As soon as Matthew returned home, Clarissa rushed over and firmly wrapped her arms around his waist as if she had been longing for his return.
She started weeping in an aggrieved manner and reprimanded Hilary, “She’s such a shameless woman! In order to achieve her goals, she’s willing to do anything and everything!”
It had been such a long time since Clarissa last behaved in such an aggrieved manner in front of him. To be precise, it had been a long time since the last time someone picked on her.
She couldn’t do anything to sever ties with Hilary as she had to take Catherine’s wellbeing into consideration.
Although Clarissa was fine with tolerating Hilary’s absurd request, Matthew was heartbroken because of the things his beloved wife had to go through.
In an attempt to console her, he held her firmly in between his arms and caressed her back in a gentle manner. He was determined to teach those who had gotten on his wife’s nerves a lesson.
Out of the blue, he lifted Clarissa and brought her to the couch. He had her nestling in between his arms and continued caressing her back to calm her down.
A short while later, he leaned over and kissed her on the lips as he was aware she needed a way to take things out.
“Calm down and listen to me, okay? I’ll teach her a lesson on your behalf! Just leave the rest to me and forget about it!”
Clarissa looked at Matthew in the eyes with her eyes brimming.
Irked, she stammered as she couldn’t even catch her breath, “S-She’s such a shameless woman! I-I can’t believe she’s threatening me with Grandma! S-She’s currently at W City—”
“You need to calm down.” Matthew interrupted his weeping wife and handed her a glass of water.
Once she finished the glass of water, he wiped her tears dry and caressed her back.
He assured, “Just take your time to gather your thoughts. I’ll always be here for you! Nothing can possibly get in our way! Have faith in me, okay?”
It was then Clarissa took a deep breath to gather her thoughts as instructed.
She finally regained her composure with Matthew next to her. A few seconds later, she told him Hilary’s plan, “She has made her way to W City and barged into Grandma’s place! It turns out she has also figured out I’m aware she’s not my biological mother! Hilary wouldn’t stop provoking Grandma as she was certain I would do anything to keep Grandma in the dark! To be honest, Grandma only gets to spend another few years with us! I want her to spend her last few years in joy! I can’t afford to let anyone provoke her!”
Matthew nodded as Clarissa had indicated her will to give in to Hilary’s demand for Catherine’s sake. He asserted, “If that’s the case, we’ll proceed with Grandma’s sake in mind. No matter what, we need to keep Hilary in check for the time being and ensure she’s going to keep the secret safe.”
“Mmm! To be honest, I’m afraid of doing anything rash! Otherwise, she might break the news to Grandma if she’s offended!”
Things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Initially, Hilary was the one who should be afraid since she was the one at fault.
However, Clarissa was afraid Catherine wouldn’t be able to handle the harsh truth awaiting her. Hence, she ended up being the one suffering.
On the other hand, Hilary was thrilled as things had just taken a drastic turn of events for the better.
Catherine was Hilary’s only chip of bargain she could rely on to gain a fortune. Thus, she secretly prayed for Catherine’s wellbeing.
“You don’t have to worry. I’m sure Hilary has the same thing in mind and will refrain from trying anything reckless since Grandma is the only one she can make use of.”
“What am I supposed to do next, Matthew?”
Clarissa’s mind was all over the place. She had a hard time figuring out her next best course of action.
“Hilary is merely coming after you to get her hands on a fortune. We’ll just give it to her when the time comes. She’s also filing for divorce with Zach. I’m pretty sure she’s going after his fortune as well. Let’s do her a favor and get her the best attorney to assist her in achieving her goals. You need to stop overthinking things over some trivial issues. We’ll keep her in check for the time being and figure out the proper way to deal with her soon.”
Clarissa listened to Matthew’s suggestion and said, “Mmm! I’ll get in touch with her as soon as possible!”
“She’s going to get in touch with you when the time comes. As for now, there’s no way she’s going to tell Grandma anything.”
Concerned, Clarissa asked, “Are you serious?”
“Just have faith in me and everything will be fine!”
Clarissa snuggled in between his arms. She was just glad to have him next to her when she needed someone the most.
Clarissa grasped his hand and expressed her gratitude in a mellifluous tone, “Matthew, thank you so much for being around!”
“Isn’t it natural for me to keep you safe from those who try to bring upon your misfortune?”
“Mmm! Thank you so much!”
