The man was none other than Matthew.
She could feel it the moment she landed in his arms.
Her body went stiff immediately.
Why do I bump into him every time I get embarrassed or into a fight? What kind of ill-fated love is this? Did he overhear our conversation? This is so frustrating.
Clarissa could barely contain her exasperation. After Matthew held her up, she couldn’t bring herself to glance at him. With her head lowered, she mumbled, “Thank you.”
On the other hand, Helen was fearful when Matthew first showed up. However, the woman regained her boldness the moment she remembered that the two had already broken up. Looking at Clarissa’s timid face in front of the man, she became even more full of herself.
She sneered, “Haha… Mr. Tyson, what a coincidence. Clarissa didn’t tell me that you would be coming over as well, but she brought her boyfriend, Mr. Wynter, here. It looks like she didn’t tell you about it too.”
Helen mentioned Damon in an attempt to instigate a row between them.
Letting go of Clarissa, Matthew took a step back, putting both his hands into his pockets. His chiseled face stayed frigid while his piercing, dark eyes became unreadable and devoid of emotion.
He looked at Clarissa as though she was a complete stranger to him.
Seeing that, Helen’s lips curled up in a smirk.
“Mr. Tyson, we couldn’t believe it when Clarissa told us that she broke up with you. We only knew that she was being serious after she brought Mr. Wynter along to the gathering. Anyway, it’s not surprising since she has always had countless admirers. Other than the men in our class, she’s surrounded by many accomplished men like you, Mr. Tyson. I bet her suitors never stopped pursuing her when she was still together with you…”
Apparently, Helen was trying to set Clarissa up.
Perhaps she thought Matthew was going to get mad at Clarissa.
Nonetheless, before she even finished talking, the man turned around and walked away impassively.
Clarissa felt her chest tighten. Although Helen didn’t successfully enrage him, she still felt satisfied at the sight of Clarissa’s rigid expression.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Clarissa, are you still hoping for Mr. Tyson’s love? Tough luck! Why would he long for you when he already has a fiancée like Ms. Smallwood now? What a joke. By the way, I wonder how Mr. Wynter will react if he knows that you still can’t get over Mr. Tyson. You’re such a greedy woman.”
Averting her gaze from Matthew’s leaving figure, Clarissa turned to look at Helen. All of a sudden, a grin appeared on her face.
Her eyes fell on someone behind Helen as she said, “Why don’t you ask him about it yourself? Mmm? Damon, what do you think?”
Taken aback, Helen turned around and saw Damon standing behind her.
His expression grew stern at her question. Walking over to Clarissa, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a firm hug.
“Clare, I don’t mind whether you have feelings for me. I’m willing to love you wholeheartedly as long as you let me stay by your side. Please don’t push me away, Clare.”
His sudden confession startled Clarissa. His acting is so good that he almost fooled me.
On the other hand, Helen’s face contorted with resentment.
“Mr. Wynter, Clarissa is a loose woman. She…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Holding Clarissa in his arms, Damon shot daggers at Helen.
“Clare is my woman, and I know her way better than you do. You’re just slandering her out of jealousy. I don’t mind if anyone is as smitten with Clare as I am because she’s the best girl I’ve ever met. Those men who don’t like her are either blind or just unlucky. I know that you’ve been picking on Clare. I can forgive your past wrongdoings, but I will never let you off the hook if I ever find you trying to single her out again.”
Petrified, Helen turned around and stomped off furiously. Right after she was out of sight, Clarissa nudged Damon.
“Thank you for helping me out just now. Damon, you’re really skilled in acting.”
The man flashed her a warm smile. Though he had let go of her, they were still standing rather close to each other.
“I wasn’t even acting. I meant it from the bottom of my heart. You know I like you, don’t you?”
Clarissa felt mildly awkward all of a sudden, and her eyes flickered as she looked away. Sensing her uneasiness, Damon didn’t press on anymore.
“Let’s go. Do you want to go back to the private lounge or head home?”
Clarissa hesitated for a while. “Let’s go home.”
“Sure.”
On the way to the entrance, Clarissa stopped in her tracks. “You may go home first. I have something else to attend to.”
Damon raised a brow at her, but she smiled at him without explaining further.
“Okay, I’ll get going now. Be careful on your way home. Call me when you get into a cab and reach home.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
With a smile, Clarissa walked him to the entrance. She then went back into the private lounge to excuse herself. Her classmates gave her meaningful smiles without saying a word while Helen sat in silence.
Afterward, Clarissa didn’t leave the hotel right away. Even she herself couldn’t tell what she actually wanted to do. The woman despised herself for doing this, yet she couldn’t help it.
She roamed around the entire floor twice, carefully checking out every area and corner. Soon, she came to the realization that she was acting silly. What am I doing? Previously, I was adamant about breaking up, and yet I’m doing this now. Forget it. This is so not me. I’ve always been rational and decisive.
