As Jeremy and Yarick stared at the child in Matthew’s arms, Henry clicked his tongue noisily and sighed. Matt is amazing to have a son born in such secrecy. I’m still far from finding a wife, let alone having a child.
Justin, who was the calmest among them, said, “In the first year when Clarissa didn’t attend the awards ceremony and disappeared, I assumed she was staying out of sight because of what happened between both of you. In the second year, I was relieved that she put on some weight. I didn’t expect her to have discreetly given birth to a child. Matt, how could you? We were worried sick about you, to the extent that we didn’t even dare mention Clarissa in front of you! But in the end, you are hiding something as important as having a son from us. You should be punished for this.”
“Is that so? Since you put it that way, I sincerely appreciate your concern.” Smiling, Matthew replied candidly, “I too only got to see my son a few months after he was born. At that time, Catherine was watching him very closely.”
Just when Matthew and Justin were still discussing the matter seriously, Henry stood up to make a phone call. The moment he got through, he suggested, “Why don’t we have a child first?”
‘As for Jeremy and Yarick, they were still stunned by the fact that Matthew’s son was a preschooler already.
Meanwhile, Damian began to warm up to the group.
After observing them for a while, he took a piece of cake and offered it to Yarick, who looked slightly plum. “Here Mr. Yarick, try some cake. It’s delicious.”
Yarick received it and took a bite. Nodding in agreement, he began to take a liking to Damian.
“Damian, you love food, don’t you? That’s wonderful! Come with me, and I will let you try all the tantalizing food in the world.”
Damian quickly became best friends with Yarick.
“Mr. Yarick, I like you a lot. We’re friends now.”
When Damian unilaterally declared that he and Yarick were friends, Jeremy felt left out.
Not to be outdone, he let out a friendly smile. “Damian, I can introduce you to the prettiest girls in the world.”
Damian turned his attention to Jeremy and replied softly, “Mr. Jeremy, Mommy says that I’m still too young for that.”
“Pfft—”
Yarick snorted, “Hahaha! Jeremy, looks like Damian doesn’t think highly of you.”
Just as he spoke, Yarick picked Damian up.
Initially, he was apprehensive about carrying Damian. But after doing so, he felt a strange sensation. After all, there were seldom any children around them. Even if there was, they would not be interested. But that day, despite carrying Damian nervously, Yarick felt good at the same time. Small and cute, Damian felt like a very different creature to him.
“Damian, Jeremy is a good-for-nothing. Hence, we shouldn’t follow in his footsteps. Instead, you should follow me and I will make sure that you get to eat loads of delicious food.”
“Hmph! Yarick, you are so wicked!”
After being turned down by Damian, Jeremy felt hurt. Even his speech began to sound salty.
That was something that had never occurred before.
Damian alone had caused the bunch of prominent bachelors in D City to show a rare side of themselves.
Meanwhile, Matthew didn’t stop his friends from playing and bantering with Damian. In fact, he gloated at their jealousy and was proud that his son was able to charm them.
Justin, who was the most rational of them all, couldn’t help but laugh when he realized what was going on.
Matt is obviously happy to have a son at this age. Furthermore, because of his son, he has become different from his old self. In fact, he even seems a little childish now.
Now that Jeremy and the others were the first to know, it was just a matter of time before the rest of D City would know.
However, Matthew wasn’t worried about it at all.
However, Clarissa was concerned that once news about her son got out, the Tysons would want to fight for custody. However, Matthew wasn’t going to allow something like that to happen.
Though, he wasn’t particularly secretive in his movements. After all, Matthew knew that it would be impossible to keep this under wraps for too long.
To him, it didn’t matter even if the Tysons found out as he had broken ties with them three years ago. If they dared to do anything, Matthew definitely wouldn’t tolerate it at all.
Three years ago, he didn’t believe his mother and the others were capable of something so cruel. But right then, the Tysons were no longer the main factor.
The main reason he kept a low profile was at Clarissa’s request. He didn’t publicize his relationship with Clarissa and Damian’s existence because he was worried that it would upset Catherine.
Meanwhile, Clarissa was so busy that she had forgotten about her family. Suddenly, her phone rang.
She was surprised that it was Ellie calling. They hadn’t been keeping in touch as the latter was busy with work. Did something happen? Or, does she finally have some free time now?
