On the next day, Clarissa dressed Damian up. The boy lifted his head, and his dark, big eyes rolled mischievously.
“Mommy, I’m so handsome.”
“Pfft…”
Clarissa couldn’t stifle a giggle.
Matthew picked his good-looking son up and marched out, and the little boy sweet-talked his father.
“Daddy is a little handsome too.”
“Pfft! Hahaha!”
Trailing behind the two, Clarissa burst into laughter.
After getting into the car, Matthew asked with a smile, “Damian, is Daddy only a little handsome?”
With her head tilted, Clarissa gazed at her adorable son, whose expression seemed innocent yet solemn.
“Yes, Daddy is only a little handsome.”
“Fine, I’m a little handsome, and the same goes for Damian.”
“No, no, no… I’m the most handsome one.”
The boy was more sharp-witted than expected.
Even Clarissa was too embarrassed to glance at him. How could he say it so brazenly and confidently in front of his Daddy?
In the meantime, Matthew was speechless. What else could I say? I guess it’s not a shame to lose to my own son.
“Mommy, where are we going?”
Clarissa tapped his forehead gently. “We’re going to a kindergarten. Are you fine with that?”
“Going to a kindergarten? Didn’t Mommy say I’ll only start schooling next year?”
“We’re going to check out a few kindergartens and see if you like any one of them. There’re many fun activities there, so you can look around and take some time to get used to it. You’re free to pick the one you like, alright?”
Blinking his eyes, Damian was sunk in thought. He looked charming even when he remained silent.
Caressing his head, she chuckled heartily.
The family then headed to one of the kindergartens. Clarissa didn’t know much about it, as Matthew was the one who came up with the list.
The first kindergarten they came to wasn’t an ordinary kindergarten but a top-notch one, and the school fees made Clarissa’s jaw drop.
They communicated with the teachers and found out more about the curriculum and environment. However, the determining factor wasn’t these, but Damian’s preference.
The second the teacher held his hand, the extrovert boy followed her without hesitation. Stepping into a class, he trotted over to the other children, squatted by their sides, and watched them play.
At the same time, the teacher observed him silently from the sidelines.
After a while, before the child beside him spoke, Damian broke the ice first.
“Can I play with you?”
The child smiled bashfully. “Sure.”
Watching from afar, Clarissa chuckled. “It seems like we can leave already.”
The teacher replied, “He’s proactive and easygoing. After talking to him, I found that his language skills are better than the children of his age. He’s more mature as well. Mr. and Mrs. Tyson, you did a good job raising him.”
Clarissa blushed at the teacher’s compliment, yet she felt a little proud of herself.
Matthew didn’t take the credit, saying to the teacher, “All thanks to my wife.”
“The parents can teach their children by example, even if they say nothing,” the teacher replied tactfully with a smile, praising both of them.
Instead of watching over Damian, the couple went to another area, so they could find out how the boy would react when he realized that they were gone.
Sitting in the next room, they waited for some time, but Damian didn’t look for them. Clarissa turned to look at Matthew. “Give the little one some friends, toys, and food, and he’ll forget all about us.”
This frustrated the woman.
“When I was young, I wasn’t as playful and gluttonous as him. With just a little yummy food, anyone can easily lure him away. What a little glutton. He’s not like me at all. How about you?”
The woman’s interest was piqued, trying to know more about Matthew’s childhood.
The corner of the man’s lips quirked up into a half-smile. In the quiet room, where no one else was around, the sunlight shone through the window on his face, making his features look even more chiseled.
His long, slender fingers stroked her cheek. There was a glint of tenderness in his dark eyes. His voice was mellow and attractive.
“I’m not one too. It must be you, Clare. I bet you looked even prettier when you’re young, just like a little princess. Am I right?”
“That’s not true at all. I’m not a glutton.”
“How could you be so gorgeous then?”
“My beauty has nothing to do with my diet. I was born stunning,” she disagreed in a coquettish voice.
Reluctance was written all over her face, while Matthew gazed at her affectionately.
He chuckled softly. “Okay, he takes after me in every aspect.”
“What do you mean by every aspect? He takes after my intelligence and beauty, but he’s a glutton, a fawner, and a crybaby because of you.”
Clarissa can be unreasonable sometimes. But now I have experience of dealing with this now. Just go with the flow and agree with her. I can’t afford to disagree with her, or else she’s going to get mad again.
