Gina was not about to waste time being polite.
Although Luke was a handful, he was still no match for someone like Gina. He eventually stopped being able to dodge her blows as effectively and fell right in the way of her fists.
Gina had acted out on her own, but Clarissa did nothing to stop her.
If Clarissa said nothing, Gina would not bother stopping either.
Soon, the air was filled with Luke’s embarrassing cries for mercy, which Clarissa took great pride in.
With a giggle, she said, “Alright, Gina.”
With that, Gina immediately stopped.
Luke was left on the ground, panting and bleeding from the corner of his lips as well as his nose. He quickly stood up and wiped the blood off, glancing at a smiling Clarissa.
However, he seemed to not be angered. He smirked and gave Clarissa a pained smile.
“Clare, that wasn’t very nice. How cruel of you.”
“Consider that a fair warning, Mr. Harrison. Watch your tongue.”
“But I’m telling the truth for your own good. Between you, Shermaine, and the young lady from the Grandes, who do you think stands a better chance? What do you think your odds are? I reckon you should consider your options carefully.”
Clarissa could not be bothered to argue.
With nothing else to say, she got into the car and left.
Luke smiled and gingerly touched a particularly sore spot on his face. Damn, that really hurt.
Back inside the car, Clarissa’s expression was as dour as her mood.
Because the Tysons themselves had been keeping quiet, she was lulled into the false sense of calm. Clarissa forgot that there were still problems that needed solving.
She felt herself fall into a panic, which served to worsen her mood.
Since there were loose ends, she could not just take things easily.
However, there was little she could do on her own. Be it Sienna or Shermaine, the situation was a ticking time bomb.
These two could spell serious trouble, if she wasn’t careful.
Clarissa could not help but reflect on what had happened to her before. Is it possible that one of them might be the culprit here?
Of course, Sienna was the first to discover her relationship with Matthew and had long suspected it since. Shermaine, on the other hand, knew as well since the pair had not bothered hiding it when they returned to D City together.
Knowing Shermaine, she had been quiet for too long. Was the shock Matthew gave her sufficient enough?
Clarissa could not be certain, since Shermaine was not the type to give up too easily.
When Clarissa arrived at the Tyson Corporation, she dropped off the food she’d brought over for his colleagues before making her way to the top floor.
Matthew was on the phone when she entered. Very quietly, Clarissa tiptoed inside and sat down without disturbing him.
She decided to while away some of her time on social media. With Shermaine keeping silent, her own feed was relatively peaceful.
Clarissa could only feel relieved if she was certain that there was nothing else.
Just then, she received a message from Ellie.
“Grandma hasn’t said anything to you recently, has she?”
Ellie was usually the first to inform her of anything the Tysons might be planning, but the family had somehow kept their distance. She found the silence both odd and eerie at the same time, so she decided to ask Clarissa instead, for fear that the family members had been planning something in secret.
Clarissa was touched by the gesture, given how Ellie was such a good friend to her.
However, Clarissa could empathize with the Tysons. If she suddenly had a relative who started dating a friend of hers, she would not be happy either.
Back then, the Tysons were nothing but kind to her. They never would’ve imagined that this young lady, in particular, would be involved with Matthew, of all people.
Therefore, Clarissa could understand where the opposition came from and did not take it to heart.
“No, things have been alright, lately.”
“That’s good to hear. But if anything happens, don’t be rash. Don’t be like those silly heroines in tv shows who choose not to take what is offered and leave in a huff. Even if you leave, BLEED. THEM. DRY. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
Clarissa couldn’t help but laugh. ”Okay, I’ll do my best to bleed them dry! :)”
“WAAAIT. Don’t just bleed them dry, that’s the last resort. Stand your ground! But if you are unhappy about something, just tell Uncle Matt. He’ll defend the heck out of you regardless! And don’t you dare give me that crap about being saintly or compromising for anything less. Every single heroine you’ve written about is a tough cookie, and I expect nothing less from you! You’re NOT weak!”
“EXCUUUUSE ME, do I really seem like that sort of person to you?”
“YES!”
Clarissa was speechless. ”Then, I promise not to be weak. Happy now?”
“Fine. Promise that you’ll see it through. After all, I think you’re best suited to be my Aunt Clare. I know that both of you are guaranteed to work well, where chemistry is concerned. I don’t think anyone else is worthy of my Uncle Matt.”
Clarissa laughed. Does Ellie secretly have daddy issues?
Ellie seemed to worship the ground he walked on and thought that nobody was worth of her uncle. Wasn’t she just as against Clarissa in the beginning?
Clarissa was thankful for her lasting friendship with Ellie. It was this relationship that allowed her to come to terms with herself.
I suppose I’m not too bad myself. Otherwise, Ellie wouldn’t approve of me, right?
Clarissa couldn’t help but grin self-indulgently as she thought of this.
I’m pretty d*mn good, if I do say so myself.
This was something she decided to ask Matthew directly upon her arrival at the Tyson Corporation.
