Chapter 420 The Secret
“We get it. You’re a big girl now and you think you know better,” Master Crayson pointed out in resignation. He stood up and began to head out of the private dining room. “I need to use the restroom.”
None of them had had a toilet break since arriving at the train station, so Veronica believed him and did not dwell too much on this.
Leaving the private room, he walked down the hallway and immediately spotted Matthew in the distance. The young man was leaning against the steel banisters while smoking, looking deep in thought.
When Matthew noticed Master Crayson approaching, he straightened up and snuffed out his cigarette. “Master Crayson, what are you doing out here?” His usual icy demeanor was nowhere to be seen whenever he was around Veronica’s family; he more often than not showed them his utmost respect.
Master Crayson gave him a brief look. Then, leaning against the banister, he pulled out his cigarette holder, then produced a small pouch and pinched some rolling tobacco. With precision, he put the tobacco into the cigarette holder and reached for his lighter.
At once, Matthew quickly offered to light up the end of his cigarette holder for him.
The amount of respect he showed for the older man was proof of how much Veronica meant to him. Why else would a man of his stature offer to light up a cigarette for someone like Master Crayson, who came from neither power nor money?
Stunned, Master Crayson glanced at Matthew in mild interest, then puffed on his cigarette for a while. He blew smoke out of his nostrils as he sighed deeply. “You know, Veronica is a simple girl from an even simpler background. I just don’t see how she’s going to fit in with the rest of your family. Much as we’d like to think we’re better than all the talk of status, it won’t change the fact that Veronica will not be happy marrying someone out of her league.”
Matthew lit up another cigarette for himself and took a drag of it. After a second of silence, he nodded and said, “You make a fine point, Master Crayson.”
“If you truly think that way, then why don’t you stay away from Veronica for her own good?”
“Well, we can’t just assume that our relationship will fail because of our difference in status,” Matthew countered with a smile. “What if I were to give up my money and status and be an average joe? Would that make you change your mind, Master Crayson?”
“Give up your status?” The old man frowned and tipped his head to the side to assess Matthew, looking deep in thought. However, there was no telling if he was thinking about how truthful or practical Matthew’s suggestion was. A moment later, he snorted and said, “Bah! You’re the successor to the Kingses’ fortune. Why would you give that up? You youngsters are always so fickle and immature, it’s hard to watch.”
“You don’t believe me, Master Crayson? You can always ask around and I guarantee everyone will tell you how I’m a man of my word,” Matthew said playfully. He reckoned that the only person who could make him go back on his word was Veronica.
“I don’t have time to play detective,” Master Crayson snapped. “All in all, there’s no getting me to trust men like you who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.”
“Is this really a matter of trust or does it have something to do with Roni’s identity?” Matthew looked up and fixed his sharp gaze on Master Crayson. There was a dark gleam in his eyes this time and some of the respect in his tone was noticeably replaced by an accusatory edge.
Master Crayson’s fingers tightened on the cigarette holder and he lowered his gaze as he searched his mind for an answer. Not wanting to give anything away, he looked Matthew square in the eye and asked, “What do you mean?”
“What do you think?” A smirk curled on Matthew’s lips as he added, “Look, I don’t know who you are and I don’t care about Veronica’s background. She’s the woman I want to marry and nothing will change that.”
This time, he did not sound like he was asking for permission; he was merely making a statement and it was a bold one that made his intentions of marrying Veronica loud and clear.
Master Crayson’s eyes narrowed slightly as he eyed Matthew inquisitively. “When did you find out?”
He should not be surprised that Matthew uncovered the secret behind Veronica’s identity. After all, Matthew was a rare talent and a business prodigy in Bloomstead. His razor-sharp wit and his ruthlessness were unmatched in the industry despite his young age.
Master Crayson had been worried that Matthew would discover the truth and now, his fears had come true. If his suspicions about Veronica’s identity were already aroused, then there was no stopping him from running further investigations on the matter.
One could only try so hard to keep a secret from bubbling up to the surface.
As such, Master Crayson did not try to cover it up anymore and he decided to be frank with Matthew. “If you know Veronica is not an ordinary girl, then you should know to stay away from her. There is no future for the both of you, I’ve told her as much. Surely you must realize that your relationship is doing more harm than good to her.”
Matthew was impassive toward most things in life; that was just the way he was programmed. However, when it came to things that concerned Veronica, his curiosity shot through the roof. He wanted to know everything about her background and uncover every secret. He wanted to see just what her fate as the leader of the hidden clan would be like.
“When will she leave Bloomstead?” At that moment, a sudden thought flashed across his mind, which was that Veronica was bound to leave Bloomstead soon.
He had neglected an important detail—Master Crayson and the Larsons never tried to stop him from getting engaged to Tiffany and marrying her, but for some reason, the resistance only applied when it involved Veronica.
Tiffany had grown up in Bloomstead and she had beauty and talent, outshining nearly all the other young ladies of nobility here. Conversely, Veronica was raised in the country where no one would know her. She was like a gem that everyone sought to protect or hide away on purpose.
If Tiffany and Veronica were twin sisters, there should be no reason for them to live such vastly different lives. And where does Randy stand in all these?
“You’re a clever fella, aren’t you? I’d like to think that you did not tell Veronica what you’ve learned about her so far because you still care for her—”
“Between Tiffany and Roni, I think the former would be more interested in being the leader,” Matthew said, cutting the old man off as he gazed at him meaningfully. Then, he added, “Roni has told me how she’s always wanted a normal and simple life right from the moment we met.”
“Tiffany doesn’t qualify,” Master Crayson said dismissively as though not at all concerned about Tiffany.
Not once did he ever mention Randy.
Matthew could not help thinking about the passage he read in the ‘Secret Affair of the Hidden Clan’. ‘For hundreds of years, only a man stands to become the rightful heir and leader of the hidden clan, a position no woman shall inherit.’
He had his suspicions about this at first, but from the looks of it, the hidden clan truly had no intention whatsoever to have a woman lead them; that would explain why Master Crayson was so protective of Veronica.
…
In the private dining room, Veronica talked to her adoptive parents for what felt like a long time before Master Crayson and Matthew finally came in. The waiters immediately started serving dinner. As Matthew resumed his seat next to Veronica, he invited the three figures across from him to dig in. “Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, Master Crayson, you must be hungry after the long journey. Let’s have dinner and save the heavy talk for later.”
Tony and Daniella glanced at Master Crayson, then at Matthew, then at each other. Without another word, they started eating their dinner.
They finished the food in a stiff and suffocating silence. Following this, Matthew announced, “It’s getting late. We should all head home and catch up on some sleep.”
“Mom, Dad—” Veronica was about to say something when Matthew squeezed her hand and said, “Save it for tomorrow.”
“Did you—okay, fine,” she relented. It was really getting late and she did not want to wear her parents and Master Crayson out after their long journey here from the country. As such, she had Matthew put them up at a hotel.
After all was settled, she and Matthew turned to head downstairs.
On the way home, she finally could not suppress her frustration any longer and demanded, “Matthew, why didn’t you let me talk to my parents? I know they look stubborn, but they’ll let me marry you because they love me and they want me to be happy. You could have let me convince them.”
