Yuliana froze slightly at her daughter’s questioning. Unable to deny Ellie’s guess yet embarrassed as a parent, she was at a loss for words to defend herself.
Just as she opened her mouth to explain, a figure emerged at the door. She turned around to see who it was, and much to her horror, it was none other than Matthew who stood staring at both of them.
Yuliana paled. Did he hear everything?
Ellie too, looked towards the door when she noticed her mother’s sudden change of expression.
Her chest tightened a little. Surely it’d be embarrassing for Yuliana to be put on the spot like this, but how could her parents possibly understand the disappointment she felt?
She could never understand why Matthew always seemed to be alienated by her own parents. He was always a respectable person in her eyes. Aren’t we a family?
Furthermore, he had always been so caring towards her ever since she was little. Now that her parents were trying to take advantage of Matthew in such an underhanded way, how was she supposed to face him as his beloved niece?
“Uncle Matt…” she stuttered as tears began welling up in her eyes.
On the contrary, Yuliana quickly recomposed herself and put on a pleasant smile. “Oh, Matthew! Since when did you come out here? Look at this child… She doesn’t seem to like the idea of Sienna becoming her new aunt! I’m just trying to tell her that it’s a misunderstanding. We just happened to bump into them after all. I hope you don’t get the wrong idea too, Matthew.”
“I didn’t. Don’t worry,” Matthew answered plainly.
“That’s great,” Yuliana placed a hand over her chest and heaved a sigh of relief. “I should go back inside to entertain our guests. Please help me calm Ellie down. This girl never listens to anyone besides you!”
As Yuliana hurried back into the lounge, Ellie stood at the same spot and stared at Matthew with a guilty look. The corner of her lips twitched as she attempted to say something, yet she was bereft of words.
Matthew wasn’t in the least bit bothered, though.
A sharp and observant person himself, of course, he had long seen through Matthias and Yuliana’s true intentions.
The way his sister-in-law had spoken earlier was nothing more than a pretense to keep the peace on the surface.
“Go inside, Ellie,” he said with a reassuring voice.
Ellie shook her head in defense. “Uncle Matt… you already knew about this, didn’t you? Aren’t you offended? I don’t even know what to say on behalf of my parents. I…”
Her voice trailed off. Tears began streaming down her face and dripped quietly onto the carpeted floor.
Seeing his adorable little niece in this state, Matthew had no idea how to comfort her.
He reached out a hand and ruffled her head.
“You’re overthinking. They’re just a little too concerned about me.”
“No, I’m not!” she refuted stubbornly, wiping her tears off with the back of her hand. “I’m sure everyone is aware of what’s really going on.”
Matthew looked at her in silence. This girl who used to be his cheeky little niece back then, had now grown up.
As an adult, the way she’s beginning to understand things now was different from when she was younger.
And what she observed today had only added to her disappointment at the reality of life.
So what if he and Matthias were brothers? Even siblings would still settle accounts with one another. Not everyone in a family would be equally earnest and truthful towards each other.
“There, there. You’re a grownup already. There are more things which you’ll learn along the way.”
Ellie lowered her head. She understood that some things were just beyond her control, and she could only slowly bring herself to accept them the way they were one day.
“Come on, let’s head back in,” Matthew added.
She looked away and folded her arms. “I don’t want to. I think I’ll go over to Zen Highlands instead.”
Matthew nodded. “Just promise me you won’t tell her anything about this.”
Ellie was completely aware that he was referring to Clarissa.
Naturally, she wouldn’t tell her something like this either. The fact that her own parents were the ones behind this made her feel even worse.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t help feel slightly amused by how Matthew seemed to worry about Clarissa getting jealous.
She curved her lips into a playful smirk.
“Are you afraid, Uncle Matt?”
Matthew’s expression hardened. But before he could say anything, she stuck her tongue out at him and ran off within a second.
He walked back to the table as Yuliana glanced at him.
“Ellie left,” he said plainly as he sat.
Yuliana frowned a little although she wasn’t exactly worried about her daughter. She was more concerned about Matthew’s response.
Seeing that he appeared calm and undisturbed as usual, she convinced herself that there was nothing to fret over.
On the other hand, Margaret continued to fawn over Sienna and eventually directed the attention towards Matthew.
“My son Matthew is about your age, but he’s still single!” she sighed on purpose. “I’ve been worried sick, but he doesn’t even bother about looking for a wife. Oh, Sienna… What should I do?”
Sienna smiled politely. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Tyson. He’s an excellent man, I’m sure there are many women out there who are interested in him. You have plenty of options to choose from.”
“What do you mean, sweetheart? I can’t even think of anyone else,” Margaret responded as she looked at Sienna hopefully.
Sienna smiled without saying a word.
On the inside, she herself was one of those women who had their eyes on Matthew Tyson.
She had heard about the failed arrangement between him and Shermaine. Matthew had upset the Smallwoods when he rejected the marriage proposal. The recent trouble that Tyson Corporation had gone through was most likely due to this, albeit Shermaine had married into the Wynter family.
Now there was one less competitor, it would be a good chance for her to test the waters. She gladly took the opportunity when Yuliana began approaching her as expected.
Although she wasn’t that interested in Matthew personally, it was undeniable that he’s an excellent candidate for a husband. He was a rare gem who far exceeded most other men in terms of his family background, appearance and capabilities. It would be a shame to not even try having a go at such an outstanding man like him.
