Shermaine did not rush to the Tyson residence after she was back in D City.
She had even informed Henry after making necessary arrangements at work. However, Henry was displeased with her act of letting others have the chance that should have been hers.
He knew he only had himself to blame for this. The woman had not harbored any intention of becoming an actress since day one. If it wasn’t for Matthew, he and Justin would not have helped her rise to her fame.
Great. Now she’s giving up on her career just because of Matthew. I should have known better.
Of course, Henry did not intend to stop her from going after the man of her dreams. He merely snickered at her futile attempt.
You will accomplish nothing. Girl, you’re just wasting your time.
However, he did not make his thoughts vocal.
After grounding herself at home for some time, the woman finally decided to do something.
She had gone out of her house after Clarissa’s scandal was all over the internet.
Of course, she was off to see Margaret.
Shermaine headed straight toward the Tyson residence. However, she did not expect that Sienna was there too.
The two love rivals were not pleased to see each other, to say the least. Shermaine had thought that Sienna would have given up after being hit last time. How dare she show up here?
Smiling, Shermaine said, “Ms. Grande, it’s been a while! I heard that you were injured. Are you alright? Oh, you look okay. It looks like the scar has faded after all.”
Sienna smiled in response. “Thank you for the concern, Ms. Smallwood. I’m good. How can I not be when you’re doing great?”
“Oh, why do you say so, Ms. Grande?”
“It just slipped off my tongue. Why so nervous, Ms. Smallwood?”
“Did I? You must have mistaken it. I have nothing to be nervous about. I’m just worried about you, Ms. Grande. You really have to be more careful in the future after this incident.”
“Oh, I’ll be sure to grab the bull by its thorn the next time it decides to strike again. I guess I have to be vicious in dealing with it. Otherwise, it’s just going to come back and bite me.”
“Haha…”
Shermaine cracked a dry laugh as a sense of trepidation washed over her.
The woman had picked up on Sienna’s glacial stare, and could not help but felt terrified. Shermaine shifted uncomfortably under the latter’s frosty gaze and turned her attention to Margaret instead.
“Mrs. Tyson, the weather has turned chilly these days. I know that you and Mr. Tyson have trouble with your legs because of the low temperature. I’ve specifically asked for my people to bring back some medicine from overseas…”
Sienna and Yuliana cast sideways glance at Shermaine as the latter was trying to butter up Margaret.
Yuliana had been suspecting that Shermaine was behind Sienna’s attack. She was flabbergasted as she listened to the exchange between the two women. Shermaine has the audacity to strike Yuliana. What a brazen woman.
Not only did she not know her place, but she had also even instructed for people to strike Sienna, to the extent of almost disfiguring her. She’s a vicious woman!
A frisson of annoyance fleeted across Yuliana’s face as she regarded Shermaine. The Tysons will be in chaos if this woman becomes my sister-in-law.
Meanwhile, Margaret was grinning ear to ear from Shermaine’s gentle and considerate manners.
The latter had unconsciously steered the topic in Clarissa’s direction.
“I know this Clarissa, and I’d even starred in a few of the TV dramas and movies that she had written. She was really popular a while back. That was how Justin had noticed her and decided to use her script for a new movie. She really was quite close to Justin. For a while, I thought she was a decent girl. I didn’t expect that she’d go off in the wrong route after she had become famous. I heard that those who were caught red-handed in the party were taking drugs and messing around. What a shame… I thought she had known better.”
“Clarissa? That name rings a bell.”
Margaret was only thinking that the name sounded familiar, but Yuliana and Sienna had already figured out who she was.
Sienna was surprised to find out that Clarissa was actually both a screenwriter and an author.
Having said that, she thought it was best to keep mum about her realization.
“You’re talking about Clarissa Quigley, right?” Yuliana asked.
“What?” Margaret was shocked.
She was already not particularly fond of the girl and was even disdained now that she knew that the girl was taking drugs.
What kind of girl is she? She’s even messing around with men?
I knew it. She’s just a bimbo who uses deceit and trickery to get what she wants.
Margaret scorned at the thought of Clarissa, albeit keeping mum because Sienna was there too. However, there was no mistaking that the old woman was irked.
“Yuliana, tell Ellie not to hang out with that girl anymore. This kind of girl has no self-respect and even resorts to such despicable acts. Nobody is allowed to mingle with that girl from now onward, and she’s prohibited to even step into our house. Is that clear?”
Yuliana threw a look at Shermaine who was beaming delightfully and replied, “Yes, Mom.”
“And, uh… Get Matthew to come home tonight. I need to talk to him.”
