“Okay, hurry and get into the car.”
Right when Clarissa was about to get into the back seat, Mavis beat her to it. The former gave the woman a sideways glance before getting into the front passenger seat.
At that moment, Jeremy, who was standing right beside the car, turned around and heard Clarissa’s voice from the car.
“Thank you, Uncle Matthew and aunt.”
Pfft!
Jeremy staggered and almost tripped over.
Looking over his shoulder, he watched as the car drove away.
The man broke into a fit of laughter. He chortled even louder as he imagined Mavis’ expression.
I bet her face is contorting with rage right now.
Meanwhile, in the car, Mavis was on the verge of losing her cool when Clarissa called her ‘aunt,’ resisting the impulse to scratch the gorgeous young girl’s face.
“Girl, I’m not very much older than you, so just call me ‘miss,’“ she said through gritted teeth.
Without looking over her shoulder, Clarissa replied coldly, “You’re together with Uncle Matthew, so based on seniority, I should call you ‘aunt.’“
“Haha…”
At that moment, Clarissa could vaguely make out the hostility in the woman’s laughter.
Whatever!
Throughout the car ride, both Matthew and Clarissa remained quiet.
The atmosphere felt rather odd, but Mavis didn’t realize the awkwardness between the two.
Brushing aside the way Clarissa addressed her, she started chatting with the man.
“Matthew, let’s send this girl home first. Come to my house. I need to discuss the collaboration with you tonight.”
What collaboration? Why must she discuss it with him at night?
Clarissa pursed her lips with dissatisfaction.
In the meantime, Matthew hummed in response, “Mmm…”
In the passenger seat, Clarissa clutched her phone so hard that it almost broke in half.
How could he be so straightforward? I know we’ve already broken up, but doesn’t he feel ashamed of flirting with another woman in front of his ex-girlfriend?
“That’s great, Matthew. By the way, if it weren’t for this collaboration, we wouldn’t have met each other again after so many years. Do you still remember those good old days when we were still in school?”
The woman started talking about the memories they shared.
Right then, Clarissa felt an itch in her throat.
“Cough, cough… Cough, cough, cough…”
The sound of her unceasing cough was so loud that it interrupted Mavis’ reminiscence.
A few moments later, she finally managed to stifle her coughs, murmuring to everyone in the car, “I’m so sorry. I think I caught a cold.”
A hint of displeasure flashed across Mavis’ gaze. Did this girl ruin the mood on purpose?
“If that’s the case, we should ask the driver to send you home as soon as possible.”
“Cough… It’s okay, Mr. Davis. Please send her home first. I might need to go to the hospital later, so we shouldn’t hold her up.”
As Matthew’s chauffeur, Kyle Davis was very close to Clarissa.
Nonetheless, he said nothing and dared not to show the closeness between them.
Based on my personal experience, I prefer Ms. Quigley to the other woman.
While driving, he secretly gave Clarissa a meaningful look to reassure her.
“It’s okay. I think we should send you to the hospital first as I have a discussion with Matthew later.”
Clarissa didn’t argue with her. It’s all up to Mr. Davis. If Matthew really has the nerve to ask him to send me to the hospital first and spend time with this woman alone, I’ll not hesitate to do something about it as well.
Fortunately, the man didn’t utter a word.
The moment the car pulled over in front of Mavis’ house, the woman was displeased.
“Matthew, why don’t you come upstairs with me? Let the chauffeur send the girl to the hospital then.”
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Before Matthew could answer, Clarissa coughed her lungs out.
After some time, Matthew finally spoke, “Mavis, it’s getting late. We’ll discuss it in the office.”
“But…”
“Goodbye.”
Mavis was smoldering with rage. My plan is ruined because of this b****!
Since Matthew had already rejected her, there was nothing else she could do but give up.
Even so, before she got out of the car, she turned around and hugged him. Just when she was going to kiss him, the man tilted his head, causing her kiss to land on his cheek instead.
With a glint of fury in her widened eyes, Clarissa glared squarely at the two of them.
Afterward, Mavis finally got out of the car and ambled to her house. It seems like the girl is close to the driver. She even interrupted me several times. Did she spoil my plan deliberately?
As she was struggling to figure out what had actually happened, the car slowly drove away. The second Clarissa’s fuming eyes met Matthew’s icy gaze, she turned around and leaned against her seat, feigning innocence.
“Mr. Davis, I think I only need to take some medication, and I have it at home, so there’s no need to go to the hospital. Please send me home straight away.”
“Sure, Ms. Quigley.”
“Head to the hospital,” Matthew spoke up all of a sudden.
Helplessly, Kyle shot a meaningful look at Clarissa.
The woman dared not refute Matthew and kept quiet.
Fine, I’ll go to the hospital. Does it mean that he still cares about me?
