Jolene pretended she was shocked the moment she strode into the elevator and saw Matthew.
“Hello, Mister! Haven’t you made your way back with Clarissa? Weren’t you here to pick her up?”
As Matthew glanced at her in silence and dismissed her question, Jolene was slightly embarrassed. Nonetheless, she refused to give up just yet.
When she was about to say something else, Matthew had reached his designated floor and made his way out of the elevator.
However, the persistent Jolene went after Matthew and asked, “Mister, are you serious when you say you’re Clarissa’s husband?”
Matthew ignored Jolene and made his way back to his room.
“Mister, I don’t think you’re her husband! Has she hired you to play the role of her husband in front of us? Are you aware she has given birth?”
Irked by Matthew’s response, Jolene stopped holding back with her choice of words and remarked, “Has she told you she was almost expelled from school because of her promiscuous lifestyle?”
Matthew brought himself to a halt when he heard Jolene’s remark.
On the other hand, the thrilled Jolene sashayed her way over in an attempt to hit on Matthew. She thought no man, including Matthew, would turn her down when she had offered herself.
She suggested, “Why don’t you let me join you in the room? I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Clarissa.”
Once again, Matthew dismissed her suggestion and walked past her without a second thought.
What the heck is wrong with him? Others can’t wait to have me in bed with them, but he doesn’t even bother to look at me! As indifferent as he might seem, he’s not just going to ignore me, right?
Unable to stand her anymore, he yelled, “Get out of my sight at once!”
Jolene was taken aback by his response, so she reprimanded him in return, “Hey, are you even a man? How could you yell at me!”
As a result of Matthew’s response, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had a different sexual orientation.
“Have you a kink for whores? She was forced into submission and spent a night with a thug back in the day! In the end, she was involved in several affairs with our classmates! I’m pretty sure she has always been the same through— Ouch—”
Jolene wasn’t given the chance to finish her remarks as Matthew rushed over and pinned her to the wall, strangling her neck. She could barely make any sound, let alone catch her breath. As a result, she started retaliating with all her might in an attempt to break free.
No longer was Matthew the exceptional man she had a thing for. Instead, she deemed the man in front of him a merciless murderer.
“H-Help—”
Despite Jolene squirming in front of him, Matthew had a relatively calm and collected expression. He stared at the intimidated Jolene in the eyes and said, “If you ever bring up something similar in the future, get yourself ready to face my wrath.”
Once he finished his sentence, he unfastened his grip and made his way elsewhere.
Jolene collapsed to the ground and held her strangled neck while gasping in an attempt to catch her breath. Although she could barely stand the racking sensation she felt, she immediately fled the scene.
The moment she sprinted out of the elevator, she encountered her classmates who had been searching for her in the lobby.
They rushed over and asked as soon as they saw Jolene with a disheveled appearance, “What’s wrong with you, Jolene? Why are you in such a mess?”
Jolene held her classmate firmly in her arms and started wailing while shivering in fear—she was still horrified by the near-death experience she had gone through.
After a short while, she finally regained her composure when her friend brought her back to the private lounge and joined the rest.
“Something’s wrong with Clarissa and her husband! He actually tried to murder me! I’m telling you guys, he almost strangled me to death! That’s it! I’m going to call the cops on him!”
Once Jolene finished her sentence, she reached for her phone and lodged a police report against Matthew.
She felt a sense of security with her friends around her. Their presence was precisely the reason she thought she had the upper hand in terms of numbers.
After she lodged a police report, she checked on her bruised neck and recalled the horrifying experience she had with Matthew.
“Are you serious when you say he’s a murderer? Is he a thug or something?”
“How is that possible when he’s such a good-looking man?”
“It has nothing to do with his look! He’s just a jerk! There’s nothing he can do to hide the fact from others!” Jolene rebuked when she heard them.
“I guess you’re right! How the heck did Clarissa get into a relationship with this thug?”
“Hasn’t she always have a thing for jerks?”
“Ha! She’s the one who has gone astray in life! It’s time for her to stop blaming us when we’re not even the ones at fault for her misery!”
Their teachers had long departed ahead of them. Jolene and her friends were about to leave and head over to elsewhere for another round of drinks, but the incident that had occurred took them by surprise.
In spite of being reprimanded by their teachers, they showed no signs of guilt at all. They started siding with Jolene once they figured out the things going on.
It might be human nature to be envious and jealous of those superior to them in life. The one superior to them happened to be Clarissa. Therefore, she turned into their common foe.
On the other hand, the men were relatively rationale.
