The sight of Matthew’s smile sent chills run down Clarissa’s spine.
His answer made no sense at all, but her gut told her that it implied something very dangerous.
“You asked me to be your man last night, and said that I couldn’t marry any other woman.”
“I…” Did I really say that?
Clarissa could accept that she might have actually said those things out loud.
After all, those were her true feelings. It was entirely possible that she might have accidentally spilled the beans while drunk.
Matthew’s smile grew wider as he stared at her flustered expression and heard no retaliation from her.
It was just a simple lie, but she’d accepted it so naturally as if it was the truth. Clearly, those were her actual feelings towards him.
“Clare, I said “yes”. So you can be happy and start squealing now.”
His smug, “kneel down with gratitude” expression made Clarissa’s mouth twitch in irritation.
So, she chose to deny the truth.
“Even if I did say it, I said it when I was drunk, so it doesn’t count.”
Matthew raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning slightly colder than it was before.
“You’re not going to acknowledge it?”
Clarissa hurriedly explained, “It’s not about acknowledging anything. I’m barely conscious when I’m drunk, let alone remember anything I said. Why would you take anything I promised or asked for seriously? Besides, I didn’t do anything to you, so why is this suddenly about me not acknowledging what I said? You make it sound as if I’m not responsible for my own actions.”
The last part was muttered under her breath, but she still meant it.
She had always gotten the shorter end of the stick in their relationship anyway.
If I was to really look into who should be acknowledging their own words, wouldn’t it actually be Matthew?
Seeing that Matthew had gone silent, Clarissa slowly crawled out of bed.
“Where are you going?”
Clarissa pursed her lips in embarrassment, gritting out the reply through her teeth.
“The washroom…”
Matthew’s hearty laughter rang out behind her as she rushed into the washroom to relieve herself.
Matthew was no longer in the bedroom when she came out, which was fine by her. At least she felt less awkward now.
After going downstairs, she realized that Mrs. Lawson had already prepared breakfast. Clarissa spotted a bag next to the sofa, wondering if that was hers from last night.
Why can’t I remember anything?
She couldn’t even recall how she came to be here in the first place.
It was a miracle she hadn’t just been picked up off the street by some random stranger.
Either way, it didn’t matter anymore, because Clarissa felt too guilty to stay for breakfast. What choice did she have other than packing her bags and running out the door after having presented to Matthew her resolution last night?
She was way too thin-skinned to continue staying here.
Taking her chances while Matthew was not around, Clarissa was at the doorway putting her shoes on when he descended the staircase.
“Stop right there.”
Where have I heard that before?
Clarissa couldn’t place a finger on the memory, but she stopped and turned to watch as Matthew walked leisurely down the stairs. Dressed in a grey suit that complemented his well-built frame, his sharp gaze was locked onto Clarissa.
“Get back here and eat.”
Clarissa’s stomach grumbled. She really needed to eat something first.
Fine. I’ll be a little more thick-skinned just for now.
Temporarily leaving all thoughts of running away behind, she followed him to the dining room and took a seat at the table.
A corner of Matthew’s mouth quirked up into an undetectable smile.
They ate breakfast in silence. After they’d finished, Clarissa made to leave again.
“I… I’ll get going now!”
She sounded nervous and reluctant, even to her own ears.
Matthew instantly got up and left the dining room with his gaze landing on her bag.
“You’re bringing all this to work?”
“Huh? Work?”
Then, it came to her. Was Matthew pretending that everything from last night never happened?
She’d already told him that she wouldn’t be making it up to him and wouldn’t be working at Tyson Corporation anymore, but he was still acting like this.
She felt elated upon coming to that conclusion but quickly realized that her current vague attitude towards him did not match her usual personality.
Clarissa had always hated people who pretended they didn’t know what they were doing but understood everything clearly. At the same time, she hated their method of going about things. Clarifying everything until both sides had come to the same understanding was more of her style.
Ambiguity was especially unacceptable when regarding something as tricky as feelings.
She had never thought that the day would come where she was being ambiguous herself.
“No, I’m not.”
Clarissa made up her mind. She was not going to keep this up any longer.
Matthew raised an eyebrow. The expression on her face was as solemn as if she was getting ready to head into a warzone.
Amusement flashed through the depth of his eyes. One of his hands fidgeted in his pocket.
“What do you mean?”
“Mr. Tyson, I meant what I said last night. I’m not going to repay you in any way, and I’ll stop working for the Tyson Corporation. I’ll be leaving now. Thank you for taking care of me for such a long time, and I hope to see you again.”
It was harder than she thought it’d be to force the words out.
It was even harder than when she said it yesterday because this time Matthew was right in front of her, and she had to look straight into his eyes as she talked.
Her nails dug into her palms from how strongly she was gripping her bag. She bowed, biting her bottom lip, then turned around and walked away…
“Ah!”
