No one paid attention to Clarissa’s movie anymore.
The police still couldn’t determine whether Hilary’s death was a suicide or homicide. There were also a lot of wild speculations from the public.
Bystanders who did not know any better automatically sided with public opinion.
There were also some who undoubtedly took advantage of this crisis to say things that would ruin Clarissa’s reputation, all because they were jealous of her.
Before, they did not dare to say too much for fear of being targeted by Tyson Corporation’s lawyers.
But now, the uproar brought on by Hilary’s death couldn’t be suppressed at all. Netizens were behaving like a bunch of maniacs as they posted all kinds of comments.
Hence, those who already hated Clarissa joined in as well. Through their comments, they implied that Clarissa had forced her mother to her death. Just like that, Clarissa became the world’s most vicious woman and was verbally bashed by everyone.
The public was all over her, but she did not release a statement nor make a public appearance.
Despite that, Clarissa could imagine all the unpleasant and harsh words the people had to say about her. She had experienced it before anyway.
Since she was backed into a corner during this period of time, she used this as an opportunity to stay at home and keep her son company.
Not to mention, even Damian was implicated and couldn’t attend school for fear that reporters would dig up information on his school and end up affecting the other students.
Besides, Damian had been given quite a scare, so Clarissa patiently calmed him down over the past few days.
At Zen Highlands, Clarissa schooled him for an hour before making ravioli together. The boy was visibly happy as he learned how to roll the dough from his mother.
When Ellie called, Clarissa wiped her hands to answer her phone. Then, she used her free hand to draw some whiskers on her son’s cheeks with a little bit of flour. Looking at his adorable face, she let out a good-natured laugh.
Upon hearing Clarissa’s laughter, Ellie felt relieved because it meant that she was coping well with Hilary’s death. Only then did she inform, “I went to the police station to ask around. They said Hilary’s body hasn’t been autopsied yet because the Garretts won’t allow it. Zach rejected the autopsy on the basis that he’s still legally her husband. He’s convinced Hilary committed suicide and doesn’t want to pursue the matter. But it’s really weird, you know? Something’s definitely up with the Garretts. I just can’t put my finger on it. I tried to dig for more information from Shawn’s buddies, but they were tight-lipped.”
The Garretts were behaving strangely. There was no doubt that they were hiding something.
However, Clarissa preferred leaving it to the police as she did not want to know too much.
But Ellie would call to update her from time to time, so she also knew about what had happened over the past few days.
“Clare, do you think Zach and his family wanna make use of Hilary’s death for something? I have a feeling that whatever it is, it has something to do with you. So please be careful.”
Ellie omitted the details of the public’s reaction.
There were too many people condemning Clarissa at the moment, so Ellie was reminded of the Garretts’ greed. Perhaps they wanted to make an issue of out Hilary’s death to turn public opinion against Clarissa, and in turn reap whatever benefits they could from Matthew.
After some careful thought, it wasn’t all that difficult to come up with this assumption.
This seemed to be Zach’s plan as he openly demonstrated his greed when he refused to cooperate with the police.
“My wife and I aren’t divorced. She called a few days ago asking to get back together, but then something so horrible happened. Clarissa must take full responsibility for this. My beloved wife was killed by her own daughter. How can that girl be so inhumane? She didn’t even come to see her mother…”
Social media was inundated by news like this, with Zach playing the role as the victim’s husband to the fullest.
Among the public, there were some who sympathized with Zach, but all these people had corrupted intentions and wanted to attack Clarissa.
Putting this matter aside, Zach was the most shameless one out of all of them.
When Matthew returned home, Clarissa relayed the news to him as well.
“I think Zach wants to use Hilary’s death to take advantage of us. Did he reach out to you? If he did, just ignore him. Public opinion is already out of control, anyway. Since he’s so shameless, we don’t have to entertain him at all.”
Matthew smiled. “Do you think your husband is so easily threatened by others?”
“I’m just afraid you’d give in because of me…”
“You know I’d do anything for you, but I’ll never give in when that person is Zach.”
Clarissa smiled in return and changed the subject to get rid of the somber mood. “I had a video call with Grandma today. She knows about it too, but I think she didn’t wanna say too much because she’s worried about me. All she said was that she’s happy at her friend’s place, and not to worry about her.”
But as she spoke, her eyes turned slightly red and she peered at Matthew with a pitiful expression.
