Clarissa could barely hold herself back when she heard Damian’s sweet words.
While she hugged and kissed him, she praised, “Whose darling are you? Why are you so good at making others happy?”
“Of course I’m from the Quigleys! I’m your darling, Mommy.”
When Damian broke out into a grin, he looked exactly like Clarissa when she smiled.
Seeing how affectionate the mother and son pair were, Catherine could not help but laugh and chide, “That’s enough. You’ve just returned, so there’s still so much filth clinging to you. Change your clothes, quickly. Otherwise, you’ll make our darling Damian Quigley dirty and spread germs to him.”
The corners of Clarissa’s lips twitched at that. Sometimes, Catherine would call Damian via his real name. Clarissa was not bothered, for she meant it as a term of endearment.
Sometimes, the little boy was not that thoughtful. He was adorable when he spoke sweetly. However, whenever he acted fiercely, Clarissa wished for nothing more than to shove him back into her womb.
In her fury, she would tend to call him by his full name. As time passed, Catherine picked it up.
Clarissa changed out of her clothes and washed up before returning. Then, she started cuddling with her dear son affectionately.
At that moment, Clarissa was still patient enough to play with him.
However, when it was time to eat, Damian was not so adorable anymore.
“I won’t eat!”
The little kid kept playing with the toy car Ryler had given him earlier, refusing to eat.
Clarissa had been suppressing her anger as she did not want to be furious at him. Yet, within three days, he had been spoilt by Catherine. Extremely restless, he only wanted to play with his toys. It had been a tough feat to convince him to eat. However, after he took a few mouthfuls, he stood up again, sat onto his twist car, and zoomed around the house.
He did not even notice that his mother’s temper was already reaching its limit.
With the veins on her forehead throbbing, Clarissa slammed Damian’s bowl on the table and ordered in a deep voice, “Damian!”
Damian was so excited and engrossed with what he was doing that he did not hear her.
“Damian Quigley!”
When he heard his full name, he immediately froze.
Every time his mother said his full name, it meant that she was truly furious.
The young boy probably had a lot of past experiences where he had been taught a stern lesson. Hence, he immediately abandoned his twist car, ran over, and climbed onto his designated seat. Then, he grabbed his bowl and started shoving mouthfuls of food into his mouth.
As he ate, he raised his head carefully. When he noticed Clarissa’s grim expression and silence, a wave of fear washed through him.
Catherine teased with a smile, “See, your mother’s angry because you refused to eat obediently.”
On the other hand, Clarissa ignored her son’s innocent gaze. She remained silent as she ate her own food.
However, Damian knew how to appease his mother.
After looking at her for a long while and not seeing her smile, he suddenly blurted in the middle of eating, “Mommy, the food you cooked tastes really amazing!”
“I didn’t cook it. The maid cooked it.”
Clarissa could see right through his flattery.
“Even if you didn’t cook it, I still feel extremely happy because you are eating with me!”
“Pfft!”
Clarissa could not help but burst out laughing. When she glanced at him and noticed his appeasing smile, she remarked, “I wonder who you take after.”
Catherine piped up, “Who else? You were even more eloquent than him when you were younger.”
Damian chimed in, “I take after Mommy!”
Clarissa would never admit that she used to act so gratuitously.
She only managed to coax Damian to sleep late at night. She stood up afterward and headed to the courtyard. With a thick coat wrapped around her, she chatted with Matthew.
The house they were living in was a small villa where Clarissa had moved into. As she had a child, they required a larger space. If they lived in an apartment, Damian would definitely kick up a ruckus and annoy their neighbors. Since she had enough money, she bought a small villa and moved without alerting the Lesters.
When Clarissa mentioned to Matthew how obsequiously Damian acted, she lamented, “That little boy is such a sweet-talker! Sometimes, it’s really amusing when he acts so appeasingly. I don’t know who he takes after.”
Matthew immediately pointed out, “You, of course. Don’t you know that you look exactly like him when you’re trying to flatter me?”
“No way!”
Clarissa denied it immediately. She would never admit to that.
Matthew chuckled. Fine, I’ll let her deny it. I can already imagine how Damian looks like when he smiles. The way his eyes crinkle definitely resembles Clarissa’s.
When Damian was born, he looked identical to her. It’s as if he’s only her child. I’m completely out of the picture.
Luckily, his face shape is starting to resemble mine.
Clarissa chatted with Matthew till midnight before she hung up and returned to the house.
To her surprise, Catherine was still in the kitchen. It seemed like she was drinking a glass of water.
Clarissa smiled awkwardly. “Why aren’t you asleep yet, Grandma?”
