Outraged beyond her control, Clarissa took a deep breath but felt even more frustrated instead.
The only reason she didn’t storm out of the room and vent her anger in front of Matthew was that her son was right in front of her.
“Mommy, are you all right?”
Damian hugged her trembling body suddenly. Climbing on top of her, he gave her a curious look.
Gritting her teeth, Clarissa could only manage a slight grin despite her best efforts to smile.
At the same moment, she turned off the bedside lamp, causing the room to fall into darkness.
She didn’t want Damian to see her awkward smile. After all it was a frightening sight.
“Damian, time to sleep. Good night.”
As if he was sensitive enough to feel how unsettled his mommy was, Damian has no choice but to close his eyes and try to sleep. It was very much unlike him who would usually demand an hour of her time before he was willing to go to bed.
Despite patting Damian on his back rhythmically, Clarissa was unable to calm down.
When he finally fell asleep, Clarissa got off his bed in a hurry and rushed out of the room, forgetting her shoes. The moment she closed the door, she stormed into Matthew’s study with her eyes spitting fire and blood boiling in her vessels.
He would usually be in his study at that hour of the day.
Meanwhile, Matthew was in the middle of a teleconference when Clarissa barged in. With a thunderous bang, the door slammed forcefully against the wall as if it had been kicked open.
The person who was speaking was stunned. Looking in Matthew’s direction, he remarked in resignation, “That’s all for today, looks like it’s going to be a long night.”
Many of the attendees didn’t get the hint. Nevertheless, Matthew had already turned off his computer.
Clarissa allowed Matthew time to wrap up his work. In the midst of waiting, her anger caused her already sparkling eyes to glisten with greater intensity.
With a frosty tone, she questioned, “Matthew, did Damian tell you anything when you picked him up from the hospital?”
Matthew furrowed his eyebrows slightly and replied, “You already know?”
Does this mean he knew all along?
Clarissa raised her voice to a shriek. “Did you know all this while? Matthew, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you stop it? Unless, you doubt Damian’s identity too?”
“Doubting Damian’s identity” was the most civil manner in which Clarissa could phrase what she had wanted to convey.
With her face pale with rage, she felt as if she could hardly breathe. Clasping her fingers tightly, she endured the discomfort in her chest as she stared intently at Matthew, afraid of missing a single response from him.
She had hoped that he would play the trusting husband that she always thought him to be and provide her with a proper explanation. Instead, he went along with his family’s ridiculous ideas which hurt their innocent son.
“Clare…”
Circling around the table, Matthew walked up to her. He reached out his hands to hold her fists, hoping to ease the tension in them. Lowering his head, he moved closer and attempted to comfort her with a soothing voice.
“Actually, I didn’t want to keep it from you. But, I expect that you would react this way… hence…”
Clarissa shoved his arm away with dissatisfaction. “Since you know that I’ll react this way, why did you hide it from me still? Do you think I’ll never find out? Matthew, let me ask you. Did you have any part in this?”
The Tysons had many preposterous ideas. However, she didn’t think that Matthew would conform with them.
Matthew’s expression darkened. “Do you think I’m someone like that?”
Clarissa nodded before taking a deep breath. “Fine. In that case, cancel the test tomorrow. I don’t want anyone to have a copy of the test result.”
Matthew felt silent. Sensing his hesitation, Clarissa looked up.
“Do you want to see the result too?”
“It isn’t that.”
Clarissa’s gaze turned icy cold. “Then what are you hesitating for?”
“The results don’t mean anything to us. But it will help alleviate their concerns. Furthermore, it will stop all the gossip. This would be good for Damian…”
Lifting her gaze, Clarissa stared daggers at Matthew.
Just as she glared at him, a smirk suddenly broke out on her face.
“Matthew, who do you think my son is? Why do we need to care about what others think? Also, what good does it do Damian? He is my son, and without a single doubt, yours too. We are not obliged to answer all the gossips. They can suspect all they want but that just reflects how ridiculous and ugly their hearts can be. Why do we even owe them evidence? Don’t you think this is a joke?”