“But Mom, it’s not like Matthew will just listen to me.”
Margaret knew that Matthew would not even listen to herself if she had asked him. That was the reason she requested for Yuliana to relay the message.
“Ask Matthias to pass on the message if he doesn’t listen to you. Tell him that he has to come home tonight, no matter what, and that if he doesn’t come back, then he might as well not come back for the rest of his life. The Tysons will just disown him.”
Margaret’s tone was stern. It was apparent that the old woman was vexed.
Shermaine’s lips curled into a smug smile, and she incidentally locked her gaze with Sienna. The fearless woman stared right into the latter’s eyes.
Sienna conceded and retracted her gaze. She did not linger and left just moments after.
Yuliana got up and sent her off.
“Sienna, don’t leave so early. Matthew is coming home tonight for dinner after all. Aren’t you going to stay and have dinner with us?”
Sienna shook her head. “Yuliana, my stay is only going to worsen the already tense situation. But did you guys already know about Clarissa and Matthew? Did Shermaine tell you guys that?”
“Yes, she told Old Mrs. Tyson. This girl really will resort to unscrupulous methods to get what she wanted. I’d seen the news about Clarissa’s drug abuse on the Internet, but the matter has actually been clarified. Still, that girl insisted on telling it to Old Mrs. Tyson. It’s so obvious what she’s trying to pull.”
Well, you didn’t clear the air either.
Sienna thought to herself and felt a chill down her spine. It looked like they were going to work together to bring Clarissa down first.
Since Clarissa was the trio’s common enemy, Sienna had no intention of clarifying things for Clarissa either.
She actually thought that Shermaine’s viciousness posed no threat to her, and would actually be of great help to her in the future. Now that Shermaine is going all out to destroy Clarissa, I might as well give play to her advantage.
After all, Matthew only had contempt for Shermaine right now.
Sienna had gotten what she wanted.
As for Shermaine’s impertinent act, the woman swore she would avenge herself later on.
…
Matthew had a hunch about why he was summoned for dinner that night. Surely, it has to do with Clarissa’s drug abuse news.
The man’s instincts proved to be spot on. Margaret has been reprimanding and rattling on about Clarissa’s drug abuse case. Even though she had not cursed at the girl, it was apparent that the old woman detested Clarissa more than ever.
“Is there anything that this girl won’t do? Taking drugs is illegal, and my goodness, do I even need to remind you how nasty those men who she’s been mingling with? Matthew, you’re usually so smart. Why do you seem to lose your mind over this girl? I mean, why do you even like her?”
Furious, Margaret banged on the table to express her frustration on the matter.
Still cool as a cucumber, Matthew replied, “Since mother acknowledges that I’m smart, it means that I will not like her if she’s the girl as rumored. The online news is only baseless gossip, aiming to slander Clare.”
Matthew threw an icy cold glance at Shermaine at the mention of it, sending chills down her spine. However, she kept herself together and refuted with a smile, “Matt, who would want to harm her? She’s just a girl. Let’s just say that she’s not taking drugs, and not having any fishy business with any men, it’s still suspicious that she turned up at those places. I know the entertainment circle the best. That villa is famed for those kinky businesses every week and frequented by girls who wished to get famous through the fast track. Matt, haven’t you thought about how others somehow managed to catch her there? She must have had dealings with those people there.”
“Yes, Shermaine is right!”
Margaret resonated with Shermaine’s words right away. “Why is she right around the corner, and bumped into the police nonetheless? Why is she there then, if she has nothing to do with the people there?”
Matthew shot daggers in Shermaine’s direction.
“How did you know about the details of Clare going to the villa?”
Shermaine panicked and blurted an excuse, “I read it online.”
“Online? The police have made clarification online, but there’s no mention of the details.”
“Um…”
Shermaine was rendered speechless under Matthew’s scrutinizing gaze.
Fuming with fury, Margaret reprimanded, “Who cares if she knows the details? The most important thing is that it actually happened. This girl has no self-respect and is not worthy of marrying into our family. Not only that, I insist that you break up with her right now. And Ellie, you guys have been deceived by that woman. She’s a despicable, wicked gold digger…”
“That’s enough!”
Matthew was infuriated by Margaret’s assumptions of Clarissa.
Then, Yuliana voiced out her thoughts. “Matthew, even if those are just misunderstandings, but this girl has a really bad reputation out there. Are you going to disregard our family and insist to be together with her? How are you going to explain it to others when they associate her with drug abuse? It’s going to be such a disgrace to the Tysons. Do you really want to put our family through that?”
