Jacque had always been an observant man. Therefore, he refused to believe it was just another joke coming from his wife.
He probed further, “What exactly is going on? Tell me everything you’re aware of!”
Sandra answered with a smirk, “It’s nothing more than a hypothesis! Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I sincerely hope that’s the truth! After all, I don’t need such a foolish niece like Shermaine!”
She then told her husband everything ever since the conversation she had with Clarissa at the hospital.
“Can you just get to the point already?”
“We’re about to reach the best part!” Sandra teased her husband with a cheeky smile and added, “Jackson pulled my leg and said Clarissa and Shermaine might have been swapped in the first place…”
Initially, Sandra thought that was impossible when those were merely fictional plots of typical soap operas.
However, she secretly prayed Clarissa was affiliated with the Wynters as she was really against the idea of having Shermaine as her niece.
“It sounds like a joke, but is it really just a joke? I mean, the screenwriters get their inspiration from their lives as well!”
Jacque shook his head with a serious expression and rebuked, “I’m pretty sure you have been imagining things again. It might have something to do with the grudges you’re holding against Kayla and Shermaine.”
“As much as I’m irked by their presence, is there anything I can do to turn the tables around? She’s your freaking sister—I have no choice but to keep everything to myself and let her get you to do her biddings at no cost! I can’t believe you don’t even bother to reprimand her even when your career is at stake because of her! Jacque, your sister doesn’t care about her brother, but I care about my husband!”
Jacque was no longer his indifferent self when he heard Sandra. He leaned over and expressed his gratitude, “Thank you so much for everything you have done.”
Sandra snorted and went dead silent. A few seconds later, she insisted, “I might have gone slightly overboard with my hypothesis, but don’t you think it’s worth investigating? What if Clarissa is a member of the family? If she’s not, we’ll just forget about it!”
Jacque responded with a frown. After much considerations, he nodded and asserted, “I’ll get someone to figure out if she’s related to the family, but you need to keep your expectation in check and stop taking this seriously.”
Sandra beamed in satisfaction as the outcome wouldn’t really matter. It was obvious she could never see eye to eye with Kayla and Shermaine.
…
Clarissa told Damian to keep himself entertained and had the butler and nanny keep an eye on him before making her way to the gym with Ellie. Never in a million years would Clarissa show up in a gym if it weren’t because Ellie insisted on having Clarissa tag along with her. After a cardio session, they joined a yoga class together.
Ellie told Clarissa the benefits of practicing yoga, “You’ll get to try different postures if you’re flexible enough to twist and turn your body! It’s going to be beneficial to you and Uncle Matt! On top of that, it’s great to build up your physique!”
Clarissa started flushing and gaped at Ellie’s statement. She then asked in return, “Stop bringing this up as if it’s not a big deal! Aren’t you embarrassed the slightest bit?”
“Huh? You’re literally my aunt! Why are you embarrassed when I’m merely talking about you and your husband?”
“I-I’m not embarrassed! Y-You’re the one who needs to mind your words! Y-You have never—” Clarissa stuttered with her lips twitching against her will.
All of a sudden, things got awkward between the duo because of the things Clarissa brought up.
Ellie cleared her throat and rebuked, “Actually, I have a boyfriend. You don’t think I have never done it, do you?”
Clarissa went dead silent and wrapped up the conversation as she had no intention to poke her nose into Ellie’s relationship with others.
They exchanged glances and burst into laughter when they saw one another in the eyes.
“I’ll get you a membership and enroll you in a few lessons with a personal instructor. If you don’t feel like making your way here, just get them over to Zen Highlands and make yourself a yoga studio for your lesson. We’ll go ahead and give it a try today.”
Ellie dragged Clarissa away with her and made their way to the yoga studio of the gym.
At the end of their lesson, Clarissa couldn’t feel her limbs anymore. As someone who was relatively stiff, it was a tormenting experience at the beginning of the class. Nonetheless, she couldn’t wait until she could twist and turn her body at ease.
I need to stay till the end of the lesson! It’s a confidence booster I need that’s gonna allow me to be on par with Matthew in bed!
After their yoga lesson, they headed over to a beauty salon for a self-pampering session. Clarissa dared not engage in a conversation anymore after the last incident she had to go through.
She couldn’t believe the content of her conversation was made known to others when it was supposed to be confidential.
When Ellie was the only one left in the room, she said, “I have prepared Matthew a New Year gift! It’s a fictional story I have adapted from the ups and downs of our relationship! Actually, I’m thinking of producing a movie based on the book, but I don’t have the capital to get everything started! Care to invest in me?”
Ellie, who had a facial sheet on her face, sat upright and asked, “Are you serious? If you’re serious, then I’ll definitely get you the capital you need!”
She then chuckled and added, “Aunt Clare, you’re such an ambitious woman! I can’t believe you’re trying to display the affection you have for Uncle Matt in front of everyone! Are you trying to make others envious of you?”
