“Ms. Quigley, last night, after your failed attempt to seduce Ryler Cooper, you went on to hook up with the cousin of a director, Mr. Mackenzie. Is this true?”
“Ms. Quigley, last night, what benefits were you promised after spending the night with Mr. Mackenzie’s cousin?”
“Ms. Quigley, did you obtain the opportunity for the movie adaptation of The World via similar means with the investors?”
“Ms. Quigley… “
At that instance, the first thing that came into Clarissa’s mind was to cover her face. For her to be forced onto the floor like that was humiliating. On top of that, the people there were mercilessly firing shots at her, saying all sorts of slander and satire.
In that situation, Clarissa’s mind went totally blank.
“What are you people doing? Get away! Move!”
Someone came to help. It was Jamie, and not Ryler.
She brought her driver and assistant, as well as several hotel staff, chasing the crowd out of the room.
After the room was cleared, silence ensued. Clarissa was still in shock. Her hair and clothes were in a mess. Bruises could be seen forming on her delicate face as Jamie helped her up and sat her on the bed.
Clarissa sat there, speechless for quite a while.
Seeing her situation made Jamie furious. All that had happened was definitely deliberate. Why else would a paparazzi ever follow a screenwriter that is so low profile? I swear, if this had nothing to do with Shermaine, I’d cut my head off and use it as a football.
“Ms. Quigley, it’s alright now. Everything’s okay. Don’t be scared,” Jamie said as she gave Clarissa a hug and patted softly on her back to comfort her.
Right then, Clarissa came to her senses again. She started shivering in Jamie’s embrace. Even though there was no sound, Jamie could feel her shoulder getting wet with tears.
She let out an internal sigh.
“Ms. Quigley, just let it out. I’d cry too if something like this happened to me. It’s okay, so just cry your heart out and pick yourself up afterward. There are still a lot of questions for this incident that need answers, you can’t give up so easily.”
Hearing what Jamie said, Clarissa immediately raised her head. “Those reporters… “
“Don’t worry. Mr. Cooper said he’ll handle them. He actually wanted to come, but he just didn’t have the time. So he asked me to check on you because he’s really worried.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Ryler should not be involved with scandals at the moment and Toby never actually liked Clarissa anyway. Even though he never said anything, it was clear that Toby’s attitude towards her was average at best.
Hence, Clarissa knew better and rarely contacted Ryler.
Even them meeting at the film studio was an unexpected occasion.
Why did those people say I attempted to seduce Ryler?
“What happened? Why did they suddenly all wind up here looking for me?”
Jamie started fuming as she began to explain.
“Someone posted the photo of you and Mr. Cooper on Twitter this morning. It was when you two were waiting at the door of the restaurant. The angle was especially deceptive and they wrote that you tried to seduce Mr. Cooper but was ignored. Then, you got in some director’s cousin’s car and they found out that this cousin had been going around sleeping with many women using the name of the director. Some people even came out and said they saw you abuse your position to get close to Mr. Cooper and disrespect Shermaine… “
And with that, Clarissa was finally able to grasp a general idea of the situation, feeling weak as she lowered her pale cold face.
“Ms. Quigley, this is definitely the work of Shermaine. That witch is getting back at you for protecting me yesterday. I’m so sorry.”
“This doesn’t concern you, Jamie,” Clarissa said calmly. “Even if you weren’t there, I was already targeted prior to yesterday’s incident. She’d eventually do this anyway.”
“Ms. Quigley, weren’t you leaving today? Why not you just get out of here for now?”
Clarissa shook her head. “It’s already too late. If I go out now, I’d most probably just get surrounded again.”
Then, while she was still trying to figure out a solution, the phone in the room rang once again. Clarissa picked it up to hear a cold voice from the other end.
“Why can’t your phone be reached?”
Unknowingly, hearing that voice made Clarissa unable to hide her feelings. Tears started welling up again as she wanted to cry.
“I lost it.”
“What happened? Are you in trouble?”
“You… you know?”
Her voice was crackling. Clarissa was trying her best to hold in her tears as she did not want to show signs of weakness to the man on the phone, but she could not control herself for wanting someone to depend on.
Anyone would feel the same if the same thing happened to them.
Hence, Clarissa quickly explained to him, “Those people are slandering me. I was just having dinner with Ryler and another artist from the crew. After the meal, I got in a cab but the driver was… “
She could not continue any further.
On the other end of the phone, Matthew immediately stood up and left hurriedly. His handsome face remained cold as ice.
He did not need Clarissa to say anymore as he could already guess the rest. The only thing he wanted to do at the moment, was murder.
With the rage of burning hell, Matthew gave Clarissa an order.
“Wait for me!”
