Cassandra was humiliated. Tears of shame ran down her cheeks.
"I hate you, Rufus! I hate you so much as I have never hated anyone before!"
Cassandra roared. The throbbing pressure on her body and her temples almost made her collapse.
"Go ahead! Hate me all you want! I don't give a damn how you feel!" he shot back.
The night seemed long and distressing. Finally, Rufus lay asleep soundly beside her; his exhaustion
was evident from the venting.
Cassandra's eyes widened at the sight of the man beside her.
He was fast asleep. Despite his unguarded disposition, tension shone visibly on his face.
His eyebrows were furrowed. 'What is he dreaming about?' she thought.
The tie around her wrists was loosened—a product of her unrelenting struggle. Cassandra gingerly
moved her hands and freed them bit by bit
until they were finally fully hers again.
She cautiously pushed herself up and was mildly surprised that Rufus did not wake up to this. He must
be exhausted, not just physically, but also mentally.
Every cell in her body hurt. Her wrists were bruised very badly.
She was not sure how she could face the tyrant on the bed. She quietly went to the closet to get some
clothes.
It was better for her to leave before Rufus woke up.
She pulled on her clothing, turned around and found Rufus staring right at her. She was taken aback.
"Where are you going?"
His icy voice almost made her jump. She began to tremble.
The sound of the closet door woke him up but he waited until she got dressed to cover the bruises on
her body.
'Does she think those clothes would be enough to cover the marks I left on her body? Does she really
believe she could escape just like that?
Cassandra, you are so naive!' he jeered within.
"I'm bare naked and you're fully dressed but why are you still the one shaking? It's like you have a
cold,"
he said mischievously. There was a hint of allure in his voice. Under normal circumstances, Cassandra
might even think he was flirting with her.
The situation now, however, was far from normal. Cassandra trembled and her legs grew weak. With all
her strength, she worked hard to keep it together.
"You're clearly cold. Why don't you go back to bed and let me warm you?"
he said as he scooped Cassandra up and tossed her into the bed.
"Let me warm you up since you feel so cold," he said as he pressed his body on hers.
The torture was endless. He trampled her dignity until it was reduced to dust.
An unfamiliar feeling crept over her. It was as if her body and soul were going two opposite ways.
She felt as if her soul were floating in the air, staring blankly at the woman and the man beneath.
'Cassandra, can you see? This is what you get when you offend Rufus. He is nothing like the
affectionate and thoughtful gentleman you once knew. Upsetting him would grant you a revenge worse
than hell.' Right now, that was exactly how she felt.
It pained her so much to find that the trust she once had for him was all a lie.
The sun had risen. Rays of sunlight peeked into the room and fell on her bruised wrists.
Cassandra woke to the brightness and warmth of sunlight.
Rufus had gotten up, taken a bath and gotten dressed. He was wearing a tie.
In his fine suit, he looked immaculate. The gorgeous man that stood in his place showed no trace of the
tyrant from the night before.
"Stay here. You are not allowed to go anywhere else. If you are not here when I come back, trust me
you'll regret ever trying to leave,"
he uttered frostily before he turned around to leave the room and slam the door behind him.
Cassandra shuddered as the door slammed shut. She retrieved her wrists from the sunlight and curled
up into the quilt.
'So is this my punishment for breaking up with you, Rufus?' she murmured inwardly.
She wanted to cry but her tears had been drained.
She stayed frozen, unable to move. Neither motivation nor strength was available to her.
'Let me sink into the darkness! Let me go to hell! I won't mind demons skinning and eating me alive! Let
me be axed or fried in oil!
Hold on! Hold on, Cassandra! Then we both will owe nothing to each other, '
Cassandra mused as she closed her eyes. She allowed relief to take over her the moment Rufus left
and drifted into a deep, sound slumber.
But Rufus was quite reserved that day. He dealt with his work as quickly as possible to make sure he
was home the soonest that he could manage.
Looking back, seeing the bruises on her wrists made him regret his actions a little.
Rufus recalled that he bound her hands with his tie. The more she struggled, the more furious he
became. She said nothing but "I hate you".
Her voice had turned hoarse and she didn't talk to him in the morning.
He dumped all her clothes to make sure she would not be able to leave the villa.
But as he cooled down, he began to reflect on whether he overdid it.
He loved her. She possibly said what she did in a fit of anger. Why did he take her too seriously? Why
did he abuse her like that? He must have hurt her, not just physically, but emotionally as well. He
scolded himself, 'What have I done?'
He wanted so badly to make it up to her. The thought of how much she feared him that morning
horrified him. She could not even look at him.
When Cassandra woke, the sky was already dark. She slept the whole day.
And as she opened her eyes, she began to feel the pains on her body again.
The wounds caused pain—sharp pain.
Cassandra felt as if her head was about to explode. The torn skin on her legs made her wonder
whether she could walk today.
And, she was very thirsty. She struggled to push herself up and reach for the glass on the bedside
table. Her hand trembled. Involuntarily, she dropped the glass and it shattered on the floor.
It smashed into pieces. She bent down to clear the mess but pangs of pain shot from all over her body.
Suddenly, her legs failed and sent her plummeting down into the pile of glass remains, causing a
wound to her finger.
Hurriedly, she pulled the pieces of glass out of her skin which caused even more blood to come out.
Suddenly, her phone rang from inside her jacket pocket on the ground.
She reached out and answered.
"Cassandra, I saw a report about you in the paper! You have been nominated for the Top Ten
Outstanding Youth Award of G City! Congratulations!"
Dylon's ecstatic voice said from the other end of the line.
Cassandra remained silent. The news was not enough to lighten her mood.
Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open and a tall figure stood stunned at the scene that welcomed
him.
"So you tried to kill yourself to escape me?"
Rufus said as he slowly went closer, one step at a time. HIs eyes burned with rage.
He felt so bad about what he did last night that he decided to come back and check on her. He even
brought her the latest spring outfit which he asked his assistant to buy for him.
But as the door opened, he saw her sitting dazedly with the glass debris on the ground.
Dylon was perplexed with Cassandra's silence.
"Cassandra, can you hear me?" he asked.
Rufus knew the voice. It was familiar, it was Dylon's!
"And you are asking him for help or are you bidding him goodbye before you take your own life?" he
asked.
He was very close now, squatting right in front of her, scrutinizing her face and trying to read every
detail.
Color had already drained from Cassandra's cheeks. She could sense the heat of Rufus's rage and
boiling hatred.
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