Both the grandmother and granddaughter duo had no concern for Hilary any more.
Now that she had done things that way, she couldn’t expect them to still accept her as part of the family.
She had become a stranger to them, an annoying one at that.
She did not mention this matter to Matthew either, since revealing Hilary’s bad behavior would not benefit her in any way. Although she could treat Hilary coldly, she could not be mocking and talking badly about Hilary to others.
After that, the days went on as usual.
Clarissa’s birthday was approaching, but she did not make it a big deal. For the past few years, it was only Catherine who celebrated her birthday with her, cooking her tagliatelle for breakfast. Then in the evening, she would prepare a special dinner for her and they would make a wish and eat the cake. Clarissa had celebrated her birthday in low profile for more than twenty years, so she thought this year would be no different.
However, other people did not feel the same way.
Jeremy and the others had already started sending her presents in the group chat a few days earlier while urging Matthew to organize a birthday party for Clarissa.
Matthew rarely participated in the group chat, but when Jeremy suggested a birthday party, he agreed and asked Jeremy to organize it. Upon receiving Matthew’s orders, Jeremy gladly accepted the task.
Despite her attempts to refuse, Clarissa was completely ignored and they had started their discussion in the group chat already.
Should the venue be Zen Highlands or somewhere else, the party theme, who to invite…
The plan had already been set in motion. Some of them participated enthusiastically, even dragging Ellie into the group chat to discuss it further.
In comparison with the discussion of her wedding plan, Clarissa felt they had given more importance to her birthday party. There was even going to be a segment devoted to Matthew giving her a present.
While Clarissa pictured the situation, she couldn’t help but imagine that it would be as extravagant as him giving her the ring.
Clarissa discussed her thoughts and feelings with Matthew after he returned, but Matthew chuckled lightly and said, “This is not a bad thing if it really feels like that. It’s kind of like experiencing the wedding process in advance. Isn’t it good if we treat it as a wedding rehearsal?”
This made Clarissa roll her eyes and wrinkle her nose. “I won’t comment further then, alright? You can do whatever you want. I only hope it won’t be too extravagant, just a simple dinner party with a few friends, alright?”
Matthew kissed the corner of Clarissa’s lips and said, “I’ll speak to Jeremy about it, we will keep it simple.”
Clarissa felt relieved after hearing that. However, it might be too soon for her to feel that way because the simplicity she had in mind was very different from what Jeremy thought.
But she would worry about that later. As of now, Clarissa couldn’t imagine the outcome of the party Jeremy planned.
Recently, Clarissa began writing again. Hence, when Matthew came home, she didn’t cling to him like she usually did and that made him feel a bit empty.
In the past, she used to give him a hug or a kiss whenever he returned home. After dinner, she would stay close to him even if they had nothing to say, accompanying each other warmly while they went about their own business.
Now, when he came back, she would be working on her draft and only appeared at dinner. Following that, they went for a walk together, and then she continued focusing on her laptop.
She would be preoccupied with other things even if she were by his side. Hence, Matthew clearly felt neglected.
Matthew couldn’t protest directly in front of Catherine, but when Catherine wasn’t around, he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom while she was holding her laptop.
Clarissa was wearing her fleece pajamas that came with a hat, so Matthew grabbed her hat and dragged her inside.
“Hey, hey, hey, Matthew, don’t go overboard. What are you doing? I’m not a radish, let go of me. Let go…”
Even as she protested, she was forced into the bedroom.
The moment she saw Matthew’s sullen expression, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Did I do anything to anger him? Come to think of it, I’ve been behaving well recently. I haven’t even gone out of the house because of the cold weather. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why does he look so gloomy?
As Clarissa pondered on that, Matthew immediately noticed the look on her face.
As he took a step forward, she was forced to take a quick step backward. When she finally ended up on the sofa, he got on top of her, trapping her between his body and the sofa.
Clarissa stretched her arm to keep a distance between her and Matthew, then she said in a trembling voice, “Can we talk nicely?”
Matthew grunted coldly and replied, “Talk about what?”
Clarissa was confused. I also want to know what we need to talk about.
However, it was impossible for her to not know as well.
With a flirtatious look on her face, Clarissa smiled and wrapped her arms around Matthew’s neck intimately.
“Actually, I’ve been behaving well recently. Uncle Matthew, but you did not praise me, what are you expecting me to say?”
That was a way of her saying she was innocent so there was no reason for him to be angry.
