Clarissa did not know how to react.
These people had deliberately brought her and Matthew together, not to mention, everything they talked about always leads back to them.
Have a child prodigy together?
Clarissa felt somewhat helpless and shot a furtive glance at Matthew, only to see an indifferent look on his face, as though he wasn’t listening to them at all.
She withdrew her gaze as thoughts flooded her mind.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes a fraction. Ladies usually dig Matt’s proud and cold demeanor, but under current circumstances, he shouldn’t keep acting like an arrogant d*ck, not if he wants to get back together with Clarissa.
As the atmosphere turned awkward, Jeremy spoke up once again.
“What do you think, Matt? Both you and Clarissa are so smart. Can we expect you two to give us a super-smart little godson?”
This time, the question was aimed directly at Matthew.
In the private lounge, everyone was staring expectantly at Matthew. As long as he spoke, their plan would go smoothly.
They believed that he only needed to coax Clarissa a little bit and this conflict would be resolved. Hence, they wanted to see Matthew’s reaction first.
Except for Clarissa, everyone else was waiting for Matthew’s answer.
She was the only one scrolling through her phone with her head bowed, looking like she couldn’t care less what his answer was.
As for Matthew, he lifted his gaze unhurriedly at Jeremy’s question and drummed his fingers on his thigh.
Then, he parted his lips and spoke in a cold voice.
“What does my child have to do with all of you? Stop asking stupid questions, Jeremy.”
His reply was like a bucket of ice water.
Silence ensued and the atmosphere grew thick with tension.
Done saying his piece, Matthew stood up and left the private lounge.
After he left, things didn’t really take a turn for the better.
The few of them exchanged wary glances, having already glimpsed Clarissa’s expression. Unfortunately, she was wearing an unreadable expression that prevented them from figuring out what was going through her mind.
These two are really hopeless.
Justin chuckled to break the awkward silence.
“Jeremy, enough about Matt. I heard that your family has given you an ultimatum. You can choose not to marry, but you must give them a child, something like that? Tsk, I think they’ve accepted that you can’t give up on your precious forest. You should quickly do your part and have a child so that your elders will stop worrying.”
“What? A child? If they want one, they can just pick one up from the streets for all I care.”
Jeremy would never go along with his family’s wishes, and of course he had said this without giving it much thought. Little did he know that his casual comment would one day come true.
Of course, this would only happen later in the future.
Everyone loosened up considerably as they talked about family matters.
However, Clarissa started to get bored.
After Matthew came back, it was her turn to go out.
Seeing Matthew that night showed Clarissa that there was no reason for her to stay anymore.
She initially planned to leave in a few days, but at that moment, she immediately used her phone to book a flight back to W City the next morning.
There was nothing left to hold on to.
Clarissa turned around, planning to bid Ellie goodbye and call it an early night. When she reached the door to the private lounge, she spotted Matthew and Shermaine.
She paused but didn’t turn back from where she came. Instead, she chose to hide just around the corner. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but she just didn’t want to run into the two of them like this.
“Matt, why are you rejecting me? I thought you’d finally admitted to our relationship when you stayed in Moranta to accompany me during my treatment. Why, Matt? Do you know how much I want to marry you? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for that moment?
“Matt, even if you don’t have feelings for me, our marriage will bring benefits to both our families.”
Shermaine poured out her feelings, but Matthew remained impassive.
“Shermaine, I’m sure you know why I accompanied you to Moranta and everything else I did there.”
Indeed, Shermaine knew why. At that time, she was also aware that Esther was only pretending to be sick.
When Matthew pointed that out in a cold and sharp tone, Shermaine’s chest tightened painfully as humiliation and anguish swept through her.
“Matt, I don’t believe that you don’t have any feelings for me.”
“I only see you as a friend.”
“Fine, even if that’s the case, aren’t you afraid the Wynters will be upset that you’re calling off the wedding just like that, Matt?”
“Is this a threat I hear?”
Matthew finally looked Shermaine in the eye, but his gaze made Shermaine feel as though she was plunged into ice-cold water and was drowning.
Her heart leapt to her throat and she took a subconscious step backward as panic filled her eyes.
Due to her heels, she lost her balance and shrieked in alarm.
Still hiding in the corner, Clarissa’s heart clenched nervously, but she did not look at them.
Soon, the sound of Shermaine’s sobs reached her ears.
“Matt, you still like me and care about me, right? I love you, Matt. I really do. Can we get married, please? Even if… Even if one day, you find a woman you truly love, I won’t mind and I’ll even give you my blessings. But now, just give me a chance to love you. Please?”
