Hilary panicked in front of Shermaine’s intense gaze.
Her pale face only made her guilt more obvious.
In the end, she had no idea what she was mumbling. “Shermaine, you… I…”
“Ms. Hilary, why are you feeling so nervous? Which part of what they said do you not want me to believe?”
Hilary was shocked. “What did they tell you?”
“What are they supposed to tell me? Ms. Hilary?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. But why did they come and see you?”
Grinning a moment, Shermaine replied, “Oh, they claimed that they were your friends and came to see me on your behalf. Also, they told me that you were very worried about me and missed me…”
Heaving a sigh of relief, Hilary forced an awkward smile.
“That’s right. I asked them to visit you on my behalf… hehe.”
Shermaine let out an innocent smile. “Ms. Hilary, you seem really busy to not have visited me over the last three years. Are you truly that busy?”
Hilary grew increasingly awkward.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Shermaine shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize. After all, we are not related to each other in any way. Given that you’re almost a stranger to me, I understand why you didn’t come to see me…”
Hilary’s lips moved but didn’t know what to say.
Despite Hilary’s telling expression, Shermaine didn’t question further, and neither did she express any suspicion.
Hilary’s behavior alone was more than enough to raise one’s suspicions.
Despite her obvious guilt, Shermaine continued to feign ignorance.
“Ms. Hilary, let’s not talk about this anymore. I’m sure you’re aware that I have limited access to information inside here. Why don’t you share with me the latest news outside?”
Hilary nodded. “Of course, what would you like to know?”
Shermaine smiled. “About Clarissa and also Matthew.”
Hilary was stunned and didn’t know where to start.
“Don’t worry. I now know where I went wrong and have admitted my utter defeat. I just want to know if they are happy? When my family came to see me, they did update me a little about them. Despite wanting to find out more, I was concerned that I would cause them to worry. Therefore, I have no one else to ask. Since you’re here, I can finally enquire about how they are doing.”
“Everything was fine before this. Both of them had gotten married a long time ago and even had a son. However, my daughter messed up. This morning, she was exposed for having an affair. The incident caused the public to doubt that her son belonged to Matthew. I was outraged by it. Why can’t she just focus on her life and not get into such trouble? Even if she wanted to have a lover, can’t she at least be more careful? I just can’t stop worrying about her…”
As Hilary rambled on angrily, she praised Clarissa a little before criticizing and ridiculing her.
However, Shermaine listened with an expressionless face.
She let out a long sigh and remarked, “Life really is unpredictable.”
“That’s true. Who’s to say it isn’t?”
Both of them reacted with different expressions.
Due to the limited visiting time, Hilary left in a short while. However, the moment she stepped out, she realized that she had not achieved what she came to do.
Wasn’t I supposed to tell her the truth today?
However, when she saw the look in Shermaine’s eyes, she realized that her guilt and fear were holding her back.
What Hilary wasn’t aware of was that Shermaine had purposely steered the topic away when she had tried to broach it.
After getting into a taxi, Hilary left the prison.
On the way back to the city, Hilary was surfing on her phone when she suddenly saw the news about Tyson Corporation attempting to defend Clarissa.
Hilary sat up in shock as she continued to read the latest developments. After Tyson Corporation took action, many influential figures came out to defend Clarissa and Matthew. Furthermore, legal notices were sent en-masse to all those that had spread rumors and ridiculed Clarissa, shutting them up. Consequently, Hilary was astounded by the response.
She didn’t expect Matthew to not only not mind the betrayal, but also defended Clarissa’s honor on her behalf.
Tsk-tsk… Clarissa is really something.
Hilary didn’t expect her to have Matthew eating out of her hands.
Holding that thought, Hilary was relieved that she didn’t tell Shermaine about the baby switching incident on impulse.
Therefore, she was still Clarissa’s mother and Matthew’s mother-in-law.
Hilary figured that if this scandal couldn’t even impact Clarissa’s relationship with Matthew, their marriage could withstand anything.
With that thought in mind, she laughed smugly. Given how capable Clarissa is, there’s no way I’m going to break ties with her.
Shermaine is nothing compared to her. After all, Clarissa is the one with a bright future.
“Hahaha…”
When Hilary burst into laughter, the driver looked at her curiously via the rear-view mirror.
