“Yes, I am done.”
Clarissa knew exactly what she just said herself. Also, she knew how difficult it would be for her to utter those words.
That was why she reeled off everything in a breath and did not let Matthew interrupt her.
However, it was too late to regret since things were already done.
Certainly, she would not regret it anyway.
“Sure!”
Matthew finally answered in a deep voice.
He then replied coldly, “Come and take your things tonight.”
“I-I’ll do it tomor-”
“No! Since you’re leaving, don’t waste my time.”
He rang off instantly. Standing on the balcony, Clarissa felt rather hurt.
He did not even give her a chance to explain.
In fact, women were usually very melodramatic. Although she told herself that she would leave him for good no matter what, she still wished that he would make her stay.
Since when have I become such a fake? Clarissa scoffed at herself silently.
She pushed open the balcony door and came back in. Although she was trying to hide her emotion, Ellie still noticed her dejection.
“Clare, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing much. I had a disagreement with a colleague at work. It’s alright.”
“Are you sure? Why are you hiding from me if you’re only talking to your colleague? Are you… seeing someone recently?”
Clarissa chuckled, “That’s impossible! I mean, have you ever taken a good look at me? Besides, even if I am really dating someone, I wouldn’t hide it from you.”
Thinking that she had a point, Ellie nodded.
“That’s true. You don’t have the time anyway!”
To change the topic, Clarissa hurriedly asked, “What was the good news again?”
“Oh, yeah! Take a seat, ’cause you’re in for a treat. Haha! Just the thought of it makes me crack up… Didn’t I tell you that Shermaine came over to my place today? When she stepped in, I was about to…”
Then, Ellie told Clarissa about what happened that morning gleefully.
“Haha… I told you it’s absurd! You should’ve seen the look on her face. Well, it’s her fault for gossiping around like some nasty b*tch. I knew Uncle Matt doesn’t like her at all! Hah! Serves her right…”
“What do you think, Clare?”
Clarissa did not know how to react after hearing what Ellie said.
There were regrets, nonetheless. But what was done had been done, and she could do nothing to change it.
After a while, she returned a faint smile. “Uncle Matt doesn’t like Shermaine for sure. But still, it does not mean that they are not getting married. Everyone in your family loves her! What more, both of your family had known each other for so long, so I can see a possibility in an arranged marriage.”
“That’s impossible. Knowing Uncle Matt, no one can force him to do what he doesn’t want to.”
“Even if it’s not Shermaine, someone else will still marry Uncle Matt. Isn’t that pretty much the same?”
“It is, but I will be happy as long as it’s not Shermaine. Even all those women who had gone on blind dates with Uncle Matt were all better than her.”
Clarissa shook her head and sighed.
Matthew’s future wife certainly had to be a good match for him.
“Hey, it’s a good day today, so why don’t we go shopping? We’ll meet them up for lunch and hang out later. C’mon.”
Ellie did not think much about it and urged Clarissa.
Moreover, Clarissa was not in a rush to take her things at Zen Highlands. Since she was going to do it later that night, she decided to hang out with Ellie before leaving.
In less than two hours, Clarissa and Ellie’s hands were full of their purchases of the day, especially Clarissa – she completely indulged herself and bought a series of apparel, accessories, handbag, and makeup products. Ellie was rather surprised as she had rarely seen Clarissa act this way.
When they found a place to take a break, Ellie could not help asking, “Clare, what happened to you? I have never seen you shop so much in my entire life. Haven’t you always said that it was a waste of money?”
“Oh, is that a lot?”
Clarissa looked at the shopping bags and laughed awkwardly.
“I… Um, it was just an impulse.”
“Impulse? Are you sure? You’re acting really strange today!”
Ellie studied Clarissa’s expression carefully. She was trying to find out the reason behind her odd behavior.
The corner of Clarissa’s lips twitched as her fingers raked through her hair uneasily.
“Nothing much. I mean, it’s the time of the month. You’d certainly understand.”
Is that so”?” Ellie asked while looking at her quizzically.
“Yes. Why are you still doubting me?”
Even after a few times of reassurance from Clarrisa, Ellie was still feeling skeptical.
That night, they invited some people from Ellie’s workplace. Meanwhile, Damon also brought a few of his friends along with him. More than ten of them gathered around as they had fun and ate. At that point, it was almost like a party.
Even though it had been a long time since Damon last saw Clarissa, they acted like normal friends when they met each other.
During dinner, everyone got excited and started drinking. Clarissa inevitably became their target as she was the prettiest girl around. Seeing this situation, Damon swooped in and saved the day by drinking whatever was coming her way. When the rest noticed Damon was so protective over her, they started cheering for them.
Fortunately, Ellie stopped the crowd, and it helped Clarissa to feel less awkward. Although Clarissa was just a tad tipsy, her brain was still fogged up by the amount of alcohol she drank.
