With just a few words, Clarissa made Matthew weak in the knees.
How can Clare be so adorable?
A warm hue gleamed in Matthew’s deep gaze as his lips curved into a gentle arch. As he smiled to himself, he felt an instinct to pamper his little princess.
The temperature of the room rose steadily, and one could almost feel the irresistible sweet scent of love in the air.
Letting the pleasant warmth engulf every inch of his body, Matthew took his time to read through Clarissa’s draft on the computer with her in his arms.
Eventually, he joined Clarissa in bed.
Though his little girl was still deep in slumber, when he pulled her closer in bed, she made a whiny sound and nuzzled against his chest with her hands around his waist.
Matthew lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips gently as he, too, fell into a deep slumber.
The next day.
Clarissa yawned as she rolled around in bed. She dragged her feet as she went about washing up and having breakfast. As she basked under the sunlight before the window, her eyes half-open, she suddenly remembered the draft she had been working on the previous night.
Her head immediately cleared as she scrambled to find her computer.
Fortunately, the draft she had written was safely stored and saved on the computer.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Clarissa began brainstorming what to write next.
Unbeknownst to her, Matthew had already found out about her special present for him.
For the entirety of the day, Clarissa put all her time and energy into working on her draft. Only when Matthew returned home did the events from the previous day come to mind. A sense of nervousness crept up her spine as she quickly closed her computer to welcome Matthew.
“I’m sorry. I forgot about it again today, but don’t worry. From now on, I will always stay with you when you’re at home! How’s that sound?”
Clarissa smiled meekly at Matthew, praying in her head that history would not repeat itself.
To her delight, Matthew seemed to be really “understanding” that day.
Running his fingers through Clarissa’s hair endearingly, he smiled gently. His soothing voice sounded rich and smooth, like a cup of hot chocolate, very much unlike his usual tone.
“Clare, that sounds great. If you feel inspired to work on your draft now, you can go ahead. I’ll just keep you company.”
What? Why does he seem so kind and understanding today?
Clarissa felt very doubtful about Matthew’s responses. She raised her eyebrows as she locked gazes with him as if asking him if there was some sort of trap.
“What’s wrong? Hah… What are you looking at?” Matthew chuckled and stroked her cheeks.
“You’re so nice to me today. Did something good happen? Are you in a really good mood or something like that?” Clarissa smiled.
A glint flashed across Matthew’s eyes. Pursing his lips, he caressed Clarissa’s face and replied, “Well, you can say that something good happened to me. And yes, I’m in a pretty good mood.”
Clarissa blinked. “So, what is it? Did you make big money?”
As soon as those words left her mouth, she regretted saying them.
Gosh. What was I thinking? Big money? To Matthew? He’d never think that!
Money alone wouldn’t make Matthew this happy. I’ve just asked such a dumb question.
Just as Clarissa expected, Matthew shook his head and replied, “No. I was just thinking that I’m so blessed to have my little Clare. That alone is enough to make me happy all day every day.”
“Hehe… “
Clarissa could not contain her elation at all. Matthew’s affectionate gaze was making her feel shy. Covering her burning cheeks with her small hands, she smiled at him, her eyes sparkly like a night sky full of glittering stars.
Like a little girl, she tilted her head and pouted her lips.
“You’re such a sweet talker today. Are you trying to sweet-talk me?”
Even her voice sounded brighter than usual. It gave off a sense of genuine cuteness that felt wholesome.
Laughing in joy, Matthew pulled Clarissa into his arms, nudged her hands off her face, and kissed her pink cheeks.
“I’m just stating the truth.”
“Hehe… “
Clarissa’s pleasant chuckles echoed in the room.
With a contented expression as if she had just received a prized possession, she replied, “Okay! I like listening to that!”
As she said those words, she burst into merry laughter again. In that instant, they only had eyes for each other.
Afterward, Clarissa got back to the desk to write her draft while Matthew did work beside her. They remained silent and focused but would occasionally sneak a peek or stare at each other. Happiness and love were overflowing from their room.
…
Clarissa had envisioned her birthday party to be a small, personal gathering at home with a few close friends and family.
However, just a day before her birthday, she was told that Jeremy had arranged a full-on birthday banquet for her.
With her mind completely blank, Clarissa was dragged to a villa by Ellie. Apparently, the grandiose villa was but a luxurious bungalow provided by a hotel.
Within the villa, there were almost a hundred staff members hurriedly making preparations like minions in a factory. Invitation letters were also prepared so that invites would be sent out to Clarissa’s friends and family, as well as some celebrities in the showbiz to perform at the party.
Ignoring Clarissa’s dazed expression, Ellie asked, “Clare, is there anything else you want to add? Also, here’s the invitation list. Is there anyone else you wish to invite?”
As Clarissa went through the excruciatingly long list of names, the corners of her mouth twitched.
“This… this is a little too much, don’t you think?”
