It wasn’t that Clarissa didn’t like being clingy; Matthew was simply too cheesy for her liking.
She felt more comfortable with the dynamics of their relationship prior to sex, and his corny actions right now made her feel rather awkward.
After they finished eating, Matthew put his arms around her again and showered her with all sorts of affectionate gestures.
He couldn’t keep his hands off her and had to maintain some form of skin contact at all times. It was as though he couldn’t live without having physical intimacy and skin contact with her.
Clarissa wondered if it was natural for men to act this way after sex.
Is a woman’s physical body all that matters to them?
Feeling uncomfortable at this thought, she pushed Matthew away when he leaned in to kiss her again. Then she frowned and stared at him deeply as all sorts of emotions flashed across her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Clarissa scoffed. “You are being extremely intimate and clingy today. It feels as though all you care about is my body.”
Matthew was stunned by her remarks, but he soon understood what she was referring to.
“Clare…” he said gently as he continued hugging her. “That’s not true. If all I care about is your body, I would have left you right after we had sex.”
“Don’t you dare!” she threatened him.
He chuckled in response. “I was just explaining myself. But really, if all I care about is your body, I wouldn’t be here right now waiting patiently for you to accept me.”
She thought about it and was convinced by what he just said.
He then added, “The most ideal state of love is when both the body and mind are intertwined. What we have now is perfect, and I absolutely love what we share.” He nibbled on her ear and continued, “I can’t hold myself back anymore, and all I can think about right now is how to treat you well…”
“Okay, I get what you’re saying. You can stop talking now, alright?” Clarissa interrupted him out of embarrassment.
She finally understood where he was coming from.
“Are you sure you understand me?” Matthew whispered in her ear with a cheeky smile on his face.
Clarissa gave him an angry look and pushed him away. “That’s enough!”
Not wanting to reciprocate his playful gestures any longer, she got on her laptop and messaged a few of her colleagues from the studio.
Matthew continued to stay by her side, and although he didn’t say a word, he kept gazing at her with deep, passionate eyes.
Clarissa felt uncomfortable at first, but she quickly learned to disregard his idiotic gaze.
Meanwhile, the discussion in her group chat was heating up.
The trailer for the TV series “The World” had just been released recently, and many fans seemed to respond positively to it especially since Clarissa was the screenwriter. They liked the fact that the series was adapted closely from its original novel, but they did not have many nice things to say about Shermaine.
One of the fans commented: I don’t know why, but I’ve never liked Shermaine Smallwood. She just doesn’t look suitable to be the female protagonist.
Another one commented: I think she’s fine. She is a professional actress after all.
A third user said: The news about her fiancé was outrageous. Seems like it was just a publicity stunt. See how it suddenly fizzled out? She said their wedding date was going to be soon, but where is he now?
Someone then replied: Yeah. If two people are going to get married, the man must at least respond. I am from D city, and I know quite a bit about her fiancé’s background. He is a prominent figure in D City, and it is impossible that he would just disregard her wedding announcement like that. If they were really getting married, do you think Shermaine would be permitted to maintain her active career in showbiz? It’s so obvious her announcement was fake. I also heard that the family of Shermaine’s so-called fiancé organized a birthday banquet with the intention of looking for a suitable partner for him. All the ladies from the upper echelon of D City attended the banquet. Haha, seems like she’s just a concubine to the king.
The same person commented: Yo Emma, Number Two, aren’t you going to join in the fun?
Emma replied: My grandma’s neighbor said her daughter works for the Tyson family and she helped out at the banquet that night. Big spoiler, the king is actually so handsome that ladies can’t keep their legs close when he’s around…”
Another user replied: Seriously?
The user named Number Two immediately posted a blurry picture of a handsome guy.
Several users raved about how handsome he was, then Clarissa casually turned to look at Matthew.
He chuckled and asked, “What is it?”
She hesitated for a while before saying, “How did your family celebrate your birthday when you went home?”
Matthew’s eyes twinkled as he laughed. “Why are you suddenly asking me this?”