Of course, she was still rather coy about the whole affair.
Matthew initially reacted with surprise when he first her question. He then pulled the blushing woman into his arms and tilted her chin to look up at his piercing gaze. Clarissa felt exposed under his scrutiny as her cheeks grew even hotter.
“What are you l-looking at? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! Besides, what’s so fascinating that you’re just staring at my face?”
A mortified Clarissa wanted to push Matthew away, but she was firmly restrained in his viselike grip. He maintained his searching gaze as he observed how every inch of her face flushed a delicate scarlet. Matthew waited patiently for her embarrassment to turn into annoyance before answering Clarissa with a smug grin. “I think you’re lovely. But you’re not just that. I think you’re perfect.”
Clarissa was satisfied with this answer.
However, she was still mortified at how he played it out so tantalizingly.
She let out a small huff. “Alright, I get it. You can step away from me now. It’s time to eat.”
Matthew did not let go immediately but left her a gentle peck at the corner of her lips. “Ellie is right, though. If anything troubles you at all, you must tell me. You’ll have my full support. You needn’t even consider settling for less or compromising where you should not.”
Initially, Matthew had never even considered that the conversation would take such a turn.
After all, he was definitely not the type to watch the cringy romance dramas involving large wealthy families and their petty squabbles.
Even though Clarissa had posed the conversation she had with Ellie as a joke, Matthew could sense that she was actually worried that a scenario like that would occur.
It was not something that he could take lightly either. He was concerned that Clarissa could actually leave him for those reasons without saying a word.
Matthew also took the opportunity to continue while Clarissa was still surprised. “Although I want to be with you all the time, and despite being under Gina’s protection as well, I cannot guarantee I’ll be there forever. Therefore, if someone takes advantage of you, or if my mother makes things hard for you, I want you to promise me this. Let me handle all of it. Don’t make any decisions without me, especially the decision to leave me and move on. Alright?”
Matthew brushed a finger across Clarissa’s chin as he inched closer to her. Gone was the carefree tone he had at first, which was now replaced by something more compelling.
Clarissa was forced to look at Matthew’s darker gaze. “Alright, I promise I won’t leave without discussing it with you first.”
Matthew smiled and looked at her with smug satisfaction.
He lowered his head and brushed a gentle kiss over her lips. “My dear Clare is a good girl.”
Well, behaving is a given.
If I didn’t behave, how on earth would I handle someone as overbearing as Matthew?
She had gotten a few days of proper rest but did not wish to be stifled by his domineering behavior this way. It would make her listless.
After a while, Matthew let go of her, and the pair sat down to eat.
Over the last few days, Clarissa had come to accompany him for lunch unimpeded. She had also managed to sneak a few naps.
Clarissa was not sure of how the employees at the Tyson Corporation would react to a younger woman like her having lunch dates with their boss. However, she had become quite a familiar face to some of the staff whose main tasks were to keep the president’s office clean. Mrs. Zeller and Mrs. Wallace, as they were so named, also tended to share quite a bit of gossip with Clarissa when she did go to visit Matthew at the office.
Mrs. Zeller would’ve recognized Clarissa for sure, but she definitely was not the type to keep a secret.
Clarissa was also itching to know exactly what everyone gossiped about, but she never quite had the chance to. She definitely could not use her status as an excuse to wander around the Tyson Corporation as she pleased. All she could do was listen to Mandy’s gossip when she returned to the studio.
“Let me tell you that I’ve heard them discuss this in the elevator several times. Everyone is now speculating over Mr. Tyson’s girlfriend having lunch with him every day. You’ve morphed from being a scion of a prominent family to a socialite, a model, even that you’re looking for a Cinderella story… the possibilities are endless. If only you could hear exactly how wild the accusations are! Of course, there’s also plenty of room for nonsense like envy, jealousy, and even hate. But I am really curious though. What does it feel like being his girlfriend?”
“How do I feel?”
Clarissa rubbed her chin thoughtfully for while before answering. “Well, how am I this drop-dead gorgeous? I think I’m definitely one hell of a catch where he is concerned.”
She then noticed that nobody had responded to what she said. Clarissa turned around and realized that both Mandy and Rocky shared the same odd expression.”
“What’s the matter? Are you not convinced that I am beautiful?”
“Well, of course, you are beautiful!” quipped Mandy in a hurry. “Your beauty is so awe-inspiring that you’ve swept him off his feet! How about that?”
Clarissa snorted. Suddenly, she had an imperious expression as she ran her fingers through her hair absent-mindedly.
“I guess I’m just so beautiful that I swept Matthew off his feet, I guess,” said Clarissa with a sigh as she flipped her hair. “What more can I say?”
When nobody spoke, Clarissa laughed out loud again. “Come on, are you both still reluctant to admit it?”
Mandy only winked at Clarissa. She then turned around and realized that Matthew’s lanky figure had approached her quietly with his hands in his pockets and a sly grin on his face.
