Clarissa did not get the scenario that she wanted, but she still saw something just as funny, so she was in a good mood.
There were a lot of people, so Clarissa was glad that they moved into a larger house with more space to accommodate them.
They split into two tables during mealtime, and Clarissa was busy the whole day attending to them. When everyone was finally gone, Clarissa was exhausted.
After Ellie brought Damian to the hotel, Catherine went back to rest in her room. Meanwhile, Clarissa sat lazily on the couch while Matthew gave her a massage.
“You did great, Clare.”
If it weren’t for the sudden arrival of so many friends, her workload would have been far lesser.
Truth be told, Yarick was the one that got all of them there. He was waiting for Matthew to treat him to a meal. But before that could happen, he found out that Clarissa was back.
Just for that meal, he brought the whole gang to W City.
And for that reason alone, Clarissa was impressed with his tenacity.
“Justin told me that Ryler might have a love interest,” Matthew spoke out of the blue while Clarissa lounged on the couch.
Hearing that, however, gave her the energy to turn around.
“Really?” She looked at Matthew.
“Justin said maybe.” Matthew was uncertain. “He wasn’t sure, but he heard that Ryler was very close with a girl during his rehearsal for the new year’s eve show. They’re doing a good job of keeping it a secret. Maybe it’s not the right time, and he wants to protect this relationship.”
“That’s great!”
Clarissa was happy for Ryler, but Matthew was even happier.
That said, it was inappropriate of him to express any joy beyond just happiness for Ryler, even though Matthew was mostly excited because his rival found a new interest to pursue.
“You should’ve told me sooner. I could’ve asked him about it,” Clarissa said.
“I don’t think it’s the right time,” Matthew refuted. “What if we got it wrong? Or maybe, he wants to treat this relationship with the utmost care? You would be putting him on the spot if you asked him out of nowhere.”
Clarissa gave it some thought and agreed with him. Hence, she decided to wait until Ryler told her himself.
That’s more like it!
Matthew’s lips curled into a smile and lowered his head to kiss her gently on the ear.
“Why don’t I carry you back to the room?” His deep voice reverberated.
But Clarissa was being exceptionally vigilant, and her expression immediately darkened.
“No. I can go up on my own. You, on the other hand, should stay here.”
Matthew felt wronged. Nonetheless, he stretched out his body and laid back onto the couch under Clarissa’s watchful eyes. Then, he crossed his legs and spread his arms.
“I won’t go up there to bother you—I swear.”
With that, Clarissa turned around and headed upstairs to rest.
Matthew kept his word and proceeded to turn on his computer to take care of some stuff before going deep in thought.
When he turned on his phone, calls started flooding in.
He had to deny a few calls before he found Matthias’ call and picked it up.
“Matthew, you know how many times we called you yesterday?”
As the elder brother, Matthias was like the middle person between Matthew and his parents.
Matthew not being there made their parents unhappy. On top of that, something happened and put them in an even worse mood.
New year’s eve was hell for Matthias, so the frustration and anger in his voice were clear as day, even though he was suppressing it.
Nevertheless, Matthew was unconcerned.
“Happy new year, Matthias.”
“Happy? For what? You’d better get your a** back here right now. I don’t care where you are. Just come home. Something serious happened.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. What happened? Just tell me. I’m busy at the moment, and I need to go pick Damian up later as well.”
“Matthew. Do you trust Clarissa that much?” Matthias’ tone darkened after Matthew mentioned Damian. “Do you believe that she won’t betray you? That she won’t want to take revenge on our family?”
“I do,” Matthew answered without a moment’s hesitation, even though he was not sure of Matthias’ intention of bringing it up.
Upon that, Matthias followed up enraged, “Then, let me tell you this. That adorable son of yours that you love and care so much for, he’s not even yours. Mom went and did a DNA test. He’s not yours.”
When he finished, he let out a long sigh before Matthew could say anything. Then, he continued, “I know. You can’t believe that Mom did something like that. But I was with her, so she couldn’t have faked it. Dad didn’t believe it at first either. Thus, he called the doctor over to confirm everything and almost got a heart attack. Matthew, maybe the woman you love changed. You should be careful.”