“Yes, I…”
“Matthew, I’m disappointed. Truly…”
Not wanting to say another word, Clarissa turned around and prepared to leave the study with a dejected expression. However, Matthew hugged her from behind, unwilling to let go.
Matthew knew this was going to happen. He had anticipated her anger but not her disappointment.
“Clare, I’m sorry. It’s my mistake. Please forgive me, alright? I understand your situation. It is I that have gotten ahead of myself. I…”
“No, you don’t understand me, Matthew!”
With a burst of strength, Clarissa freed herself from his arms. Not making eye contact, she hung her head and desperately tried to hold back her temper.
“I don’t want to fight with you nor wallow in my anger. So, let go of me, and allow me some space to be alone.”
As Matthew’s arms were gradually pushed aside, he watched as she left the study. After which, silence returned to the room.
After a long while, Matthew sighed deeply. He was cognizant that he had gotten off lightly this time. Nonetheless, the days ahead were still going to be tough.
After all, Clarissa was stubborn to a fault. Anything that remotely involves Damian would elicit a disproportionately protective response from her.
Shaking his head, Matthew returned to his work. However, there was no way he could concentrate on anything. Nevertheless, he wanted to stay out of Clarissa’s way so as to not further infuriate her.
By the time Matthew returned to his bedroom, Clarissa was fast asleep, or at least pretended to be.
With her back facing Matthew, her breathing was constant but posture awkwardly stiff, as if she was still filled with tension.
After he got on the bed, Matthew reached out his hand to hug her. However, she pushed it away instead.
Just as expected, she was still angry and was just pretending to be asleep.
Leaning intimately close to her, he lowered his voice into a gentle yet magnetic tone.
“Clare, it’s not good to sleep angry. It’s bad for your skin…”
Clarissa sat up and turned on the room lights, revealing her reddened eyes and icy cold expression to Matthew.
“Matthew, I’m really angry and don’t want to hear you speak to me in such a tone. Do you think I can easily let this matter slide?”
Sitting up alongside her, Matthew’s expression was equally serious.
“Clare, now is obviously a bad time to talk about this. Shall we discuss it tomorrow instead?”
“You were the one who brought it up…”
“Yes, it’s my fault. Hence, can we rest now?”
Mired in silence, Clarissa gazed at Matthew with a pained look in her eyes. After that, she shook her head before getting out of bed and putting on a jacket.
“I’m going to check on Damian. You should get some sleep first.”
It was obviously an excuse. But, Matthew let it be despite seeing through it.
After all, everything that happened that night was both infuriating and depressing.
Matthew let himself collapse onto his bed. There was no way he could sleep given what was going on.
Throughout the entire night, neither of them got any proper rest.
When they saw each other in the morning, they noticed how lethargic they looked.
However, Clarissa didn’t feel like saying anything at all. Damian was still not up yet given how early it was. Hence, Matthew went out for a jog.
By the time he returned, Clarissa was packing her luggage.
Jolted by what he saw, Matthew hurried over and looked down at her.
“What are you doing?”
Clarissa continued to pack. “Grandma called just now and asked me and Damian to go home for the holidays.”
“Home? Clarissa, this is your home!”
Clarissa didn’t respond. Matthew had no idea if she was implicitly agreeing or not.
As Clarissa didn’t stop packing, Matthew’s gaze darkened.
“Clarissa!” he roared.
However, she pretended not to have heard. In a fit of rage, Matthew stepped up and shoved the luggage aside, causing its contents to be strewn all over the floor.
At that moment, Clarissa looked up at him and plainly said, “I need to go back and stay with Grandma. Damian has to come along too.”
“Why? Is it because I wasn’t firm in blocking their attempt at a DNA test? Fine. I’ll get someone to deal with it now. There won’t be any test.”
Grabbing the phone by the bed, Matthew made a call at once. However, Clarissa didn’t care for what he said. She bent down and continued picking up the clothes that were littered all over. Holding the phone in his hand, Matthew was outraged when he saw Clarissa packing still.
Throwing the phone aside, he stormed over, picked up the luggage, and flung it out of the window.
At the same time, he grabbed Clarissa’s shoulders in anger. With his teeth clenched, he stared intently at her. Unfortunately, she was not showing any emotion at all.
“What is it that you want?”
