When Matthew reached home, he saw Clarissa sitting opposite Damian.
The moment he saw Matthew come home early, Damian was overjoyed. He threw aside the word cards in his hands and rushed into Matthew’s arms.
“Daddy, you’re back! I missed you…”
Matthew picked him up and entered the house.
Meanwhile, Clarissa tidied up the cards he left and reminded, “Damian Quigley, you have not finished your lessons yet. Don’t you dare think just because Daddy is back, you can stop doing your homework.”
Damian pouted and looked adorable doing so. However, Clarissa knew that as a mother, she had to be firm and not give in to his cuteness.
When she glanced at Matthew, he put Damian down and said, “Damian, listen to Mommy. I’ll play with you once you are done with your lessons. We cannot give up learning halfway, alright? We are men, and what do men do?”
Damian replied in reflex, “Men keep their words.”
“That’s right. Come, I’ll sit with you.”
Matthew’s presence seemed to have aroused Damian’s interest in his lessons.
As he was already a smart boy, he could learn with great speed as long as he put his heart into it.
When Clarissa tested him with the cards again, he was able to reply quickly and correctly.
After he was done, he pushed his toy car out and pulled Matthew along to play with him. Matthew naturally went willingly.
It wasn’t until after dinner was over that both Matthew and Clarissa finally had time to talk about what happened in the day.
From Clarissa’s response, Matthew could sense that Clarissa wasn’t really angry.
In fact, it was Clarissa that broached the topic first.
“From your reaction, I can see that you really don’t mind the DNA results. Did you not have any doubts that Damian wasn’t your son?”
Chuckling, Matthew walked up to Clarissa and toyed with her hands.
“Do you think I would believe something as ridiculous as this?”
“But, it’s clearly stated in the test report.”
When Clarissa waved it in front of him, he grabbed onto it and threw it aside.
Lowering his head to kiss the tip of her lips, she avoided him quickly. “Stop. Let’s finish the discussion first.”
Persistently, he stole a gentle kiss before replying. “Isn’t it over? There’s nothing more to discuss as I don’t believe it. However, how did you find out?”
When Clarissa raised her eyebrows at him, Matthew immediately knew who the source was.
“What did they say?”
Clarissa shook her head. “Relax, they weren’t as nasty as they used to be. It’s just that I didn’t expect them to be able to accept something like that.”
After hearing Clarissa explain what their demands were, Matthew furrowed his eyebrows and was visibly upset.
However, Clarissa chuckled instead. “Why are you frowning? I’m not even angry. I’m just curious to know how were you able to cope with their rage given that they were under the impression that I cheated on you? In fact, you managed to pretend as if nothing happened in front of me. You can certainly endure duress!”
Clarissa’s words were laced with sarcasm.
However, when she saw Matthew’s grim expression, she couldn’t help but snort in laughter. She reached out her hand to stroke his face.
“Come on, don’t look so glum. I was only joking. Not like it’s true anyway. Unless, you actually believed them?”
Feeling conflicted, Matthew couldn’t help but sigh. Grabbing her hand, he spoke in a serious tone.
“Clare, even if you’re just joking. I still don’t want to hear it. Am I clear?”
Clarissa stuck out her tongue cheekily. “Fine. I’ll stop. Not like it’s true anyway. But, given how serious they make it out to be, I’m puzzled as to why didn’t they suspect foul play? Oh, wait. Since they have handed me the report, does it mean that they have verified its authenticity? And made sure that there aren’t any problems? In that case, I wonder what happened during the test? Since your parents believed it, what about you? Did you try and find out what happened?”
“I did. There is nothing wrong with the test itself. The only weak link was when my mother and Yuliana sent the hair for the test. Something must have happened on their way there. It’s just that the hospital was too crowded at that time, and everyone they met is a suspect. Hence, it’s just impossible to eliminate them one by one.”
Baffled, Clarissa asked, “Why didn’t you use the simplest method? You can just run another test, can’t you?”
In response, Matthew stared intently at her, making her feel awkward.
“Wh-what are you giving me that look for? Did I say something wrong?”
Only then, did he calmly explain, “Clare, I have learned a painful lesson the first time around. Hence, there’s no need for a second time. To me, you and Damian are all that matters.”
Clarissa didn’t know what to say.
Touched by his words, she felt amused and angry at the same time.
Pouting her lips, she pinched Matthew’s ear and gave it a tug. “What am I going to do with you?”