Both of Clarissa’s guesses were wrong.
Ellie had called to demand answers.
“Clarissa, you have a son now? Not to mention, he’s a preschooler already! Are we still friends? Clarissa, how could you?”
Oh crap! Clarissa was stunned.
“Ellie, it’s not what you think—”
“Whatever. I’m now at the airport and preparing to fly back to D City. If I don’t get to see him, I will break ties with you!”
Ellie ended the call after laying out her threat.
Just when Clarissa was puzzled as to how Ellie found out, Damian coincidentally called.
“Mommy, I miss you. Mommy, I have a new best friend, Mr. Yarick—”
And just like that, Damian betrayed himself and his daddy.
Gritting her teeth, she entertained Damian for a while before giving Matthew a call. After finding out where they were, she instructed her driver to take her to the manor.
As for Matthew, he wasn’t worried despite knowing that Clarissa had discovered what he had done.
Instead, he told his son, “Damian, when Mommy comes by later, you will have to cheer her up, alright? Mommy is coming to pick us up because she misses us already. Therefore, to make her happy, you have to shower her with all the warmth that you have.”
However, Damian sighed like an adult instead. “Daddy, did you get on Mommy’s nerves?”
Matthew was stunned.
All of his friends burst out in laughter without a care for his pride.
Also, they felt that Damian was irresistibly cute.
Jeremy brazenly asked, “Damian, what happens when Daddy gets on Mommy’s nerves? Tell me quickly, so that I can have a laugh.”
However, Damian pouted in response. “No, I’m not going to tell you.”
“Heh, what a kid.”
Damian was undeniably smart. Unlike a regular two-and-a-half-year-old, his behavior was matured.
Smiling with his eyes, Damian responded by throwing himself into Matthew’s arms.
He softly reassured Matthew, “Daddy, I will help you to cheer Mommy up. But, you must treat me to some good food.”
Damien even attempted to negotiate.
“The kid is a tough one. He clearly is Matt’s son.”
Matthew smacked Damian on his butt. “Don’t you dare try and push it. Didn’t you already eat a lot today? The moment Mommy arrives, she will definitely teach you a lesson.”
Briefly stunned, Damian chuckled while feigning innocence.
I can’t depend on a kid to help me get out of this. Matthew was already mentally prepared.
By the time Clarissa arrived, the sky was already dark.
She was famished as she hadn’t eaten. Before she could flare her temper, she saw Matthew and all his friends in the manor. Also, she noticed the table was filled with delicious food. I finally understand how Damian felt when his eyes lit up at the sight of food.
As she didn’t want to embarrass Matthew in front of his friends, she decided it was not the time to get angry and pretended as if nothing had happened. After greeting everyone, she played with Damian affectionately before taking her seat to have dinner.
When Damian refused her attempts at feeding him, Clarissa took notice and blamed Matthew for it.
He must have fed Damian lots of junk food. That’s why he is reluctant to have dinner now.
When he saw the look in her eye, Matthew quickly understood what was going through her mind.
Dinner was an easy-going affair as they played with Damian most of the time. With a child around, the atmosphere was relaxed as he became the center of attention.
Occasionally, they would chat with Clarissa but obviously would not bring up the past or anything equally sensitive.
After dinner, Clarissa received a call from Ellie. Having gotten the address of the manor, Ellie hurried over directly from the airport.
The moment Ellie saw Damian and how adorable he was, all the anger she felt dissipated immediately. Her heart melted and she had the urge to abduct him.
“Damian, I love you so much! Come home with me. I have everything there. I’ll get you whatever you want as long as you come with me.”
“Ellie, enough. You’re scaring him.”
Yarick didn’t like how Ellie was tempting the child. She was overdoing it by being too friendly.
In truth, he was hardly any different. Smiling at once, he persuaded, “Damian, come to my house. I have a lot of delicious food there.”
Damian rejected their overtures at once. “If you love kids that much, you should go and make your own instead.”
Consequently, Ellie shot a glare at Clarissa. After all, she still held a grudge for being kept in the dark.
Clarissa smiled awkwardly in response. When Damian saw what happened, he stretched out his arms and stood in front of Clarissa to protect her.
Steeling himself, he protested, “Ms. Ellie, you’re not allowed to bully Mommy.”
His actions melted the hearts of everyone present.
