Shermaine finally had the chance to meet her parents. However, they brought her bad news. They told her that her parole application was rejected because Matthew and Clarissa got in the way. Yet, she was not angry at all.
Instead, she smiled at them with a hint of disappointment which disappeared quickly. She even comforted her parents in return.
“Dad, Mom, you don’t have to be sad. I just have to bear the consequences of my actions. Hence, whatever the results may be, I’ll accept it with an open heart.”
“But, we thought we could finally reunite during New Year’s. I’m sorry, Shermaine. We’re useless; we couldn’t avenge you.”
“Don’t say that, Mom,” Shermaine reminded as she looked at her with forgiving eyes. Kayla then began to calm upon hearing her words.
“Alright, enough about them. We’ll do our best to work toward an early reunion. Shermaine, I hope you can forgive us.”
“Mom and Dad, you’ve done your best. Besides, this isn’t your fault. I was the one who got myself into this.”
“How could it be your fault? They set you up! If it wasn’t for her…”
Kayla dragged Clarissa into the picture once again. But when she glanced at her daughter, she quickly stopped. “Okay, let’s change the topic.”
Shermaine smiled and began to talk about her life in prison. She even picked up a business and economics course, so she could help her father with his business once she got out.
“That’s great! You’re a smart girl who gets everything done. I’m sure you’ll get do well when I hand you the business.”
James nodded. “Of course. We’re all waiting for you to reunite with us as well as hand you the business.”
Shermaine grinned happily. “Alright. So don’t worry about me!”
Once the couple left, Kayla’s face became pale. She clutched onto James tightly as they walked to the car. Then, she clutched her chest tightly as if she had difficulty breathing when they got into the car.
James was used to Kayla’s recurring condition over the years. She wasn’t physically ill; it was just a psychological issue.
He patted Kayla’s shoulder and signaled the driver to start driving.
Kayla did not speak for a long time until she had returned to her normal self.
“Is there really no other way, James? Although Shermaine wasn’t upset, I believed she must be suffering inside.”
James shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do for now. Right now, we can only wait.”
“Oh, my poor Shermaine! I guess it’ll only be the two of us again this year.”
James did not say anything but merely sighed.
Meanwhile, Clarissa had just woken up in the afternoon and realized Damian was already back from school.
She then recalled what happened last night and rolled her eyes. Well, I did ask for it. Come to think of it, I made the first move, which led to even worst results.
With one hand on her waist, she went down and saw Ellie entering the house with Damian. Ellie noticed Clarissa in pajamas and instantly knew she had just woken up and flashed her sly smile.
Damian saw Clarissa and quickly ran up to hug her.
Then, Julia and the nanny led him away to change as Ellie sat down across Clarissa and began to look at her.
“What’re you looking at?”
Clarissa felt rather uneasy but tried to remain calm. However, her cheeks gradually became red.
“Well, look at you!” Ellie sneered.
Clarissa was speechless and quickly covered her face with her hands like a little girl. “Stop it, Ellie!”
Ellie glanced at the now flushed Clarissa and instantly knew that she was living a happy life.
“Alright, I’ll stop that. Also, do you know that you’re on the headlines of today’s paper? It’s about you picking up Uncle Matt from the airport.”
“Huh? Why were we being photographed again? What in the world… I’m not even a celebrity!” Clarissa complained as she grabbed her phone to check the news. However, she couldn’t find anything.
“You wouldn’t be able to find anything now. Uncle Matt wouldn’t allow you to be exposed under the public eye due to his possessiveness. So don’t you worry.”
Clarissa was relieved but quickly retorted Ellie. “What do you mean possessive? I didn’t want to be exposed. I merely thought that these paparazzi have mad skills! I don’t understand how they got the shot. Besides, it was a spontaneous trip.”
“Don’t you know the airport’s literally a second runway for celebrities? Even if they weren’t there to take pictures of you, they would be there for someone else. As for your case, it was purely an accident.”
Clarissa pouted and sighed when she heard Ellie’s words.
“Too bad I can’t see it. I bet I looked hideous! I was dressed in a huge down jacket yesterday before I headed out. They must have claimed that I’m fat or going through a rough patch with Matthew, judging from their usual style of reporting.”
Ellie let out a small laugh. “No, don’t worry. It’s not as bad as you think.”
“Then what is it?”
Ellie merely smiled playfully as she wiggled her eyebrows at Clarissa.
Clarissa became even more awkward and shy as Ellie continued to laugh. “What’re you laughing at? Tell me! What did those paparazzi do to those pictures? Did they match it with a weird title?” She frowned.
