A Graduation Gift

"My name is Rufus Luo."

"You have been great tonight. Will there be a next time?"

"My dear, you're so hot."

All of a sudden, the passion and gentle touches that night in Rome flurried into Cassandra's brain. She could still hear the charming, sexy voice of the mysterious man, and his hot breath when he blew into her ear. It was as if she had returned to that night. Her ears turned red as she went further into her memories.

It had been a night of madness. She had lost her virginity to the man she never met before and never thought she'd see again. It felt like a dream that was not real, yet that very dream had come to life, and was now standing right in front of her. The same wicked, playful smile was painted on this man's face, reminding her that the night had been all too real.

Their gazes fell on Cassandra, who looked dazed and baffled. Horace coughed intentionally to distract her, pulling the girl out of her memories.

"Cassandra, this is Lionel's older brother. So he is your older brother as well."

Horace's voice was not loud but fell on her ears like thunder. Her heart raced in alarm. She had no choice but to accept the harsh reality - that the man she had slept with the other night was in fact, her brother-in-law. Trying her best to suppress her shock, she squeezed out a weak smile. However, her lips, along with the rest of her face, had turned abnormally pale at this point, revealing that she was not as calm as she pretended to be.

"My name is Rufus Luo. Nice to meet you."

Before Cassandra had the chance to greet him, the man introduced himself once again. His every feature was familiar to her - his sexy, intimate voice, his rakish smile, his slender and strong hand that was stretched out in a greeting. Her mind lingered on the four words that were so heavy with meaning - "nice to meet you". She knew he said it on purpose, as if it was really the first time they were meeting.

"Welcome, brother Rufus,"

Cassandra said. Too shy to look into his eyes, Cassandra lowered her head and shook his hand politely. Just as she was about to withdraw, he pulled at her palm in a small gesture, making it impossible for her to retreat from his firm grip.

Her nerves went haywire and her palm was now sweating in his. The man seemed not to notice as he raked a finger down her palm surreptitiously, his enchanting smile growing deeper.

the Tang

is

again as he introduced her to Rufus gaily. He was clearly

"Really?"

and Cassandra had taken her hand back. His manner had been careless throughout this encounter, but at Horace's words, his eyes blazed in Cassandra's direction. The fiery light in his eyes was

but Cassandra could feel the intensity of his gaze. His eyes never left her. As her panic elevated, she had little choice but to follow everyone. Keeping her head bent, she remained silent all the way.

sensation of being so blatantly stared at. "Mother, Father, I'm feeling unwell. I'll go upstairs to rest. I've called Lionel. He said he would be

the others gathered around the sofa, Cassandra mustered the courage to leave,

nodded, signaling to Cassandra that she could go.

right, take some rest. Rufus has come to stay with us anyway. You two will have ample

into a whirlwind that threatened to catch her in its

his crisp words as if they carried the best news in the world - that she'd have plenty of

Rufus reminded

was like an emperor, proud and dictatorial in his own right. His eagle-like eyes suggested an additional meaning to his words that only she could understand. His smile curved

her tormentor as fast as she could. As she finally reached her room, she could barely support her trembling legs.

the door and making sure it was locked securely, she leaned against it, gasping hard as air filled up

palpitating so fast that it could have jumped

none other than the older brother of her spouse. It was just too dramatic to be true. With this absurd story, a playwright

she do?

hovering in Cassandra's mind. Everything had happened so fast and caught her off-guard. She had been utterly unprepared and couldn't calm down for one moment to think

not boast around about the strange encounter with her. Convincing herself that the shameful story would remain concealed from

same roof as this man who held her most dreadful secret, Cassandra felt shockingly nervous and terrified. The tad bit of assurance that

hidden time-bomb which