The corners of Matthew’s thin lips curled as his darkened eyes lit up.
Clarissa also smiled as she said, “Uncle Matthew, why don’t you kiss me as a reward?”
She pouted her lips. He should be happy after seeing that I’ve taken the initiative without any hesitation, right?
As Matthew reached his arm to caress her cheek, she became even more confused. What exactly did I do wrong?
When a smart woman like her suddenly acts so slowly, does it mean she no longer cares about me much?
Matthew didn’t know what to think, he just knew that he felt unhappy. In the end, he couldn’t help but pinch her nose.
“You’ve been so busy lately, Clare. In fact, you have been busier than me. Even after I come home, you’re still busy working. Should I be happy that you’ll soon become a billionaire and achieve your dreams?”
Busy?
Clarissa wanted to reply that she wasn’t busy at all.
However, as soon as she heard Matthew’s sour tone, she understood what he meant.
Could it be that he’s complaining about me for not giving him more of my time?
Clarissa blinked as she said to Matthew seriously, “I… I’m working on a new story. I was so inspired lately that I want to put them into writing. I just wanted to write more when I’m feeling the rhythm, so I can produce a new story earlier.”
That new story was actually a gift she wanted to present to Matthew.
However, she wasn’t going to tell him about it yet, so she kept it from him for the time being.
Matthew, on the other hand, was feeling slightly upset after hearing that.
“I thought you’ve agreed not to write before the wedding?”
“Uh… I can’t really control it when I got inspired!”
Matthew scoffed as he replied, “Really? Then you can’t control when I come either.”
Clarissa’s mouth twitched as her face reddened because she felt that there was an underlying message in his words.
It was hard for her to look at Matthew directly because of the thoughts swirling in her head. He nibbled at her earlobe and said in a deep, burning voice, “It seems that Clare and I are thinking about the same thing. Very well, since we are so connected at this time, we can’t let it go to waste either, right?”
As Matthew move quickly and kissed Clarissa on the lips, he stretched out his hand. To his dismay, since it was an overall, he was not able to get under it, so he simply unzipped the entire garment from head to toe.
While he helped her out of her fleece pajamas, Matthew chuckled lightly as he picked her up delicately like a small animal that had just broken out of its shell.
It was probably because what he had in mind was too funny that he broke out into laughter. Clarissa couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about that, she could never look at her fleece pajamas the same way ever again.
In the past, she had also prepared the same for Matthew, but the man simply refused to accept it, despite her repeated efforts. Eventually, it was placed in the corner of the closet and forgotten.
She had a hunch that her fleece pajamas would also join his in the corner of the closet very soon.
As she entertained those thoughts in her head, she let out a soft cry when Matthew entered her.
As Matthew kissed her passionately, Clarissa blushed and tilted her head while her neck stretched out in a graceful line.
Her lips were slightly apart and her breathing became rapid as she heard his slightly teasing and alluring chuckle. While he kissed her mouth, his voice was low and muffled, and his body was moving slowly.
“Clare, I’m coming.”
That was his rebuttal for her earlier statement of “I can’t control it”!
Clarissa gripped Matthew’s shoulders fiercely while she clenched her teeth as her face turned redder. “Can you stop talking?”
“No. I just want to say your body feels so soft and your skin is so smooth. Your curves…”
“Um…”
As Clarissa’s body tensed, she lifted her head and bit Matthew on the lips as if she was taking revenge on him.
He grinned. She’s not the only one who can bite, I can too. I’ll bite her even harder…
As they playfully bit each other, they enjoyed their alluring and enchanting moment together.
By the time it was over, Clarissa was exhausted. It wasn’t clear how many times they did it or how long it lasted. In any case, Clarissa would always fall into a deep sleep after they had enjoyed their passionate moments.
She was used to that.
After Matthew cleaned the both of them and made the bed, he tucked her under the covers, left the room, and went downstairs to get some water.
Seeing her laptop that had been left aside, Matthew laughed softly and shook his head at his own jealousy.
If someone knows I was jealous of a laptop, it would be shameful.
As he walked over and picked it up, the screen lit up at the same time, and the word document which Clarissa always uses appeared on the screen.
Matthew never went through Clarissa’s laptop, and moreover, it was just a story. As he was about to turn off the laptop, he saw the very first line.
“I would like to dedicate this article to the man I love most. May he, may I, may we grow old together and live a life of peace, joy, and happiness.”
