Chapter 61 The Kiss In The Lift

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Cassandra woke up to the pitter-patter of rain falling outside. It drummed softly on the leaves and blanketed the morning in a rhythmic white noise of nature.

Her eyes were still hazy with sleep, until she came to the sudden realization that she was in Lionel's room. Wide-eyed, and her mind sounding alarms, she sprang up to check her own body.

She was under the cover of the blanket, and her clothes were exactly as they were when she fell asleep. She ran her hands over her limbs, as if in search for a phantom touch that could possibly linger. Convinced that nothing was different, she heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Lionel didn't touch her.

The thought of him made her turn her head and scan the room. He was nowhere to be found.

She stood up from the bed and opened the door, treading softly on the carpeted floor. It was still early, and she did not want to make noise and attract anyone's attention. She crossed the hall and went, as quickly as her quiet steps would allow her, to the guest room where she was living in. Then she locked the door, and took a shower. When she finished, she came out with her body wrapped in a bath towel. To her surprise, there was a man standing in the middle of the room, his eyes fixed on her.

Reflexively, she tightened the towel around herself to find any semblance of modesty it could give her, then she stormed to the intruder.

"Rufus! When did you come in!" she confronted him.

Rufus remained his standing position, unaffected by her anger. The dim light of the autumn morning silhouetted his face, hiding parts of it in shadows. Despite the absence of light, one could feel a heavy aura coming from him.

He replied to her in a low voice, "I have been here. You didn't come back last night. So I was here the entire night."

Cassandra felt herself warm with his words as a slew of thoughts crowded her head. 'Was he sleeping on the my bed? Did he use my blanket?

Was the bed clean enough? Was my hair on it? Was it comfortable enough for him?' The questions went on and on until she realized the insignificance of the things she was agonizing over.

'Wait a second…' she thought, shaking her head and collecting her wits.

There was a more important question that had to be answered.

"Why did you sleep in my room last night?" she questioned. Her voice was firm but the blush on her face betrayed her emotions at the moment.

A playful smile crept up Rufus' face.

"I wanted to be close to you. Your bed smells like you. It was really...nice," Rufus continued, his voice dropping at the last words.

Cassandra knew all too well that he was teasing her, and yet, she found herself curling up like a cat to his words. Was she…enjoying this?

'Cassandra, how can you stoop so low? How dare you entertain flirtation with your brother-in-law!' she castigated herself. 'You are the wife of Lionel. You are supposed to behave like a married woman. It is unacceptable to keep pursuing an ambiguous relationship with Rufus, ' she went on reminding herself.

Gripping the voice of reason, she spoke in the coldest tone she could muster, "Well, you can go out now. I need to change."

Undeterred, Rufus' eyes roamed all over her body as if he was devouring her with his eyes. His eyes glinted with mischief as he asked, "Why? Are you bothered with me looking at your naked body?"

Cassandra knew the game he was playing. She also knew he wouldn't go out so easily.

Abandoning any further effort to drive him away, Cassandra took her clothes and went into the bathroom, locking the door after her. She dressed herself and came out.

As she expected, Rufus was still in her room. Without so much as a glance, she walked pass him and out of the

“Let's go and register our marriage on your birthday!”

Marrying Daniel should have been her best birthday gift, but everything was ruined the moment when she caught him sleeping with another woman on the day before her birthday.

“He’s going to marry that woman! She... was my best friend!"

ady to go down. When the doors of the elevator opened, she was surprised to find a man standing inside. It was Rufus.

Cassandra felt her heart sink to her stomach. 'What is he doing here?'

Some time earlier, Rufus was about to go home and had gone to the underground parking lot. However, he noticed that Cassandra's car was still there, so he went back to his office and turned on the surveillance video.

As he had expected, Cassandra was still working.

He silently watched her work through the screen until she eventually decided to leave. Before she could reach the lift, Rufus rushed to it and waited for her inside.

By this time, he had already fixed his mind on a decision. There was nothing he wouldn't do to stay close to her. He knew that she would resist - it was evident in the determinedly cold way she treated him. But he would insist upon telling her that it was impossible to get rid of him.

Cassandra hesitated to go inside such a small, enclosed space with this dangerous man. She stood there, not making a move to enter, when at last doors started to close. What happened next surprised her. Before the elevator closed completely, Rufus put one leg forward to block the door, which made it automatically open once again.

Then Cassandra felt an arm grabbing her and forcing her in.

Her mind reeled at the all too familiar feeling of his arms around her.

"Let go of me! You…" she shouted, trying to break free from his embrace.

She kept on struggling and yelling, and without warning, her voice was sealed by his lips.

His hands gripped her wrists to stop her movements. He was strong, and it was almost impossible for her to break away.

She felt a sharp sensation digging into her skin as he grasped her hands, but instead of quieting her down, it was as if the pain fueled her resistance even more.

There were security cameras in the lift. Anyone could chance upon it and it would be a big trouble. Feeling anxiety and anger welling up inside her, Cassandra bit Rufus' lip.

At this, he abruptly pulled away, looking at her in utter disbelief. He raised a hand to his bruised lip and wiped at the blood.

This woman dared to bite him!

He reached out his hand to grab her face, but she slapped it away.

Red bloomed on the bandaged hand, and Cassandra's fury was replaced with worry when she saw the blood staining the white cloth.

The wound must have reopened. Realizing this, the fierce look on her face suddenly vanished.