A Graduation Gift

Chapter 246 Raging Through Her Body (Part Three)

But Cassandra thought otherwise. For a man that only saw her as a childbearing body, marriage was nothing but a tool!

'This is ridiculous. I can not believe it but I am still in love with him at this moment! I'm such a cheap and worthless person...' she was mad at herself.

Having a child with Rufus was supposed to send happy thoughts through her head.

Still, it saddened her that her child, though could be materially satisfied by Rufus, wouldn't grow up in a whole family.

"Rufus, what is the problem? You gave your condition and I accepted it," Cassandra asked.

There was finally a smile on her face at this moment but it was not the kind that he expected. It pained him to see this kind of smile.

"Nothing bad, okay. We can observe it from now on," he replied.

Rufus wasn't sure of when he started to find it difficult to compose himself around Cassandra. When she implied that she was willing to sacrifice a year of her life just to get rid of him, rage started to burn inside him.

He was tired of being a gentleman. He reached over, clasped her waist and hoisted her up on the table.

Rufus noticed her tenseness. Suddenly he heaved a sigh and tightened his hug.

"Not today! Tomorrow, you will not go back to your apartment after work. I will arrange a driver to pick you up so you don't have to feel guilty for using the company vehicle for personal needs," he said.

Rufus knew how she thought. She did her best not to use the company vehicles for private purposes.

In regular times, Cassandra would refuse. But in today's situation, she had no say in the decision.

Rufus held her in his arms and put her into the tub before he turned on the warm water. He said nothing as he washed her.

Cassandra was worried that he would take advantage of her again but to her surprise, he just bathed her with great care and no trace of violence.

She wondered whether he had been stung by his guilty conscience and thought he might have regretted what he had done.

Cassandra wanted to talk to Rufus but as soon as she opened her mouth, it closed the next second.

Rufus had seen through Cassandra's thoughts. His lips curled into a crooked smile. He teased, "Don't take this wrong way. I know that today is not your ovulation date. I wouldn't bother to waste my energy!"

Cassandra felt like a basin of cold water was poured all over her. Sure enough, he wanted nothing but a child. Rufus had lived with her for a long time, so he knew very well about her physiological period. And there was surely no difficulty for him in calculating the ovulation period and the safety period.

'Waste his energy? Well, how much he loves himself!' she snorted inwardly.

Cassandra was put on the bed and covered with a quilt. She drifted into sleep right away, unbothered by hunger or thirst.

She was so exhausted.

Rufus sat by the bed, looking down at her sleeping face.

Half of it was buried under the quilt, leaving her arched eyebrows and delicate nose for his viewing.

Her eyelashes fell on the dark circles under her eyes that made her look rather withered.

Anyway, she made a choice. Though it pissed him off, for now at least, she would have no excuse to leave him.

One year. One year later she might have a chance to leave him but during the year, he would use other means to make her stay.

'Cassandra, don't try to leave me, piss me off, or fool me!' he said to her silently.

As he watched her face, his eyes were alight with ease and joy as some inspiration sprung into his mind.

In a state of intense agitation, Ivy slammed the laptop before her. Thinking about Jill's remarks from the night before filled her with panic.

"Ivy, you have taken a long time to nourish your health. I think it wouldn't affect your health if you and Lionel plan to have another child now. You'd better have a child when you are young because a young woman recovers more quickly from childbearing than an elder woman does,"

Jill told her as she held her hands. Concern and sincerity emanated from her and Ivy just smiled and nodded, suppressing the grievance inside her.

So far, the Tangs still hadn't given her a legitimate identity. Horace and Jill remained silent despite the fact that she had lived with the Tangs for such a long time. Even Lionel had never mentioned a word about marrying her.

She had driven away Cassandra by her schemes but this now wasn't what she wanted.

What was worse, Lionel had become more and more distant from her. He didn't touch her despite the fact that they slept in the same bed.

He used to be so obsessed with her body but now he was indifferent. This brought a sense of crisis sweeping over her.

Ivy faintly sensed that Lionel found something out or was suspected something mysterious about her miscarriage.

Although he had not mentioned anything and treated her with respect in the presence of his parents, there were times when she was utterly ignored by him.

Moreover, she couldn't fail to notice that whenever Lionel met Cassandra, he was not able to take his eyes off her. He looked at her with as much intensity, if not more, as he did with Ivy when he was still obsessed with her.

She tried to keep it all inside as to not break the superficial harmony since she couldn't bear to think what would happen to her if she dared to confront him.

Two female colleagues' chitchat pulled Ivy from her reverie. NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

"Hey, I have recently heard that there is fortune teller who can tell you about when exactly you can get pregnant. Aren't you preparing for pregnancy? Why not consult her?" one woman asked.

"No kidding, I cannot believe you do believe in the superstition! I only believe in science. Measuring body temperature daily and using the ovulation test strips would be okay," the other one replied.

"I am not joking. Some people I know have asked for her advice and are all pregnant now," the first woman said with amazement.

"But I won't. I just don't like people who babble on about mystifying these kinds of stuff,"

Their remarks made Ivy feel more agitated. 'Child, child, child, so I can never get out of this damned situation unless I am pregnant with another child?' she couldn't help thinking.

But how could she get pregnant given Lionel's cold attitude toward her? The thought made her more upset.

"Ivy, Miss Ke would like to see you in her office,"

Amanda's assistant said as she came in.

Ivy got to her feet and made her way to Amanda's office.

Actually, Ivy's duties couldn't be lighter and easier, in spite of the fat salary.

Ivy was anticipated that Miss Ke would talk to her someday since no company would give a high salary to an employee producing no results.

To her confusion, though, Amanda said nothing but inquired about her recent work.

"Ivy, you don't look very cheerful recently. Your eyebrows are always knitted together. Is there something wrong between you and Mr. Tang?"

Amanda asked with concern, looking at Ivy with a serious gaze.

Ivy was stunned. She was not aware that her emotions have been so obvious on her face.

"Miss Ke, we are fine, I can deal with that myself,"

Ivy managed a smile, uncomfortably.

"Ivy, I take you as my friend. As a woman, I know what you are afraid of. Mr. Tang hasn't married you so your affiliation with the Tangs still waits to be acknowledged, right?"

Amanda stood up, walked towards Ivy, and pulled her to sit on the sofa with her.

"Ivy, I think, you should have a baby. Only in this way will your status in the Tangs be solidified,"

Amanda said. Her words surprised Ivy.