A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 92

Cassandra held her breath as she took in Rufus's figure silhouetted against the soft light—the warm hues traced his skin and gave him an ethereal glow as if she was beholding a vision. Her heartbeat picked up its pace, shivering as the sight of him warmed her.

She looked down at the gift in her hands. At once, pain lanced through her chest.

"I…I can't. It's too precious. I don't deserve it," she said, tasting the bittersweet on her tongue.

The gift was much too priceless, as she knew that it was more than just a present. It was as if Rufus's feelings were stitched in every thread. Cassandra closed her eyes against the feeling tugging at her chest. She would not be selfish.

He had kept his word. It was more than enough.

Rufus strode to Cassandra with slow steps, carefully coming closer to her.

"If you really think so, then be mine," he said softly, shading her from the sun. It was a futile act—the sun held no comparison to his brilliance.

The nearness of him did not help Cassandra's pounding chest. She was left at a loss as Rufus once again declared his feelings for her. But he was her brother-in-law. There was no way they could be together.

She stepped back and gathered her emotions, determined to keep them impervious.

"Mr. Luo," she started, "I am going to return the gift to you."

Rufus furrowed his brows at the way she addressed him. A shadow crossed in his dark brown pupils.

The smile on his lips died, like a candle blown out by the wind. Her words fell on him like a bucket of cold water.

It was a puzzle, even to himself, how much this woman would affect him. It was as if his body was automatically on the move even before he could think about his actions. When he learned of the dress, his first thought was to get it for Cassandra.

He knew that Cassandra was feeling depressed. She had devoted all of herself to her design, but all she got was the accusation of being a copycat.

Rufus had everything arranged carefully at the auction, taking all the steps he could to win her heart. Moreover, he wanted to show the person behind this that Cassandra was no weakling—she had very strong backing and would fight back.

Rufus looked into her eyes, and at once he knew that he could not push her any further. She looked at him as if one more word would make her break. And he did not want to be the reason for that expression. He took a deep breath and turned to sit in his chair, steeling himself to act professionally.

"Director Tong and the government of G City are working together to build a super-large-scale nursing home in the suburbs to solve the growing problem of excessive numbers of admission waiting in line. He, together with other people involved, recommends you as the designer for the nursing home."

Rufus slowly explained the reason why he called for Cassandra, his face wearing an expression of seriousness.

Jenks Tong had already heard about the reason for Cassandra's suspension, but he insisted that Cassandra should be the designer for the project. It came as quite a surprise.

It was expected that the group would not get huge profits from such government project, but there were other advantages. Once the news came out, the public would look at them with favor; and if they got on well with the government, it would beneficial for future connections.

The members on the board of directors also knew about this. Although there were some objections, an overwhelming majority voted to appoint Cassandra for this project.

Jenks was very influential, and since it was him who had chosen Cassandra, the person in charge from the government had no objections.

"Very well," Cassandra replied. "So does that mean I could return to my duties?"

Cassandra recalled her conversation with Jenks that night. She had let it slip that she was feeling caged and wanted to break away. She knew he understood what she meant, but why did he help her?

"Go to meet Director Tong this afternoon and consult him about the design of the nursing home. You can start the design tomorrow,"

Rufus said in a clipped tone. His voice was hard and there was nothing of the earlier softness in his eyes.

Cassandra knew that her refusal hurt him. She bowed politely and walked out of the office without saying anything more. At this point, there was nothing she could say that would make him feel better.

The moment she closed the door, she heard a loud crash as Rufus's fist slammed on the desk. It was as if the impact went directly to her and she jolted from surprise, but she didn't turn back.

'Rufus, ' she thought closing her eyes and breathing deeply, 'If I hadn't been married, I would have had accepted your love. But the facts are against us. We can't be together.'

Victor was waiting outside. Upon seeing Cassandra come out, he nodded to her and hurried inside Rufus's office.

Rufus was holding his head and massaging the temple. Victor hesitated for a moment before delivering the papers in his hand to him.

"Mr. Luo, I have gotten some clues about the case," he informed him.

Rufus brought his hand down from his head and looked over the papers.

"We started with the engineering department in H City and found out that the designer was an American. He had never been to China before. According to his statements, he was not aware that his design had been plagiarized, and claimed that it was his original design. Aside from this, he also commented that the Chinese were famous for their knock-offs."

As Victor explained his findings, a frown knotted in Rufus's forehead.

The designer was an American? It didn't make sense. After Cassandra returned home, he kept track of her whereabouts very closely. She had never contacted anyone from any foreign country. Except for that business trip with him, she had never stepped foot on foreign soil.