"You are a Tang, and you are my son! Our family was deeply rooted in this city and has developed into
a prominent family! No one in this family is allowed to be involved in a scandal like this!"
Horace bellowed as his face grew red because of anger.
"It's not a scandal. Every single man or woman has the freedom to fall in love with another person.
Both of us are unmarried. We are doing well together,"
Rufus replied in a relaxed tone. All this time, never did he think that his relationship with Cassandra
was shameful.
"You... How dare you contradict and talk back to me!"
Horace was furious now. He placed his hand on his chest and started breathing fast.
"Father, don't be so angry, please. There were conflicts and accidents in this family because
Cassandra and Lionel didn't love each other. We are different. I love her and she loves me. And if you
insist that it's improper for us to be together, we will move out. We won't live here."
Rufus finished his words calmly and looked at Horace who was out of breath.
"I'll call your doctor,"
Rufus said and left the study to make a call to the doctor. He had expected Horace would oppose, but
he would not stop loving Cassandra. He would be with her no matter what and no matter how, even if it
meant he had to beat all the odds for her.
Aside from all his worries with Cassandra, his father was another thing. Horace's body was getting
worse as days passed by. Rufus decided to speed up his plans.
Otherwise, his revenge plan, which had years of preparation, would be in vain if Horace would die too
early.
In his revenge plot, Rufus would make Horace realize the feeling of extreme heartbreak. At that time,
he would be smiling to see Horace's suffering face. That would be his only way to avenge his mother
who had lived a miserable life because Horace had abandoned her along with him.
After Rufus left the study, Horace took his hand away from his chest. His pale face recovered to normal
as well. Yes, he was just pretending to be out of breath in front of Rufus, in case he would have a
change of heart seeing how his father was affected.
Horace didn't anticipate that Rufus would be so calm and unaffected. He didn't even offer to support
him when he was breathless. Did he look through his trick? Did he know that he was just pretending?
Or was it because he didn't care about his father at all?
Horace became skeptical and remained unhappy pondering his thoughts.
All this time, he had tried hard to help Amanda get closer to Rufus. He knew that he had to succeed as
soon as possible in order to win the huge investment he was hunting for. But unexpectedly, Cassandra
intervened.
Rufus had such a stubborn personality. He would not be forced by others to do something. 'Probably I
have to come up with another wise plan, ' Horace said to himself.
He learned from the news report earlier that Amanda fainted away. Horace tidied his clothes and
decided to go to the hospital to pay her a visit.
He had a sinister plan in mind and he would try his luck this time with Amanda. He would discuss with
her how to win Rufus's heart back.
In the hospital ward, Charlie passed an apple to Amanda with a reassuring face.
"Amanda, you should eat something. How about some fruits? You haven't eaten for long. It's not good
for your body."
Charlie's eyes were filled with worry for his daughter.
"No, I don't want to eat now."
Amanda turned her face away. She must've cried a lot for her eyes were red and swollen.
"Don't worry, Amanda. Rufus is being obsessed with that woman for now, but that won't be for long.
You are my daughter, you are smart and you are a pianist. You are a perfect woman! How could she
compete with you? Don't get angry because of her. It's not worth it. Your health matters the most. Be a
good girl. Eat something, please!"
Charlie sweet-talked Amanda in an indulgent tone as if she was still a baby girl.
"No! I said no!"
Amanda pushed Charlie's hand away and covered herself with the quilt completely.
The apple Charlie was holding dropped on the ground. It didn't stop at where it landed. It rolled for
several rounds and stopped as it hit the walls.
Charlie shook his head and sighed helplessly. He didn't know how to deal with his stubborn daughter,
let alone comfort her.
"Please be a good girl, Amanda. Don't be so willful, okay? I promised you I would help you. I won't
break my word. But for now, the priority for you is to take good care of your body. You fainted away
yesterday. I'm so worried about you. I am restless to see you in such a terrible situation."
Charlie patted the quilt to comfort her like what he had done when she was still a little girl.
"How will you help me?"
Hearing her father's promise, Amanda sat up hastily. Her face lit up because of excitement.
Charlie was stunned at first. He began to think of how he could help her but didn't answer her question
immediately.
When Amanda saw her father's hesitation, she became frustrated again. With a frown she said, "I know
you have no intention to help me, Father. You told me you would help me last time when you left, but
you did nothing! You are just fobbing me off!"
Amanda pouted, her eyes grew red and she was on the verge of crying again.
"No, no. I'm still working on a perfect plan. We need to come up with an excellent strategy, right? Rufus
likes Cassandra now. We have to come up with a plan to stop him from loving her. Otherwise, there
would be endless troubles waiting for you if we did it too imperiously,"
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