A Graduation Gift

Not a single word came out from Cassandra's lips. This caused an unbearable silence to fill the air in the room. The smile Rufus had been wearing, got swept away from his face when he looked at Cassandra. But she just kept quiet, appearing to be so dejected.

"Is there something bothering you, Cassandra?"

Rufus asked, thinking that there must be a reason why she seemed to have been laden with anxiety in front of him.

"Rufus, what is your excuse for keeping things from me? Haven't we already made a deal to always be honest with each other?"

Those words Cassandra laid out were much like a frozen sword, driven straight into Rufus's chest, piercing right through his heart.

"What do you mean by that, Cassandra? What are you implying?"

Rufus seemed quite puzzled, as he was under the assumption that he had actually told Cassandra everything already. So, why would she even say that? Surely, there must've been some kind of misunderstanding.

Cassandra's lips twitched a bit, and she let out a faint smile upon hearing this.

She had gone this far already, so for that reason, Rufus should have come clean and straightened things out.

"The qualifications written under your resume weren't real, and you didn't really have any experience working as a senior executive of an overseas company. As it turns out, you're actually the founder of the TY Group, and yet, not once did you ever mention anything about that to me."

It took the best of her to keep herself calm, to keep her voice down, and to keep it from breaking. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't hold it in, her voice was suddenly shaking.

of her hands, to such an extent that they could actually pierce through if she didn't stop. The pain that it caused her, however, was nothing in contrast with how much she

that, Rufus furrowed

told you that? And did he ask

For that reason, he declined the offer to be the spokesperson of G City decisively. The deeper in the shadow he was, the safer he would be. But right there and then, someone purposefully revealed his

he never anticipated. He fell in love with her and didn't want her to get caught up in his mess. It was

privy to his best kept secret, it was clear as day that she didn't simply find out

bother trying to hide it from me and just said it straight to my face. Could it be that your intention for hiding that information from me was because you detest the idea that it would make me hang onto you like a sloth? Or maybe you got scared that I might cling

of her voice was starting to get much colder, because Rufus refused to give her a direct answer.

that I was afraid. I was so afraid that you would be so reluctant to keep holding

of his laughter dying down, it just kept on getting louder and louder. It lasted so long that

a doubt, Cassandra had been letting her imagination run wild. Such an innocent woman she was! She was getting upset over nothing, because there was no way in hell he would ever

to her, she immediately shot up and took a step back, steering clear of

their arguments in the past through 'physical contact.' But this time around, she wanted to keep her eyes peeled, staying within

swallow you whole! I don't bite!" Rufus teased after seeing her

reacted caused his heart to start racing. It had been so long time since the last time he was able to wrap his arms around her. Sadly, even though she was close enough for him to touch, he still wasn't able to satiate his thirst for her. Taking one big gulp, Rufus reflected

to take another step forward and move toward her, with Cassandra walking away from him instantly. They could've kept going on like that if it weren't for the bookshelves right behind her. With her back against the shelves, she peered straight into his eyes.

I hope you're not forgetting that we're

and her voice