Clarissa didn’t know that people loathed her stories.
However, if it was Shermaine who didn’t like it, she wouldn’t mind.
These few days, Clarissa had received a lot of calls from Helen, inviting her for hangouts, from having fun together to shopping, but she rejected every one of them.
The last time Helen called Clarissa, she told the latter she was going to invite Ellie as well, seeing how close they were. The latter got nervous as she couldn’t guess if Helen was trying to threaten her.
Even if it posed to be a threat, Clarissa had no choice but to accept her invitation, and of course, she would be the only one who would be there while Matthew would stay out of that.
That night, Matthew had some business to attend to, so he didn’t return home for dinner.
Clarissa informed Matthew about accepting Helen’s invitation, but the latter only laughed at her. “Didn’t you say that you’ll not be bothered by the Zimmers anymore? Are you so tempted by them you couldn’t hold your ground?”
Clarissa snorted on the call. Looking through the car window, she saw the dazzling neon lights lit up one by one, brightening up the entire city. “It’s not that I can’t take it anymore. In fact, I wish to settle everything at once to prevent future disturbances.”
“Really?” Matthew’s soft chuckles came from the other end of the call, and his voice was soothing to the ear.
“Absolutely. But…” Clarissa murmured her words and the man couldn’t hear what she was saying, so he asked, “Clare, what did you say?”
“Nothing,” Clarissa didn’t want to tell.
“Haha…” Matthew let out a chuckle, and his laugh sounded as if he could tell what Clarissa was thinking without hearing about it directly from her.
The woman felt embarrassed while her ears were flushed red. “I’m almost there, so I’ll hang up now.”
After a while, Clarissa arrived at the restaurant Helen booked.
The latter was sitting alone at a table. Seeing this, Clarissa was relieved, as she could say everything she wanted.
Looking at Clarissa, Helen smiled faintly and spoke mockingly, “What an honor to have you here. It’s so difficult to invite you out for a reunion.”
Ignoring the woman, Clarissa smiled and sat in her seat. “You knew why I didn’t want to come.”
Helen frowned. “Do you think I did it willingly?”
Raising a brow at the woman, Clarissa asked, “So, why?”
Helen argued, “I don’t have a choice.”
Clarissa pursed her lips disapprovingly. “Hah! If you’re so reluctant, who can force you into it?”
“You don’t understand how tough it was for me. By saying all these sarcastic remarks, you’re just trying to humiliate me.” Helen rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
Placing an arm on the table, Clarissa rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head. “Really? You’re the one who invited me to your wedding and was relentless with me at the ceremony. You reap what you sow, so blame yourself for that.”
“Clarissa, you…” Helen grimaced in annoyance.
Clarissa glared at her coldly. They were so direct with their words, but Helen was the only one who got angry with this argument.
Both of them fell silent for a while. Clarissa focused on eating while Helen kept on staring at the former coldly. Her stares were filled with malicious intent, and it was as if she wanted to kill Clarissa.
“Are you full just from staring at me?” Clarissa lifted her head to look at Helen after swallowing her food.
Helen scoffed, “Clarissa, I didn’t invite you out for a meal.”
“Oh?” Clarissa continued eating her food.
“You…” Helen was speechless.
Soon after, she said, “You know what I’m here for. Although I’m jealous of your relationship with Matthew, I don’t have a choice. That’s right, you’ve won in choosing a man of higher status. Out of respect to Mr. Tyson, I’ll have to get along with you. I admit. I’m disgusting, but in the real world, and since I’ve married into the Zimmer family, I’ll have to obey them.”
After pausing for a while, she insisted, “So let’s forget about the past and rebuild a new relationship for now.”
Placing down her spoon, Clarissa wiped the corners of her lips with a paper towel and looked at Helen in the eyes. “There aren’t any feelings between us, let alone being friends. Besides, I don’t wish to have anything to do with you.”
Helen snickered, “Clarissa, you’ve gone too far. You’re just one of Matthew’s women, so don’t think too highly of yourself. Staying in touch with me is a win-win for both of us, and you should stop fantasizing about your Cinderella love story. Face the truth. You don’t have what it takes to be Mrs. Tyson, so why not cooperate with me while you still have his favor? Think twice before you reject my offer. Otherwise, you’ll regret it when he leaves you.”
Clarissa had thought of everything Helen pointed out, and she knew what to do, so she remained calm and poised, not giving the reaction Helen had wanted to see, be it feeling sad, scared, or compromise with her offer.
