Clarissa’s lips curved up.
“I’m not cold. We’re taking a car there, and the venue is well-heated.”
“Clare!”
As Matthew was being insistent, Clarissa explained, “I prepared this dress just for this event. This is too last minute. I don’t have other suitable outfits!”
“Why not? Your closet is full of clothes.”
Clarissa rolled her eyes in irritation and paid no heed to him.
She gazed at him defiantly.
Arching a brow, Matthew didn’t press on. Instead, he leaned over and planted hickeys on her neck and collarbone.
Immediately, Clarissa pushed him away. Yet, she was no match for him.
In the end, Matthew felt pleased to see the hickeys all over her fair skin. They were too obvious to ignore as her skin was as fair as snow.
Matthew knew how enticing she was.
The sight of her alluring figure only served to fuel his desire. His gaze darkened dangerously.
Clarissa hurriedly covered his eyes with her hands. “Stop!”
After removing her hands, Matthew pressed into her body and whispered, “Clare, let’s stay at home. It’s the weekend. We shouldn’t spend it with those annoying people. Why don’t we—”
“No. I’ll change my clothes now, okay?”
Clarissa gritted her teeth and gave in.
Disappointment showed on Matthew’s face. “Clare, you don’t have to change. There’s no need to attend that engagement party. Let’s stay at home and…”
Before he could finish, Clarissa had already dashed upstairs to change.
Soon, she came downstairs clad in a simple buttoned-up shirt and knitted knee-length skirt with a long coat outside. She was totally covered up from head to toe.
“Are you happy now?”
Matthew grinned. “Clare, you look good in anything!”
“Ha!”
Due to the delay, they were nearly late for the party.
It was a grand event. They had booked a huge banquet hall in the hotel for the party. Plenty of guests were milling around. There was a photo of the engaged couple by the door.
Clarissa took a glance at the man who was supposed to be from the Wynter family. Huh, he looks nothing like Damon.
The person who was collecting the gifts at the door took Clarissa’s cash gift and wrote her name down. She also sized Clarissa up.
Deep down, Clarissa was complaining silently.
It looks just like a wedding. They are obviously after the cash gifts. Are the Garretts that poor?
Luckily I didn’t prepare a lot.
“Clary, you’re finally here!”
Hilary parted with the guests and came over to Clarissa. She was proud to see a lot of men eyeing her daughter.
“See, there are plenty of guests here. Act demure. Also, didn’t I ask you to dress up? Why are you clad in grey and black?”
Clarissa smiled. “I’m being artsy.”
“What? Forget it, it’s too late to change now. Behave. Yvonne is kicking up a fuss. Well, that’s none of my business as her grandmother is here.”
“Huh? Why is she kicking up a fuss now?”
Clarissa was curious. Yvonne’s a stubborn woman. Something huge must’ve happened for her to kick up a fuss.
Well, my instinct is telling me Yvonne’s going to humiliate herself today.
“It’s the Wynters fault. After their engagement, Mason agreed to gift some of their company shares to Yvonne. There’s also the matter of the dowry. Anyway, they didn’t keep their word, so Yvonne is demanding to cancel the engagement. The Wynters don’t even care at all. Now, Yvonne is using her baby to threaten them. Both sides are stubbornly standing their ground.”
Clarissa’s eyes widened in surprise. Interesting. She’s pregnant.
“She’s pregnant. Why did they get engaged first? They should get married at once.”
“I don’t know. Zach was the one who made the arrangements with the Wynter family. Forget it, go take a seat. Look around carefully and snag yourself a man! I need to leave.”
Deep down, Hilary was gloating over the situation, but she had to pretend she was concerned.
Clarissa found a seat and sat down. Immediately, a man appeared in front of her.
She shifted aside silently, but the man spoke with a smile, “Clare, am I going to eat you?”
Looking up in surprise, Clarissa blurted out, “Damon?”
It was Damon Wynter. Chuckling lightly, he took the seat next to her. “Surprised to see me here?”
“Of course,” replied Clarissa with a grin. “I thought you won’t be attending the party?”
“I’m not here to attend the engagement party. I’m here to see you, Clare.”
An awkward silence hung in the air.
Soon, Damon let out a chortle. “That was a joke. I’m here because my grand-uncle came to my house personally and asked me to attend the party. No one in my family wanted to come, so they sent me to be their representative. I had no choice as I’m the youngest in the family.”
