“Thank me?”
Matthew leaned backward lazily and laughed the same mocking laugh that Clarissa was so familiar with.
At that moment, she could feel his anger.
Her heartbeat quickened, and she habitually shrank her neck.
“Do the same as what you did last night with Mr. Longman?”
Clarissa did not reply.
Instead, she breathed deeply, holding in her rage.
She knew that this man was infuriated, and she had no wish to quarrel with him.
Pursing her lips, Clarissa lifted her head and said, “Mr. Tyson, I have no obligation to explain anything to you. I suppose last night was a lesson for me, but I am eternally grateful that you helped me out. I shall not bother you anymore. Bye!”
Clarissa was afraid that it would end on an unhappy note If she stayed any longer.
Though she and Matthew broke up, she did not want every meeting with him to be unpleasant and awkward.
This time, she was pleased with her own response.
Clarissa, you have done well. This is the correct way, so classy and eloquent.
She showered herself with words of encouragement as she strode toward the exit.
But the moment she stretched out her hand and touched the doorknob, a large hand slammed on the door panel abruptly, and her whole body was spun around. All she saw was darkness, and her jaw hurt as someone held her face by the chin.
Matthew’s raspy voice came over her breath, full of fury.
“Clarissa, how dare you?”
“What did I… Mm…”
Before she knew what was happening, her delicate lips were sealed while her mouth was invaded.
Clarissa felt giddy, as if there was no oxygen left in the room. In no time, her body went limp, and Matthew held her in his arms. Leaning on him helplessly, she had no choice but to let him have his way with her.
Sometime later, she was pinned on the bed, her body freezing with her blouse opened up. Her lips were finally free, but the man was passionately kissing her body and giving her shivers as his lips lingered on her.
Clarissa’s whole body was flushed, and she stretched out her hand in embarrassment, shoving Matthew away.
“You… Get away from me…”
It was just a gentle push, and Clarissa was not sure if she meant it, but this slight movement stopped Matthew completely.
He lay on her bosom motionlessly for a long time, then suddenly got up and turned around before heading outside.
Embarrassed, Clarissa quickly dressed up.
Her emotions were like a roller coaster, and she did not know what to do next.
Bang!
The door was closed from the outside.
Startled, she hurried out of the room, but there was no trace of Matthew anywhere.
Was she disappointed?
Clarissa had to admit that she was.
Dumbstruck, she stood in the room for some time until someone knocked on the door.
She walked over to find that it was a waitress who brought her a set of clothes, including undergarments.
After changing into the clothes, Clarissa left the hotel.
However, she had to settle the bill for the room before she did so.
Initially, Clarissa was feeling disappointed, but now, she was simply bothered by the high hotel rate. What is so special about this hotel that one night costs so much? If I had known that it cost so much, I would have lingered a little longer. Besides, shouldn’t Matthew be the one paying for the room?
While blathering to herself, Clarissa reached home.
Immediately, she called Hilary and managed to get through after some difficulty. But the moment the call connected, her mother asked her about Mr. Longman.
Clarissa told her everything that had happened the previous night.
But Hilary did not find any problem with that. “Clary, Mr. Longman came back from abroad. If you guys are into each other, just go to bed with him. Why are you so stubborn? Besides, didn’t you say that he is pretty good? He only did that because he likes you, and it’s not like he drugged you. To be honest with you, Mr. Longman asked someone to tell me that you are not suitable for him. He thought that you agreed to be with him, so he invited you for a drink and took you to the hotel. It was wrong of you to get someone to beat him up. If you don’t like him, why did you meet him so many times? And why did you go for a drink with him?”
Hilary spoke at length, and her conclusion was that Clarissa was in the wrong.
The patience Clarissa had for her mother finally ran out.
“Are you done?”
Clarissa’s tone became cold. “Who do you think I am? A whore who just goes to bed with anyone? , Instead of being worried when your daughter was almost taken advantage of by a stranger, you actually think I was wrong for fending for myself? Do I have to sleep around in order to please you?”
“You foolish girl! That’s not what I mean—”
“You should know perfectly well what you mean. Aren’t you trying to marry me off into a wealthy family? Do you think that a loose woman would get to marry into a rich family? Did you marry into a rich family by sleeping around?”
“You… You…”
Hilary was so furious that she stuttered.
On the other hand, Clarissa regretted the words she had spoken out of rage the moment they escaped her lips.
Aware that she had gone overboard, Clarissa quietened down for a while, and then she apologized.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“You silly girl. I did it for your good, didn’t I?”