With an aloof expression, she said indifferently, “I’m not Cinderella indeed. However, I’m not the type of person you think I am. I’m just dating a man I like, and it’s as simple as that. Helen, I will make it clear for you once and for all.”
Clearing her throat, Clarissa continued, You want to cooperate with me? No way, and that’s it. Don’t you contact me ever again, as we’re not friends, to start with. Plus, I know you hate me. I just feel that it’s unfortunate and foolish of you to believe in a scumbag and develop hate toward your innocent schoolmate.”
With that, Clarissa got ready to stand up. “Right. You didn’t eat, so I’ll pay for the meal because I don’t want to owe you anything.”
“Clarissa, stop right there!” Helen got so angry that she lost control of her voice, while Clarissa glanced back and raised a brow.
Helen’s expression was ferocious, and she was gritting her teeth. “Clarissa, I do hate you, and don’t be too arrogant. I’ve lowered my pride to negotiate with you. What more do you want from me? Act high and mighty all you want, but just you wait, you’ll be dumped by Matthew one day.”
Clarissa let out a sigh. Does she not understand human language?
It would only be a waste of breath to say anything else, as Helen was stubborn and self-righteous. It was impossible for her to listen to others.
Reluctant to drag on the conversation, Clarissa turned around and leave. Helen hates me anyway.
She won’t understand, even if I explain any further.
After parting on bad terms, Clarissa returned to Zen Highlands.
Matthew wasn’t at home yet, so she sat on the wool carpet in front of the French windows, doing some research on her studio and checking her emails.
One of the emails was from Justin. It was about choosing the actors and actresses for the movie. He asked for Clarissa’s recommendations, but of course, he would decide who to cast based on their performance at the audition.
Clarissa thought of Ryler initially, but she didn’t recommend him. In the end, she only recommended Jamie as the candidate for one of the supporting roles to give the young lady a chance. As for the male and female leads, she thought of a certain female artist when she was still working on the story of Princess. However, even though that female artist had the classy demeanor Clarissa liked, her age made her unsuitable for the role.
After replying to the email, she received a call from Justin.
The latter stated a problem about casting the actors. “Shermaine contacted me just now and requested to be the female lead. What do you think?”
Clarissa froze for a while and replied, “Director Yates, Ms. Smallwood is pretty and has amazing acting skills. I don’t have any problem with that.”
“Really? Are you not jealous?” Justin chuckled.
Clarissa knew what he was getting at. “I won’t allow my personal feelings to impede my work.”
Satisfied with Clarissa’s answer, Justin explained, “Alright. Then I’ll cast Shermaine because she has superb acting skills. However, her role isn’t the real princess, but the fake princess, as she’s more suitable for this character. And of course, I’m just doing my job.”
Clarissa was grateful to Justin for asking her opinion. It didn’t matter even if it was out of respect for Matthew. What was important was that Justin gave her an explanation.
Soon after, Justin said, “Of course. We don’t know if Shermaine is willing to act as a supporting character, so we can choose others when the time comes.”
When both of them were discussing the casts for other characters, Matthew came back.
Noticing she was talking with somebody on her phone, he took off his coat and tossed it aside before walking toward her. He hugged her from behind and lowered his voice. “Who are you talking to? Hmm?”
When Justin heard Matthew’s voice from the other end, he burst into laughter and said something before hanging up.
Clarissa furrowed her brows slightly when the alcohol scent from his breath entered her nostrils. Putting her phone aside, she turned around in his arms.
“Are you drunk?” She was mesmerized by his dark eyes when she gazed at him. It was as if it was a black hole pulling her further and further into him.
“Yeah…” Matthew’s voice was deep and husky. It sounded so sexy that Clarissa felt attacked.
Taking her into an embrace, he caressed her back while pinching her chin. Then he lowered his head and leaned closer to her face, his nose brushing across her eyes and cheeks.
Pressing his lips against hers, he insisted, “Who were you talking to?”
He’s using his drunkenness to take advantage of me! What a pervert!
Clarissa rolled her eyes at him in her mind and tried to push him away, but to no avail.
The man tightened his grip on her and continued in a commanding tone. “Hmm? Tell me now!”
Seeing how stubborn he was, Clarissa could only tell him the truth. “Director Yates…”
Jealousy stirred in Matthew’s heart when he heard her words.
Clarissa added, “It was about Shermaine.”
