At his question, Clarissa froze. Everything she had planned to say got lodged in her throat unexpectedly.
How had she never realized how shameless this man was?
He carried that monk-like look of extreme calm everywhere he went. However, when it came to her, he felt it appropriate to unleash his brutish nature.
“Uncle Matthew, Mr. Tyson, what are you trying to do?”
Matthew’s lips curled into a smile. His eyes flickered with amusement, but that disappeared too quickly for Clarissa to notice.
However, as he lazed around in his chair, he seemed to be in a rather good mood.
He swept another look at Clarissa’s body. She was wearing a set of short pajamas—he wished he had taken the chance to caress her legs more just now.
His fingers shifted slightly as his eyes took on a steely glint, making Clarissa feel extremely uneasy.
She sat down on the sofa opposite him, waiting for him to give her an explanation.
Indeed, after he blew out a ring of smoke, he said in a low voice, “You know exactly what I’m trying to do.”
Clarissa felt a wave of anger rise in her again. What sort of answer was that?
She retorted stubbornly, “No, I really don’t.”
“Oh, is that so? Why don’t I show you again…”
The moment he said this, Clarissa jumped up and ran into another corner of the room, putting as much distance between them as she could. She was afraid that he might actually make good on his threat.
Angrily, she said, “You…hold up!”
Matthew raised an eyebrow and gazed at her intently.
Clarissa frowned. Suspicion and displeasure were written all over her little face.
“I’ve told you this before—we’re not compatible with each other. Not only are we too far apart in age, but we have a different perspective on love too. You already have the beautiful Shermaine Smallwood, so who am I to you? I can’t be bothered to play games with you anymore—I never did. To put it simply for you, Matthew, I absolutely refuse to be a third party to your relationship. I will not be your mistress.”
By the time she finished speaking, her expression had turned cold and aloof again.
She gazed disdainfully at the man before her. To think she had respected him so much before! He had turned out to be nothing more than a lustful jerk.
Were all rich men as hard to satisfy as him? Matthew already had the most beautiful woman in D City, but he seemed to be combing the streets for a mistress, too.
Clarissa didn’t understand him, but she didn’t really want to, anyway.
Aside from disdain, her expression now took on shades of annoyance and disgust.
Matthew’s eyes narrowed into a thin line as he motioned her over with his fingers. However, Clarissa shook her head in refusal.
Did he think she was a dog or something? How could he try and call her over in that demeaning way?
Matthew’s eyes darkened as he realized that they were locked in a stalemate.
“Is this because of Shermaine?”
“I’m not going to answer that. Just know that I will never submit to you.”
Never submit to him?
By her logic, Matthew was the oppressor, and she was oppressed.
“Trust me, I’m not in a relationship with Shermaine. I just know her because our families are on good terms,” Matthew explained.
However, Clarissa pursed her lips in annoyance. “Your families arranged a marriage between the two of you when you were kids. What sort of relationship do you have with her, then?”
Matthew smiled deviously. “Are you jealous?”
“Jealous? Ha, you wish! I just…”
At that moment, she met Matthew’s dark eyes. Clarissa shivered and nearly bit down on her own tongue by accident. In the end, she decided to keep those awful words to herself.
Matthew continued to explain. “By the time she was born, I was already twelve years old. My relatives teased me all because I held her for a few seconds, that’s all. I wouldn’t call it an arranged marriage. Anyway, I’m much too old compared to her.”
Matthew regretted saying this almost as soon as he did.
As expected, Clarissa noticed his slip as well. She laughed mockingly and said, “Haha, what a coincidence! I’m the same age as Shermaine, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Matthew looked a little embarrassed. He put out the cigarette and fell silent.
Clarissa couldn’t help but feel that, cold as he was, Matthew was rather amusing to watch right now.
However, she didn’t dare to laugh. All she wanted was for him to leave right now and let her off the hook.
“You said it yourself! Our age gap is way too big.”
I didn’t say it, you did!
“So I think it’s best if you leave now.”
Matthew stood up. However, he didn’t turn to leave—instead, he walked even closer to her, cornering her straight into his arms.
Clarissa looked like a prey surrounded by a hungry pack of wolves. Left without a way to escape, she had no choice but to twist her neck away as a last line of defense.
“You…don’t you dare come over, or I’m going to scream…”
Matthew burst into laughter at the expression on her face.
“Go on, scream.”
Clarissa suddenly remembered that this cliched phrase that always appeared in the movies. Scream as much as you like, no one is going to hear you anyway.
Abruptly, her anxiety disappeared, and she suddenly wanted to laugh instead.
Her lips twitched. She looked up and tried to say something, but Matthew quickly pressed his lips against hers. However, he didn’t kiss her deeply this time—instead, he grazed his lips gently against hers, growling softly as he did.
“I’m not going anywhere. Tonight, I’m going to stay right here in your room.”
“You can’t do that…hmm!”
He pressed his lips against hers again before she could protest.
Clarissa felt as though she was getting more light-headed by the minute. As Matthew carried her over to the bed, she felt as though she might faint.
However, Matthew got up immediately. Feeling a sudden rush of cold, Clarissa looked up to realize that he had disappeared into the bathroom. She buried her head in her pillow and threw herself around the bed in humiliation, wishing that she could die right now.
