It was obvious to the bystanders that Miserable Matt, as they called him, was the submissive one in the marriage.
That was the impression that Matthew had left. The sight of him walking meekly behind his wife was amusing and pitiful.
Not content with just talking about it, some of them even took photographs of Matthew to be posted online. Even in them, his annoyed gaze upon Clarissa was evident.
Spurred by the vivid descriptions and amusing circumstances, the Internet’s interest in Matthew made him a trending topic once again.
When the couple had gotten into the car after Clarissa was finally done, their phones rang with notifications on the unflattering images and Matthew’s new moniker.
“Hmph! I think ‘Dramatic Matt’ is more appropriate,” said Clarissa with a disdainful glare at Matthew.
Matthew was a naturally gifted actor, and Clarissa understood that the entire charade was a farce. Unfortunately for her, she knew that she would be in for a thorough scolding the moment they reached home.
At the sound of her voice, Matthew looked up. Her stern glare made Matthew feel as if he had done something heinous and unforgivable.
“Clarissa, what did I do this time to earn your ire?” Matthew asked shamelessly.
“Stop pretending, Matthew.” Clarissa laughed coldly. “I’m sure you are well aware of what you did.”
Matthew shrugged. “I really am not.”
“You’re full of rubbish!” Clarissa employed the same phrase she used to describe her son previously. Like father, like son.
“Clare, I really don’t get what you mean,” Matthew persisted.
Clarissa’s smile was dangerously icy as her tolerance for his feigned ignorance ran thin. “Matthew, you wouldn’t have the patience to walk behind me all day if you really were upset, would you? You would have just hauled me back home instead of following me around and carrying my bags. If that wasn’t a show, I don’t know what is. I don’t believe for a second that you’re not aware that you’re a celebrity around these parts and that the other shoppers knew who you were. You got what you wanted, didn’t you? For everybody on the Internet to know that you’re such a wonderful husband that you wouldn’t leave me no matter how badly I had treated you. You’re a sly b*stard, Matthew.”
Matthew was not about to defend himself. Instead, he asked her a question in return. “So, you’re expecting me to haul you back home?”
Clarissa was rendered speechless. However, she quickly recovered for a retort. “Don’t change the subject! The point is that you planned the whole thing out to make me look bad. You…”
“Yes, I did. But you enjoyed it, didn’t you?” Matthew cut her off.
“I… Matthew Tyson! Shut the hell up!” Clarissa exclaimed.
Mischief flitted across Matthew’s eyes. Forced to comply with Clarissa’s wishes to avoid a quarrel, he simply shrugged and dropped the subject in the face of his wife’s rising anger. If he pushed her any harder, he would have hell to pay. She’ll cool down soon.
They sat in silence as Clarissa stared out the window.
Matthew, on the other hand, waited patiently for Clarissa’s anger to subside. Soon after, she turned to face him, clearly still peeved. There was still a flash of anger in her bright eyes.
Matthew was aroused at his wife’s passion, as he thought that her flushed cheeks were very attractive. He wanted to kiss her and hold her in his arms badly.
His fantasy went unnoticed by Clarissa, however, as she was still stewing in her own rage.
“Matthew, even if the entire world thinks of me as a horrible wife, I’m still going to wear whatever the hell I want. In fact, I’ll be happier the more revealing my dress is. Be Miserable Matt all you want, I don’t give a d*mn.”
“I really did not act miserable, you know.” Matthew endeavored to defend himself once more.
Clarissa rolled her eyes. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of getting on her nerves.
The remainder of the journey home was spent in uneasy silence.
Back at Zen Highlands, Clarissa opted to spend time with Damian over speaking to Matthew.
As for Matthew, he had made no attempt to reconcile with her as well. The atmosphere between them was so tense that even little Damian could tell that something was wrong. His gaze lingered on his mother who was playing with him, and then on his father who sat in silence in the corner.
Children were intuitive. Even if their parents did not outwardly quarrel, they could sense that something was wrong.
Damian was similarly affected. “Mommy, why don’t you give Daddy a kiss?” he asked Clarissa innocently.
Clarissa glanced uneasily at Matthew who looked as startled as she felt.
“Damian, why do you ask that?” Clarissa turned away from Matthew to face her son.
“Because you haven’t kissed each other today.”
It was a routine of theirs that they had yet to complete that day to Damian’s surprise. He was actually a very bright child who acted ignorantly. He is so much like his father, Clarissa thought with a resigned sigh.
She was placed in a precarious position by Damian. Though visibly annoyed, she could not bear to lose her temper at him.
Damian fluttered his long eyelashes as he awaited his mother’s response to his proposition, looking like the embodiment of Cupid.
Clarissa knew her son well. When he was in a bratty mood, Damian behaved the exact opposite, like a hyperactive little demon running amok.
At least he isn’t bratty right now.
Clarissa racked her brain for an excuse as to why she did not want to kiss Matthew.