Matthew allowed her to pull his ear. Although it was embarrassing, he didn’t care about his image in front of his wife.
After that, Clarissa kissed him on the forehead and explained softly, “I was angry the first time because you had already done it. The nature of the issue is different. However, since the test was completed with such a result, I’m touched that you chose to endure… Erm, you’d rather be misunderstood than clear the matter up? Wouldn’t that be bad for my reputation? Although, it does feel satisfying to cause your parents some anguish.”
Matthew shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to clear your name, but someone is still investigating it. Therefore, there’s no need to repeat the test. Besides, you don’t like it.”
“Fine. You might have considered everything, but you still didn’t predict that your parents would do something like that behind your back.”
“You don’t have to care about whatever they say or do. As I said before, your only priorities are me and our son.”
Of course, I would prefer if you prioritize me more.
However, Matthew knew that it was never going to happen.
Despite having that thought, he knew it was pointless to say it.
“Okay…”
Clarissa shrugged. “In that case, I have nothing more to add. You should do as you see fit. This time, I trust you entirely.”
Matthew squeezed her in his embrace as he leaned forward to kiss her. Comforting her softly, he let his hand slip under her blouse.
“Clare, since you’re not angry, I feel that…”
“What do you feel? I still need to tuck Damian in, so take your hands out.”
Blushing, Clarissa pulled Matthew’s hand out. She then left the room quickly to coax Damian to sleep.
As for Matthew, he could only smile helplessly. Fine. There’s no hurry. After all, once Damian is asleep, we have all the time in the world.
The next day, while Clarissa was still feeling groggy after waking up, she vaguely remembered what Matthew had said before he left.
He told her that she didn’t need to respond to his family as he will deal with it himself.
In the first place, she had never planned to do so as it was his family anyway.
Moreover, she was so busy that she didn’t have time to mind something like that.
After dropping Damian off at school, she went to the studio for a meeting.
However, she didn’t expect both major shareholders to be there, including Luke.
Given that they were the major shareholders, Clarissa forced herself to smile no matter how awkward it felt.
Throughout the meeting, Clarissa tried her best to maintain her professionalism.
After the meeting, Yael began chatting with Mr. Collins. Just when Clarissa prepared to leave the room, Luke called out to her.
“Ms. Quigley, how’s filming coming along?”
“Mr. Harrison, it’s still on-going.”
Smiling, Luke lit himself a cigarette. When he saw Clarissa frown in the midst of puffing, he stubbed it out and threw it into the bin.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m still busy, I…”
“Mrs. Tyson…”
Clarissa froze when he called her. With a cynical smile, he remarked, “The first time we met, you were just a pitiful little girl. Tsk, I didn’t expect that you have become my partner. It’s good that you’re really capable.”
Clarissa smiled awkwardly. “Mr. Harrison, what are you trying to say?”
“Oh, I was just making small talk. Is there a problem? Do you not want to talk to me?”
“Of course, I would love to chat with our company’s major shareholder. However, I really am busy. I…”
Luke waved his hand in annoyance. “Fine. Do you think that I’ll bully you? You are Mrs. Tyson now, and I certainly do not have the gall to. Go ahead with whatever you need to do. I won’t impose on you.”
Just as he spoke, Luke turned and saw the young lady in the meeting room. With a mischievous smile, he headed over to hit on her.
Clarissa stood there and watched. Feeling conflicted, she hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to say something.
“Mr. Harrison…”
Luke turned around.
“Mr. Harrison, my female colleagues are all decent ladies. So, please be nice, alright?”
Blushing, the young lady made an excuse and slipped off. As for Luke, he shrugged before walking away.
“I understand, Mrs. Tyson. You can stop nagging me.”
With that, he left Clarissa Studio.
From her office window, Clarissa heaved a sigh of relief after she watched Luke’s car leave the building.
The moment she turned around, Mandy was standing behind her, observing her intently. “Clarissa, ever since Luke became our shareholder, he comes here very often. Do you feel…”
“No, I don’t,” Clarissa interrupted Mandy.
With a stern look, she added, “Mandy, tell the girls in our office to buck up if they want to continue working here. Moreover, this is my honest advice. Luke isn’t a decent man, so they had better stop swooning over him. Understood?”
“Yes, yes. Clarissa, we understand. We have no such intention, so don’t worry.”
With that, Mandy put her suspicions aside. After all, there were some things that were better left unsaid.
