A Graduation Gift

Whitney looked sad and frustrated. What Cassandra said even gave her more pain.

"I know why Courtney is acting like this. It is because of that man. He left Courtney and no one knows where he is now. I can't seem to find him no matter how hard I tried," she said.

Whitney furrowed her brows and looked at Courtney who was picking out clothes from her closet happily. Tears filled her eyes.

"Considering Courtney's mental state, how can I leave her? I can't afford to try to find the guy myself. Someone has to stay with Courtney. Also, that man hurt her. I don't know what will happen to her if he comes back in her life again. What if she goes out of control? I can't afford to lose my only daughter.

I don't expect her to fully recover. All I want is that she becomes capable of living her life without trying to hurt herself again,"

Whitney sighed. She became even more sorrowful as she looked at her daughter.

Cassandra followed her gaze. The sunshine lit the room beautifully. Under the warm sunlight, Courtney looked young and beautiful.

It could have been a very wonderful sight to see a girl picking out dresses for her date so happily on a warm afternoon, thinking about the love of her life.

Courtney, who indulged herself in her memory, must be very happy now.

"Sometimes, she acts like this, happily dreaming about the man. But after a few moments, she will suddenly return to the present and go back to her cold, indifferent self," Whitney explained.

It was difficult to watch her. Whitney looked at the ceiling to keep her tears from falling.

"Why don't you stay for a few more days in Norway, Cassandra, since you seldom come here? I have a lot of guest rooms. You can pick whichever you like. Remember to lock the door before you go to sleep so Courtney won't startle you. Please think about it," Whitney offered. "Anyway, I have a meeting with a securities agent. I should go now."

Whitney ended and left, leaving Cassandra with Courtney.

Cassandra went into deep thought.

"Pink, no. I wore pink last time,"

Courtney muttered to herself as she threw the pink dress away. Pouting, she looked like a three-year-old little girl.

"Black, no. He doesn't like me in black,"

she whispered as she threw away another batch of clothes.

"Purple? He thinks I look old in purple. No purple!"

Courtney still couldn't choose what to wear.

Cassandra walked over to her.

"Courtney, what does he like?"

she asked, being observant of Courtney's facial expression.

stopped. The smile on her face

turned gloomy. Just as suddenly as it arrived, the excitement

looked confused. It was as if she turned into a different

"He...doesn't like me,"

voice which was happy and cheery a few seconds ago was now low and miserable. It was almost

told Cassandra how much Courtney cared about the man and how sad it made her when

does he

asked carefully, hoping to

Her

because I can't do the things he wants me

were tears in her eyes. She looked very upset.

more questions. She didn't want her to

You're just tired. Come here. I'm with you. Let's have some

said to Courtney gently. She walked to the closet, helped her put back the

her busy morning picking out clothes.

sick. In normal circumstances, it would have freaked her out to see a stranger in the house.

have

Cassandra up and down.

name is

must have already forgotten her, so she explained

her smile. Instead, she looked at Cassandra coldly.

something was wrong. It felt as if Courtney was still in her painful memories.

stood up.

I need to have some rest. Please leave my bedroom," she said

mouth but said

returned to the person she used to be.

calm, Cassandra breathed a sigh of

closed the door quietly.

Whitney working on

stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have time to show you around. How about I ask someone

Cassandra apologetically when she

data on

by myself. The air in Norway is so fresh, much better than

smile to Whitney, and went for

was a meadow outside the courtyard. Not far from it was a forest. Blue sky, white cloud, green forest and grassy meadow. It was a breathtaking view.

Cassandra realized how silly and naive she was. What made her think that Whitney would sell

very wealthy seeing that the

The money she could lose from

Whitney would not really care how high her offer might

be persuaded to change her mind. Her daughter, Courtney, might