As soon as she finished speaking, Clarissa wore a natural smile on her face and returned the favor. “Ms. Grande, perhaps we could become friends if Matthew’s not involved. Am I right?”
Sparing a glance at Sienna, she added, “Ms. Grande, I suggest you wait until we break up before pursuing him. That’s how a well-educated woman in the upper society will behave, and your knowledge about politics and business will not be in vain. However, I can’t guarantee how long you’ll have to wait. Ten years? Or maybe twenty years? I guess you can wait that long, right? Since you’re such a gracious and well-mannered woman. Haha… Well, I’ll have to go and not let Matthew wait for too long. See you, Ms. Grande.”
With that, Clarissa turned on her heels and left in cheerful steps while ignoring the unpleasant expression Sienna was wearing.
When she walked out from the corridor, she bumped into Ellie, while the latter was smirking at her. “Wow! Clare, it seems you’re really not a coward. When you come face to face with your love rival, you don’t seem to hold back at all.”
Clarissa smiled and explained, “If I back down now, I might as well hand Matthew to her. Playing innocent and acting a saint isn’t a thing right now, but of course, I’m not someone pitiful.”
“Yeah, Miss Fairy,” Ellie agreed.
Clarissa thought about the location Matthew gave her and shook her head while chuckling softly. “I’m a vixen.”
“Heh! That’s even better. You can deal with those shameless women better.” Ellie nodded her head in acknowledgment.
Exiting the restaurant, both of them exchanged glances and smiled.
Soon, Matthew came out of the restaurant. When he saw Ellie, he greeted her and sent her back home.
On the way home, Ellie sat in the front seat, fiddling with her phone, as she didn’t want to disturb the couple. The most important thing was she wanted to know how they interacted. Although she had seen before, it didn’t feel real.
Matthew was the one who started the conversation. With a relaxed and lazy voice, he asked, “Clare, you bumped into Sienna?”
Clarissa pouted and asked, “Did she complain to you about it?”
The man replied, “Complain about what? Plus, why me?”
Listening to their conversation, Ellie praised Matthew for his answer in her heart.
Uncle Matt, you’re so good at your words. You’re able to disassociate yourself from Sienna and didn’t fall into Clare’s trap. Not bad!
Clarissa snorted, “She said you’re eating with her, and it’s just the two of you, so she can only turn to you.”
Matthew looked at Clarissa while furrowing his brows. “Clare, don’t tell me you believed her words. You’re smart, so you didn’t believe her lies, right?”
Ellie shuddered secretly. Is he really Uncle Matt?
Clarissa said, “So what if I don’t believe her words? I bet it’ll only be the two of you, as Yuliana and Matthias would surely make an excuse to leave before reaching the destination. Am I right?”
“Yes. Clare, you’re so smart.” Matthew smiled at the woman, impressed by her intelligence.
The couple had totally forgotten about Ellie, who was sitting in the front seat.
She was initially listening to their sweet and cheesy conversation, but now that she heard Clarissa’s words, she knew her parents were behind all of this.
This must be their doings!
Although Ellie remained silent, her mood sunk.
Keeping a poker face, she didn’t express how bad she felt toward the couple. Listening to the couple’s warm interaction in the back, shame crept up her heart.
She was sent to her apartment. However, she drove to the Tyson residence after Matthew’s car sped into the night.
It was late and her grandparents were resting in their room while her parents were sitting on the couch in the living room. Matthias was watching the news on the television and Yuliana was keeping him company, applying her mask.
Noticing Ellie’s return, the married couple was shocked.
Taking off her mask, Yuliana patted her face gently and said coldly, “Finally willing to come back home?”
Now that she’s a grownup, she’s putting more and more distance between us. Not only was she busy with her work, but she’s also always angry at us for interfering with Matthew’s love life.
However, no matter how upset Yuliana was, Ellie was still the daughter she held dear, so she asked, “Have you eaten? If you didn’t, I’ll ask the helper to prepare some food.”
“No need. I ate at XX Restaurant.” Ellie was obviously upset.
The married couple was stunned, hearing her words and looking at the displeased expression she was wearing. Yuliana knew why she was reacting this way.
It seems she found out about it.
Yuliana asked, “What’s there to be upset about?”
Ellie frowned at her mother. “You know the answer to that. Is it true that you guys invited Uncle Matt and Sienna for a meal and deliberately left to let them spend time alone? Too bad for you. Uncle Matt left as soon as he knew this and sent me here just now. What do you guys think? Why didn’t he come into this house given that he drove all the way here?”
Ellie deliberately said it in a way to embarrass her parents.