“No. The title wasn’t the point, but the kiss you shared with Uncle Matt was the highlight. Hence, your looks and what your body looked like didn’t matter at all…”
Hearing that, Clarissa was speechless as she felt her body temperature increasing rapidly. She was so embarrassed and wanted desperately wanted to hide.
Yet, Ellie did not hold back making fun of her even when she noticed how red her face was.
At this moment, Damian appeared and noticed his mother blushing and Ellie laughing hysterically.
“Mommy, Mommy! What game are you and Ms. Ellie playing? Can I join you?”
“Pfft…. Hahahah…”
Ellie burst out laughing as she pulled him into her lap and pecked him on the cheek. “We’re not playing any games, deary. It was your Mommy who did some embarrassing stuff.”
“What is that?”
Damian widened his eyes in curiosity as he turned to face Clarissa. Clarissa was startled by his sudden question, and once again, embarrassment quickly took over her.
“It’s nothing! Don’t listen to her; it’s all nonsense. Come here, Damian. Now, tell me how was school? Could you tell me what your teacher taught in class today?”
Clarissa quickly changed the topic. The boy then ran into Clarissa’s arms and began to tell her about his day at school…
Damien was quite a chatter for a little guy at his age. He didn’t stop talking to Clarissa until it was nap time.
Once Clarissa put Damian to sleep, she quietly crept downstairs and held a virtual meeting with Yael to discuss work.
“So the problem now is that we’re planning to recruit more people once New Year’s is over. Hence, we’ll have to find a bigger studio to move in. We’ll also need to create a new department. Our business has been expanding over time, and the lack of manpower had caused inconvenience as the staff had to juggle many tasks all at once. Therefore, it’s best if we recruit more people in the HR and Finance department.”
“A new studio?”
“Yes. Unless you would like to remain where we’re now, we could make plans to expand the studio,” Yael answered. Yet, Clarissa shook her head. “No. It’s better to get a new place. Besides, it’s too expensive here judging from the amount of rent I pay every year.”
“Pfft… You both really are something.”
Clarissa smiled. “Anyway, I’ve decided on this. So it seems like you’re going to have a search for a new place.”
“Okay. I’ll hand this over to Charles as he’s now able to work independently. I also plan to promote our current staff to become heads of departments as soon as we’ve recruited talents. Speaking of which, the Tyson Corporation is interested to turn Oz’s work into a television series. This is great news! So I think you should take the chance to reward the staff and encourage Hilda too. She seems rather anxious these days.”
“Alright, I got it. By the way, Tyson Corporation plans to shoot before New Year, so I’ll be away for a while. Do you think it’s a good idea to bring her along with me? It is a good opportunity, after all.”
“Alright then. It’s set!’
Clarissa was rather pleased to see Matthew returning home after her virtual meeting was over.
Matthew noticed how happy she was as he took off his jacket and sat beside her. He pinched her cheeks and leaned in for a kiss. However, Clarissa stopped him.
“Stay away from me. My lips aren’t healed yet.”
At that, Matthew pinched her cheeks and turned her face toward him.
“Let me take a look. I wonder what’s taking so long?”
Clarissa pouted her lips and showed him. “If only you didn’t bite my lip this hard, I wouldn’t have to go through this pain.”
Matthew grinned. “Well, I was never the type to bite. I would only…”
Clarissa covered her lips with her hand before he could steal a kiss.
At that moment, he could only see her dark eyes that were seemingly smiling back at him. Similarly, only Clarissa would understand the meaning behind the look that he returned to her.
Clarissa’s cheeks instantly flushed as she turned and moved away from him angrily. Then, she lay on the sofa and began looking through her phone, obviously ignoring Matthew.
Yet, Matthew went over and picked her up. Soon enough, she was sitting on his lap.
Matthew looked at her plump lips as he pinched her face fondly.
Look how adorable she is! I want to kiss those lips so badly. He thought as he tried to restrained himself before kissing her.
At last, he decided to hold his urges and asked, “What were you so happy about?”
Clarissa lit up in joy when she remembered and slapped his fingers away. “Mr. Tenant, we’re on a hunt for a new studio now. I can’t wait to leave your overly-priced building,” Clarissa said excitedly as she chuckled.
“A new studio?”
Matthew raised an eyebrow and moved closer to her. “Why do you need a new studio?”
“Well, I’m a boss now. My company’s making money, so we’re planning to expand and recruit more staff. Then, we’ll continue to achieve more milestones and hopefully become a listed company.”
She’s mentioned things like becoming a CEO and living her best life in the past. I’ve heard enough to be able to recite on my own. Well, look at her now. She’s actually working her way toward it!
Matthew gave her a nod of affirmation and kissed her. “Aww, look at our Clare, all grown up.” He patted her head lovingly.
