Clarissa felt uncomfortable and scared with Luke around, particularly because he kept looking at her with prying eyes.
However, the more uncomfortable she felt, the more interested he was in her.
“Ms. Quigley, do you have a boyfriend yet?” he asked.
Clarissa furrowed her eyebrows as she knew with utmost certainty that he was deliberately quizzing her.
Damon quickly stepped in and came to her defense. “Luke, this has nothing to do with you.”
Luke let out a smirk while he looked at Clarissa and Damon with a disdainful look in his eyes.
“I’m just curious. Am I not allowed to ask a simple question like that? Could it be that Ms. Quigley is your girlfriend? I don’t think so, or perhaps you are secretly in love with her?” he retaliated.
“My affairs are none of your business!” Damon responded furiously before he turned to look at Clarissa.
There was an unspoken expression in her eyes, one that others could not seem to understand, yet it also conveyed a sense of sadness at the same time.
Suddenly, Ellie pushed Luke away forcefully and yelled, “What the hell are you trying to do? Clare is by no means a loose woman you can toy with. You better stop what you’re doing. She is like a sister to me, and I will kill you if you try to make a move on her. Mark my words!”
Luke stared at Ellie and saw that her protective instincts over Clarissa were indeed genuine.
He then smirked and said, “You are indeed something, Ms. Tyson. However, I don’t plan on making any moves on your bestie, nor would I dare to!”
“Make sure it stays that way.” Ellie then clutched onto Clarissa and said, “Alright, there’s four of us. Let’s play poker.”
“I don’t know how to play that game,” said Clarissa innocently. She was completely inexperienced when it came to gambling.
“It’s okay. I’ll teach you. We’re just here to have fun tonight. Just relax and play along,” said Ellie.
Luke chuckled. “Yeah, Clare. You don’t have to hold back.”
Ellie rolled her eyes at him then asked, “Do you know her that well to call her by that name?”
“Come on, we’re all friends, aren’t we? There’s no need to be so calculative. Right, Clare?” he said playfully.
While Clarissa smiled awkwardly and said nothing, Ellie gave him a fierce look as a warning.
The few of them then sat down and started playing poker.
At this point, Clarissa was learning the game from scratch as everyone at the table was teaching her how to play. It felt more like a class than a game to her.
No matter how much they tried to teach her, she simply could not get the mechanics of the game. Even when they intentionally made way for her to win, she still lost.
After a few rounds, Ellie completely gave up on teaching her. It seemed like her brain was only made for writing and was not wired to learn anything else.
Clarissa excused herself from the table to use the toilet, where she finally let out a huge sigh.
As she walked out of the toilet, she saw Luke leaning against the door of their private lounge, and her heart started palpitating as she was getting anxious again.
“Clare, oh wait, should I call you ‘Mrs. Tyson’ instead?” asked Luke.
“Mr. Harrison, I should also thank you on behalf of my colleagues for what happened the other day. Your kind action gave them a new lease on life.” She wasn’t exaggerating.
If Tessa and her other colleagues had to repay that huge sum of money, they wouldn’t probably become his slaves for the rest of their lives.
“Oh, please don’t say that, ‘Mrs. Tyson’. Of course, I wouldn’t dare to ask you and your colleagues for money,” he replied.
It was clear that Luke was pulling her leg.
Her expression remained somewhat embarrassed.
“’Mrs. Tyson’…”
“Mr. Harrison! Stop calling me that. My relationship with… is not what you think it is. Please stop talking such nonsense,” she pursed her lips and said coldly.
“Me? Talking nonsense? You mean to Ellie and Damon, or other people?” he said cheekily.
“It doesn’t matter who. Just stop saying that,” she countered.
“Hahaha…” he sniggered with his arms crossed.
Meanwhile, Clarissa cringed inside while all sorts of emotions appeared on her face.
Luke found her to be an exceptionally interesting lady. However, regardless of whether she was Matthew’s girlfriend, he didn’t actually dare to make a move on her.
“Alright, I’ll stop that. But you have to give me your number, and I’ll zip my lips,” he finally said.
Getting Clarissa’s number was actually an easy affair for Luke, but he wanted her to tell him willingly.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m not——” Before she could finish her sentence, he interrupted her, “It doesn’t matter who you are. I just want your number.”
While Clarissa remained silent and stubbornly stood her ground, the door of the private lounge was suddenly pushed open. Ellie immediately caught a glimpse of Luke and stared at him with hawk eyes.
“What are you trying to do?” Ellie interrogated him.
“Haha… I didn’t do anything. I’m just trying to get Clare’s number. Right?” he defended himself.
Clarissa could sense the threat in Luke’s voice that very moment.
Afraid that Luke might expose her in front of Ellie, she had no choice but to tell him her number.
Clarissa’s action surprised Ellie and Damon, and though they were both curious why she gave in to Luke, they did not question her then.
Throughout the night, Clarissa was constantly worried. When the party was over at the end of the night, Luke offered to send her home.
Unexpectedly, Clarissa agreed to his request.
She simply squeezed Ellie’s hand and hopped into Luke’s car without offering any explanation.
As Luke’s car sped away, Damon was overcome with a tangled web of emotions. He was jealous, puzzled, and sad at the same time.
Clarissa sat quietly in Luke’s car without saying a word. She looked out the window and watched the neon lights become a blur as they sped through the night.