“Do I get a kiss in return?”
Clarissa hesitated no more when she heard him. Staring at him in the eyes, she kissed him on the lips.
Her husband brought up something else and requested, “How about a smile?”
As she beamed in satisfaction, the intrigued man couldn’t suppress the urge to kiss her once again.
…
Hilary had a great time in W City. She indulged herself in her favorite pastime—shopping. Although her favorite brands weren’t around, she had a great time splurging.
As Clarissa had yet to get in touch with her since their last conversation, she got increasingly anxious.
Hilary had been keeping an eye on the netizens’ comments. Unfortunately, there was nothing else apart from Clarissa’s last update to press charges against her. The netizens wouldn’t stop analyzing the videos and shared their speculations with the rest on the internet.
I can’t believe she’s able to keep her composure in spite of the ongoing uproar!
Unable to keep her cool anymore, she took the initiative and got in touch with Clarissa.
Meanwhile, Clarissa had learned to keep her composure after spending a few days gathering her thoughts. No longer would she lose her cool just because of Hilary’s provocative statements.
On top of that, she had gotten in touch with Catherine and asked her to join them at D City or have a short getaway at her friend’s place to stay away from Hilary.
Hilary wasn’t able to irritate Catherine anymore since Catherine had taken Clarissa’s advice and made her way to her friend’s place.
Clarissa carried on with the conversation in a calm and collected manner. She said, “Have you enjoyed yourself over the past few days?”
Hilary asked with her brows furrowed, “Is that any of your business? Are you going to forsake your grandmother or what?”
“Why don’t you stop asking the obvious when you’re trying to force me into submission with her wellbeing?”
Hilary chuckled and asked, “It turns out you still care about her, huh? I’m glad her beloved granddaughter isn’t going to forsake her just yet. If you’re going to forsake her, I’ll just do you a favor and tell her you’re not a member of the Quigleys. Maybe she’ll feel better.”
As Clarissa went dead silent, Hilary burst out laughing once again.
“It turns out you’re really aware of the truth! It doesn’t really matter because it’s only making my life easier! Since you’re aware of the things going on, I don’t have to keep you in the dark anymore! You’re not my daughter—you’re just an abandoned baby I have picked up from the streets!”
Hilary started blurting out all sorts of nonsense as she had nothing to lose.
Meanwhile, Clarissa asked with a frown, “Are you done with your nonsense yet?”
“What do you mean by nonsense when I’m telling you the truth? I’m not aware of your parents’ identity since I found you in the middle of a pile of trash. After sending my child away, I was afraid your so-called father would reprimand me for being such a selfish woman. Therefore, I brought you home with me. Maybe you were abandoned by someone who had given birth at the hospital. It might have been the doing of an irresponsible young couple. Well, I guess we’ll never find out.”
Hilary went on and on and made up all sorts of things to deceive Clarissa. She seemed to be having a great time making fun of Clarissa.
“Well, it’s undeniable you’re gorgeous, but you’re just a jinx like your grandmother. She was the one who had brought upon your so-called father’s demise. If you want to keep Matthew and your son safe, you need to watch out and stay away—”
In an attempt to warn Hilary to mind her words, Clarissa yelled, ”Hilary!”
Hilary knew Clarissa was infuriated for real. That was precisely her goal as she couldn’t stand Clarissa getting full of herself anymore.
“What? I’m just trying to give you a heads-up! It’s not much of a pleasant conversation, but—”
“If you still want our help and the fortune you’re coming after, keep that filthy mouth of yours shut tight.”
Hilary’s lips twitched against her will when she heard Clarissa’s warning. She asserted, “We’ll just forget about it then! Speaking of which, since you have figured out the things I’m coming after, when are you going to hand it over to me? It’s not much of a challenge for you, isn’t it?”
“I’ll compensate you for your time over the years and get you an attorney, but we can’t guarantee your triumph against your husband.”
“You need to ensure I’ll get the things I’m seeking! Over the years as Mrs. Garrett, I had no choice but to brace myself through all sorts of humiliation! I’m just trying to get my hands on the things I deserve! It’s a challenge to gain ownership over the company, but it’s not much of a challenge to gain ownership over the shares of the company, isn’t it?”
“Talk to the attorney because I don’t understand you at all. Also, we’ll only talk about the amount of compensation once you’re back.”
“Alright, I’m on my way back!”