“I’m just asking out of curiosity,” she answered.
“Well, they had some tricks up their sleeves but I wasn’t interested, so I left as soon as I could,” he said.
Clarissa grinned. “Tricks? You mean they tried to match-make you?”
“You know about it?” He approached her but was pushed away coldly.
“You think I wouldn’t find out just because you didn’t tell me?” she questioned him.
“Clare, nothing happened. They did try to match-make me but I didn’t participate in their games, and I came back as soon as I could.” Matthew tried to pacify her.
“So what if you didn’t play along?” she said irritably.
He smiled and rubbed her nose with his slender finger, saying, “You actually trust me, don’t you? Just let that go, will you? It didn’t mean anything to me, and nothing actually happened.”
“Easy for you to say.” Clarissa brushed him off.
I would have been fine if I didn’t find out. But now that I did, the mere thought of it makes me feel uncomfortable. I can’t just ignore it and look past it.
She then furrowed her brows and glared at him fiercely. “They even call you the king. So how many concubines did you choose?”
Matthew smiled helplessly, then sat her down on his lap. He held her face and gave her a kiss before saying, “Clare, I’m not a king, and you’re no concubine to me. You’re the only one I need and I’m lucky to have you.”
That very moment, Clarissa realized that he had become a smooth-talker lately, and she had no idea where he learned how to talk like this.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, prompting her to ask him, “Have you been reading my novels lately?”
Without any hesitation, Matthew nodded.
“You’re not allowed to read my books. Please don’t read them anymore,” she said in embarrassment.
The thought of Matthew reading her novels gave her goosebumps, and she felt like erasing that image from her mind.
He raised a brow and asked, “Why not?”
“Please just don’t,” she insisted.
“That’s not fair. How come other people get to read your novels but not me?” he challenged.
“It’s simply too awkward. I’m embarrassed alright?” she admitted.
Matthew chuckled but did not give in to her demands immediately to tease her further. “But I am able to understand your thoughts and ideas from your writings. Moreover, I enjoy the topics your write about.”
“Ahhhhh….. okay stop talking, please. Are you intentionally teasing me? What have you read so far?” she snapped back.
Clarissa had forgotten what she wrote about in her earlier articles, and she felt awkward knowing that Matthew actually read through them.
He smiled and avoided her questions, then said, “Whatever it is, I find your articles interesting. You cannot control what I choose to read.”
Though she was infuriated, she had no choice but to give in to him at this point.
I have to look through my old articles when I have the time. They better not be about cheesy lovers staring at each other under the stars.
Ellie waited for two days before she finally asked Clarissa to meet up with her.
She wanted to ask in person whether Clarissa and Matthew progressed to the next stage of their relationship on his birthday.
Clarissa happened to be going to the studio that day. After she woke up from a long nap, she grabbed a quick bite and prepared to head out.
She usually drove her own car, but since Matthew had a collection of cars idling in the garage, she decided to use one of his cars.
She headed to the garage and chose one of the less flashy cars. Just as she got into the car, a box on the passenger seat caught her eye.
She opened the box and saw a familiar-looking tie inside.
Without giving it much thought, she put the tie back into the box and started driving.
When she reached the basement of Tyson Corporation, she thought about the tie and decided to put it in her handbag.
At the studio, she went straight to Ellie’s room instead of heading to the top floor.
“Oh my, you look so different…” Ellie said as soon as she spotted Clarissa.
Clarissa blushed slightly and interjected, “Alright, stop making such a fuss.”
“I’m not making a fuss. There really is something different about you. Hmm, should I call you Aunt Clare instead? Hahaha…” Ellie teased her.
Clarissa retorted without hesitating, “Well, there are many candidates lined up to be your aunt. You never know who will end up being your aunt. It’s too early to say for sure now.”
Ellie was startled. “Wait, you know? Did Uncle Matt tell you?”
“No, he didn’t. I found out by myself. Did Matthew meet anyone special during his birthday banquet?” Clarissa asked.