Johnny brought up something out of the blue. “Jolene, has he assaulted you outside of his room? Hasn’t he returned with Clarissa? What are you even doing outside of his room?”
Clarissa stuttered as her mind was all over the place, “I-I-It was a mistake! I encountered him at the lobby immediately after Clarissa left and made his way back!”
Johnny sneered and made fun of Jolene as he had seen through her lies.
“Jolene, stop fooling us! You had gotten on his nerves as you wouldn’t stop hitting on him! As a result, the infuriated man took things out on you, hadn’t he?”
“Johnny!” Jolene yelled at Johnny as he wouldn’t stop exposing her in front of others.
“Are you indicating I have bruised myself? Can you stop siding with him when I almost died? You still have a thing for Clarissa, huh?”
“It has nothing to do with her! Stop diverting our attention when you’re just bearing the consequences of your actions!”
“Ha! How dare you claim it has nothing to do with her? You have never once acknowledged our relationship! I guess you can’t hold it back any longer now Clarissa has shown up again, huh? You need to give up as things will never work out between both of you even if she’s not married with a child!”
The rest of their friends were taken aback by the content of the conflicting duo’s conversation as they had let the cat out of the bag.
Has Jolene always been in a relationship with Johnny? Oh, God! I can’t believe it!
Jolene had never stopped hitting on Johnny. However, Johnny had never acknowledged their relationship and made it seem as though they weren’t related at all.
Johnny sneered in return—he wasn’t remorseful the slightest bit.
“Am I supposed to acknowledge our relationship when you’re also in multiple affairs with countless men behind my back? Do you think you’re able to keep me in the dark? To begin with, you were the one who had spiked my drink! You wouldn’t end up this way had you refrained from hitting on that man! Stop making excuses and blaming others!”
“Y-You’re such a heartless man, Johnny! Y-You’re the first I have ever done it with!”
“Oh? Are you sure you’re not trying to deceive me? Why hadn’t you bled during the first session if that was the case?”
“Y-You’re making things up!”
“That’s enough!”
The rest of their friends couldn’t stand it anymore as the conflicting duo engaged in another heated discussion.
It was then the police showed up. He asked, “Is Ms. Marcus here?”
In order to divert their friends’ attention, Jolene rushed over to the police’s side and answered, “I’m here! I was almost murdered!”
She wouldn’t stop exaggerating the things she had gone through and repeated herself as though she was about to die for real.
When the police inquired if anyone could vouch on her behalf, most of them shook their heads and remained silent. However, Johnny burst into laughter and asserted, “Sir, you need to stop wasting your time because our friend over there is trying to accuse the man she fails to get her hands on. She’s just trying to get him back for turning her down.”
“Shut up! Sir, you don’t think I’m going to strangle and bruise myself, do you? Just look at my neck!”
Unfortunately, the police had linked the missing pieces of puzzles together and figured out she was most probably the one at fault.
But since Jolene insisted on pressing charges against Matthew, the police couldn’t just turn a blind eye on her. “Alright! If you insist, we’ll have to confront the man in person. We can’t jump to conclusion without—”
She had a second thought when she recalled the way Matthew had warned her to stay away from him.
After much consideration, she announced with a frown, “Just forget about it! I’ll consider doing him a favor and forgive him for once!”
The police shook his head in silence as Jolene had been wasting his time.
Once they had everything sorted out, the rest of the attendees made something up and bade farewell to Jolene.
Irked, Jolene stomped her way out of the private lounge and shamelessly went after Johnny who had long made his way out.
In spite of Johnny’s scrunched-up face, she insisted with her lips pursed in an aggrieved manner, “I shouldn’t have gotten worked up over such a trivial matter! Can you forgive me? I’ll allow you to have all sorts of fun with me tonight!”
“Get out of my sight at once!”
Grinning, Jolene brought something else up and said, “If I get out of your sight, you won’t get to figure out the things going on with Clarissa! Have I or have I not mentioned Clarissa has departed on her own?”
Johnny asked with his eyes flickering, “What do you mean?”
“Are you sure you’re not aware of the things I have in mind? Anyway, I’m well aware of the things you’re up to! In fact, I’d love to do you a favor!”
Curious, Johnny asked in return, “You want to do me a favor? Aren’t you afraid you’re no longer of much value once I achieve the goal I have in mind?”
“Hahaha! The favor comes at a cost! You just have to compensate me for the favor since you consider me a materialistic woman! In fact, the more the merrier!”
Halfway through her orated speech, Jolene stared at Johnny in the eyes. She asked with a bright grin, “Do we have a deal? Haven’t you been longing to spend a night in bed with your beloved Clarissa?”
