A Graduation Gift

Cassandra was frozen inside and out, as though a bucket of icy water had been poured right over her head and chilled her to the bone.

Cloris's cutting words were like daggers to her heart, the pain spreading all through her body.

Rufus had been standing aside trying not to interfere in the sisterly fight. But as he saw Cloris get more and more defensive, he decided to step in.

"What do you mean, Cloris? What did Cassandra do to make you hate her so badly?" he asked, astonished at how quickly their argument had escalated.

Rufus had sensed that Cloris had been skirting around the real issue and he was curious to know what she was hiding.

But this was neither the time nor the place for Cloris to dive into it. After all, she wasn't about to destroy her reputation in front of so many strangers.

"You have no right to know!"

Cloris rolled her eyes, dismissing Rufus's incredulous questions.

"Then, who does have the right to know?"

Rufus persisted, his eyes fixed upon Cloris's stone-cold face.

"It doesn't matter. Not you, anyways," Cloris retorted.

She pushed him aside, dashing towards the door to the restaurant. Arthur hurried to pay the bill and rushed out after her.

still standing in the same spot. Her hands were clenched into tight balls, her lips trembling slightly as she tried

humiliated as she stood in the wake of her sister's insults. She felt like she might

things were only getting started, Joel tried to slowly remove himself from the situation but Rufus

who got you

the guy always seemed to find himself in the middle of trouble

to dodge around Rufus to get to the door. Tiny beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and his shirt was

question

and he stepped in front

in front of him had planned to rape Cassandra before, and besides, he stole her design and sold it to someone else later. Thus, he

don't know what I might have done to offend you but would

his eyes. It was Rufus who had caught him for stealing Cassandra's design. But since he was long gone from the Tang Group, Joel thought he would never see

that you've never done anything to offend

face otherwise expressionless. It amused him that this man stood before him pretending to be innocent, one eye

While he didn't offend Rufus directly, the same could not be

his forehead. His

didn't want any part of whatever situation that was unfolding.

to prison without so much as blinking my eyes. Look into my

all too well that Joel was Ivy's younger brother and with Ivy seeing Clark recently, these siblings were causing trouble wherever they

his breath and, seeing his opening, shot past Rufus with a