“Well, I haven’t been sleeping much recently. That same question applies to you too. It’s winter, and the weather outside’s so cold! You must have a hot bath before sleeping, okay?”
“I know. I’ll do it now.”
Clarissa stuck out her tongue secretly and went upstairs.
On the other hand, Catherine shook her head and sat in the living room for a while before returning to her room.
Actually, she knew Clarissa was still in contact with Matthew. She was merely turning a blind eye to it temporarily.
Clarissa had not cut off ties with Matthew over the past three years. Catherine had also sent her on a couple of blind dates, but Clarissa had probably only agreed to go just to appease her.
Catherine had not given up yet. However, when she saw how Clarissa had been contacting Matthew secretly, she was helpless to intervene either.
Recently, she always had an urge to ponder over things when it was late at night.
If I’m gone, what’ll happen to Clare and Damian?
Of course, I’m not talking about their material needs. If they don’t have a man in the family, I’ll still be worried.
She let out a sigh at that thought.
When Clarissa returned to W City late, she promised to bring Damian out to play, hoping to make up for her being late.
Hence, she brought him to the children’s amusement park the next day.
Luckily, it wasn’t a weekend, so there were not a lot of children and parents in the amusement park. When Clarissa watched her son change into a firefighter costume, he seemed like the most handsome and cutest child. She wanted to snap some photos of him, but he had already followed the staff and other children into the amusement park to play.
She sat with a few other parents outside, but they were still unacquainted with each other. Hence, she sent some pictures of Damian to Matthew.
He did not reply, probably because he was busy. Clarissa was not bothered by it either. She kept craning her neck to peer inside, keeping her gaze fixed on her dashing son. No matter how she looked at him, he was always so adorable and handsome to her.
A talkative parent was sitting next to her. Initially, she asked a few simple questions and Clarissa could still continue the conversation.
However, the more they chatted, the more Clarissa disliked her. That mother continuously talked about the house her family lived in, the car they bought, their family trips overseas, and the things she splurged her money on. She even complained about her husband, saying that he only knew how to earn money, yet in her lamentations, there was a noticeable hint of pride.
At the start, Clarissa could still respond to her words with a smile. However, as the conversation progressed, her patience ran out. She lowered her head and stared at her phone. Seeing how Matthew had not replied to her message yet, she started to feel displeased. I’m going to remember this, Matthew.
Just like that, she suffered from the mother’s toxicity for almost two hours. Damian had finally finished all the games by then, so she quickly brought him out and planned to find a place to eat.
However, the moment she left, she bumped into that boastful mother again. This time, there was a man beside her. He was probably her husband.
Although Clarissa pretended not to see her, the chatty woman rushed over after spotting her.
“It’s you, Ms. Quigley? Your husband isn’t here to pick you up? Are you the only one bringing your son around? Oh my… You’re so pretty. Doesn’t your husband dote on you? Women shouldn’t just take care of their skin. More importantly, women should train their husbands well. The only thing about my husband that displeases me is that he only knows how to earn money. Other than that, I’m pretty satisfied with him. I just called him, and he immediately came over to pick us up. No matter where he is, he…”
The mother continued on and on. Hugging Damian, Clarissa felt like she was on the verge of snapping.
“Oh! Daddy!”
Damian suddenly cried out as he extended his arms out.
Everyone glanced over in that direction when they heard Damian. Beside a black Bentley stood an aloof man with an extraordinary aura.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Matthew was pleasantly surprised by Damian’s affectionate calls. Although he rarely saw him, the little boy had never welcomed him so warmly before.
Yet, he was calling out to him so excitedly and happily.
Naturally, despite those doubts, Matthew walked over and took Damian from Clarissa’s arms into his. The little boy did not struggle at all and seemed to accept it willingly.
When Matthew glanced at Clarissa, a look of affection crossed his face.
“Are you done? Do you want to have a meal?”
Clarissa instantly agreed and left with Matthew.
Meanwhile, the couple behind them was still stunned by their attractiveness and classy demeanor. They watched as Clarissa and her son entered the car and zoomed away.
The moment they entered the car, Damian struggled to break free from Matthew’s arms and extended his hands toward Clarissa.
“I want Mommy!”
Clarissa smiled. “I thought you wanted your dad earlier?”
“I just want Mommy!”
Damian was very insistent, but Matthew refused to release him. No matter how hard the boy struggled, he could not free himself at all. His face flushed red because of how much strength he was exerting. Despite the boy’s squirming, Matthew smiled as he watched his son struggle unhappily.
“Damian Tyson, Mommy’s tired. Can you bear to let her carry you?”
“Hmph! My name’s not Damian Tyson. I’m Damian Quigley!”
