Yuliana escalated the scale of the problem, emphasizing that Clarissa would bring shame to the whole Tyson family.
Not only that, she also took the liberty to speak on behalf of other members of the Tysons as well.
Matthias had been keeping mum throughout the whole exchange. However, he felt the need to speak up when it came to the topic of drug abuse.
“Matthew, why was Clarissa at the villa if she was not doing drugs? Anything to do with drugs is going to make us look really bad.”
Shermaine chimed in, “That’s right, Matt. It’s really difficult to shrug off any affiliations with drug abuse. I’d heard about those details from my friends in the circle.”
She had only thought about the way to straighten her story but it was too late.
The point was, it would be near impossible for Clarissa to clear her name.
Shermaine had employed netizens to come up with a myriad of speculation about Clarissa’s involvement with drug abuse. It did not matter if the police had cleared her name. As long as the netizens were steered in the direction that Clarissa was indeed involved in drug abuse, people would affiliate her with the despicable act in the future nonetheless.
It would be an arduous task to clear people’s deep-rooted assumptions about Clarissa then.
Shermaine knew how powerful social media was in influencing the opinions of others. She had used it to her advantage back then, and she was going to pull the same old trick again.
Right then, Matthew was between a rock and a hard place, facing the dissent of the whole family, especially since the only person who would support him, Ellie, was not around.
However, he actually found it to be bearable.
Instead, the man was worried about his future with Clarissa; the difficulties and disapproval that awaited her.
He was apprehensive about the accusations and disfavor his woman was about to suffer. I do not wish for her to endure this baseless maltreatment.
Up until then, Matthew thought no problem in the world would be too difficult to solve. However, he had to admit that he was at a loss about Clarissa’s problem.
…
It was already late into the night when Matthew was back in Zen Highlands.
He puffed on a few cigarettes before entering the house. Hence, he stood in the frigid cold to let the smell dissipate before going into the house.
The dim nightstand lamp lit the bedroom. He did not enter the bedroom directly and tiptoed to the sofa in the living room instead. He took a seat on the sofa, deep in his thoughts amidst the silence.
The door sprung open not long after. The woman was wearing a sleeping gown with a shawl draped over her shoulders as she stood by the door.
“Why are you awake? Did I wake you?”
Clarissa shook her head and walked over to Matthew’s side. She sat on his lap and burrowed herself in his embrace.
The woman slipped her hands into his coat, and circled her hands tightly around his waist as she snuggled her head against his chest.
“Did you smoke?”
Matthew caressed her hair and replied, “Yeah, I smoked outside just now. Can you still smell it?”
“Yeah. Are you worried about something? Your family knows about my news, right?”
Matthew’s silence was a resounding yes to her question.
Even though she was dejected from the revelation, she did not wish to burden Matthew further as the man already had enough to worry about.
“Actually it’s just a matter of time for them to know about this. I’ve actually already prepared myself to be the topic of the town for some time. They’re already against the idea of us being together in the first place anyway. Even without this, they’re still going to frown upon the idea of us being together. This incident just gives them extra ammunition to do so.”
Matthew tightened his embrace around the woman, blowing kisses on her forehead. His breath felt reassuringly warm against her cheeks.
In a low voice, the man gently said, “Clare, their disapproval will not stand in our way.”
“Yes, I know. So, don’t get all tensed up because of this.”
Clarissa lifted her head. Tracing the moonlight that shone on the man’s face, she pressed her fingers on his furrowed brows to ease it. In a demure manner, she said, “You’re going to get so many wrinkles from furrowing your brows like that. I’m not going to find you handsome anymore if you’re all crinkled.”
Matthew finally eased up after listening to her.
His thin lips curled into a slight smile. Hooking her chin up, the man lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips.
“Well, well. Do you not find me handsome now?”
“No, you’re the most handsome and charismatic man I know. I’m just reminding you not to furrow your brows and take good care of that dazzling face. Of course, you still look great now.”
Matthew chuckled at her words which were clearly an attempt to crack him up. He brushed against the tip of her nose.
In a low, seductive voice, he said, “You have the best taste in men, Clare.”
Clarissa broke into a chuckle as well. However, the next moment, her chuckle was muffled by Matthew’s kiss. Sounds of the fervent exchange soon filled the room.
In a swift motion, Matthew carried Clarissa and entered their bedroom. The door closed behind them as the duo intertwined with each other, lost in passion.
The next day, Clarissa woke up early.
She found it hard to stay in bed lately as something was bothering her.
Hence, she was roused the moment Matthew was awake.
When the man was off to exercise downstairs, she got up and straightened herself before heading downstairs to make breakfast.
Clarissa was just coming out of the kitchen when Matthew came back from his morning exercise. The woman looked greedily at the man who exuded masculinity.