Ellie pursed her lips. “Well, we expected you to react this way. To be honest, we wanted to keep things simple at first but considering that this is the first birthday you’re celebrating as Uncle Matt’s fiancée, we felt that a birthday banquet would be more appropriate. After all, it’s a rather important occasion, and you’ll have to make a grand entrance as the future Mrs. Tyson! Would you please go with our plans this time?”
Her eyelashes fluttering profusely as she blinked, Clarissa tried to come up with all sorts of excuses. Of course, Ellie managed to make a logical rebuttal to all of them.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get those celebrities to perform on my birthday.”
“Why isn’t it a good idea? They are basically performers who are famous if you think of it. Moreover, celebrities enjoy coming to this type of gathering to network and get acquainted with the wealthy. It’s just a matter of which names we put on the list. Oh, don’t sweat it. As the birthday girl, you just need to relax and feel pretty in your gown on the day itself!”
Clarissa smiled weakly. “Hey, don’t stare at me like that. Everything is already underway, and your birthday is tomorrow.” Ellie shrugged.
Sighing, Clarissa turned quiet.
With all the time and effort put into the preparations for her birthday celebration, it would be impolite to say no at that point.
Clarissa flipped to the next page of the invitation list. Most of the people on the list were complete strangers, and only a handful of those invited was actually close to her.
“Sienna?” A particular name on the list caught her attention.
Ellie chuckled, “Hehe… We invited her so that she can be a witness to your intimate relationship with Uncle Matt! Giving her a taste of reality would be more effective than anything else!”
Clarissa raised an eyebrow. “Wow, Ellie. Who would have known? You’re so good at this. You’ll have an easy time fending off love rivals in the future!”
“That goes without saying. I’ll hunt down every last one of them!” Ellie smirked.
Though Ellie was blunt and outspoken, she was no naive maiden. She knew exactly how to tackle relationship issues of that sort.
“Oh, by the way, do you want to invite your mother?”
After a moment of thought, Clarissa shook her head and said, “No.”
And so, the two of them stayed in the hotel villa for a few more minutes, took a walk around, and checked on the logistics before leaving.
Clarissa also expressed her gratitude for the group of people who helped plan her birthday banquet, including Ellie and Jeremy, in the group chat. Of course, her words of thanks came along with the promise of a home-cooked meal by her after her birthday.
On the morning of Clarissa’s birthday, she woke up feeling like it was just another day in her normal life.
Catherine cooked her a nourishing bowl of tagliatelle for breakfast and wished her a happy birthday.
On the other hand, Matthew simply gave her a kiss. He had already whispered “happy birthday” in her ears countless times when he ravaged her at the stroke of midnight.
Before he left for work, Matthew said, “Be good and wait for me, okay? I’ll come home early today in the afternoon and bring you guys to the hotel.”
Clarissa nodded. However, right after she sent Matthew off, she received an unwanted call from Hilary.
Hilary definitely was not calling her to wish her a happy birthday.
She’s calling to demand a reason for why she didn’t get invited, isn’t she?
“Hey! Why didn’t you tell me that you are holding a birthday party? I’m your mother. Everyone but me has gotten their invitations! Are you trying to embarrass me or something… “ Hilary sounded rather unhappy.
Gosh, she’s going to ramble on and on like this.
“So, you plan on coming?”
“Of course, I’ll have to go! Or what would I do should Zach question me about it?”
All in all, Hilary was freaking out a little because of Zach.
“Whatever. Come if you want. But let me tell you this. Stay in line and behave. You know what Zach values, don’t you? If you really want to let him know what you think, then please go ahead.”
Hilary did not respond.
Everything that Clarissa said hit Hilary’s weak spots. There was no way that she would dare to tell Zach that she wanted Clarissa to leave Matthew.
Clarissa also knew well that Hilary did not have the guts to make a scene in front of Zach, even if she was really scheming something. That was the main reason that Clarissa even accepted Hilary’s demand to attend the birthday banquet.
Time seemed to pass especially quickly that day. Before she knew it, it was already in the afternoon. Catherine changed into the new clothes that her darling granddaughter had bought for her with an energized expression. Though she was slightly nervous about attending such a grand birthday banquet, she was really proud of Clarissa.
Clarissa simply put on some casual clothes and awaited Matthew’s return. Her makeup and outfit would be taken care of by a special team of staff at the actual venue.
Soon, Matthew also got back to Zen Highlands and picked the two of them up to the hotel.
The sun gradually set on the way to the hotel. By the time Clarissa arrived, the sky had turned slightly dark. Ellie promptly took her to the dressing room. The entire venue seemed to be set up in a really organized manner.
After putting on makeup, Clarissa changed into a red gown. The vivid red on her lips and dress complemented her snowy-white skin, making her look radiant and youthful.
Ellie could not help but whistle at her. “Perfect!”
