Clarissa only realized that her phone wasn’t working after quite some time.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a problem that she didn’t reply to her friends’ greetings once and a while.
If Matthew called her, she wasn’t sure what she had to say to him. To be exact, she didn’t have anything to say to him.
Clarissa flashed Ellie a smile of relief.
“I know. Don’t worry because I didn’t take it to heart. However, I should really start working after spending much free time.”
“When will you leave?”
“I haven’t decided yet. It will probably be in two to three days after Yael and I wrapped up our job.”
Damon couldn’t help but ask, “Filming is rather interesting, right? Can I go with you?”
Clarissa said smilingly, “You can be there but not with me. Besides, you’ve to get Director Yates’s permission because he doesn’t like to see someone who is not involved in filming around. If Director Yates is pissed off, please don’t say that I let you in.”
Once Clarissa finished, Ellie kicked Damon and scolded, “Forget it. Clare has to be there for work. Why do you want to go with her and cause trouble? Alright, time to dismiss and go home.”
Ellie exchanged a glance with Damon as she spoke. Damon instantly understood that he didn’t have to follow Clarissa because Ellie was not worried about Clarissa now.
After going home alone, Clarissa cleaned herself up and began to organize her plan.
She had a video chat with Grandma and told Grandma that she had a break-up. Grandma didn’t dwell into it, probably because she knew that her granddaughter was upset about it.
“It’s not a big deal. Since you are such a good girl, it is his loss for not appreciating you. Besides, he’s rather old for you. You can definitely get a better and younger boyfriend next time.”
Clarissa laughed and replied, “Yes, great minds think alike. I’ll date another younger and more handsome man and bring him back to visit you.”
“Sure! You have to act faster!”
After ending the call, Clarissa contacted Hilary and asked to meet up with her.
Hilary seemed to have a comfortable life. Before they could even start chatting, she brought Clarissa to a beauty salon.
“Women must give the best treatment to ourselves, particularly you who look gorgeous. I mean, you’ve to count on your good looks to get a good man in the future. By the way, what are you working on lately? I haven’t asked you about it.”
“Oh, nothing much. I’m now writing and publishing articles from time to time.”
“Writing articles? How much money can you make by doing that? I advised you to get married as early as possible, but you didn’t listen to me. This time, you really have to heed my advice. By the way, Zach is planning to look for a good match for Yvonne. I can grab the chance to pick some good candidates for you. Since you’re so beautiful, I’m sure you can marry a successful man.”
“Sure, you can proceed with that.”
“Really?”
Hilary was surprised that Clarissa was willing to cooperate.
“Are you serious? You’re not lying, are you?”
Clarissa answered seriously, “I’m serious. However, I have to leave this place for some time. You can make the arrangements after I’ve returned.”
Clarissa understood that Hilary wouldn’t give up if she couldn’t introduce some men to her.
Hence, she decided to let Hilary fulfill her wish. Besides, she was determined not to accept anyone as her boyfriend anymore. Hilary would eventually lose her patience and stop introducing other men.
“It’s settled then. Don’t you lie to me!”
“Sure, I won’t lie to you. But will Yvonne be angry?”
“How can she be angry? I tell you what, she is now very obedient, though it might only be an act. I think she learned the lesson last time because Zach was really pissed off. Her grandma and relatives also educated her. As such, she is obedient now ever since she returned.”
“Do you trust her?”
Clarissa definitely didn’t believe that she changed. After all, she understood that a leopard couldn’t change its spots.
Hilary smiled as she stared at her own face, which looked gorgeous after the facial.
“It doesn’t matter if I believe her or not. I mean, I can put up with her as long as she doesn’t cause trouble. Besides, I’m not afraid of her.”
“Anyway, you should be cautious.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot. Also, I grabbed this chance to get a lot of things for Jonathan…”
Even though she stopped short of telling her, Clarissa knew what she was getting at.
Meanwhile, Hilary was apparently in a good mood and went shopping with Clarissa.
At night, they went to a restaurant for dinner. Deep in Hilary’s heart, she hoped to compensate Clarissa as she didn’t do much for Clarissa as her mother. Nonetheless, Clarissa wasn’t touched by it.
“This is a high-end restaurant. I bring you here to get some new experience. You haven’t been to such a high-end restaurant, have you? Don’t be afraid. Hold your head high and be confident. I’ll bring you to such places more often. Besides, I’ll bring you to various high-end banquets and introduce you to the upper class. When you eventually become well-known in the circle, I’m sure you can marry an even more successful man than me. When you’ve time, I’ll bring you to take part in courses about etiquette and physique…”
Clarissa gave her a perfunctory nod. Deep in her heart, she only wished to finish the food as soon as possible and leave.
Although she had only been with Hilary from afternoon till now, Clarissa felt that she had been pushed to her limits.
It was a waste of time talking to Hilary. Since Hilary was only interested in marrying into a wealthy family, Clarissa could hardly bear with her any longer.