A sense of glee welled up in her heart at this possibility. However, when the car pulled over again, Matthew said impassively, ”Ms. Quigley, we’ve arrived at the hospital.”
Right after Clarissa got out of the car, the man asked Kyle to drive away.
Standing rooted to the same spot, she watched blankly as the car disappeared out of her view, and her shoulders slumped dispiritedly.
How cruel! But isn’t this what I wanted?
A sardonic smile appeared on her face. In retrospect, she felt that she was at fault tonight.
Now that we’re separated, he has every right to look for a new girlfriend. Perhaps I’ve gone overboard for splitting them up. Sigh…
Despite feeling sorry, she had no intention to apologize to Matthew.
Afterward, she hailed a cab and went home.
With a dejected look, she headed upstairs.
Little did she know, there was a car hidden in a corner, leaving only after the lights of her apartment lit up.
…
Meanwhile, Shermaine had finished filming and returned to D City. She thought that the Wynters and the Tysons were in the midst of planning for her marriage.
Previously, before she left D city, Margaret even said that she was going to discuss the engagement with Hannah.
But now, there was no news of the engagement at all. Both the families were being ambiguous on the matter.
Only then did she know that something was wrong again.
When she arrived home, her mother was sobbing while her father looked disgruntled. Not only did the Tysons say that Matthew disagreed to the engagement, but they also stated that he had never been in a relationship with Shermaine. As for the scandals, the Tysons obviously knew that James was the one behind it, though they didn’t point it out.
Yet, the Smallwoods had no choice but to pin their hopes on the Wynters.
Hannah was angry as well. If the Tysons refuse to proceed with the engagement, they’ll get on the Wynters’ bad side. That’s going to affect the political interest of both families, isn’t it?
Even though Jacque confronted Matthias about the matter, the latter only gave a non-committal answer. Both men were equally tactful, so they would never have a fallout with each other solely for the sake of a youngster in the family.
It would do both parties no good if they cut ties with one another.
“Uncle Jacque.”
Shermaine didn’t relent because it had taken her a lot of effort to get the Wynters to agree to help her earlier.
Sitting beside Jacque, she seemed coquettish yet pitiful. “Could you help Matt and me? He and I are so attached to one another. Why did the Tysons go back on their words? There must be something amiss with them. Uncle Jacque, I heard from my mom that you’re very close to Matthias. How could they do that then? Don’t they have any respect for you or the Wynters?”
Shermaine connected the issue with the Wynters themselves, making it appear more crucial than it really was.
Jacque eyed her intently, and Shermaine felt guilty under the piercing gaze of the superior man. Most people couldn’t handle it when he stared at them this way.
As a highly skilled actress, she was able to adjust her expressions in no time.
With an innocent face, she looked at him and said, “Uncle Jacque, why do you look at me like that? Have I said anything wrong? I’m just being honest. You’re such a successful man. Putting my marriage aside, if the Tysons break their promise regarding other matters, won’t that make you look bad? They’re so unreliable.”
Jacque dropped his gaze. After taking a sip of the tea Shermaine poured for him, he finally replied, “The marriage is the personal affair between you and Matthew, so why don’t you ask him yourself? None of the Tysons can decide on his behalf. Neither am I going to meddle in your relationship issue. However, if Matthew cheats on you or falls for another woman, I’ll seek justice for you because we’re family.”
Jacque made it clear that her relationship issue was entirely unrelated to the interests of both families.
At first, he was hoping to become family with the Tysons. Regrettably, Matthew resolutely opposed the idea. There was no doubt that the Wynters had the capability to go against the Tysons, but the former would pay a great price for that.
As a result, it was best to regard it as merely a relationship issue.
Unable to have her way, Shermaine was disheartened, but she didn’t have the guts to show her indignation.
After the woman left, Hannah heaved a sigh.
“Jacque, the Tysons are indeed too much this time.”
But the man shook his head in disagreement. “Mom, all of us can tell that Matthew isn’t into Shermaine. Initially, I thought he would just accept it. However, he actually made a stand against it. Though the relationship is his personal affair, the way he handles it is rather demeaning to us.”
Deep down, Jacque did feel annoyed with Matthew.
Hannah nodded. “Yes, you’re right. We can’t afford to allow things to turn ugly with the Tysons. But you can do something if you feel unhappy about it. As for Shermaine, please help her out if that’s possible. Try to pressure Matthew a little more. That guy is assertive. It looks like he hasn’t been through any setbacks before. Perhaps you should make things difficult for him since he has really hurt Shermaine.”
Hannah felt slightly guilty toward her daughter and granddaughter.
That was why she was trying her best to help Shermaine fulfill her wish.
In the end, Jacque nodded and said, “Mom, I know. Shermaine is my niece, so of course I love her too. I’ll try my best to help her out.”