Matthias could not see Matthew’s reaction at the moment, but Matthew gave him a calm response. “That’s it? Alright then, I understand, but I’m still not going back. Bye.”
When he ended the call, Matthew saw Clarissa coming down the stairs, and his darkened expression immediately lightened up.
He walked over to her and hugged her, but Clarissa looked away, avoiding his kiss.
“Should we go fetch Damian? After all, we can’t have them leading him astray.”
“They wouldn’t dare.” Matthew grinned. “After all, he’s my son. He won’t be influenced that easily.”
“Listen to yourself. How to you be so sure? He can easily be swayed with a little food, unlike you at all.”
“He’s like you then.” Matthew raised an eyebrow.
“No way! I wasn’t this dumb when I was young.”
“Then how did he come to be?” Matthew asked with a smile.
“Who knows?” Clarissa shrugged. “Maybe he fell from the heavens?”
She proceeded to push Matthew away and went to clean up the kitchen. After that, they went to fetch Damian.
When they arrived at the hotel, they went to the largest suite available. Jeremy and Yarick had ladies sitting beside them. Even Justin had a lady sitting beside him, but he was more composed than the other two.
They were all around the poker table, with Damian on Ellie’s lap.
He was especially drawn in by the game and did not even notice when Clarissa and Matthew came in.
“Matthew. Damian’s got a good noggin,” Yarick said when he saw them. “Even though he doesn’t understand as much, he’s shown quite some talent.”
Matthew noticed the cigarette Yarick had in his hand and gave the latter a cold stare. Yarick immediately understood what was going on and quickly put out the cigarette. “Sorry. I forgot. Please don’t get mad at me, Matthew, Clarissa. I only just lit it up.”
Clarissa, on the other hand, did not say anything and walked towards Ellie before poking on Damian’s head.
“Damian, do you like poker?”
As soon as Clarissa’s question came out, everyone at the table realized that things were about to go down. Letting the kid play poker was a bad idea.
The women they had with them would only make it worse, so they quickly sent the girls on their way, looking awfully guilty.
Nonetheless, Clarissa would not be the one to say anything. That was Matthew’s job. The only thing she did was carry Damian to the side and talk to him.
As for Matthew, he did not say anything. Everyone there understood him just from the coldness in his gaze.
That said, Ellie dragged Matthew aside into a small room after the men made up an excuse and left.
“Uncle Matt, my mom called me and told me something, but I did not believe her whatsoever. So, don’t be angry when you hear it, okay?”
“You can stop. I already know,” Matthew responded coldly.
“Huh? Did they tell you already? What did you tell them then? Surely you trust Clare, right? How could they believe some fake DNA test result? That’s too much! I suspect that… “
Ellie did not say anything else, but she knew Matthew understood what she was implying.
There was a high chance that Margaret, who despised Clarissa, was behind it.
“Don’t tell Clare.”
“Definitely. I’m not going to waste her time with some baseless accusation. It would only make her mad.”
Matthew narrowed his eyes and looked outside the window, his gaze distant, while Ellie kept on talking.
“What a lowly trick! Anyone is going to suspect the legitimacy of the document, okay? Damian’s her grandchild, for goodness sake! How could she be so cruel…”
Meanwhile, Margaret was sneezing non-stop back in D City from all of Ellie’s complaints.
“George, you’re not doing me any justice here. Even if I hate the girl, how could I not want my grandson? Damian’s a cute and lovely boy! Though I appear to not like having him around, it only appears so because it was awkward for me. Besides, what good do I get from doing this? Matthew is already on such bad terms with us right now. Even if something went wrong with their relationship, ours wouldn’t get any better. Why would I waste my time on such a hassle? Moreover, Matthias was with me when we did the test. You trust him the most, and even he is telling you the same thing. Why won’t you believe me?”
Margaret felt wronged.
She felt so indignant as she was infuriated when she first got hold of the report. The first thing she thought of was how she wanted to kill Clarissa for deceiving the Tysons.
But now that everyone was doubting her, she had to suppress her rage and try her best to prove her innocence.
God knows I didn’t forge it!