When they finally finished the meal and were ready to go, Hilary wanted to touch up her makeup in the ladies’ room.
Clarissa had no choice but to wait for her outside.
“Ms. Quigley? Hehe… what a coincidence to meet you here.”
Clarissa was startled to see Shermaine. Since there wasn’t anyone around her, Clarissa immediately calmed herself down.
“Ms. Smallwood, it’s a coincidence indeed. How do you feel now?”
Clarissa greeted her out of courtesy.
On the other hand, Shermaine’s lips curled as she replied, “I’m fine.”
As Clarissa looked at Shermaine’s smile, she felt that Shermaine’s face seemed to be a little weird.
Could it be that she underwent plastic surgery after she was injured?
I think her face wasn’t injured, was it?
Speaking of which, Clarissa still wasn’t sure which part of Shermaine’s body was injured and how serious her injuries were. After seeing her in person, Clarissa felt that she looked fine and didn’t seem to have severe injuries before.
After all, her arm had recovered in just a month. Clarissa guessed that she wouldn’t have such a speedy recovery if she had severe injuries.
However, why did she go overseas for treatment if she wasn’t severely injured?
As such, Clarissa was rather clueless about it.
Nevertheless, she soon felt that the truth had nothing to do with her.
She flashed Shermaine a smile, and both of them didn’t utter a word anymore.
“Clary, let’s go.”
When Hilary came out of the restaurant, Clarissa nodded at Shermaine and said, “We’ll get going. See you, Ms. Smallwood.”
Hilary came up to Clarissa and was shocked to see Shermaine.
“Are you… Shermaine Smallwood?”
Shermaine’s eyes sparkled for a while as she saw Hilary, but she hid it well.
“Who is she?”
“She’s my mom. So sorry, we’ve to get going because we’re in a rush.”
Clarissa dragged Hilary to leave the place once she finished.
She was worried that the longer she stayed here, the more likely Shermaine would expose her identity—a screenwriter.
However, Hilary still looked back and yelled, “Hey, why are you in a hurry? I haven’t had the chance to look at Shermaine closely. She’s beautiful and one of the best actresses! It’s the first time that I see Ms. Smallwood. Do you know her? What a surprise that you know…”
Clarissa pushed her into the car when she was babbling non-stop.
On the other hand, Shermaine clenched her fists when Clarissa and Hilary were leaving. It was as though she was pondering over something.
Early in the morning, Clarissa had finished packing her belongings. She went downstairs to call a cab.
Nevertheless, a low-profile black car, which wasn’t supposed to be here, appeared before the cab arrived.
Clarissa was dumfounded as Matthew hopped out.
It had been a long time since she saw this man. As such, she used to think that she would be unfazed at his presence.
Nonetheless, the moment she saw him, her heart still uncontrollably skipped a beat.
She pretended to get her luggage and looked across the road, hoping that the cab that she called would arrive by now.
She hoped to treat him as a mere stranger but could feel the immense heat exuded from his gaze.
Matthew got closer and closer until he stood next to her.
“Going to the airport?”
Clarissa didn’t respond.
She used to imagine the moment when they met again: She would casually greet Matthew like a stranger. She would probably smile at him too, just like an old friend who had let go of their past misunderstanding.
However, she didn’t imagine their encounter to unfold in such a way: She didn’t talk nor respond to him as though she was still mad at him.
In fact, it was the worse way of reacting to him, yet she couldn’t control herself.
When a cab approached them, Clarissa glanced at the number plate. Once she confirmed that it was her cab, she dragged her luggage and walked toward it.
Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist firmly, and so she couldn’t move her luggage at all.
She glanced at Matthew coldly and warned, “Let me go. I’m in a rush. Mr. Tyson, what you’re doing now would amount to harassment. I can call the police.”
Matthew’s gaze deepened as he furrowed his brows.
“I’ll give you a lift to the airport.”
“It’s okay. My cab has arrived. Let go…” Clarissa said sternly.
At the same time, she tried very hard to wriggle her arm free and ignored the pain, though he was grabbing her arm hard. In fact, she wished to avoid being touched by him at all costs, even if it meant breaking her arm.
Because Matthew could sense her determination, he glared at her threateningly. Although her heart skipped a beat, her fury far exceeded her fear, helping her wriggle free successfully.
Immediately, she dragged her luggage and hopped in to leave the place.
Matthew stared at the car for a while but soon got into his car and commanded, “Follow it.”
No matter how hard Clarissa tried, she couldn’t get rid of him.
Matthew successfully stopped her at the airport.
Unexpectedly, Clarissa sneered when her gaze met Matthew’s.
“Mr. Tyson, we broke up, yet it wasn’t a matter of life and death. Why are you pestering me? Do you want me to say it clearly? We broke up, and I’m tired of being with an old man like you. Got it?”
