Everybody knew about Matthew having a fiancée. Though it was unknown whether the Tyson family would approve of that, Matthew had acknowledged it and thus it made her his fiancée officially.
However, knowing was one thing, and seeing it was another.
Several renowned people from the business world, government officials, and upper classes attended that evening’s business reception.
It was an annual event. As Matthew was not fond of socializing, he used to come alone, and after a casual appearance, he would often stay a short time before leaving.
However, no one expected that this year he not only appeared but also brought a fiancée with him.
Additionally, everyone was stunned by that fiancée of his as well.
People couldn’t resist admiring Clarissa when they saw her. It was no wonder that she was able to outshine so many women to become Matthew’s wife as she was more beautiful than them solely based on her looks.
Of course, not everyone was superficial, but beautiful women were always attractive to men.
Physical attraction was a prerequisite for further development of the relationship, right?
She did seem like a decent young woman on the surface. With her sincere smile, bright eyes, and relaxed attitude, she appeared calm, elegant, and confident.
However, those were just appearances.
Prior to her arrival, Clarissa was acting rather ambitious and bragged about her confidence; however, feeling all eyes on her when she entered the venue, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Perhaps she has a foundation in acting, hence she was able to put on a composed front without looking how she feels.
Only Matthew, who was holding her hand, could know that she was feeling nervous from within.
“Relax…”
Matthew whispered as he turned his head to look at her who was standing beside him. Seeing how she was plastering a smile on her face made him concerned for her. Wouldn’t her cheeks stiffen from smiling like that?
He gave her fingers a tight squeeze and tugged on her palm to signal that she should relax. She couldn’t help but turn to face him and he smiled at her.
In such an event, it was difficult to relax.
Her previous ignorance and fearlessness left her speechless as she spat in her heart.
Since I’m already here, I can’t make a fool of myself or I’ll embarrass Matthew.
Clarissa returned a smile at Matthew, leaned her body closer to him, and squeezed his arm with her fingers.
“Were you also as considerate to your female companions in such events previously?”
It was not only an attempt to find fault; Clarissa made this remark to divert her own attention too.
Matthew’s eyes were filled with laughter as he replied, ”Clare, I used to show up alone.”
“Tsk, why do I not believe that?”
“You can ask Donnie. Even if I had appeared with a companion before, it would be none other than Donnie.”
Imagining Matthew and Donnie being inseparable before she appeared sent chills down Clarissa’s spine.
“Hehe… I believe you.”
When Matthew heard that, he raised an eyebrow, thinking she meant something else by it. Clarissa, on the other hand, smiled at him innocently.
I wonder what this naughty girl is thinking.
“Oh, I see an acquaintance,” Clarissa suddenly exclaimed. Matthew had a strong feeling that her tone did not indicate something positive, and it sounded like she was somewhat gloating.
Following her gaze, Matthew spotted Sienna, the so-called “acquaintance”.
Matthew reached out and tapped the tip of Clarissa’s nose lightly as he said, “Mischievous.”
Clarissa’s cheeks slightly reddened as she chuckled. After that, she felt slightly embarrassed after realizing that people were staring at them as they were shocked to see how close Matthew was to his fiancée.
In addition to being shocked, Sienna also suffered a heavy blow to her ego after discovering Matthew had such a side.
In addition to being surprised, she was also thrilled and envious.
However, she did not take the initiative to greet Matthew as several people at the event knew that she had a blind date with Matthew. Now that Matthew was accompanied by his fiancée, they might even be eyeing her in hopes of a good show.
Clarissa met a lot of people and received a lot of compliments at the reception. She stood quietly next to Matthew the entire time, not making a scene or showing off. She also didn’t want to attract much attention from others to avoid getting into trouble.
Furthermore, it was a good opportunity for her to collect information by secretly observing the scene and people at the reception. She planned to save it as material for her articles later on.
As she smiled, she also imagined campy plots, such as someone being drugged or splashed in the face with wine…
As she was letting her imagination run wild, she heard a scream, then followed by a loud slap.
Smack!
Clarissa was shocked, and everyone looked over at the same time.
There stood a woman whose dress was splashed with wine. As she looked at the waiter standing in front of her angrily, the waiter bowed his head apologetically while covering his cheek after being slapped.
No way. Is there really a campy plot taking place? I was just thinking about it a moment ago. Clarissa felt nonplussed.
It didn’t take long for someone to come clean up the scene, and everything was once again normal.
So the story was just about a reckless waiter and an angry guest.