Margaret’s intentions were obvious enough. Even if the old lady didn’t admit anything, tonight’s dinner was undoubtedly arranged deliberately so that both families could test each other.
Matthew had never once spoken to her directly throughout the session. She barely managed to interact whenever the Tysons occasionally involved her in their conversation with him.
At the end of the dinner, everyone suggested that Matthew should send Sienna home.
Sienna had no objection, but Matthew declined coldly to her surprise.
“Sorry, there’s something I need to tend to at the office. I’m afraid I got to go now,” he responded without a second thought.
He didn’t even look at anyone as he excused himself and sped off.
The others froze in an awkward silence as they were left behind so abruptly. Some looked flustered, while some scowled in displeasure.
Sienna too felt just as uneasy, but quickly regained her composure. She bid the Tysons a polite farewell as she left together with her sister and brother-in-law.
Mrs. Reed’s face turned sour when they got into the car.
“What’s wrong with that Matthew Tyson? He’s such an obnoxious man,” she scoffed. “I think it’s better that you forget about him, Sienna. He doesn’t look like someone who will care for his wife. Old Mrs. Tyson even said that he couldn’t be bothered about marriage. If you marry him, it will only spell trouble for yourself.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Sienna chuckled. “Maybe he really does have something urgent to deal with.”
“What sort of urgent matter can it be at this hour? He’s clearly giving an excuse!”
“That’s okay. He seems pretty good to me.”
“Good? In what way? His attitude pisses me off.”
Sienna stopped convincing Mrs. Reed, though she wasn’t willing to give up just yet.
“I agree with Sienna,” Mr. Reed then spoke in her defense. “It’s worth giving it a shot.”
Though Matthias Tyson seemed to be the one trying to set everything up in his own favor, it would in fact be a win-win situation for both families if Matthew and Sienna successfully tied the knot.
Mr. Reed had more interest in Matthew than in his older brother.
He was impressed at Sienna. His sister-in-law seemed to have better taste than his own wife did.
Mrs. Reed paused for a moment at her husband’s words. She knew he must have had his reasons for supporting Sienna’s idea.
“But Sienna…” she looked at her sister with a slightly worried frown. “That man seemed as cold as an iceberg. Won’t it be difficult for you to try to get close to him? You might just be wearing yourself out.”
Sienna smiled confidently. “Don’t worry about me. The more difficult the process, the more rewarding it will be. Besides, you know me. I’m not one to back down so easily.”
Meanwhile at Zen Highlands.
Clarissa stared in surprise as Ellie showed up at the door. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your family dinner?”
“Forget it. It’s just a meal anyway, how long can it go on for?” Ellie replied and glanced aside uneasily for a moment.
She then continued, “Why haven’t you watched that video? Are you shy? Come on, Clare! Let’s watch it now since Uncle Matt’s not around. Where’s your laptop? Hurry, we shouldn’t waste any time…”
Clarissa resisted in dismay as Ellie barged into her room and took her laptop.
She tried her best to stop Ellie, only to be pinned down helplessly on the bed as her friend started playing the video.
The scene was too intense. Clarissa stared in horror as the people in the video pressed their naked bodies against each other in various explicitly intimate positions, shifting around in extremely sensual postures…
Ellie blabbered on unabashedly beside her.
“Hey Clare, what do you think of this guy’s body? Is he hotter than Uncle Matt?”
“Clare, you should try heighten your pitch and moan like how that girl does it! I’m sure Uncle Matt will love it!”
“Gosh, this position looks challenging! Do you want to try practicing?”
“Do you think you’re going to do it this way too with Uncle Matt? Huh…”
“Ellie!” Clarissa yelled. Her face had turned bright red like a ripened tomato. “Stop talking about it. It’s embarrassing!”
At the sight of Clarissa blushing so shyly, Ellie burst into laughter.
“Okay, okay… You haven’t done it anyway. Let’s wait until you’ve finally experienced it first-hand. Then, we can discuss and compare it with this video.”
Clarissa was speechless. She looked away for a while before replying, “I’m not gonna talk about it even after we’ve done that.”
How can such a thing even be discussed with someone else? Doesn’t she have any shame?
Ellie chuckled and shook her head. It may be too much for her right now, but let’s see what happens in the future when she gets older.
Wasn’t this exactly how Louisa was like before she got married?
Ah, such is the difference between a young virgin and a married woman.
The girls continued watching in silence as continuous sounds of heavy panting while moans and groans echoed throughout the room.
At this time, Matthew had returned. Unsuspecting, he wasn’t perturbed at all when Mrs. Lawson told him that Clarissa and Ellie had cooped themselves up in the room the whole time.
After a quick change of clothes, he proceeded towards Clarissa’s room. A series of erotic voices came from behind the door just as he turned the handle.
He froze. A few seconds passed before he steadied himself and pushed the door ajar.
The room was completely dark. When he flipped the light switch on, Clarissa and Ellie jumped as the room lit up brightly all of a sudden.
Clarissa immediately flipped her laptop shut. At the sight of Matthew standing expressionless at the door, Ellie got off the bed with a naughty grin.
“Oh, Uncle Matt’s back! Looks like I should go now!” she giggled, and threw a split second’s glance at Clarissa before scurrying out of the room.
Ellie! How dare you escape on your own!
Left behind alone, Clarissa sat up in a fluster and stared at Matthew.