The call ended right after, and he proceeded to call Donnie.
“Donnie, find out everything about what happened last night at the film studio, immediately. Take down all the articles and photos regarding the incident. Also, find that driver and take care of him.”
Matthew’s tone sent out a very clear message to Donnie. Mr. Tyson is extremely angry.
…
After the phone call, Clarissa’s heart was racing.
“Ms. Quigley, was that your friend?”
“Yes. Jamie, I’m alright now. You should go back, you still have a shoot going on.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone? Maybe my assistant can stay here to accompany you. She can call me if anything happens.”
“There’s no need. I’ll just stay in the hotel, so it’s okay. The paparazzi won’t be able to take any photos of me even if they wanted to.”
Hence, Jamie left soon after. Clarissa was the only one left in the room, just sitting there waiting, oblivious to how much time had passed.
Until, there was a knock on the door.
Her heart started racing as soon as she stood at the door. With a shivering voice, she asked, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me!”
A low, magnetic voice resonated through the door and Clarissa immediately opened it.
Matthew stood there in front of her, his eyes as dark as the midnight sky.
Tears instantly welled up in Clarissa’s eyes and Matthew swiftly stepped in to embrace her tightly in his arms.
No words were needed as Clarissa just stayed there in his arms, taking in Matthew’s chilling scent. She was finally able to loosen up as she felt more secure than ever before.
With her face on Matthew’s chest, Clarissa’s tears sipped into his shirt. The warm tears felt like it was scorching Matthew’s heart at the same time as he could feel the pain emanating from his chest.
His long fingers stroked Clarissa’s back slowly, allowing her to be vulnerable in his arms.
After a long while, Matthew sat down beside Clarissa on the bed with his hand around her waist.
The man caressed Clarissa’s pink and tender face. In his embrace, her eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him. Her shyness was accented by those shimmering beady eyes.
The woman in front of Matthew made his throat tighten. Even the blinking of her eyes was seductive to a point that made him fantasize about ways to devour her whole.
Nevertheless, Matthew showed no signs of emotion as he maintained the straight face that he always wore. No one would have known that under that mask of his, was something so wild and raw.
Matthew’s endurance was top notched after all.
He only had to twist some of his fingers before speaking with his low raspy voice.
“I’ve handle the news articles and the photos.”
“Thank you.”
Another thank you!
Matthew snickered and pinched Clarissa’s chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“Your thanks will eventually have their uses.”
“Huh?”
Clarissa did not understand what he was trying to say, but Matthew explained nothing.
“Pack your bags and come back to D City with me.”
It was another order, but this time, Clarissa hesitated. She did want to leave, but her destination was not D City.
“I… I want to… take a trip back to my home.”
As soon as she finished, Matthew’s piercing gaze came shooting over. So, Clarissa quickly explained, “It’s been so long since I went back. The elders must be worried sick. Furthermore, I never said I wasn’t going back to D City!”
She unknowingly lowered her gaze, not wanting to meet the intensity in Matthew’s eyes.
“How long?”
“One… One umm… Week?”
Under the immense pressure coming from Matthew’s stare, Clarissa was forced to shorten her one-month plan into a one-week trip.
“It’s been two days since you gave me the reply.”
Which meant that, within a week, Clarissa had to give Matthew an answer.
Truth be told, what Matthew meant was that the answer did not matter since he was just that domineering. In his eyes, Clarissa was already his. The more important thing was that the one-week time limit he gave her had five days left.
In spite of that, Clarissa was going home for a week.
Which meant the confirmation from her will have to be delayed by two whole days.
Clarissa’s face flushed, “It’s… It’s just two more days!”
Can’t you wait for just two more days?
Lo and behold, Matthew actually could not.
“Five days.”
Clarissa did not expect him to be so eager, and she certainly did not know that Matthew badly wanted to devour her whole.
“One week, please. I want to spend some time with my family. They’re getting really old. Even though I hired a nanny, I’m still worried about them. This is something I will not back down on.”
For her grandmother, Clarissa would face anything head on.
Matthew’s eyes darkened as he sat there silently. While Clarissa, on the other hand, felt tense as if she was waiting for a verdict.
“One week!”
Matthew finally agreed. It felt like Clarissa was shown mercy as a dazzling smile formed on her face.
“Thank you! I… “
A thank you was not enough as Matthew lowered his head to kiss her smile. His tongue exploring even further, intertwining with another while he inhaled every bit of her breath away.
In the room, the breathing sounded heavier and clearer as Clarissa’s body weakened under the kiss, allowing her to be pushed onto the bed. Meanwhile, the man on top of her increased the intensity of his kisses, shifting his hands onto her body and touching her as he pleased.
