Chapter 7 Ample Opportunities


    "My name is Rufus Luo."


    "You have been great tonight. Will there be a next time?"


    "My dear, you''re so hot."


    All of a sudden, the passion and gentle touches that night in Rome flurried into Cassandra''s brain. She


    could still hear the charming, sexy voice of the mysterious man, and his hot breath when he blew into


    her ear. It was as if she had returned to that night. Her ears turned red as she went further into her


    memories.


    It had been a night of madness. She had lost her virginity to the man she never met before and never


    thought she''d see again. It felt like a dream that was not real, yet that very dream hade to life, and


    was now standing right in front of her. The same wicked, yful smile was painted on this man''s face,


    reminding her that the night had been all too real.


    Their gazes fell on Cassandra, who looked dazed and baffled. Horace coughed intentionally to distract


    her, pulling the girl out of her memories.


    "Cassandra, this is Lionel''s older brother. So he is your older brother as well."


    Horace''s voice was not loud but fell on her ears like thunder. Her heart raced in rm. She had no


    choice but to ept the harsh reality - that the man she had slept with the other night was in fact, her


    brother-inw. Trying her best to suppress her shock, she squeezed out a weak smile. However, her


    lips, along with the rest of her face, had turned abnormally pale at this point, revealing that she was not


    as calm as she pretended to be.


    "My name is Rufus Luo. Nice to meet you."


    Before Cassandra had the chance to greet him, the man introduced himself once again. His every


    feature was familiar to her - his sexy, intimate voice, his rakish smile, his slender and strong hand that


    was stretched out in a greeting. Her mind lingered on the four words that were so heavy with meaning -


    "nice to meet you". She knew he said it on purpose, as if it was really the first time they were meeting.


    "Wee, brother Rufus,"


    Cassandra said. Too shy to look into his eyes, Cassandra lowered her head and shook his hand


    politely. Just as she was about to withdraw, he pulled at her palm in a small gesture, making it


    impossible for her to retreat from his firm grip.


    Her nerves went haywire and her palm was now sweating in his. The man seemed not to notice as he


    raked a finger down her palm surreptitiously, his enchanting smile growing deeper.


    At the intimate gesture, Cassandra''s ire knew no bounds. How could he be so daring? He was


    caressing her right in front of the Tang family! She tried to force her hand back, with stronger pressure


    this time, but to no avail. He would just not let go!


    "Rufus, this is Lionel''s wife, Cassandra."


    Horace''s enthusiastic voice sounded in her ears again as he introduced her to Rufus gaily. He was


    clearly oblivious to the ufortable atmosphere between the two.


    "Really?"


    the man asked as the family walked indoors. By now he had released his grip and Cassandra had


    taken her hand back. His manner had been careless throughout this encounter, but at Horace''s words,


    his eyes zed in Cassandra''s direction. The fiery light in his eyes was the same as the one from her


    memory.


    Others might not have been aware of the wordless exchange, but Cassandra could feel the intensity of


    his gaze. His eyes never left her. As her panic elevated, she had little choice but to follow everyone.


    Keeping her head bent, she remained silent all the way.


    However, her silence didn''t turn the set of burning eyes away from her, up to the point that she could no


    longer bear the sensation of being so tantly stared at. "Mother, Father, I''m feeling unwell. I''ll go


    upstairs to rest. I''ve called Lionel. He said he would be back soon."


    As the others gathered around the sofa, Cassandra mustered the courage to leave, finding herself an


    easy excuse.


    Seeing his daughter-inw''s pale face, Horace nodded, signaling to Cassandra that she could go.


    "You don''t look so good," the head of the family said, concerned for her. "Do you have a fever? All right,


    take some rest. Rufus hase to stay with us anyway. You two will have ample opportunities to get to


    know one another."


    The phrase "ample opportunities" thumped inside Cassandra''s heart, morphing into a whirlwind that


    threatened to catch her in its vortex.


    She dreaded being around this man. Horace said his crisp words as if they carried the best news in the


    world - that she''d have plenty of chances to interact with Rufus.


    "Yes, Cassandra. We will have ''ample opportunities''," Rufus reminded her, as if the awkwardness was


    not enough.