Upon thinking that, Clarissa realized Matthew was stroking the back of her hand in a soothing manner, and he asked softly, “Did that scare you?”
“A little.”
Matthew immediately said, “Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen.”
Clarissa raised an eyebrow. Does he know my concern?
In the midst of staring at her innocent blink, Matthew could not help but smile once more.
“Since you’ve made an appearance tonight, how can I let anything happen to you?”
Matthew’s warmth and thoughtfulness made Clarissa feel utterly moved as she stared lovingly into his eyes. She couldn’t wait to throw herself into his arms, embrace him tightly and kiss him passionately.
Matthew was able to tell that she was moved as his thin lips curled into a smile and his large hand patted behind her back.
“How about repaying me after we go back tonight?”
Repay?
Clarissa couldn’t help but smile as she replied, “Tsk, what are you talking about?”
She turned her head and looked away. Matthew smiled and didn’t pursue the matter further because he usually got even with her during the night anyway.
The corners of Clarissa’s mouth curled as she beamed mischievously.
Why does he seem to know everything? It seems like he could figure out what is on my mind.
Perhaps being a writer made her overthink things. Having made an appearance at the banquet today, she was worried that someone would cause a scene to embarrass her. In those times when she was imagining those campy plots, she was actually worried that she might experience those things herself.
Nevertheless, Matthew was able to figure that out too, hence she was surprised and felt fortunate to have met such a wonderful man.
Sensing the stares from the women in the reception, Clarissa tightened the grip on the man next to her. He is mine!
Mimi was extremely frustrated upon arriving home.
Shortly after, her phone rang. It was Shermaine on the other end of the line.
Immediately after answering the call, Mimi began to blame Shermaine.
“Ms. Smallwood, what happened to your arrangements? I wasn’t even able to get into the reception, even though you said your plan was foolproof. How was that foolproof? I was kicked out of the room before I had seen a single living soul. Can you tell me what happened?”
When she heard what Mimi said, Shermaine frowned as she asked, “You didn’t get in?”
“How should I go in? They explicitly made it clear that they don’t want any temporary workers at all and that the people they hired are professionals. Didn’t you say there wouldn’t be any problem?”
In fact, Shermaine didn’t know what went wrong either since she was sure that she had everything planned properly.
Matthew attended the reception every year, and there was a fifty percent chance that he would bring Clarissa this year. Shermaine was betting on that fifty percent chance, in which she would sneak in Mimi, who would then make a scene and embarrass Clarissa.
That was no ordinary reception, nor were the people who attended it. If Clarissa were only to be embarrassed and humiliated, that was enough to put her under strain.
Not only did she not expect that Mimi was not able to enter, she wasn’t even allowed to work as a waitress.
Shermaine had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but instead of blaming Mimi, she hung up and called other people to find out what had happened.
As for Mimi, her parents gathered around her and asked about the situation.
“Not much happened. There was too much security in the hotel and I couldn’t even get in without an invitation. Shermaine wanted me to embarrass Clarissa, but I had no access.”
Gloria replied, “Well, if you can’t do it this time, then perhaps next time.”
In response, Jacob asked, “Did they know what Ms. Smallwood was going to do, so they were prepared beforehand?”
“Could that be the case?”
The thought never even crossed Mimi’s head as she responded, “Surely it is a coincidence. A lot of famous people and government officials were at the reception, so it is understandable that there would be a strict policy in place. Shermaine didn’t plan things properly, so I can’t be blamed.”
“Of course you cannot be blamed, she was simply unlucky. Besides, why does it have to be at some reception? You can embarrass her anywhere you want. Perhaps you could go online and ruin her reputation there?”
“No. Shermaine said that online contents are too easy to be manipulated and controlled by others, and they can even delete them. Therefore, there is no point in doing that. The best thing to do is to catch Clarissa in the act.”
“What a hassle. In any case, it’s not your fault this time, Ms. Smallwood can’t blame you for that. We are now living comfortably in D City, but if we were to complete the task soon, she might stop taking care of us. I suggest you rather wait until after your exams, Mimi, rather than acting too diligently. Your exams are coming up, right? Don’t just go out and play these days, what if you fail the exam?”
“If I fail my exams, I’ll ask Shermaine to plan something. Otherwise, it’s no problem since I have connections anyway. I don’t enjoy going to school either, and the reason for me to go to this school is that I want to become a celebrity in the future. Now that I have the chance to be a celebrity, why do I still need to go to school?”
“That’s true.”
The family was smugly complacent because they had Shermaine behind them.