Right then, Shermaine was hugging Matthew tightly.
Clarissa didn’t catch Matthew’s answer, so she turned around slightly and took a peek.
Her heart instantly sunk to the pit of her stomach.
Suddenly, she felt that she was being ridiculous. Why am I even hiding here?
She took a deep breath, turned around and left quietly.
However, after she left, Matthew forcefully shoved Shermaine away.
“Shermaine, it’s impossible between us. From now on, stop wasting your time on me.”
Matthew was about to leave when Shermaine abruptly raised her voice and threatened, “Aren’t you afraid, Matt?”
Afraid?
Matthew naturally knew what Shermaine meant.
Despite that, his face remained expressionless and he never once faltered in his footsteps.
As Shermaine watched Matthew’s retreating figure, her aggrieved gaze flashed with a hint of resentment.
Why? Just how can I make Matthew fall in love with me?
…
“Huh? Clare left already!”
By the time Ellie received Clarissa’s text, the latter had already hopped into a taxi and was quite a distance away already.
As soon as she announced this, everyone looked at Matthew in unison.
The air around Matthew seemed to drop a few degrees in temperature.
Yarick, who was sitting closest to him, immediately bolted from his seat and shifted further away from him.
“Pfft…”
Never one to mince his words, Justin chuckled and remarked, “Seriously, Matt? You refused to lower your ego when she was here. Now that she’s gone, what’s the point in getting all broody?”
As soon as he said that, Matthew cast a deadly glare at him.
Justin shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Forget I said anything.”
Then, he turned to the side and deliberately asked Ellie, “Ellie, I recently heard that that kid Damon is making some serious advances on Clarissa. Do you think it’s possible Clarissa might feel that younger men are easier to communicate and connect with?”
Ellie had the urge to say something that would provoke her uncle, but seeing the murderous look on his face, she quickly dismissed that thought.
In a soft voice, she replied, “Yeah, Damon is making advances on Clare, but she hasn’t accepted him yet.”
“Oh? Well, persistence is key and it applies to women as well. Besides, Damon isn’t too shabby. I think he and Clarissa would make a lovely couple. Don’t you all agree?”
Yarick mentally gave Justin a thumbs-up. You’ve got some balls of steel there, bro.
Jeremy wasn’t as bold as Justin, but he still went with the flow and added, “Clarissa’s single now. Besides Damon, I’m pretty sure that many more outstanding men will try to court her. Perhaps she’ll be taken again very soon.”
Bang!
Matthew abruptly slammed his glass down.
Everyone fell silent, watching as Matthew got up, grabbed his coat and left.
“Pfft…”
After Matthew was gone, Ellie couldn’t stifle her laughter any longer.
She never knew that her uncle was a man with an ego the size of the earth.
In Ellie’s heart, her Uncle Matt had always been her lofty elder. He was decisive and omnipotent, which was why she greatly revered him. Of course, after the matter involving Clarissa, she gradually discovered another side to her uncle. However, at that moment, Ellie’s whole impression of Matthew had been overturned.
It turned out that her uncle was just a man. When in the face of love, he did stupid things just like any other man would.
After Ellie’s laughter died down, she stated, “If I were Clare, I wouldn’t want to get back together. I mean, look at how arrogant Uncle Matt behaved.”
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Having tried their best to patch things up between those two, they believed that time would heal them.
Unbeknownst to them, Clarissa had decided not to allow Matthew to dictate her life anymore.
When Ellie woke up late the next day, Clarissa had already arrived in her hometown.
While they were on a video call, Catherine came over to say hi to Ellie and exchanged a few words with her.
“I’m freaking mad at you, Clare. Even if you wanted to leave, you shouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. Did you think we were gonna eat you up or something?”
The sun hit just right where she was lounging leisurely by the window in her room, and she could feel all her stress melt away.
“Technically, I’m still here. Did I tell you? Being home feels so good. The weather’s getting chilly here…”
Needless to say, Ellie understood why her best friend had left.
She sighed inwardly, feeling rather sorry for both Clarissa and her uncle.
However, there was nothing she could do now that things had turned out this way.
In the following days, Clarissa lazed around the house and wrote whenever she felt like it. Meanwhile in D City, Ellie frequently video-called Clarissa and told her about work and also Matthew being pressured by the family. Even though Shermaine was no more, there were still many other women vying to become his wife.
In regard to this, Clarissa only laughed it off and gave no other response.
