Chapter 73 I Am A Deer

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Lionel thought he knew what kind of person Ivy was.

They had been together for seven years now. And for all that time, everything she did was for him.

Even though Lionel would hook up with other women once in a while, Ivy never got mad at him. When Lionel was upset or had issues at work, Ivy would stay with him, and encourage him, giving meaningful suggestions on possible solutions.

He had come to depend on Ivy so much that he thought she could be his best woman ever.

But that was the problem. The reason why Horace didn't like Ivy was that Lionel had a soft spot for her at the expense of his marriage. This woman was the person behind Lionel's mistreatment of Cassandra. It angered Horace that Lionel would neglect the woman that his parents had chosen for him, opting instead to waste all his time, energy and money on Ivy. In Horace's eyes, Lionel was challenging his power.

What the ungrateful bastard didn't realize was that Cassandra was given to him in marriage to entrench the Tang family's economic supremacy. The Tang family had found their son a resourceful wife with better social networks. Cassandra was gifted, professional and beautiful to boot. Why would Lionel leave such a gem for any other woman? It pained Horace to see Lionel, the designated successor to the Tang empire head in the direction he was taking with Ivy. That girl would only waste the family wealth.

Besides, Lionel himself was also not much of a talented person who would greatly benefit from Cassandra's vast skills in managing the company. If he ditched Cassandra for this clueless girl, Horace was sure enough that the whole business would go down. That left Horace with no other option but to entrust Rufus at the helm of the Tang Group. There was no doubt, Rufus was competent, charismatic and hungry for success. Just the right man for the job.

Suddenly, Jill turned around to dry her tears. She choked up, "To some extent, I know why you have a problem with allowing Ivy into the family. She's a rather uninspiring, ordinary woman with neither education nor family background that the Tang family can approve of. But you don't have to worry about her in the long run, because she'll only be here for a few months. Also, you don't have to be angry at Lionel. It's just that he fell in love with the wrong woman and now he has a whole mess on his hands to deal with and a child out of wedlock, just like you!"

"Just like you!" these three words hit Horace. Painful memories flooded into his head, leaving an empty gaze on his face.

Images of the woman he loved and treasured most in his life started to play in his mind like a slow slide show. Every slide played to the accompaniment of the sweet promises they made to each other.

"Horace, I'll wait for you, no matter how long it will take. Even if you have nothing, I'll still be with you."

They were so deep in love at that time. Eventually, she got pregnant for him and gave birth to Rufus, a handsome, intelligent boy. But he couldn't bring the boy and his mother home because of Jill. The woman had to bring Rufus up as a single mother. But thank God, she did just fine and even gave the boy the best education she could. Now, Horace had brought Rufus back to the Tang family, in an attempt to make up for his mistakes. Hopefully, she would find the grace to forgive him.

After a long silence, when he looked at Lionel who was still kneeling, his anger faded. Looking back at his own mistakes, he began to understand Lionel. The more he thought about his shortcomings, the more he realized he was no angel to slam Lionel as irresponsible. The only thing that unsettled him was Ivy's ridiculous demands. Whatever she was asking for was just too much.

Letting a pregnant mistress live in the Tang mansion was impossible. That aside, would Ivy be proud of meeting Cassandra, the legally married wife of the man she was chasing after? How would Cassandra feel about that?

From downstairs, he heard servants greet some

"Do you know what you did wrong? It's alright if you just wanted to own me. But you should not have helped Molly leave me!"

When Brian learns the truth, there is no chance for Hannah to win his heart.

Molly, who wants to run away from Brian, seems to be the only one to blame for Hannah's misfortune...

t. Thank you so much for saving my life!"

The man gave her a smile.

"No problem."

Suddenly, something occurred to him. He looked Cassandra up and down. Then he asked with suspicion, "Aren't you the manager of the design department at the Tang Group? What is it that has got you so upset?"

The question threw Cassandra off balance for a moment. The man was a total stranger. How did he come to know she was the manager of the design department at the Tang Group?

Reading her reaction, the man could tell Cassandra was puzzled. An amiable smile beamed on his face as he waved a folded magazine in his left hand.

"I was reading this in the Starbucks just now. It features an interview of senior executives in the Tang Group. There's a photo of your side face, but I recognized you anyway."

Cassandra knew he must be talking about last month's interview, when some reporters came to the company's offices. But she wasn't the focus of the interview.

"You're such a keen observer. I'm impressed. It's a very tiny photo. I'd hardly recognize anyone based on it."

The man was pleased to hear Cassandra's compliment. But trying to down play it, he calmly said, "No big deal. If you ask me to live with fifty spotty dogs for a few days and then give me a picture of them, I could easily tell them apart. Not to mention a beautiful woman like you!"

His way with words lifted Cassandra's moods so much that she burst into laughter.

Forgetting about all her troubles, she began to enjoy chatting with him.

"That's a clever metaphor you have," she said, referring to the man's claim.

But the man feigned a serious face and said, still with tongue in cheek, "Not that I'm so smart with metaphors! It's just that, I... I'm a lover of animals."

Laughing again, Cassandra asked, "So, you regard me as an animal?"

The man hesitated, not sure what he should say next. 'Is she someone that can catch the drift of my joke? Or will she take it literally and get angry at me?

Someone who takes things literally, will not read it as a compliment if I used that analogy of animals.' he wondered.

Thankfully, Cassandra had noticed the man was weighing what to say, and she didn't want to embarrass him.

Reaching into her clutch bag, she took out her business card and handed it to him.

"I'm Cassandra Qin. This is my business card. If you want to contact me, you can call me or text me on the numbers given," she said seriously.

With gratitude, the man took the card and Cassandra was about to say goodbye, when something occurred to her. After a moment's thought, she said, "Well, if I were an animal, I would certainly be a deer!"