“Matthew, my biggest fear is troubling others. Since I was young, I always tried my best to solve my own problems because I didn’t want to trouble others, especially my family. But I seem to be doing a sh*tty job though. I keep causing trouble for Grandma and you. Now both of you are suffering because of me. It’s all my fault. I seriously feel like I’m cursed, like it’s written in my fate that I’d always implicate the people I love no matter what I do…”
Clarissa had been cooped up at home for a good few days. Even though she was happy to spend time with her son, she still felt depressed at times.
Anyone in her shoes would feel the same.
She couldn’t stop herself from overthinking. Whenever she had too much time on her hands, she would instantly recall the past. In the end, she felt as though she was cursed as she constantly brought trouble to Catherine and Matthew’s doorstep.
She did not feel sad over Hilary’s death. On the contrary, she blamed herself for hurting the most important people in her life.
After spilling her thoughts to Matthew, tears quickly gathered in her eyes and poured down her cheeks, painting a heart-wrenching sight.
Matthew’s brows drew together as he felt his heart clench painfully in his chest. Pulling her into his arms, he stroked her back soothingly and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead.
“Clare, none of this is your fault. You’re not cursed. Does marrying me and giving birth to our son feel like a curse to you? Does becoming a famous screenwriter and having a flourishing career feel like a curse? Besides, we are the master of our own fate. Bad things happen in life, but it has nothing to do with you. Do you really believe all those utter bullsh*t? Because I don’t. Even if such things exist, your fate has already changed because you have me. I’ll make sure your life only gets better…”
Matthew’s convincing tone gave Clarissa great solace.
As she sobbed quietly against Matthew’s chest and listened to his word, her heart gradually calmed down and those depressing thoughts left her mind.
“Clare, there’s no such thing as fate. Even if there is, only I can decide your fate!”
Matthew was determined to plan her life. He wanted to shower his woman with love, and make sure she would want for nothing.
Clarissa raised her head to meet his doting gaze. Then, she lifted her hand to stroke the corner of his eyes.
In a hoarse and emotional voice, she said, “Hubby, you said it yourself. Only you can decide my fate. So from now on, I’m entrusting everything to you.”
Including my life.
One could only imagine how deep their love was that they would make such a promise and even unhesitatingly hand their lives to each other.
This was something foreign to Clarissa. She understood how precious the life her parents gave her was. Besides living for herself, she also lived for her loved ones, including her grandmother.
Later on when she had a son, it wasn’t just her grandmother she had to live for, but him too.
And now, Clarissa realized that she belonged to Matthew.
Her throat closed up with emotion at the thought of having Matthew as her family. She couldn’t help but think how lucky she was to be loved by Matthew. She had given her everything to Matthew. Perhaps a life like this wasn’t as bad as she thought. She had been fending for herself for too long. It was time she surrendered the reins to Matthew.
This life of hers had become meaningful because of him.
Matthew’s heart stirred as he stroked her skin and digested the fact that she had truly given herself to him this time.
He lowered his head to press his forehead against hers and said in a low and slightly hoarse voice, “Clare, you know you can’t go back on your words, right?”
Clarissa’s dark eyes shimmered like stars in the night sky. With a determined gaze, she bravely met Matthew’s eyes.
“I won’t.”
Only then did Matthew’s mouth curve into a small smile, and his chest rumbled with a deep chuckle.
He placed a gentle kiss on her lips once, then leaned back to look at her before kissing her lightly again. Finally, he deepened the kiss, making sure it lasted a long, long time.
When they broke away from each other, Clarissa’s heart was beating wildly in her chest.
That soul-touching kiss left her slightly disorientated.
“Matthew, don’t ever betray my trust. I’m literally placing my life in your hands. If you-”
“There’s no ‘ifs’ because I’ll never do that.”
That’s right. He’ll never do that.
Clarissa smiled in response. If he did, nothing in life would matter anymore.
She hugged Matthew tightly, as though he were her entire life.
“Daddy, Mommy…”
Having just taken a bath, Damian ran into his parents’ room in his pajamas. When he was met with the sight of the two of them embracing each other, he felt slightly left out. He directly climbed onto their bed and squeezed in between the two of them.
Clarissa let out a giggle. “Don’t forget there’s this little guy too.”
Matthew laughed and ruffled his son’s hair. “How could I ever forget?”
Damian looked at his father, then at his mother. When he couldn’t figure out what they were talking about, he simply puckered his lips to give them a kiss.
