Clarissa was still waiting for an explanation from Matthew. Or alternatively, an official breakup notice. Anything was better than just plain waiting.
As the woman was still staring out in a daze, another Tyson showed up from the corner of her eyes– it was Ellie.
“Ellie?” Clarissa was so startled to see Ellie’s presence in the studio and was lost for words for a few seconds.
“What are you gaping at? Am I not welcome here?”
Ellie feigned arrogance. She looked very different from the last time Clarissa saw her; her hair was longer now, the ashley-gray hair was now natural black. Her refreshing look resembled a cute college girl.
Despite that, the tone of her voice was not so pleasant.
But that did not concern Clarissa as she ran toward Ellie and whined like a child, “Ellie! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. You have no idea how much I miss you…” She was now hugging Ellie tightly.
Ellie tried faintly to pry open Clarissa’s arms that were now wrapped around her like a boa constrictor. Failing which, she just pouted her lips a little in protest.
Clarissa knew in her heart that Ellie’s mere presence here was a good indicator that she had forgiven her.
Clarissa took leave from Justin and the two left the studio.
After returning to the hotel, the two friends were seated across from each other quietly before Ellie finally broke the silence. “I told you to break things off with him before but you refused. Now, look at you. Dare I say I told you so?”
Seeing her good friend keeping her head down, Ellie felt a pang of guilt surged in her chest. She chastised herself for choosing her words poorly for that was not her real intention.
“Actually…” Clarissa slowly replied with a bitter smile on her face. She was unexpectedly calm and composed. There was no crying hysterically, no complaints or similar emotional display one would expect from someone in her situation.
Ellie’s heart ached when she looked at the woman before her trying so hard to hold it together.
“Ellie, I have no regrets for falling for Matthew. There’s never any guarantee that two persons who are in love will last forever. It’s just that, with all the news about them getting married, I still haven’t received a call from Matthew. So, I think he probably has already broken up with me in his heart.”
“Son of a b*tch!” Ellie cursed angrily.
“You shouldn’t have started things with him. You’ll still have gotten something in return if you did that for money. But you didn’t! And look at what he’s doing to you now——”
More curses flowed out of Ellie’s mouth as though it was not her most respected uncle she was badmouthing about.
When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she saw a smile on Clarissa’s face and threw a pillow in her direction. “What are you laughing at, you moron? Why didn’t I find you to be so generous before?”
Clarissa caught the pillow and replied with a grin on her face, “I’m just happy that you still care so much about me. I take it that you’ve forgiven me?”
“That’s not true. I’m still mad at you, Clarissa Quigley.”
Clarissa walked toward her friend and sat down next to her. She then wrapped her arms around her and leaned her head on Ellie’s shoulder as she spoke, “Thank you, Ellie.”
“For what? For introducing you to Uncle Matt?” Ellie replied sarcastically.
That night, Clarissa finally received a call from Matthew.
They used to video call each other every night before they went to bed. But because of the row they had a few days before, no one was willing to break the ice since.
She thought that Matthew was still sulking like a child, while she was too proud to swallow her pride. So they had not exchanged a word for the last few days.
However, Clarissa would not have guessed that the reason Matthew did not call was because he was busy engaging with another woman.
When Matthew finally called, she carried her phone and came to the hotel courtyard. The air was frosty on the line as Clarissa answered the call but did not utter a word. She was waiting for Matthew to say something.
Matthew fell silent for a moment before he finally spoke, “Is there anything that you want to say to me?”
The man’s voice was still the familiar dulcet and pleasant tone to Clarissa’s ear. But now, she no longer allowed herself to be immersed in that voice.
Her voice was cold and emotionless when she replied, “Shouldn’t it be you who has something to say to me?”
The line went momentarily quiet again before Matthew said, “Clare, please try to believe me.”
Matthew’s succinct reply had instantly warmed up the frozen heart of hers. She had hardened her heart to prepare for the worst, but upon hearing his sincere plea, her heart slowly softened.
Despite her repeated reassurance to others that she was doing fine, her heart had been in wrenching pain.
It was more so after Shermaine’s admission to the engagement rumors. But a small part of her still harbored a faint hope that Matthew would refute those news.
And now, she needed to build up her confidence in him once more.
With that thought, Clarissa’s voice turned softer when she replied, “Okay, I believe you. But can you tell me what’s going on? Shermaine admitted to me that you and her are already engaged. I’m all ears now.”
Matthew massaged his temple, thinking where to start.
It involved many complicating factors that included parental coercion, the close ties between the two families, business, and political decisions. Things could play out very differently depending on every move Matthew made now.
The fact that Matthias was in a fluid position right now made the matter trickier for him to handle.
It was difficult to explain to an outsider about all the interconnecting factors affecting his decisions.
