“Clare, you…”
A strange expression crossed Ellie’s face as she pointed at Clarissa’s body.
Puzzled, she lowered her head before she let out a loud shriek.
“Argh!”
Clarissa screamed as she dashed into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Ellie could not help but chuckle softly. When she met Matthew’s dark eyes, her heart skipped a beat.
“Don’t mind her, Uncle Matt. Clare is always in a daze when she wakes up.”
Why would I mind?
Matthew strode into the room and sat on the sofa. While his slender fingers fidgeted, the image of the woman’s snowy and long legs kept appearing in his mind. Her fair skin was enough to make one’s heart race.
“Uncle Matt, I’m already an adult, so I’m fine on my own. I’m just here to visit Clare because I’m afraid that she’ll be sad.”
Matthew remained silent. He only learned about that incident in the morning when Donnie had informed him about it.
As Clarissa did not answer his calls, he flew here the first thing in the morning.
He did not expect his niece to be here too.
“Uncle Matt, about this matter, Shermaine is definitely…”
“Ellie!”
Clarissa had just come out after changing her clothes. When she overheard what Ellie was saying, she quickly interrupted in time.
“I’m fine. Since Uncle Matthew is here, you should go back with him too. I’m totally alright. Those nasty comments were only left by the netizens who were oblivious to the truth. It’s not worth it to be bothered by them.”
“I won’t go back. I’m afraid that you’ll be bullied by Shermaine again!”
“I didn’t get bullied. It was merely a misunderstanding.”
Clarissa shot a look at Ellie. Although she was still angry, it was inappropriate for her to say anything else in front of Matthew.
Snorting unhappily, Ellie relented. “Fine. Your temper is as good as usual. Anyway, just remember to stay away from that woman.”
“I know.”
Ellie glanced at Matthew. “Wait for me, Uncle Matt. I’ll change my clothes first.”
When she walked into the bedroom, Matthew turned his gaze to Clarissa.
Still nervous, she lowered her voice and whispered, “Why are you here?”
He abruptly extended his hand as he grabbed Clarissa’s wrist. When he tugged her firmly, she collapsed onto the sofa beside him.
“Don’t…”
Clarissa tried to dodge his face, which was inching toward her. She averted her gaze and threw a glance at the door, breaking out into cold sweat.
“Matthew, don’t let Ellie see this.”
He did not kiss her either. Instead, he stared at Clarissa’s face intently.
“Aren’t you upset?”
Clarissa was stunned. Did Matthew rush all the way here because he was worried that I’ll be upset?
Feeling touched, a grateful look crept into her gaze. There were tears brimming in her eyes as if she was on the verge of crying.
How can I possibly reject a man like him?
She was about to say something when Ellie’s voice rang out.
Quickly pushing Matthew aside, Clarissa stood up in time for Ellie to come out of the door.
“Clare, let’s have a meal together first. Uncle Matt, you haven’t eaten too, right? Let’s eat together and leave afterward.”
Matthew sounded his agreement and the three of them headed downstairs to eat.
Clarissa was completely distracted throughout the meal. Sometimes, she had an urge to peek at Matthew but she was afraid that Ellie would possibly notice that something was amiss.
Hence, she had to forcefully restrain herself.
“Clare, if there’s nothing left for you to do here, just leave as soon as possible. Going back to D City or your hometown is better than staying with Shermaine. If she plays any more tricks, inform me instantly. As your best friend, I promise that I’ll always be there for you, understand?” whispered Ellie before she left; she was truly the epitome of a loyal friend.
Clarissa gave Ellie a warm embrace as she exclaimed with a bright grin, “Yep!”
Standing beside the car, she watched as Ellie boarded the car. She also waved to Matthew, who was inside as well.
“Have a safe trip, Uncle Matthew.”
Matthew’s eyes gleamed brightly. His gaze was unfathomable and deep, causing Clarissa’s heart to skip a beat.
When they finally left, she felt a tinge of disappointment as she returned to her room.
However, soon afterward, someone knocked on her door again.
“Who is it?”
Who can it possibly be this time?
Clarissa had just opened the door and poked her head out when the man from outside suddenly barged in. Slamming the door behind him, he grabbed her waist and pinned her against the door.
Without a single word, he embraced her right off the bat, lowering his head as he kissed her lips. His tongue invaded her mouth domineeringly, muffling any noise that she tried to make. The only sound echoing through the silent room was that of their passionate panting.
Although only a short while had passed, the kiss seemed to have lasted for an eternity.
Only then did Matthew move away from her lips as he muttered hoarsely, “I’m leaving now.”
Despite saying that, he remained rooted to the ground.
As he was grabbing her waist, Clarissa could not budge at all. Her rosy lips parted slightly as she panted, trying to catch her breath. Her hands clung onto the hems of Matthew’s shirt as she mumbled softly, “Thank you.”
He visited her because he was worried that she would be upset by the incident that had occurred online.
No matter the circumstance, she still needed to express her gratitude.
“Haha…”
A gentle chuckle escaped Matthew’s mouth. It sounded extremely alluring, causing Clarissa’s heart to race. It was then that she realized—she had fallen in love.
More importantly, her legs had already lost all of their strength. If Matthew had not been hugging her, she would have already collapsed onto the ground.
“You’re welcome.”
His lips pressed against Clarissa’s earlobes as he nibbled on it gently.
A word of thanks was not enough—he wanted more than that.
“Do you want me to help you to solve that?”
“No. It’s going to pass quickly so there’s nothing that needs to be solved. The netizens are merely repeating the rumors that they’ve heard. It’ll pass after a few days.” Since Clarissa refused his offer, he would not do anything either.
Upon placing a lingering kiss on her neck, he finally released her.
“I’m leaving now.”