“I know, but it’s not what I want. Mom, let me be honest with you. Your ideas won’t work. Just look at all those girls who want to marry rich. Do you think wealthy men are idiots? There are tons of girls who are prettier than me. Why would a rich man choose me over them?”
“What do you mean?”
“You must understand this. I’ll prove myself so that a man will admire me for my capability, not my looks. After that, we will see how it goes.”
“You are right, but you must hurry while you are still young. You have to…”
“I understand. That’s why I’m looking out for men while I’m working on myself, so I hope you will stop pressuring me.”
After talking to Hilary, Clarissa was relieved.
Finally, the matter with Hilary was settled.
In the following days, Clarissa followed Justin to learn during the day, and at night, she coded so that her time was fully occupied and she had no spare time to think about Matthew.
This was the first time she felt heartbroken after a breakup. Even though she thought about him all the time, she was not allowed to look for him.
Whenever she could not sleep in the middle of the night, a battle between logic and feelings would take place in her mind.
Perhaps one day, she would get used to it.
…
Clarissa had been in D City for some time, and the weather here was freezing, which made her miss her hometown, W City, very much.
Alas, this city did not give her a sense of belonging.
She did another photoshoot for Ellie’s new products and made a live broadcast. By now, her “Miss Clare” persona was already well-known online and in the live broadcast industry, but she rarely appeared in public, so it was difficult to meet her. One could only leave a message on Ellie’s online shop to make an appointment with her.
The live broadcast this time was more successful than the previous one because it was first announced online.
After the live broadcast, Ellie was too excited for words as the sales rose to a new high.
“Clare, are you really leaving?”
Clarissa had wanted to leave several times, but she stayed on because Ellie could not bear to part with her.
“This time, it’s for real. I have nothing going for me in D City. Besides, the weather is getting cold, and my grandma is not in good shape. The cold weather tends to make her health worsen, so I’d better go back and look after her.”
Ellie had no way of arguing with that.
“Alright, then. But you should leave after the weekend so that we can spend some time together.”
Clarissa agreed to it.
During the weekend, Ellie and Clarissa went window shopping and eating out happily.
But when night came, Ellie brought Clarissa to a gathering, which the latter was oblivious to. When they arrived, all the people she knew were there, including Matthew.
Immediately, Clarissa wanted to leave, but Ellie stopped her.
“Oh, don’t go. If you leave, it just means that you haven’t got over it yet. Clare, if you haven’t, just reconcile with Uncle Matt then. Don’t worry. This time, you have my blessings.”
Clarissa frowned at Ellie.
It’s obviously a ploy by Ellie.
Clarissa could only go along with it, so she went inside begrudgingly.
“Clarissa, I heard that you have been following Yates during this period of time. Have you learned a lot? Yates, I’d say, Clarissa has become your apprentice, hasn’t she?”
Justin merely chuckled. “I’m no mentor.”
Clarissa did not reply as she sensed that Jeremy and the others were teasing her.
As she tried to take a seat, Ellie and the others shoved her to Matthew’s side, leaving her no choice but to sit next to him.
Clarissa felt a little uneasy, but before she could leave, Matthew got up first. With an icy expression, the man, who exuded an imposing aura, walked to the other side and sat down.
His reaction surprised everyone.
At first, they were trying to bring the two back together, but to their surprise, Matt was the one who was unwilling.
They exchanged glances while Clarissa’s face fell. Lowering her head, she looked at the phone as if she could not care less about Matthew.
The atmosphere became so dense that it was almost palpable.
As the expert at breaking the ice, Jeremy quickly changed the subject, and everyone started talking and laughing, putting the earlier events to the back of their minds.
“Justin, when is the premiere of your new movie?”
“Most probably during the New Year holidays.”
“New Year holiday season. Will the box office hit a billion?”
Naturally, Justin was not sure as no director could accurately predict their own box office.
“I can’t tell how much we can sell, but I can foresee some profit. It’s possible that we may win some awards.”
“Tsk tsk, Clarissa’s script. I heard Yates say that it has depth. Clarissa is really amazing. She’s young, beautiful, and talented, as good as our Matt. When Matt was twenty, he was the rising star in D City’s business world. Of course, he is already a prominent figure now, but when he was young, he really surprised the business community. If you two really get together, you will have a child in the future. Won’t the child be a prodigy?”
“That’s right. I think so too. Come on, give us a child prodigy. We are all waiting!”