    Sitting right in the middle of the sofa, he was like an emperor, proud and dictatorial in his own right. His


    eagle-like eyes suggested an additional meaning to his words that only she could understand. His


    smile curved up significantly, chilling Cassandra to the core.


    After getting consent from her father-inw, she scuttled away, escaping from her tormentor as fast as


    she could. As she finally reached her room, she could barely support her trembling legs. Downstairs, if


    she hadn''t made a conscious effort to remain standing, she would have probably kneeled over in front


    of everyone.


    Shutting the door and making sure it was locked securely, she leaned against it, gasping hard as air


    filled up her lungs. She put one hand over her chest and closed her eyes.


    Her heart was palpitating so fast that it could have jumped out of her mouth.


    She would never have imagined that her one-night stand partner in a foreignnd was none other than


    the older brother of her spouse. It was just too dramatic to be true. With this absurd story, a ywright


    could easily make a hit drama. Actually, it would be a rather tragic one.


    What should she do?


    It was the only question hovering in Cassandra''s mind. Everything had happened so fast and caught


    her off-guard. She had been utterly unprepared and couldn''t calm down for one moment to think this


    through.


    One thing seemed certain. Rufus seemed like a man with status and power, so he would probably not


    boast around about the strange encounter with her. Convincing herself that the shameful story would


    remain concealed from the Tang family, Cassandra breathed in relief.


    However, thinking that she had to live under the same roof as this man who held her most dreadful


    secret, Cassandra felt shockingly nervous and terrified. The tad bit of assurance that she had managed


    to find ebbed away.


    Rufus was like a hidden time-bomb which could explode at any moment!


    "Brother? I need to call a man born out of wedlock my older brother?"


    While she was immersed in her thoughts and haunted by the idea of living together with Rufus, a


    roaring sound suddenly emerged downstairs, kicking her out of her reverie.


    She knew that voice. It was Lionel.


    "Lionel, mind yournguage when you talk to your brother!"


    Horace scolded his son fiercely. The overwhelming curiosity inside Cassandra''s heartpelled her to


    open the door quietly. With great caution, she sneaked out of her room and hid at one corner of the


    staircase. Making sure that she could not be seen, she peeked at what was going on in the living room


    downstairs.


    Lionel stood beside the table, anger bulging out the veins on his forehead. His finger was pointing at


    Rufus, who did not react to the hostile gesture.


    Jill joined in to side with her son. Normally she was a bit scared of Horace, but right now, in the


    presence of Lionel, whom she agreed with on this matter, she enjoyed the rare sense of superiority.


    "My dear, after all, he is an illegitimate child. Can you imagine how the media would report this?" asked


    the wife. "Lionel has devoted himself to thepany for so many years. You should know that better


    than anyone else. Now you are saying you want to hand thepany over to this bastard? Lionel is


    our flesh and blood. How can you make this unfair decision in favor of the son of your mistress?"


    Offensive words like "illegitimate child" and "bastard" slipped from the woman''s tongue so easily. She


    seemed to have no respect for the new member of the family. Cassandra began to feel sorry for the


    man being insulted by his family, despite the fear she had felt when his gaze had been focused on her


    some minutes ago.


    From where Cassandra was standing, she could only see the back of Rufus and was unable to get a


    clear view of the expression on his face. She assumed he was very angry.


    "Do you know the definition of an illegitimate child? I am Lionel''s older brother. That means my father


    met my mother before you. So let me ask you, who is the illegitimate child in this scenario?"


    Rufus shot back in his undisturbed tone, hurling a nice counter-attack. His opponent was rendered


    speechless, so he took it as a temporary victory andughed softly. Suddenly, he turned his head,


    meeting a pair of mystical eyes, belonging to the woman who currently hid at the corner of the stairs.


    Once again, Cassandra saw him smile at her in a sinister fashion. She caught the thirst that shed


    across his eyes and instantly quivered in fear.


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    Their eyes met for a brief moment, but the frightening look in his gaze felt like it was suffocating her.


    She had been maintaining her squatting position for too long and the tension in her leg caused her to


    lose its strength, making her fall forward. Heart in mouth, she suddenly felt herself tip over the stairs,


    and she rolled down before she could catch herself.