A Graduation Gift

"Yeah, this is the only way. But Lionel...be careful. Don't get involved with her again. I would never agree to something like that again!"

Jill warned Lionel strictly. Alas, the mother couldn't see the sadness in her son's eyes.

He couldn't tell her he wanted to get back together with Cassandra. In fact, he deeply regretted his decision of divorcing her before. However, it was sad that she just didn't want him anymore.

"Don't worry, Mom. I understand what you are thinking,"

Lionel said with a forced, bitter smile on his face.

He turned his head around to look inside the hospital room. Horace lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Rufus's hatred towards his own father had completely destroyed him, despite how powerful he had been in the industry all his life. Now, every day was nothing but a nightmare for him.

Horace's mind started to fly back to the times when he was young. He was so ambitious and capable at the time. It was in those days that he had met a young woman from Ling family at a party, and had immediately fallen in love with her.

Lucky for him, she had fallen in love with him too. Soon, they started dating. But something always bugged Horace. It was the inheritance right of the family business.

couldn't have helped him get the inheritance right.

favourite daughter. Tactically, it only made sense for Horace to be

the temptation. He started to avoid seeing the Ling family's daughter and chose

The boy in her womb was no one else but Rufus. She wanted to meet Horace

was left with no choice but to abandon her

was due to Horace's ignorance. His faults made Rufus suffer for a very long time, eventually resting in his heart

And now...at this stage of his life, when he needed support the most, his own

life if he had no love? He abandoned the woman he loved for Jill's wealth. He lost the chance of giving his son a good childhood and didn't see him growing up. All of these compromises, for what? Only to find out from his deathbed that he had miserably failed to take the moral

energy. The group that he had kept afloat somehow all these years was now going to go bankrupt. All of his hard work, his tactics, and his intellect seemed

was tired both physically

alternated between good and bad. He had lost a lot of weight in the past few days. No one would know if they could hope for

He walked away from his mother and finally made the call. Part of him was convinced that

no other way..." Lionel said, almost confessedly. Something in him felt like it was melting. "Do you think Rufus will forgive us if my mother apologised to him?" he continued. Cassandra didn't say anything back. He fell quiet too. Summoning courage, he spoke again, "Can you go and talk to him first, and tell me what

the other side of the phone, Cassandra listened intently, with a surprised look plastered on her face. She had never expected Lionel to call