Clarissa didn’t want the Wynters to reveal the news. However, Damon asked to see her within the next few days.
As Ellie didn’t join them, Clarissa knew that Jacque and his wife must have said something to Damon.
Just as expected, Damon’s expression was grim when he met her.
After a long silence, Clarissa couldn’t help but chuckle. “What are you thinking about?”
Clucking his tongue, Damon took a seat before sighing remorsefully.
“I was thinking what a close shave it was. Luckily, you didn’t accept me. Or else, it would have turned into incest.”
“Sheesh, stop with that nonsense.”
Damon smiled wryly. “Although we aren’t biological siblings, we’re still cousins. Hence, I’m no longer in competition to vie for you. Prior to this, I was considering getting together with you after Uncle Matthew pass on with age. Given the age gap, he would likely meet his maker much earlier than us.”
Obviously Damon was just joking.
Clarissa shook her head and smiled in resignation. “You had better give up on that idea. However, I did tell them to keep it under wraps still. Were you the only one they told? Or does the entire Wynter family know?”
If the entire Wynter family knew, it was the equivalent of making it public.
“Don’t worry. Only I know about it. Besides, the reason Aunt Sandra told me about it was that she wanted me to talk to you, hoping that they could get to know you better. Anyway, I’m just passing on her message. She mentioned that she likes you a lot and you’re so much more capable than you know who. Hence, she sincerely hopes that you can acknowledge us as your family and not be a stranger. Furthermore, you cannot change the fact that you are related to us by blood.”
Damon added, “Obviously, I don’t share her sentiments. If I were you, I would feel equally lost. After all, the complexity of this issue goes beyond just a few words. You should do as you see fit. Today, I’m not here to talk you into it. Instead, I just want to spend some time bonding with my cousin.”
Staring at Damon, Clarissa pursed her lips into a grin.
All of a sudden, Damon spread out his arms. “How about a hug, dear cousin?”
Clarissa couldn’t resist a chuckle. She then hugged Damon before they exchanged smiling glances.
The feelings they previously felt for each other had been nothing more than platonic. Nevertheless, their friendship and familial affection had survived the trials and tribulations of time.
A while later, the nanny returned with Damian from the washroom. After being placed in between both of them, they took turns caring for him.
After the meal, Damon walked them to their car. Before they left, he leaned on the door and gazed at them. At that moment, Damian excitedly acknowledged Damon as his uncle. Now that they were related, the child figured he would get more presents by doing so. In fact, he even sent him a flying kiss.
The next day, the warm scene mysteriously found its way to the internet.
Furthermore, the news was stamped with the word “Exposed”. The picture was accompanied by the description: Wife meets male companion in secret with son who adores the man. Husband at work and oblivious about liaison.
The picture was blurry but their silhouettes were clear. Although the exposé didn’t say much, the first thing that came to everyone’s mind when they saw it was: affair!
In less than half an hour, the news went viral.
Some felt that it was just an ordinary meeting between friends. After all, they were sharing a meal in broad daylight.
While some others felt that it was unnecessary to bring a child to a meeting with a male friend. The fact that the child was there aroused the suspicion of the public.
Some of them even suspected that the child might have belonged to the man given how close they were.
Despite how ridiculous the rumors were, the netizens didn’t care for the truth. They just loved believing in what they wanted and enjoyed watching the drama unfold.
Their comments largely contained the words: affair, illegitimate child, betrayal, prominent family, fortune…
However, as it was still early, Clarissa was either not up yet or helping her son brush his teeth.
She had no idea she was mercilessly slandered online. Everyone blamed her for betraying Matthew and even having someone else’s child. In the future, the child would inherit the Tyson fortune and she would subsequently dump Matthew to be reunited with her lover…
Furthermore, it didn’t stop there.
There would always be an unnamed source divulging insider information. She was being accused of meeting the man in secret and sleeping with him. The description was so detailed that it sounded as if the person had witnessed the act itself.
In the end, Clarissa only found out about it when one of her loyal readers called her after she didn’t respond to her messages.
When the reader heard Clarissa’s silence, her heart sank.
