A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 8

The loud noise hushed down the argument, and the sudden silence in the living room was deafening. Cassandra rolled down the stairs, soon to hit bottom. The sight was so chilling that the people in the room stared, not knowing how to react.

The frightful scene had robbed them of speech.

It all happened too fast. One moment she had been hidden upstairs, eavesdropping on their conversation, and in the blink of an eye, she was rolling down towards them. The stairs creaked as she hit the floor, and everyone stared at her with their mouths agape. Cassandra landed with a thump. Only when she stopped rolling and lay still on the floor did the pain hit her hard. She grimaced at the sharp sting that settled in her muscle and bones. How could she have been so careless? Right, she had been distracted by a pair of eyes. If she hadn't been in agony, she would have laughed at herself. The Tang family fixed their eyes on her, all too shocked to move.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the giant room as someone walked in her direction. Cassandra curled up in a ball and moaned in a small voice. Her entire body hurt. She cursed inwardly at the humiliation of it all, feeling everybody's stares on her. Sensing that someone was near her, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up, her eyes focusing on the familiar face of the man she had slept with.

"Are you okay?"

Rufus, who was the first to react to Cassandra's fall, stood over her. He looked down at the silly woman who lay on the floor, groaning in pain. The corners of his mouth twitched in amusement, but he held back and didn't laugh at her misery. This woman was rather interesting. But right now, she was clearly hurt, and she needed help.

The room was still quiet except for Rufus' words. No one made a sound. Even Lionel, who had been so angry before, stopped arguing and stepped aside, watching the scene in front of him with attentive eyes. He stared at Cassandra, an unreadable look coming over his face.

'What is this woman up to again?' he wondered as displeasure crept up on him.

What Rufus did next shocked everyone present in the room.

The man crouched down and picked Cassandra from the floor easily, as if helping out a stray cat stuck in a tree. He pulled her closer into his arms and all of a sudden the clean, fresh scent of mint filled her nostrils and drowned her senses, making her feel even dizzier.

Cassandra was in shock. Never in a million years would she have imagined Rufus would do something like this in front of the Tang family.

They were in the center of the Tang mansion, where Horace and Jill were both present, along with her so-called husband Lionel. Besides, there were the servants, who looked at them with unabashed interest. Rufus had actually picked her up from the floor in front of these many people. Everybody looked scandalized. Mortified, Cassandra hoped the ground would swallow her. Or at the very least, she wished that it was all a dream. When she blinked her eyes, however, she found it to be true.

Rufus held Cassandra bridal style, their bodies in close contact. The heat radiating between them was palpable as they breathed each other in. As their senses took over, the familiar awareness sent them back to the passionate night they had shared.