Every emotion that she had been holding back, all her determination, and all her self-restraint dissipated as soon as she let out that single scream.
Because at that moment, Matthew was dragging her onto a car, completely disregarding the stares they were getting from the people around them.
Shooing the chauffeur out of the driver’s seat, Matthew got in the car and floored the gas pedal.
“Matthew, stop! Let go of me! Where are you going? Drive slower, please, drive slower…”
The scenery outside was flying past in a blur, terrifying Clarissa.
She held on to the door handle with all her might, pressing herself back into the car seat as much as she could, even though every one of her muscles was locking up from fear.
Matthew gave her a sidelong glance. “Relax. If you die, at least we’ll die together.”
“I don’t want to die…”
“Even better. Then, do as I say.”
The car sped up even faster, and Clarissa resorted to squeezing her eyes shut, her heart beating in her throat as all the blood was drained from her face.
Matthew smirked, slowing the car down slightly.
After half an hour, the car finally slowed to a stop. Clarissa’s legs felt like jelly as she stumbled out of the car, unable to stand up straight.
It was a long while before she looked up and realized that they had arrived in front of an abandoned factory. There were weeds and overgrown grass everywhere, like a location in a movie where people dumped bodies after killing them.
She stared cautiously at Matthew, meeting his mocking gaze straight on.
“Are you scared I’ll rape and murder you?”
It was as if he could read her mind. Clarissa’s lips twitched.
“Nope. Uncle Matthew is not that kind of person.”
“Hmph! And to think you were calling me Mr. Tyson just now. Well, it’s too late to go back on your words, I was actually planning to rape and kill you…”
Rendered speechless, Clarissa furrowed her eyebrows together, her pale face grew even paler as her eyes darted around, searching for an escape route.
Chuckling, Matthew walked over to her and picked her up in his arms, offering no reassurance and letting her imagination run wild.
“Stop moving around or I’ll really kill you.”
Clarissa stared up at him with questioning eyes.
Is he really that sick in the head that he’d kill me before raping me?
Matthew, ignoring her stare, stepped over some patches of overgrown grass before finally setting her down in an empty, clear space.
Clarissa turned around to take in her surroundings. There seemed to be no hint of life anywhere nearby, just some medium-sized mountains in one direction, and some faraway villages and apartment complexes. No one would ever discover her body if Matthew decided to murder her today.
“What do you plan on doing exactly?”
“Doing you.”
She gave him a deadpan look, not saying anything. She’d used that line before in her own novels, or, more accurately, had abused that line.
Feeling a headache coming on, she said, “Stop joking around. Can’t we just have a peaceful normal conversation when we go back, please?”
Clarissa made to leave, but Matthew wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
“Say it right here, right now. Be mine, Clarissa. Give me an answer.”
“No.”
“Then, you can’t leave.”
“You’re clearly twisting my arm. You’re not even giving me a chance to refuse.”
Smirking, Matthew replied, “Good on you for realizing. Now, answer me again.”
“I said no!”
“Wrong answer!”
The smile was wiped off his face. Leaning closer to her, his hand started running down Clarissa’s body.
“Ah!”
Jumping out of her skin, Clarissa squealed loudly, trying to slap his large hands away. But Matthew wouldn’t have gone all the way to bring her here if he didn’t mean business. No matter how much she struggled, she just couldn’t escape his clutches.
Matthew is serious. He’s going to eat me alive.
Scared for her life, she stopped yelling and indignantly shut her mouth. Instead, she resorted to pleading for mercy, silently putting up with his wandering touch.
“Please don’t do this, I’m begging you…”
“Answer me again. Will you be mine?”
Biting on her bottom lip, Clarissa hesitated, still stubbornly refusing to give in.
“Not answering is a wrong answer too, Clare.”
The sweet, familiar nickname by which he called her had a dangerous undertone to it. Alarm bells going off inside her head, she replied instantly.
“Fine! Yes, I agree. Are you satisfied now?”
Matthew stopped his movements, his smile as wide as a Cheshire cat’s.
“That’s a good girl! You answered correctly, so here’s your reward…”
He leaned down and covered her lips with his own, slipping his tongue into her mouth and teasing her.
It was only after Clarissa had gotten weak in the legs and become out of breath that he pulled away, carrying her in his arms all the way back to the car. He then got into the driver’s seat and helped fasten her seatbelt into place.
Clarissa glared at him furiously. Her bright eyes looked as if flames were really going to start shooting out from them.
But Matthew didn’t care about all of that. He just smiled as he gently caressed her face.
“You’re not drunk now. In fact, you’re absolutely conscious, so you can’t go back on your promise, alright?”
Clarissa’s jaw clenched, saying coldly, “You clearly forced me into this, no… threatened me to agree.”
