at Cassandra's face, drained of all color. His heart was broken.

How he begged that Cassandra would see her mistake and apologize. He wished that she could admit that her persistence and pride were all for show. He wished that she was willing to stay in the Garden Villa, to stay with him.

However…

"Rufus, you're ridiculous,"

Cassandra said icily. She then closed her luggage promptly and stood up, ready to leave.

When Cassandra started walking past Rufus, he tried his hardest not to grab her hand. He could feel her clothes touch his. It was the only physical contact they had before she went out the door.

In a snap, all the memories flooded him. He recalled her enthusiasm when they first met in Rome. She was wasted at the time. He remembered her serious no-nonsense attitude when they met again at work. He remembered her incredible strength, her independence, everything about her.

The sound of the luggage hitting the steps of the staircase sounded farther and farther, until it finally faded.

The door downstairs opened and was swiftly closed. This shattered his heart into a million pieces.

The sound of the luggage wheels was no more. The whole mansion grew quite. The silence was deafening. It was now empty, devoid of life.

The calm breeze rustled the Chinese parasol trees in the courtyard.

Rufus heard nothing but the rustling trees.

The mansion with no Cassandra was an empty and quite mansion.

Rufus started to understand what Cassandra meant.

There should be all kinds of sounds in the mansion. There should be the clangs of pots and pans in the kitchen, as someone was cooking. The mother should be talking. Yummy scents should be coming from the kitchen. It was the smell of a well-deserved breakfast.

Cassandra wanted a steady family so bad, but he couldn't give it to her.

His proposal, in Cassandra's eyes, was impulsive and forced. It was a joke to her. He didn't seem sincere at all.

He was so stupid to let her leave and even offered to break up with her!

Rufus walked to the small corner of the bedroom, kneeled and slowly picked up the diamond ring.

It still shone, exuberant and eye-catching.

He clasped the ring in his hand tightly.

Then he turned around and walked out of the bedroom. He went out to the courtyard and found it empty. Cassandra must have called a cab and took off.

He was going to tell her that he would be waiting for her. He was willing to give each other the breathing room they so desperately needed. He was willing to overcome the problems together for their future.

But she left. She wasn't even able to hear his epiphany.

Night fell.

Nothing good ever happened at night.

Rufus's cellphone kept on vibrating, making a continous buzz. He answered the phone and heard Jasper on the other end of the line who sounded anxious

"Rufus, get to TY Group as soon as possible. The things that happened to the members of the Dark Night Group happened to us too!"

Jasper was always efficient and calculating. He handled his work extremely well so it was rare that he would be this anxious. The problems must have been nigh unsolvable.

Rufus hung up and took a long last look at the empty street. He walked briskly back to the garage, popped open the door via remote, and got into his car. On his way out, he called up Victor and told him to book a flight.