Turning around, she walked over to the elevator.
While she was waiting for the elevator door to open, she could hear footsteps approaching from behind.
However, she didn’t pay attention to them. With her head lowered, she clicked on an app to hail a cab.
“Clarissa? What a coincidence.”
Looking up in the direction of the voice, she saw Jeremy.
As usual, beside him stood Matthew.
Other than the two of them, there were a few men and women whom she didn’t know.
Her gaze swept across Matthew’s shirt before flicking away.
“Hello, Mr. Smallwood.”
“Tsk. Why are you acting so distant? It doesn’t matter whether you guys are in a relationship or not. I’m still your friend, right?”
Clarissa’s lips twitched at his words. “Jeremy, she’s still a young girl. It’s dangerous for her to make friends with you,” someone behind him joked.
The rest grasped the hidden meaning of his words and broke into a fit of laughter.
Only Matthew remained aloof and silent as if he had absolutely nothing to do with this.
Hurriedly, Jeremy refuted, “That’s enough. What do you mean by dangerous? She’s Matt’s and my niece. What were you thinking?”
“Oh? Your niece? That’s more like it.”
Clarissa had never felt so embarrassed. My status has changed from Matthew’s girlfriend to his niece overnight.
Just then, the elevator door opened, and she was the first one to step in, standing in an innermost corner. The others then entered the elevator as well.
Beside her, Matthew’s domineering presence made Clarissa’s back stiffen.
Amused, Jeremy chuckled to himself. Stealthily, he inched closer and pushed Matthew out of the blue.
“Ah! I’m sorry, Matt. It’s too crowded in here, so I stumbled…”
Matthew managed to steady himself with his hands on the wall of the elevator, trapping Clarissa in between his arms.
His familiar, refreshing scent mixed with traces of his signature cigarette smell enveloped her in an instant, and the woman held her breath instinctively.
Standing perfectly still, she dared not lift her head. Her heart pounded rapidly as butterflies danced in her stomach.
In a panic, anticipation spiked within her chest.
In the next instant, Matthew righted himself and withdrew his hands, taking a step away from her. He’s indifferent and cold, just like how he was the first time I saw him. We are officially strangers now.
At this thought, her heart wrenched in pain. Looking down, she hid her sullen expression from everyone else.
In fact, no one paid attention to this brief encounter between them. Half a minute later, the elevator arrived on the ground floor. When the door opened, all of them walked out, one after another, while Clarissa sauntered languidly behind everyone else.
“Matthew, my house is in the same direction as yours. Would you mind giving me a ride home?” a woman among them spoke.
Everyone present could tell what her actual intention was.
Someone giggled and said, “Matthew, when we were in school, you knew the direction of Mavis’ house like the back of your hand. Hence, it’s best that you send her home this time.”
The woman, Mavis Lynch, was their former classmate. She took care of herself very well, so she seemed to be only around thirty years old.
Openly, she strolled closer to Matthew and hooked her hand around his arm.
“What? Are you guys jealous? Dream on. Don’t forget that all of you are married. Let’s go, Matthew. I have some work matters to discuss with you…”
“Discussing work at night? Haha… We got it. Go ahead and do what you need to.”
Then they went their separate ways. All of his classmates seemed affluent, judging on the fact that they had their own chauffeurs. As they got into the cars, Jeremy couldn’t help calling out to Clarissa when he saw her standing alone by the road.
“Come on, Clarissa. We’ll send you home.”
“It’s alright. I’ve called for a cab.”
The truth was that she didn’t manage to call for a cab earlier because Jeremy interrupted her, and she didn’t do it afterward.
At this time, the only thing holding her up was the little dignity left within her.
Her eyes were riveted on the two whose arms were still interlocked. A few seconds later, she averted her gaze, which was as cold as ice.
Noticing her reaction, Jeremy was amused.
“Forget about the cab. It’s already late, so it’s not safe for a girl to go home alone. I’m going to hang out with my friends later. Why don’t you let Matt send you home?”
His suggestion pissed Mavis off.
Nevertheless, Jeremy seemed totally oblivious to her reaction. He then dragged Clarissa by her arm and pushed her toward Matthew.
Despite her irritation, Mavis knew that she had to contain her emotions.
She forced a smile while asking, “Where is she staying? Is it on the way?”
It’ll be best if her house is in a different direction.
Unexpectedly, before Jeremy answered her, Clarissa opened her mouth to speak.
“Yeah, it’s on the way.”
Surprised, Jeremy lifted his brows. On the other hand, Matthew glanced nonchalantly at her. Without uttering a word, he looked away.
Beside the man, Mavis gave her a once-over. This young girl is so brazen.