She cupped her cheeks and feigned admiration. “Uncle Matthew, you’re so handsome…”
The man’s thin lips curled into a slight smile before he made his way over to her side. Cupping the back of her head, he lowered his head and planted a deep kiss on her lips. He had only let her go after some time.
Clarissa’s eyes twinkled with a glint as her full red lips beckoned at him. Matthew felt a twitch in his pants. He almost could not hold himself in as he felt the urge to carry the alluring woman before him upstairs.
In the end, he resisted the urge and turned around to take a bath.
Clarissa grinned, knowing full well the reaction that she had elicited in the man. She cupped her hot, burning cheeks to calm herself down.
During breakfast, Clarissa recalled that her grandma had reminded her to talk to Matthew about the details of their marriage.
However, Clarissa decided to bite her tongue at the thought of what happened the night before at the Tyson residence.
It would not help things if she mentioned their marriage since the Tysons were more hostile toward her. I will only burden him further if I bring this up right now.
Ellie arrived at the Zen Highlands after Matthew had left.
Of course, she was there to discuss what happened the night before at the Tyson residence. Even though she was not there personally, she still knew what happened.
Hence, she went to the Zen Highlands early in the morning to break the news to Clarissa.
“This is all Shermaine’s fault. She just has to meddle with my family affairs and make everyone unhappy. I think she’s still hung up on Uncle Matt. She definitely has something to do with the drug abuse news circulated online.”
Clarissa had no idea that Shermaine was behind this since Matthew had not mentioned the woman’s name.
Raising a brow, she asked, “Is Shermaine back in D City already?”
“Yes, she has been back for some time. I really have to give it to her for keeping it to herself because not many people know about it.”
Clarissa’s heart sank. Judging by the way she is, and since she already knows about me and Matthew, I don’t think she will give up on this easily.
She started to doubt whether Shermaine was behind all those incidents.
Even though it was just a hunch, Clarissa thought there was a huge possibility that it could be true.
“Clare, what are you thinking about?”
Ellie waved her hands in front of Clarissa when she noticed that the latter was deep in her thoughts. “What’s with you? What are you thinking about?”
Clarissa did not hold back and let Ellie in on her suspicion.
“I think Shermaine already knew about this long ago. Sienna was the first to know and after that, it was not a secret anymore. Shermaine was only belittling me and troubling me because I was prettier than her at the set. After knowing about me and Matthew, it’s only right that she would retaliate with a more vicious plan, right? Something’s not right when she kept quiet after such a long time. Don’t you agree?”
Ellie snapped her hands at the revelation. “Right! I know Shermaine, and it’s definitely possible that she was that vicious and set you up. Quick! Report her to the police and let her spend her remaining days in the prison.”
“Why are you getting all worked up?”
Clarissa hurriedly stopped Ellie and sighed helplessly. “We don’t have any incriminating evidence against her. It’s going to be less than useless even if you report her to the police.”
“So? Are we going to let her go just like that? She’s such a hazard to everyone around her. We can’t guarantee that she’s going to stop harming you. Damn it, I think that she’s the one behind my attack last time too. I hate that b*tch so much, and it’s really possible that she’d do something like that to me, right? Actually, forget it. She’s definitely behind all these.”
Clarissa was taken aback by the odds of it all.
“Damn it. Even if I cannot call the police, I need to ask someone to investigate more.”
Ellie made a call right after and conveyed her suspicions.
Meanwhile, Clarissa was getting more and more convinced that her suspicion would turn out to be true.
What kind of person will resort to harming, and even destroying someone just because of a man? How malicious is she to be able to do something like that?
“Clare, even though we are not a hundred percent certain that Shermaine is behind all these, I believe we’re not far from the truth. You’d better be wary of her. I think I need to rush home and let my family know about this. Otherwise, they’re going to set themselves up for trouble.”
Ellie then rushed back to the Tyson residence.
It would be up to Ellie on whether she could convince the elders in her family.
Clarissa decided to not keep her suspicion from Matthew and told him all about it after the latter had gotten back.
However, the man did not seem at all surprised at the revelation.
“You knew about it already?”
Matthew shook his head. “I was just starting to suspect her.”
“Hmm?”
Matthew then recounted Shermaine’s slip-up at the Tyson residence to her.
“Right, I bet that she was watching my every move back then. That’s why she was so clear on every single detail. Do you think she’d reported me? She was seizing the chance to mess with me.”
Matthew circled the woman in his embrace as he contemplated her words.
“It is possible, but now that you have Gina, it would be difficult for her to hurt you. We will catch her red-handed if she strikes again. I’ve already sent some people to keep an eye on her.”
“So are we spying on her like how she’s spying on me?”
It sounded like they were on a super secret mission.