Letting out a hearty laugh, Matthew nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, it’s because of me.”
The woman shot daggers at him, but he didn’t refute her.
Amused, Clarissa couldn’t help but broke into a gale of laughter.
Her finger poked his shoulder. Pressing her lips together, she tried to suppress a laugh. “Yeah, right. No one is going to believe that.”
“I meant it from the bottom of my heart.”
“Hahaha… Okay, okay. The truth is that I was actually quite a glutton when I was young, but I didn’t get to eat so much delicious food because of my family’s condition. Fortunately, Damian is so blessed and can have whatever he wants. The reason I’m strict with him is that you never say no to him. Grandma dotes on him the most. Ryler pampers him very much, and the same goes for you. Hence, he won’t listen no matter how strict I am, if you guys don’t work with me. After some time, the smart boy will know who won’t reject his requests and go to the person every time.”
In the next second, Matthew’s eyes gleamed, and he admitted, “Okay, I gave him a piece of chocolate secretly this morning. I’m sorry.”
Clarissa was only stating the facts. Unexpectedly, the man took the initiative to admit his fault.
She couldn’t help giving him the side-eye.
Matthew laughed. “I promise I’ll cooperate with you from now on. I’ll never cave in or give him snacks or toys in secret.”
“You’ve said it yourself. Make sure you keep your words.”
“Consider it done.”
I guess Matthew is the only president of a company who has problems saying no to his son. Perhaps he can’t bring himself to reject Damian because he’s too cute and endearing.
The entire morning passed. The couple left the kindergarten with their son.
Damian was reluctant to leave, saying goodbye grudgingly. Apparently, he was fascinated by his new friends and the interesting lessons.
After having lunch, Matthew left for work, while Clarissa tucked the boy in for a nap.
In the afternoon, she went to the studio.
“A book signing? Didn’t we agree not to show up in public?”
Clarissa had never organized such an event before. Why do they want to organize a book signing after publishing the collection?
“The publisher suggested that you do it. Besides, you’ve shown yourself on the Internet, so you’re not as enigmatic as before. Those who attend the event will mostly be the readers. We can have a small-scale one, so there won’t be too much exposure. Most importantly, you’ve been writing for eight years. Think of this as a promotional event.”
Eight years aren’t that long for me.
“Yael, would you like me to do the book signing?” Clarissa asked.
“Since this is only a request from the publisher, it’s entirely up to you.”
“Let me think about it.”
In fact, Clarissa had considered having a book signing for the sake of those loyal readers. Nonetheless, she didn’t do it because she refused to expose herself.
Therefore, she had been feeling apologetic about that.
Right now, the most important thing was to complete her current work.
Just as she was about to leave the studio, Mandy knocked on her door. “Clarissa, someone is here to see you.”
“Me?”
She was surprised. Who would come here to look for me?
However, her surprise was short-lived. The second she saw the person, her expression turned grim, and her gaze became frigid.
Everyone in the studio was astonished as well as Hilary stepped into the studio with trepidation.
“Clary, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Without hesitation, Clarissa turned around. “Charles, I don’t know her. Please walk her out.”
“No, please, Clary. I’m your Mom. You can’t treat me this way.”
Nervousness washed over Hilary. Hearing her words, Charles dared not chase her out.
The anger within Clarissa grew. “Call the security guard if she refuses to leave.”
Seeing her adamant attitude, Charles quickly sent Hilary away, but the latter resisted until the security guard came over. Only then the woman plodded out of the studio.
Nevertheless, she could always come again, since she already found this place.
Over the past three years, Hilary had never once crossed Clarissa’s mind, and she had regarded the former as a stranger.
Though Clarissa had vowed not to be affected emotionally by the heartless woman, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t feel furious when she see her mother again.
No word could describe her resentment. She only wished that the woman would vanish from her world.
Meeting Hilary today troubled her deeply. Arriving home, Clarissa didn’t want to spread her negative emotions to her son, so she went upstairs straight away to look for Matthew.
Her unexpected appearance amazed the man.
As soon as she came in, the woman rushed over to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Just when the man was still feeling pleasantly surprised, he noticed that she was in a grim mood.
Without a word, he cuddled her close and patted her back to comfort her, as though she were a child.
A long while later, in his embrace, Clarissa asked gloomily.
“I really don’t get it. Is there any mother who doesn’t love her own child? Why is that so?”
After having her own child, she became even more baffled by her mother’s behavior.
