A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 54

After reaching the hospital, Lionel rushed into the emergency room with Cassandra in his arms.

"Hospitalize her!" he ordered, gave a wad of money and hurried away.

As quickly as he had come, his footsteps receded into the night, leaving the doctor bewildered at his abrupt manner.

Cassandra willed her eyes to open and looked at the doctor on duty, with a bitter smile on her lips.

"Doctor, I think I have a fever," said Cassandra weakly.

Then she lost consciousness and fell backwards.

Luckily, a pair of powerful arms caught her.

'Well, the doctor is quick in movement. He's really a nice and thoughtful man, '

thought Cassandra the second she fell into a coma.

The doctor stared at the second man who suddenly appeared in the emergency room. He suspected this second man must have come here in hot pursuit of the unruly character who had just left. By their manner of handling the unconscious lady, it was obvious there was bad blood between the two.

Rufus's face darkened with anger. Urgently, he ordered the third guy who accompanied him and was standing by his side, "Victor, keep a close watch on him. Find out what he's up to."

Quietly, Victor nodded and left, pensively touching his nose with a finger. By the hasty way in which Rufus followed Lionel, he knew Rufus really cared about Cassandra.

Rufus was right. Lionel didn't intend to take Cassandra to the doctor. It was just his excuse.

From the parking lot Lionel stepped on the gas and drove like a maniac straight to Ivy's home, burning with anxiety.

A puffy eyed Ivy came to open the door. When she saw Lionel, she threw herself directly into his arms.

"Here you are at last," she greeted, her anxiety echoing on every syllable.

A beautiful, strong woman most of the time, Ivy was now clumsy and irritable. She wore little make-up and was terribly upset. It distressed Lionel.

Helping her to sit on the sofa and wiping away her tears, Lionel held Ivy in his arms and comforted, "Take it easy. I'm here with you."

But in the warmth of his arms, Ivy sobbed all the more, her shoulders twitching and her voice choking.

"Lionel, what should I do? I want to keep this baby," she wept.

But Lionel flatly refused without a second thought, "No, you can't keep this baby. I'm not ready for a baby now!"

For a moment a menacing look flashed across Ivy's face. But soon, realizing how futile it was trying to argue with him, she dropped her demand. 'It would be better to play along, ' she mused.

"It's not like I'm forcing my way, Lionel. I have a good reason for my desire, and maybe, you'll understand," she began, in a solemn tone now. "You see, after the last car accident, the doctor said my uterus sustained pretty bad injuries. It would be virtually impossible to conceive. But look, here I am, pregnant, beyond a shadow of a doubt. That to me is a miracle which gives me joy that words cannot express. I'm more than willing to take a risk and carry the pregnancy to term," she paused and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Please, let me keep the baby. It's the best support you could ever give to a woman in my position, honey."

Speaking of the car accident, Lionel was brought back to reality. His usually impertinent face clouded with regret and pain.

Memories of Ivy falling in front of the car, the words she said to him in the ward and the way she reassured him in tears were unforgettable.

But now he was at a critical moment in his wrangles with Rufus. He needed to put things in order.

Reading his emotions like a shot, Ivy realized her words aroused him to deep-seated feelings. Using that to her advantage, she once again burst into tears, and bitterly pleaded in a low voice, "Lionel, I'm not asking for much. All that I want is for you to let me have this baby, and nothing more!"

They had known each other for seven years, and all along, she turned a blind eye to his wild, compulsive behavior. She knew all about his philandering and had learned not to give a hoot about his other women. Even if he couldn't wise up and stop wasting time and money on every skirt he saw, Ivy wouldn't care. And for her patience putting up with his womanizing, he had come to love her more.

She knew that for a fact and it gave her boldness to take him on.

Lionel used condoms all the time, but she had secretly poked holes in the condoms.

She hated to see what she had been planning for all those years go up in smoke, so she had to make a bait.

As she listened to Lionel comforting her so tenderly, she enjoyed to see her plot pan out well. It cut his heart that she stubbornly insisted on having the baby.

At long last he exploded, "Ivy, don't push me! I've shown due respect for your feelings. In any case, you can't give birth to this baby. I'll take you to the hospital for an abortion tomorrow. That's the best I can do for you."

Suddenly, the air between them got dense. When she recovered from the initial shock, she said with a bitter smile, "Lionel, I finally know you have been lying to me with all these fake promises. In the end, you are giving up your baby. I should have known that you are such a heartless person."

Ivy wiped her tears and stood up, her hands resting gently on her tummy, her voice calm.