A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 404

While Amanda was engrossed in the task of changing water for the flowers, Horace suddenly entered the house.

"It's been a while since I saw you, Amanda. Why don't you come around often?" Horace questioned with a smile. "I heard Lionel mention that the construction of your school is under way. I am guessing you must be tied up at the moment, am I right?"

Horace added. He seemed to be in a very good mood. Amanda looked at him with some embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for not being able to come around often. You are right, Uncle Horace, I've been extremely busy lately. Until today, I wasn't able to manage a day off from work. As soon as I got an opportunity, I intended to meet you. Anyway, here I have wrapped some gifts for you,"

Amanda replied, smiling sweetly. She went ahead and pointed her fingers to the gift boxes lying on the table.

Ever since she got engaged to Rufus, she hadn't paid a visit to the Tang family. In truth, she wanted to meet them, but Charlie always stopped her from doing so.

"You should at least ask Rufus to accompany you. It will seem a bit inappropriate if you visit them alone," Charlie argued.

He had said it deliberately that way, knowing with certainty that Rufus would never agree to it.

Furthermore, the whole engagement story itself was merely a sham. Charlie had asked Rufus for a favor. Together, they had put on a show. Yet they didn't expect it would become such a huge local news. What bothered Charlie the most was the predicament in which the Tang family put them into. Every time Charlie thought about Horace's eagerness to build connections through marriage, a frown appeared on his face.

Horace had planted the seeds of hatred in Rufus's heart a long time ago. Charlie hadn't figured out what was going on in Rufus's mind. Hence he had no idea how the young man would take actions to revenge on his father. In any case, Charlie's biggest concern was Amanda. As a father, he wanted to safeguard her from all the dangers.

It so happened that they were just sorting out the gifts to store away when Horace came to visit today. Indeed, it could help reaffirm the engagement and spare Amanda the embarrassment when the boxes were all there for Horace to see.

"That's all right. There is no hurry. I'm more than happy just to see you and Rufus," Horace smiled kindly. "By the way, Amanda, have you seen Rufus lately?" he then inquired, feigning a casual tone.

Horace had been dying to see Rufus in the past few days. However, Rufus had always managed to dodge his requests. Hence he had no choice but to go to Amanda for help.

"He was with me when the construction began, but I haven't heard from him since then. Well…he's been quite busy lately..." Amanda's voice trailed off.

Even the mention of Rufus's whereabouts annoyed Amanda. She was unnerved by the fact she didn't know where he was.

She thought she was Rufus's fiancee only for namesake. She wasn't allowed to have any rights over him. What was worse was that he didn't show any interest in this relationship. Last time when they met, she had specially arranged a reporter to take an interview with them, wishing to show the public what a loving couple they were. But Rufus had simply remained silent throughout the whole process, showing very little willingness to cooperate.

"Well…Amanda, here is the thing. There has been some misunderstanding between me and Rufus. He has left home in a hurry and never bothered to return back. You know, the Tang family really can't exist without him," Horace said in a soft voice. Taking several seconds to catch his breath, he continued, "So I was wondering if you could put in a good word for me and persuade him to come back home. At the end of the day, he's my son and we are family. I don't see any reason why we should bear grudges against each other. Can you do it?"

Horace knew how to act like a kind old man in front of Amanda. And this time, he tried his best to sound like a father who truly cared for his son.