How could she ever look him in the face again after today? She had insisted on chasing him away, but one kiss from him had made her forget her previous convictions almost immediately.
Clarissa hated herself to death.
Most of all, however, she hated that guy who was currently showering in her bathroom.
He had already made up his mind to sleep with her that night. Was she supposed to find another room for herself?
Just as she was going to flee the room, there was a knock on the door.
Clarissa jumped in shock and nearly rolled off the bed. Feeling rather panicked, she wondered if she should open the door to the person standing outside.
However, the person seemed to have a great deal of patience. After a while, they knocked loudly on the door again.
Clarissa walked over to the door and cracked it open slowly.
“You…”
Donnie was standing outside with a bland smile on his face and a bag of clothes in his arms.
“Ms. Quigley, these are Mr. Tyson’s clothes.”
Clarissa denied his presence immediately. “What—what do you mean? Mr. Tyson isn’t in my room at all. You—you must have sent it to the wrong place. Take it somewhere else, please…”
However, Donnie continued to smile gently at her. He pressed the bag of clothes into her arms.
“Mr. Sheldon, you’re completely mistaken. Your boss isn’t in my room…”
Here, an arm reached around her and grabbed the bag of clothes from her hands.
Donnie would never forget the expression on Clarissa’s face for as long as he lived.
Holding back his laughter, he shot a look at Mr. Tyson and Clarissa.
Matthew ordered, “Wait for me downstairs at six o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, Mr. Tyson.”
Donnie turned around and left. Behind him, Clarissa looked as though she had been caught in the act. Feeling rather guilty, she muttered, “You can stay here for tonight. I’ll find another room for myself…”
With a loud bang, the door shut behind her, and Donnie could no longer hear their conversation.
Back in the room, Clarissa had given up explaining to him. Instead, she gazed angrily at Matthew. However, he didn’t pay her any attention—instead, he walked around the room with a towel around his hips. Clarissa’s head spun as he swaggered around with his tall, muscular body.
She didn’t know where to look. Instead, she stared at the bed and huffed loudly. She grabbed a blanket and pillow and flung them onto the sofa. With that, she buried herself under her blanket, wishing that there was bleach so she could wash her eyes out.
Matthew raised his brows and laughed lightly.
Didn’t Clarissa realize how childish she was being?
Matthew walked over to the sofa. Without even throwing her blankets aside, he picked Clarissa up as she was still wrapped within her blankets and flung her onto the bed.
As she yelped and tried to free herself, he threw himself onto her.
In a low, threatening voice, he said, “If you don’t want to sleep, we can do something else more fun.”
That did the trick immediately.
Clarissa wrapped her blankets tightly around her, looking like an unmoving cocoon. Beside her, Matthew refused to go to sleep. Instead, he opened and shut his eyes slowly, gazing at Clarissa, whose eyelids were twitching horribly. He thought she looked rather funny. Eventually, he turned off the lights and lay back down to rest.
Clarissa breathed more easily in the dark. After a while, when she guessed that Matthew had fallen asleep, she tried wriggling off the bed little by little…
She finally came into contact with the edge of the bed. Getting up silently, she tried to make her way towards the door.
“Ah!”
To her chagrin, she was pulled back onto the bed. Matthew lay flat on top of her, his eyes smoldering like charcoal in a fire.
Clarissa explained in a small voice, “I’m going to the toilet.”
Matthew glared at her for a while before rolling off her.
Like a mouse, Clarissa scurried into the toilet as quickly as she could. When she finally locked the door behind her, she let out a sigh of relief.
A long while later, she finally made her way out of the bathroom again. The man on her bed had both his hands behind his head. As she came out of the bedroom, he turned to look darkly at her.
Clarissa lay back onto the bed quietly, putting as much distance between them as possible. She looked as though she might fall off the bed any moment.
Matthew’s face grew colder. He pulled her straight into his arms and rested his hand on her hip. It was a very dangerous position to be in.
“Go to sleep.”
“Sure, but you should let go of me first. I’m not used to sleeping like that. I can’t fall asleep.”
“Is that so? Why don’t we…”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute! Yes, I can fall asleep.”
Clarissa corrected herself hastily. Too afraid to say anything else, she closed her eyes obediently and tried to make herself comfortable.
Matthew’s lips curled into a smile. Although she was the one in his arms, he was the one who was having trouble falling asleep.
The ball of softness and fragrance in his arms was almost too much for him to bear. Suddenly, he felt all the blood in his body rushing south…
His fingers curled a little as a rather outrageous image appeared in his mind…he had forced Clarissa under him, and was entering her slowly and continuously…
His breathing got heavier and more ragged, causing Clarissa to freeze in his arms.
Suddenly, Matthew got up and walked towards the sofa. In the dark, the glowing light of his cigarette shone brightly for a long time.
Clarissa forced herself to stay awake. However, she couldn’t resist it in the end, and fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, her breathing was a little ragged. Her mouth opened to take in more air, but she found that her lips were blocked. Feeling more suffocated by the minute, she opened her eyes, only to find Matthew’s face just inches away from hers. Pushing him away in shock, she finally managed to break free from his arms.
Matthew was wearing a tidy set of clothes. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
In a low voice, he said, “I’m going now. I’ll call you later. When your work here wraps up, return to D City immediately, do you understand?”