As Luke ramped up his driving speed, she clutched onto the grab handle tightly.
Nevertheless, she remained silent until they finally reached her residence.
“Thank you for sending me home. Good night, Mr. Harrison,” she said.
However, when she tried to open the door, it would not open.
Luke simply let out a menacing smile. His glistening eyes looked rather frightening in the dimly lit car.
Clarissa tried her best to maintain her cool despite how scared she felt inside. Even when Luke pinched her, she forced herself to remain calm.
“Mr. Harrison, what are you trying to say?” she asked.
“Clarissa Quigley, you are a very interesting lady. If you’re not Matthew’s girlfriend, why don’t you be mine? What do you say?” he said in a mischievous tone.
Clarissa shook her head. “Mr. Harrison, I don’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend.”
“Huh? Why not?” he asked her back.
“No particular reason. I just don’t want to be toyed with by men. I don’t belong to anyone else. Do you understand, Mr. Harrison?” she answered firmly.
Luke curved his lips into a smile and chuckled softly. “Alright, but what has that got to do with being my girlfriend? You’re an interesting person, and I like the way you are. That should be sufficient.”
Clarissa responded bluntly, “So my opinion is not important to you? You think you can simply decide when it’s your turn to take me as your girlfriend?”
He understood clearly what she was implying.
So she rejected Matthew like this too?
“Hahaha… this is interesting. Seems like I have read you correctly from the start.” Luke was not angry at all.
Instead, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Good night, Clare. I really hope that you will become my girlfriend one day.”
With nowhere to hide, Clarissa silently endured the disgust she felt and tried to guard herself by pressing both her hands against her chest.
Nevertheless, he managed to steal a kiss from the corner of her lips against her will.
While she wallowed in disgust and anger, Luke opened the car door for her.
“Luke, that day… will never come.” Clarissa immediately got out of his car and wiped her lips aggressively.
As feelings of repugnance and abhorrence continued to build up inside of her, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Hilary.
She quickly walked back towards Luke’s car, but he waved at her and had already started driving away.
Feeling somewhat remorseful, Hilary quickly went up to her and asked, “Who is that man? He looks rather familiar. That car of his costs at least twenty million…”
She had intended on finding a match for Clarissa, but now that her daughter had met such a wealthy man, she definitely would not let the opportunity slip away so easily.
Hilary continued questioning Clarissa about Luke, but she simply would not budge.
That man is obviously interested in Clary. If she does not seize the opportunity, then I’ll have to take charge as her mother.
A few days later, Ellie questioned Clarissa when they met up again. “Did something happen that night? You were looking for me because of Luke? How did you escape him eventually? Clarissa Quigley, tell me what happened…”
Clearly, Ellie was upset at both herself and Clarissa.
As they spoke, she kept addressing Clarissa using her full name.
“Actually, I bumped into Uncle Matthew and Mr. Smallwood later on, so Luke didn’t dare to make any moves on me. I didn’t think I would bump into him again,” Clarissa explained.
“You bumped into my Uncle Matt? He didn’t tell me that,” said Ellie.
Clarissa quickly clarified, “Perhaps it was only a small matter to him so he didn’t bother bringing it up to you.”
“Probably. By the way, he hasn’t visited our family home for quite some time now,” said Ellie.
“Hmm, he must be busy…” Clarissa muttered.
Ellie nodded in agreement but suddenly scrunched her brows and said, “It doesn’t add up. Clare, you know very well what type of person Luke is, yet you allowed him to get close to you. Why didn’t you decline his request to send you home? Please don’t tell me you take that bas*ard seriously. Let me remind you how absurd he can be. You better not…”
Seeing how anxious she was, Clarissa interrupted her before she could finish talking, “I know. There’s no way that I’d take him seriously. However, I still had to thank him for keeping mum about the car accident. Otherwise, he might trouble my friends again.”
“What? Don’t tell me you’re scared of him. If that idiot ever creates trouble for you again, let me know and I’ll make sure he’s dealt with properly,” Ellie said in a flustered tone.
Clarissa gave her a hug to express appreciation for their friendship. “Ellie, I’m so grateful I have a friend like you.”
“Stop it, you’re being cheesy. Come on, let’s go——” Ellie’s phone suddenly rang before she could finish her sentence.
She sounded puzzled when she answered the call. “Uncle Matt? Is everything okay? Oh, you’re looking for Clare? She’s right here with me…”
Clarissa’s heart skipped a beat as panic started flooding through her veins.
She couldn’t figure out why Matthew deliberately called Ellie, and she had no choice but to take the call as Ellie passed the phone to her.
“Hi, Uncle Matthew…” she said nervously.
Matthew snorted coldly. “Have you blocked me?”
With Ellie by her side, Clarissa held back her true emotions even though she actually felt like cursing him. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile on her face as she hummed in response.
“Unblock me right now, or I’ll keep calling Ellie instead,” he demanded.
“Okay, fine!” she gave in.
“Come to Zen Highlands tonight. If you don’t show up, you’ll have to bear the consequences,” he ordered firmly.
Beep, beep beep. Just like that, Matthew hung up on her.
As Ellie watched on curiously, Clarissa handed the phone back to her and covered up reluctantly. “Uncle Matthew was just checking if Luke caused any troubles for me and my colleagues. How thoughtful of him. He’s such a kind elder!”