Matthew had devised his own plan, but he was not sure if Clarissa would understand.
“Clare…”
“What is it?”
“There’s a lot of conflict of interests involved in this matter for you to fully comprehend, nor are you expected to understand. I just need you to understand that I’ll take care of it, and I won’t be marrying Shermaine.”
“So?”
“So, forget about what you saw from the news. They will soon die down after a while. By then, people will start chasing after some hotter news.”
The initial light of hope dimmed down rapidly in Clarissa’s heart the more she listened to Matthew’s explanation.
All that he can explain to me is to forget about the news?
Clarissa might not fully comprehend the business interests involved, but she could pretty well form a conclusion from this: It was impossible for Matthew to set things straight and publicly denounce the rumors right now.
Clarissa grew silent as this fact dawned on her.
She could not see the tiresome look on Matthew’s face on the other end of the line, nor could she appreciate all the effort Matthew was making back in D City.
He could be facing a lot of dilemmas, but she would not understand. Just as he would not understand how insecure she felt about their relationship right now.
Such is our distance.
At one point, Clarissa had contemplated the idea to just end the relationship. But she could not bring herself to utter such words.
After the two ended the phone call in silence, Clarissa stood still in the courtyard for a long time. She seemed lost in her own thoughts.
As the night grew longer, the noises in the hotel did not subside. Being so close to the studio, there were always people moving about in the middle of the night as crew members exchanged shifts.
Clarissa’s daze was interrupted by the noises coming from inside the hotel. The cold autumn wind had finally awakened her body.
As she turned around to walk back to her room, Clarissa bumped into Shermaine in the hotel lobby.
Clarissa was going to ignore her and head back to her room, but Shermaine was not ready to let her go as she called after her cheerfully, “Ms. Quigley, you’re still up? Since I also can’t sleep, care to have a chat with me?”
Clarissa stopped in her tracks and looked at Shermaine. They then found a place and sat down together.
This was the first time the two women spoke peacefully to each other.
Clarissa suspected that Shermaine might already know her relationship with Matthew and was waiting for her to say something.
However, Shermaine’s questions were those of inconsequential things such as Clarissa’s age, birth date, place of origin, and what did her parents do for a living.
Clarissa answered Shermaine’s questions half-heartedly, but she increasingly thought it was strange for her to ask these questions as though she was checking out her identity registration.
“Ms. Smallwood, if I don’t know you better, I’d have thought that you’re detailing my identity registration.”
Shermaine continued to smile brightly as she replied, “Oh, I’m only trying to make conversations with you to kill some time. I didn’t know that we are of the same age. I think it’s great that you have achieved so much at such a young age. Are you planning to continue your work in D City for the foreseeable future? I bet you are. With Justin as your devoted supporter, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other a lot in D City.”
“Well, it depends.” Clarissa frowned and gave an ambiguous reply.
The ultimate deciding factor will be Matthew and how things pan out with him.
“I heard that your mother is also in D City?” Shermaine continued to ask.
“Who told you that?” Clarissa raised her eyebrow.
“Oh…I actually forgot.” Shermaine lowered her head momentarily before she looked up again and said smilingly, “I bet your mother is a beautiful woman, too, since her daughter is so charmingly pretty.”
“You’re too kind.”
“That’s nonsense, you’re truly beautiful!” Shermaine exclaimed.
Seriously, what is wrong with this woman? Is she so intoxicated with euphoria her personality also undergoes a drastic change?
“Ms. Smallwood, I think I’ll turn in now. Please get some rest yourself,” Clarissa said and dashed back to her room.
Ellie awoke drowsily when Clarissa entered her hotel room.
“Did you just come back from outside? Have you been crying?” Ellie asked while sitting up straight and checking on Clarissa.
“I’m fine. I was on the phone just now.”
“With Uncle Matt? What did he say?”
Clarissa smiled grimly. “Not much. He only asked me to believe him.”
“Pfft! That jack*ss!”
Ellie could not contain herself as she continued, “Clare, there’s something you must understand. Even with people as powerful as Uncle Matt, there are times when they have no choice but to be strong-armed into doing things they don’t like. I’ve witnessed a lot of this growing up. That’s why I’ve been saying to you to just let him go while you can.”
Clarissa sat on her bed and looked out the window for a while before she finally said, “Ellie, do you really think there’s no hope at all for me?”
“My dad is very close to the Wynters. I was told that he may be advancing in his position in the company. But it’s more complicated than that as it involves other people. All in all, it’s corporate nonsense and maybe I’ll be forced into doing such things in the future.”
The girls grew quiet at the same time, knowing in their hearts that they might never live out the ideal love dreams they each had in the mind.
“Ellie, I think I’ll wait.”
Ellie frowned and sighed. “It’s up to you.”