“Clarissa, the consensus in the group chat is that we trust you. We know someone is trying to malign you. So, don’t be angry. Once we find out who did it, we will make him apologize and suffer the consequences…”
Suppressing her emotions, Clarissa thanked the reader before ending the call.
Dumbfounded, she was trembling all over with her phone in her hand.
When Damian saw her reaction, he didn’t understand what was going on. However, he gave her a hug in his attempt to console her.
“Mommy, Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you cold? Let me hug you. There, there. It isn’t cold anymore…”
Only then did Clarissa calm down. Forcing a smile, she hugged her son back.
At that moment, Matthew had come upstairs.
As Clarissa looked in his direction, Damian saw him too and said, “Daddy, Mommy is cold. Come and help me hug her to keep her warm.”
Matthew’s eyebrows were furrowed as if he already knew what was going on. Walking over, he softened his usually frosty demeanor.
He hugged both Clarissa and Damian. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Clarissa responded, “Mmm-hmm, I’m not worried.”
Instead, she was upset.
Clarissa grabbed onto Matthew’s shirt by the chest and tightened her grip. She didn’t understand who could have done such a despicable thing.
Matthew patted her on her back to comfort her. When Damian saw what his father did, he too repeated the gesture.
“Mommy, don’t be afraid. You still have me…”
“Pfft…”
When Damian reacted like an adult, Clarissa knew that he was just copying what Matthew did. Nevertheless, his actions had cheered her up.
Picking him up, Clarissa gave Damian a peck on his cheeks. “Damian, you’re really amazing. Next time, I will look to you for protection.”
Damian nodded his little head. “Mommy, don’t worry, I’ll protect you. I’m not going to let anyone else hurt you.”
Raising his eyebrows, Matthew was surprised to see that his son was better at consoling Clarissa than he was.
In the eyes of his wife, his words no longer carried as much weight.
However, now wasn’t the time to be petty with his son. Standing up, Matthew hurried to deal with the fallout.
When the exposé broke and became one of the top trending topics online, Tyson Corporation blasted out a legal notice.
The notice was directed at a large group of netizens. All those the perpetuated the rumors and ridiculed Clarissa would be sued.
Just when they were enjoying making snide comments, the nosy netizens suddenly remembered what happened the last time when Clarissa was ridiculed online. Matthew had sent countless legal notices to many of them.
Didn’t it happen just recently?
How did we forget the lengths Matthew was willing to go to just to protect his beloved?
Once the notices were sent out, many of the netizens shirked in cowardice, no longer daring to comment. That was when Clarissa’s supporters began to speak out in her defense.
Firstly, the person who sent the photo would definitely not be able to escape prosecution. Putting aside the fact that baseless accusations were made, taking photos randomly of Mrs. Tyson was by itself a violation of privacy.
As to whether he was instructed to do so by someone or just wanted to be famous, the truth would be determined in the future.
As for those who lampooned Clarissa despite pretending to be envious of her previously, they were exposed to be nothing more than being sour grapes.
Nevertheless, it was still uncertain as to whether there were paid trolls controlling the narrative and fanning the flames of hate towards Clarissa. After all, the whole saga didn’t seem like it was triggered by an innocent photo.
After Matthew had sent the legal notices, all of them fell silent. However, many still wondered if Clarissa was being set up or Matthew was simply doing it to protect their own reputation. At the end of the day, everyone had their doubts.
Matthew didn’t share the finer details with Clarissa, but there indeed was a plot behind the saga.
Meanwhile, Yarick and Jeremy were gathered in Matthew’s office. Unable to restrain his temper, he ranted, “How dare that f*cker attack you like that? Recently, when I heard someone make a snarky remark about Damian, I was this close to beating them up. Matthew, are they trying to ruin your reputation?”
Jeremy remarked coldly, “They have a deeper purpose. Matt, are they targeting Tyson Corporation?”
Matthew’s gaze darkened as he fell into deep thought.
“F*ck, Tyson Corporation? They should have done it in the open if they had the balls. How dare they act so insidiously by involving women and children?”