Clarissa responded with a sheepish grin and rebuked, “No! I’m just trying to get Matthew something that’s going to surprise him!”
“Urgh! You have no idea how tormenting it is to be around both of you! Well, I think it’s going to turn out just fine! In fact, I think a lot of people are going to enjoy your book and movie! I can’t wait until I get a few folds of return on investment!”
“Why don’t you keep your expectation in check when I’m just a rookie?”
“Trust me and have faith in yourself! If you can’t handle it, I’ll get Mr. Justin over to help you with the production!”
Clarissa shook her head and said, “No way! How can you get such a famous director to be my assistant director? I’ll only work on it after New Year. You need to keep this between us because it’s meant to be a surprise.”
“Hmm! That’s interesting!”
Clarissa wrapped up their conversation with a satisfied beam. When she recalled she had the gift for Matthew ready, she couldn’t wait for New Year to come sooner in anticipation of his response.
When she made her way back to Zen Highlands, Damian rushed over and showed Clarissa his doodles on a random book.
“Mommy, what do you think of my masterpiece? It’s a family portrait of our family!”
Clarissa gaped at the presence of the book that had been doodled in and out. She could vaguely tell it was the custom-made book she had prepared Matthew in advance.
Oh, God!
On the other hand, Damian was unaware of the things that would be in store for him. He beamed in satisfaction in anticipation of his mother’s compliment.
Meanwhile, Ellie leaned over and started complimenting, “It’s actually not half bad! I’ll introduce a few artists to you and get them to teach you the proper way to paint! Speaking of which, is this your mother’s book?”
Ellie turned around and noticed something was wrong when she caught a glimpse of Clarissa’s darkened expression.
After she took another peek at the book, she asked with her lips twitching involuntarily, “I-Is this the present you have prepared for him?”
Ellie noticed Clarissa was about to let loose of her emotions. Afraid of the things awaiting Damian, she immediately rushed over to bring the little boy away with her.
“You’re in big trouble, Damian! Of the all things available for you to draw, why have you chosen to draw on this particular book? Can’t you get yourself something else?”
The nanny wouldn’t stop apologizing, “I’m so sorry, Ma’am! I was supposed to keep an eye on him! Actually, that wasn’t just the only book that’s—”
Ellie was rendered speechless by the havoc Damian had wreaked. However, the little boy continued chuckling in Ellie’s arms. “It’s so fun!”
Clarissa finally snapped out of bewilderment and returned to her senses. She enunciated her son’s name at the top of her lungs, “Damian Quigley!”
Her son finally stopped laughing the moment he felt a chill running down his spine. Angst was written all over his face as he wrapped his chubby arms around Ellie’s neck.
Ellie got ahead of Damian and said, “W-Well, since things have gotten to the point of no return, why don’t you get the publisher to prepare you another book?”
“It’s not going to make it in time!”
“W-Why don’t you delay your plan for a year?”
Clarissa couldn’t suppress her wrath any longer. She dismissed Ellie’s suggestion and warned her son with her teeth greeted, “Damian, I’ll allow you to defend yourself! Why have you barged into the study and doodled on my books? Why hadn’t you gotten yourself a piece of paper or something?”
Unsure if Damian was startled or overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, he went dead silent with his lips pursed.
“Hello?”
The aggrieved little boy wrapped his arms around Ellie’s neck with all his might. His pair of eyes had started brimming with tears.
“Oh? Are you trying to play the victim? Ellie, leave him alone! I must have been spoiling him so much he can’t even behave himself anymore! It’s about time to discipline him! Thankfully, it’s my books he has ruined instead of Matthew’s documents! Otherwise, he’s in a real mess! Come over here at once, Damian Quigley!”
Ellie was intimidated by Clarissa’s ferocious look as she had never seen Clarissa getting worked up.
Meanwhile, the startled little boy started inching over to his mother’s side.
Out of the blue, Matthew made his way into the house and noticed something seemed to be wrong. He then found out his son’s eyes were welled up in tears.
“What’s going on?” The moment he broke the silence and directed the question at the conflicting trio, Ellie brought Damian away.
While bouncing up the stairs, Ellie said, “Uncle Matt, Aunt Clare has something for you! Why don’t you go ahead and check it out? I’ll bring Damian upstairs with me!”
“Hold it right there, Ellie! Bring back that rascal!”
Clarissa was about to go after Ellie and Damian, but Matthew stopped her in the nick of time and wrapped his arm around her waist.
He leaned over from behind and asked in a hushed voice, “Clare, what sort of gift have you prepared me?”
Clarissa’s mind was all over the place. In the end, she made up her mind to show him the book that was full of doodles she had prepared him.
Matthew took it over and stared at Clarissa with his brows arched in confusion.
“I-It was supposed to be a surprise! Urgh! It’s your son’s fault for ruining my plan!” Clarissa ended up burying her face in her hands.