Damon was pretending to be pitiful. He had an exaggerated look on his face, causing Clarissa to laugh.
“Actually, I don’t want to be here. I had no choice, too.”
“We’re sharing the same fate, then.”
They exchanged smiles quietly before collecting their thoughts.
Clarissa had no idea what happened backstage, but she knew Yvonne wouldn’t give up on Mason. The engagement party went on smoothly.
As Yvonne was in a good mood and had to keep up appearances, she had no time to find fault with Clarissa.
The party ended on a high note. At least, it seemed so on the surface.
Before leaving, Hilary spotted Clarissa chatting with Damon happily. Pleased, she was already imagining her daughter marrying into the Wynter family.
After coming out of the hall, they headed toward the lobby.
“I’ll give you a ride home?” asked Damon.
Clarissa rejected his offer. “No need. I’ll just grab a cab…”
She trailed off after spotting a familiar car was parked at the hotel’s entrance.
Damon sensed her abrupt change and followed her gaze. At the sight of the car, a bitter feeling rose in his heart.
“Looks like you don’t have to take a cab. I’ll take my leave, then. We should have fun with Ellie someday.”
“Sure. Goodbye!”
Clarissa dashed to the car and got in.
In the car, Matthew’s brows were knitted up. When she came to him, he squeezed her hands unhappily.
“Why is he here?”
“Oh, Yvonne’s fiancé is a relative of Damon.”
“Damon?”
Clarissa belatedly realized the oddness in his voice.
Snorting, she leaned on his chest and posed a deliberate question. “What’s wrong? You’re jealous?”
Matthew’s gaze narrowed. Indeed, he was jealous.
“Aren’t you being too friendly?”
“Oh, Uncle Matthew. Mr. Tyson? Matthew Tyson?” Clarissa returned coyly with a hint of enchantment.
To Matthew, she was already alluring enough.
As she was drawling sexily, Matthew felt his heart melting. Desire veiled his gaze as he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him.
“Darling, do you want to have sex in the car?” he suggested eagerly.
Immediately, Clarissa blushed beet red and glared at him.
“Get lost!”
His lips stretched into a grin as he planted a kiss on her forehead. Rubbing against her forehead affectionately, he caressed her back in an attempt to seduce her.
“Clare, actually, we should be open-minded to try more things. Besides, you’re an author. If you write the same thing repeatedly with no improvement, that won’t do. You’ll need to be open to try new things.”
Clarissa was scowling by now.
That was the first time she had ever heard someone coming up with such a pretentious excuse to have sex in the car.
Look how shameless he is.
“What do you think, Clare?” Matthew concluded and waited for her reply.
He gave her a lopsided grin.
Clarissa merely plastered a smile on her face. “Matthew, we’re home.”
With that, she got off the car swiftly.
Stunned, Matthew gazed at her retreating figure as happiness radiated through him.
Smirking, he decided. Well, this is just the start. I have plenty of positions I’d like to try out. Let’s do this slowly.
Clarissa had no idea Matthew had that thought in his mind.
Later on, when Matthew successfully tricked her to try out other positions, she finally realized how shameless the smooth-talker was.
He had shown another side of him.
But of course, that would only happen in the near future.
Right now, Matthew was restraining himself to be a normal boyfriend.
Clarissa changed into comfy clothes and came downstairs. As the weather was chilly, she told Julia to prepare some hotpot for dinner.
She had just taken a seat when her phone rang. It was a video call from her grandmother.
Matthew took the seat next to her to greet the old lady.
Instead of Catherine, the caregiver, Jenny, showed up on the screen.
“Oh, Jenny? Where’s Grandma?”
Jenny seemed upset as she said, “Clarissa, your grandma is talking to your aunt. You might think I’m being a busybody, but I think you should know about this.”
Clarissa tensed up. “Go ahead, Jenny.”
“Right. A few days ago, your grandma softened and allowed your aunt and uncle to bring her to their home. Hence, I stopped coming here. Today, she returned home. I think they had a fight, but she seemed okay. But when I went to tidy up your room, I realized your stuff is gone. Your grandma is terribly upset by that. She’s arguing with them now. I couldn’t persuade them to calm down. They are still sweet-talking their way into her heart. What should I do?”