He was being serious this time. After all, the car was still waiting downstairs.
Clarissa mumbled in acknowledgment obediently. After she managed to stand on her two feet, Matthew opened the door and left.
Turning back, he saw Clarissa’s watery eyes and her pitiful look, as if she was begging for him to take pity on him. He could barely suppress his urge to throw the woman onto the bed and kiss her passionately.
Instead, he pinched her chin and stared into her eyes with a deep gaze. After five seconds, he spun around and left.
Clarissa stood at the entrance and gazed at him as he strode away. Even his tall and broad back looked flawless.
Clarissa joined the production crew again. The staff members who initially shared a good relationship with her suddenly evaded her.
Perhaps, they actually knew that she was innocent. However, due to certain inhibitions that they had against Shermaine, they did not dare to act too intimately with Clarissa.
She was just a screenwriter who was going to leave soon, anyway. It was completely unnecessary to offend Shermaine because of someone like her.
On the other hand, Max’s attitude was rather satisfactory in comparison.
However, it was not because he wanted to defend Clarissa. He merely yearned for peace.
“Clarissa, this is probably just a misunderstanding. There are a lot of people in the crew, after all. It’s inevitable that some with bad intentions might have accidentally made some unnecessary posts. Don’t take it to heart. Popularity has always been a magnet for trouble. You’ve only received all these criticisms because you’ve become popular, right?”
Although no one had evidence to prove that Shermaine was the perpetrator, they all had a vague inkling as to the events that had played out.
As Shermaine did not openly denounce this accusation or say anything, it meant that she was implicitly affirming Clarissa’s mistake.
In all honesty, Clarissa was still quite affected by it. She could not bring herself to smile at the director’s attempted words of consolation. After all, who was generous enough to dismiss such a huge incident as a mere joke?
“Mr. Brown, you don’t need me here anymore, right? I think that it’s better if I leave sooner.”
“Well…”
Max thought about it for a while before replying, “Yeah, you can go back first. I’ll contact you if I have any questions about the script.”
“What’s happening? Is Ms. Quigley leaving?”
Shermaine sauntered over. Dressed in a period costume, she looked extremely charming and beautiful.
She flashed Clarissa a smile and asked, “Are you angry at me, Ms. Quigley? I swear that I was completely oblivious about the incident. It was only after coming to the set and hearing about it from the rest that I learned about it. I’m sorry, Ms. Quigley. I never expected something so horrible to happen. I’m partly at fault too. I only wanted to discuss the plot with you, but some people deliberately tried to stir up trouble.”
“Nah, it isn’t your fault.”
Since Shermaine had already apologized, Clarissa could not possibly harp over it persistently. Hence, she smiled and shook her head.
“Why don’t we take a friendly photo and post it as a clarification?”
“It’s fine. It’s really fine. This is just a misunderstanding, so there’s no need for all of that. It’ll fade from the public eye within a few days. Thank you, Shermaine. I appreciate your kind gesture.”
Clarissa’s rejection caused Shermaine’s smile to appear slightly forced.
“Ms. Quigley, are you truly not angry at me?”
“Yeah, I’m not.”
Although Clarissa did not know why Shermaine continuously tried to mess around with her, all she could do was stay far away.
Afraid that Shermaine would resume pestering her, she quickly found an excuse as she snuck away.
If she continued spending time with Shermaine, she would possibly stir up an increasing amount of trouble. Hence, keeping her distance was the best solution.
However, instead of leaving immediately, she hung around for a while as she watched the next scene, which featured both Jamie and Shermaine.
After it ended, she wanted to bid farewell to Jamie.
Unexpectedly, the scene had to be filmed a couple of times, while Jamie was slapped so many times by Shermaine that her cheek had begun to swell.
Each time that Shermaine slapped her, she would always find an excuse to film the scene again. More infuriatingly, a smug expression constantly hung on her face.
After a few attempts, Jamie headed off to take a rest. Clutching her cheek, she looked like she was in a great amount of pain.
Worried, Clarissa frowned.
“Are you alright, Jamie?”
Jamie glared at Shermaine resentfully before she glanced at her with an aggrieved gaze.
“Is she treating me like this because I’m just a side character? What right does she have to do that?”
Although it was blatantly evident that Shermaine was doing it on purpose, no one intervened to help Jamie. Even the director remained passive, with only a frown on his face. Since Shermaine insisted that she had acted poorly and demanded to film it again, he could not possibly reject her request.
“Don’t cry, Jamie. You mustn’t cry in front of your bully.”
“Yeah, just wait and see! Even if I’m not popular now, it doesn’t mean that I’ll never be popular. I’ll definitely take my revenge in the future.”
On the other side, Shermaine cast a glance at them as she broke into a grin.
Her smile was filled with provocation and mockery.
Once again, the filming started. To no one’s surprise, Shermaine deliberately demanded to refilm it, even though she slapped Jamie so harshly that her lips had bled. It was not a theatrical effect—her lips were actually bleeding.
Jamie gritted her teeth as she strived to endure it. Glaring at Shermaine, her eyes gleamed with deep hatred.
Slap!
As Shermaine struck Jamie across her cheek again, she smiled embarrassedly. “I’m sorry, director, but the emotions aren’t there. Why don’t we do it again?”
“Shermaine, I think that it’s good enough. You don’t need to repeat it.”
It was not the director who spoke; rather, it was Clarissa.
She walked over and helped Jamie up before eyeing Shermaine. “I’m the original author and screenwriter of this show. Hence, I understand the characters the best. Your performance earlier was very accurate, having flawlessly displayed the sense of fury and ruthlessness you were feeling. I like it a lot, so there’s no need to repeat it.”
She coldly met Shermaine’s eyes, her attitude firm and unwavering.