Is she a lunatic?
However, when Hilary returned to the Garrett residence, she had forgotten about her wounds amidst her delight. It only occurred to her the moment she stepped into the house.
Luckily, no one was home. Since her face was hurt, she figured that she could use it to her advantage.
Hence, she dropped by Clarissa’s studio. Although Clarissa wasn’t there, her colleagues would definitely pass on her message.
The next moment, Clarissa received Mandy’s call.
“Clarissa, your mom says that she has been beaten by her husband. She had infuriated him while defending you over the news. She is currently waiting at the café downstairs. She looks to be badly hurt and is still crying. Given how pitiful she is, aren’t you going to see her?”
Clarissa declined right away. “No, I’m not.”
She no longer had a soft spot for Hilary.
After all, she had saw through Hilary’s character. There is no way she would get herself beaten over defending me. She might have been hit by Zach, but it definitely wasn’t for my sake.
Unlike last time, Clarissa no longer cared for Hilary. Even if she was beaten to death, Clarissa wouldn’t bat an eyelid.
Her voice was cold as steel. “Mandy, going forward, don’t tell me about whatever she says or does. If she wants to see me at the studio, tell everyone to ignore her. However, in the event she causes a disruption, please feel free to get security to remove her. She is in no way related to me. Do you understand my position?”
Mandy nodded. Despite her doubts, she still obeyed Clarissa’s instructions.
After all, Mandy knew Clarissa’s character well. Given that Clarissa had never acted so heartlessly before, Mandy figured that she must have her reasons.
When Hilary came upstairs again, Mandy and her other colleagues chased her out instead, sighing in relief when they finally did.
After being kicked out in a humiliating manner, Hilary was outraged and regretted raising Clarissa as her daughter.
I should have left that wench to die right after switching babies.
She is clearly determined to sever ties with me.
Hilary cursed under her breath as she left.
After ending the call, Clarissa didn’t think much of Hilary, who could no longer affect her emotionally.
Unfortunately, someone else who could still do so was about to make Clarissa mad.
During the afternoon, Damian was sent to the hospital to spend some time with George. When he returned, he behaved as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t until Clarissa was about to tuck him in that he began to reveal his thoughts.
“Mommy, I don’t like Grandma.”
Despite raising her eyebrows, Clarissa wasn’t surprised as it wasn’t the first time Damian said such a thing. Hence, she tousled his hair and gave him a peck.
“Mmm-hmm, it’s fine if you don’t like her. Was she upset when she saw you today?”
Damian buried his head in Clarissa’s chest. After rubbing against her briefly, he lifted his gaze to reveal a frown.
“Grandma pulled my hair today.”
“Huh?”
Clarissa became anxious at once. “She pulled your hair? Did she hit you? Was it painful? Let me see if you’re hurt anywhere. Tell me exactly what she did to you?”
“No, no, Grandma didn’t hit me.”
Damian didn’t understand why Clarissa reacted in such a dramatic manner. Grabbing onto his own hair, he explained, “Grandma did this. Ah… I lost three strands of hair. It didn’t hurt at all, and she didn’t hit me.”
Clarissa didn’t understand.
However, Damian continued, “Grandma said that only by giving my hair to her, am I Daddy’s son.”
How is that related?
Clarissa was puzzled. Stroking Damian’s head to comfort him, she asked, “Isn’t it painful?”
“Mmm-hmm… just a little bit.”
When Damian used the words “a little”, it clearly meant that it wasn’t painful at all.
Clarissa realized that she had been worked up over nothing.
Having calmed down, Clarissa hugged him. Just when she was about to start his bedtime story, Damian asked again, “Mommy, am I Daddy’s son?”
“Hmm? Of course you are! Daddy loves you the most. In fact, you’re his darling son.”
“Hehe…”
Giggling foolishly, Damian remarked, “What Grandma says doesn’t count. She told me that I will only know if I’m Daddy’s son after the doctor has completed his test. But, you have already declared that I am…”
Just as Damian finished, Clarissa’s smile disappeared. As if all her blood had been drained away, her face turned pale while her body seemed to have lost all heat.
It dawned upon her what Margaret was attempting to do.
Unable to suppress her rage, her body began trembling violently.