Indeed, her parents’ expressions were awkward and rather unsightly.
However, Ellie would not let it end there and laughed in derision. “Sienna pursued Uncle Matt, but he didn’t even bother to spare her a glance. Serious question here. If Uncle Matt never married, is it true that Dad can’t be promoted?”
Yuliana was infuriated by her daughter’s sneers. “How dare you, Ellie! Where’s your respect? Who allowed you to be so preposterous? You think I won’t hit you now that you’ve grown up?”
Ellie folded her arms, refusing to back down. “Ha! Do it then! No one’s stopping you from doing it.”
“You…” Before Yuliana could express her anger, Matthias stopped her from raising her hand at Ellie. “Enough. It’s so late in the night and we don’t want to wake the rest up. We’ll just have to clear up the misunderstandings.”
Then he looked at Ellie. “Ellie, I understand what you’re trying to tell, but we’re not forcing Matthew to marry. We’re just giving him a chance. It’s just as you said. If he doesn’t like Sienna, he can just neglect her, but if he does like her, we’ll be delighted to help. Those benefits don’t really matter, and I don’t really need them. Do I look like someone so useless to you?”
The daughter regretted mocking her parents, and she thought she had gone too far, insulting her father like that.
Keeping her mouth shut, guilt was written all over her face.
The father smiled and explained, “Ellie, you’re a grownup now. There are many things that aren’t as simple as you think they are. After pausing for a while, he continued, “To be honest, a part of your personality resembles Matthew. However, he is wiser and more experienced than you. Let’s take today as an example. We are mainly concerned about his marriage. You should understand that there’s nothing such as marrying someone you love in a family like ours. It’s best to marry someone you love, but first, their status would have to match yours and at least, they will have to be from a good family.”
His sharp gaze glinted, and he said, “For example, your friend, Clarissa.”
Ellie’s heart skipped a beat as she turned to look at Matthias.
Keeping a calm and poised tone, he continued, “Clarissa is your friend. She’s well-mannered, intelligent, diligent, successful, and rich. She may become more famous and wealthier in the future, and a woman like her will marry well. I admit it’s possible for her to marry into a prominent family. However, this doesn’t mean we can accept her, knowing her family background. Do you understand?”
Ellie wasn’t sure if her father was mentioning Clarissa on purpose.
After digesting his words, Ellie changed the topic. “So, Dad, did you marry mom because of grandma and grandpa?”
“You brat,” Yuliana scolded, but she was secretly looking forward to her husband’s answer.
Even if their marriage was just for political gains, she still wished to be loved by her husband.
Matthias smiled and replied with ease. “No matter what, we make a splendid match and have you as our kid. We are a happy family.”
Ellie couldn’t help but refute his words. “Who cares about social status nowadays? We’re not in the olden days. Are you saying that you will just marry me off to some random man who makes a fit match with me regardless of how I feel?”
Matthias asked, “I won’t. There are so many outstanding youths who suit you. Do you not have one that you like?”
“What if that’s the case?” Clasping her hands together, Ellie felt apprehensive while waiting for her father’s answer.
The man smiled and responded, “Of course. We’ll prioritize your happiness.”
Ellie heaved a sigh of relief. At least, my parents won’t be so cruel to me.
Since she had returned home, Ellie didn’t leave the house. After the conversation ended, everyone went to their respective rooms. Yuliana was silent all the time, and she was in a foul mood.
Matthias didn’t know why she was upset, but he didn’t comfort or did anything to coax her.
They had been husband and wife for so many years, so they were rational and knew very well they felt nothing for each other.
Do not wish for love.
Matthias said, “It doesn’t seem like Sienna’s telling the truth.”
Yuliana hummed in reply and said, “However, I can see that Sienna really likes Matthew. We can see if she can make Matthew fall for her, but it’s fine if she can’t. After all, Mom will take care of this.”
After chatting for a while, both of them lie down on the bed with their backs facing each other.
Meanwhile, in Zen Highlands, Matthew took the woman into his arms and was about to do something. However, the woman was laughing impudently, as if she was doing it on purpose to taunt him.
Raising a brow, Matthew’s voice was hoarse as he landed a kiss along her neck and collarbone. “Clare, what are you thinking about? Do you want to be on top?”
Clarissa twitched her lips and blushed slightly, but she said calmly. “Too bad for you, I felt something just now.”
Matthew smirked. “You feel something? Nice. Clare, let’s cut to the chase…”
He reached out to tear at her clothes, while Clarissa didn’t beat around the bush and yelled, “Not that kind of feeling. I think I’m on period.”
Hearing her words, Matthew felt defeated.