However, Matthew had other ideas. In the blink of an eye, he had appeared next to her and aimed a swift peck at the corner of her mouth. He then sat back down, grinning at his wife and son.
Damian had been taken aback by his father’s sudden movement. Instinctively, he turned toward his mother to see how she would respond.
Clarissa’s expression was of clear displeasure. She gritted her teeth and bit back a retort that rose to her lips. She could not lose her temper in front of Damian.
Instead, she forced herself to smile at Damian, looking more like she had a toothache. It was comical to see all of her teeth on display in such an unnatural fashion.
Damian imitated his mother in delight. As he bared his teeth, Clarissa could not help but laugh at how ridiculous it looked. It was in this manner that everybody’s mood had lightened.
With the help of their son, the tension between the couple seemed to have abated slightly. However, as soon as Damian was put to bed, Clarissa promptly strode off into the guest room armed with only a pillow.
Matthew rubbed his temples as he laughed resignedly at his wife’s obstinance.
Is she really going to hold a grudge?
With a sigh, he decided to leave her alone for the time being. Waiting until Clarissa was sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, Matthew crept into the guest room and carried her back into the master bedroom they shared.
It was at this point that Clarissa’s old habits kicked in. Unconscious of the resentment she held for her husband, she turned toward him and burrowed her head into his chest as she snored softly.
Matthew smiled affectionately as he kissed Clarissa lightly on the lips. He had only intended on giving her a kiss but in his passion, he ran his hands all over her body. Clarissa slept so soundly that she did not even notice his eager fingers to put up any form of resistance.
The following morning, Clarissa awoke in bewilderment when she found herself in a different room than the one she fell asleep in. As she brushed her teeth, she caught a glimpse of Matthew coming up the stairs, fresh from his morning run. Her anger at him seemed to have vanished as she smiled at him.
Matthew made a mental note not to remind Clarissa of the previous night as he kissed her good morning. When Clarissa was in the shower, she stared at her reflection for a long time before recalling the events of the day before, frowning as she did so.
Her sluggishness after a good night’s sleep had erased from her memory the fact that she had been upset with Matthew the day before, even vowing to herself that she would not forgive him that easily.
I guess that vow did not last very long, huh.
Matthew saw from the expression on Clarissa’s face as she descended the stairs for breakfast that she was no longer groggy for him to take advantage of.
Damian had run downstairs in excitement, for some reason determined to play with the vacuum cleaner. Here comes his bratty mood.
Failing to notice the impending storm from his mother’s expression, Damian ran about, fueled by the excitement that came seemingly out of nowhere.
“Damian, if you don’t get here this instant for breakfast, you won’t be eating anything today.”
The threat fell on deaf ears as the boy laughed and giggled in his own amusement.
Clarissa took a deep breath to steady herself. “Damian, time to have breakfast!”
Damian was instantly subdued as he detected the whiff of danger from his mother’s second warning.
Matthew strode over, lifted Damian off his feet, and sat him down at his spot at the dining table.
“Your mother is angry, son.”
Damian did not need to be told another time. Alright. Enough messing around, he chastised himself.
To repair the damage he had caused, Damian attempted to make his mother laugh. He made funny faces that he knew his mother liked, but to no avail. Clarissa remained as stony-faced as ever without even looking at him.
Damian hung his head in embarrassment, having failed to evoke a response out of her. After a bite of his sandwich, he became distracted again.
“Mommy…” he whined softly. Clarissa ignored him.
“Mommy?” he repeated, a little louder this time.
“What is it?” Clarissa snapped.
“Mommy, I love you so much.”
Clarissa glared at the boy who had a smile on his face that she knew too well. It was the smile he used when he wanted to curry favor with her.
What a little angel.
Clarissa couldn’t bear it any longer. Returning his smile, she rapped her knuckles lightly on her son’s head. “If you’re going to be a naughty boy, there will be no meals for you today.”
“I’ll be good, Mommy.”
Clarissa snorted. “I’m sure you will. You’re just like…”
You’re just like your father.
Clarissa was about to make that remark but upon catching Matthew’s eye, she fought that impulse, opting to stare coldly at him instead.
“Clare, I’ll be good too! Don’t be angry anymore, please? Smile for me.”
“No, I won’t.”
My, my, the difference in how she’s treating us is astounding…
Matthew was indignant at her double standards. The boy could charm Clarissa just by smiling. Why didn’t my smile do anything?
After breakfast, Matthew did not receive a kiss as was their custom before he left to work.
It would be impossible for him to coax her back to normal in such a short amount of time. As a desperate measure, Matthew grabbed Clarissa and kissed her hard, indifferent to her struggles. After a long while, he let her go, satisfied that he had claimed the kiss he was denied.
“Clare, please don’t be angry anymore. Do you want me to kneel in apology? Would a keyboard or a washboard hurt my knees more?”
“Go ahead, kneel for my forgiveness.”