Seeing that Ellie had stopped the fun, the crowd went towards the private room and continued there instead. After a while, Clarissa started to calm down. She was sitting in the corner with a beer in her hand, and beside her was Damon, who was watching the rest of the people singing.
“Clare, is there someone you like?”
Clarissa did not answer for a while. Just as Damon thought that she did not hear him, he suddenly heard a faint “Mm-hmm” from her. The voice was almost inaudible among the loud sound of laughter from the crowd.
Nonetheless, Damon still heard it loud and clear.
Smiling bitterly, he answered, “Well, he is a lucky man.”
For a moment, Clarissa remained silent as she took a sip of the beer.
Then, she muttered slowly, “Damon, you’ll find a better girl. She’ll like you, and you’ll like her back. That is the true meaning of happiness.”
Damon was a rather carefree man, so he grinned and said, “I hope that is the case.”
They clinked their glasses and continued drinking in silence.
No one noticed how much alcohol they had drunk together. When Ellie looked around, she found Clarissa leaning against the couch with a few empty beer bottles by her side. She was fast asleep with her head tilted upwards.
Although Damon was not drunk just yet, he had drunk quite a lot too.
“Damon, why did you make her drink?”
Hearing that, Damon shook his head and laughed. “Am I that type of person? Clare kept drinking, so I thought she is a good drinker.”
“Hah! As if! As far as I know, she rarely drinks. Besides, no one forced her to drink tonight, so why did she drink so much? Why is she acting so weird today?”
Ellie sat over and helped Clarissa up.
“Did she tell you anything just now?”
Damon’s eyes glimmered, but he denied instantly. “She wouldn’t even tell you, so how would I know?”
“Well. Forget about it then. I will send her home now. Clare, Clare, wake up. Let’s go home…”
In a daze, Clarissa opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a blurry figure. Since the lighting in the room was very dim, it took her a while to bring everything back into focus.
“Oh, okay…”
She did whatever Ellie told her to do. Being drunk had made her extraordinarily obedient.
Yet, Damon was worried, so he sent them into their car. After that, he went back into the room again to drink. For some reason, he was in the mood to get completely drunk that night.
As for Ellie, she had used up all her energy to help Clarissa get into the elevator and back on her bed in the apartment.
Just as Clarissa was placed on her bed, she sat up suddenly and darted towards the bathroom. “Ueghhhhh… Bluerghhhhh…” The sound of the aftermath echoed between those tiles.
After she was done, she washed her face and walked out of the bathroom. Then, she sat at the side of her bed in a daze.
Watching her series of actions, Ellie was thinking if Clarissa had regained consciousness.
“Clare, are you sober now? Do you know who I am?”
Clarissa smiled at her best friend. Even after all that, she still looked beautiful with her eyes shining bright.
“I’m alright, Ellie.”
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that. “That’s good. You should take some rest.”
“Alright, Ellie. Are you staying for the night? Or are you going home?”
“I’ll be heading home as I have something to do tomorrow. Will you be alright alone?”
“Yes!”
Ellie did not think much and left Clarissa’s home.
After Ellie left, Clarissa sat there blankly for quite some time. All of a sudden, she remembered something and got out of the house without changing her clothes.
Fortunately, she could still remember to call for a cab through her cellphone. After she got in the car and told the driver the address, she remained silent while her eyes stared ahead blankly.
It was only lucky for Clarissa to get a cab in the middle of the night. What more, it would be extremely dangerous for a beautiful woman like her to go out this late at night. Upon reaching Zen Highlands safely, she rang the doorbell.
On the other side of the door, Matthew had been waiting for her the entire night. As he saw her standing alone in front of the gate from the intercom, he was infuriated.
He drove to the entrance furiously. When he saw her standing in a daze at the front gate, he wanted to yell at her.
“Get in!” Matthew shouted towards Clarissa.
He was trying to control his anger as he commanded in a deep voice.
Clarissa opened the car door obediently. The moment she got in, the car accelerated immediately, and her body shivered as she leaned against the car seat.
Matthew still ignored her when they had arrived at his house. Meanwhile, Clarissa followed behind him slowly as he entered.
Once they got in, Clarissa rushed into the room she stayed in and packed her things quietly. When she headed out of the room, Matthew was sitting on the couch while glancing in her direction coldly.
Her wet hair was strewn across her shoulders, and her face seemed rather pale without any emotions. Some parts of her clothes were soaked too. At that moment, Matthew noticed that there was a faint scent of cigarettes on her and a noticeable smell of alcohol on her breath.
He frowned and slightly twisted his fingers.
Seeing that the woman was about to leave, he then called out to her.
“Clarissa, stop right there!”
Clarissa stopped abruptly. She turned around as she heard his stern voice and gazed at Matthew.
