Sandra had taken measures to prepare Hannah for Clarissa’s arrival today.
However, she had yet to reveal Clarissa’s true identity to Hannah, so she had made up excuses for inviting her family over, such as out of courtesy and the need to mend fences with the Tysons.
Hannah had met Clarissa once, and Sandra thought the initial meeting went quite well.
The elderly woman let out a deep sigh at the thought of her daughter.
It’s new year’s, and I still haven’t heard a word from her. Is she still holding grudges against me?
“Is something wrong?” Sandra stopped to ask.
“Well… You see, even an outsider visits our family during this festive season. But my own daughter didn’t even bother to give me a call. Do you think she’s still mad at me and Jacque?”
Sandra scoffed. “I bet she is. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Mom, but I think that Kayla is utterly ungrateful for what Jacque has done for her. What right does she have to hold grudges against her brother? If it weren’t for Jacque’s help, Shermaine would have to spend more time in the prison, wouldn’t she?”
Sandra was visibly annoyed at the mention of Kayla.
Such an ungrateful and vindictive family. We lent them a hand in times of crisis, and look at the gratitude we get.
The look on Hannah’s face was not much better. She looked like she had swallowed a hard pill.
“All right, all right. I’ll zip my mouth now. But just so you know, there’s already bad blood between us, and don’t expect me to be friendly to her. Also, when Clarissa comes over, make sure you don’t bring up this thorny subject, okay?”
“Of course. I’m not that old and confused.”
Not long after that, Clarissa arrived with Matthew and Damian. The Wynters finally met Damian for the first time.
Damian was a friendly child, and his smile was rather infectious, which served as the perfect social lubricant in an otherwise awkward gathering between the adults.
Hannah was especially delighted by the presence of Damian, who had managed to lift her mood from the earlier gloom.
In another corner, Sandra was chattering away with Clarissa. As though on cue, they had both avoided the topic of Kayla and maintained an air of politeness between them.
Soon after that, Damon arrived with his parents, and everyone had an enjoyable time during dinner. Seeing families and friends gathered in one place during the festive season made Matthew feel peaceful on the inside.
“So Clarissa, do you guys have any plan for a second child?”
Clarissa let out a slight smile at Sandra’s unexpected question. “Well, we’ve decided to just go with the flow for the moment.”
“That’s great! It’ll be perfect if you can have a daughter to balance it out.”
“It’s indeed perfect to have a boy and a girl. I’ve always liked having a daughter…” Hannah’s voice trailed off as she was reminded of her own daughter.
Clarissa pretended she did not see the changing of expression on the elderly woman’s face and was ready to take her leave.
The Wynters tried to persuade them to stay, but Clarissa insisted it was time to go back to Zen Highlands.
As Clarissa, Damian, and Matthew bade goodbye with the Wynters at the door, they found themselves face to face with another family walking toward them—it was Shermaine and her parents.
Both Clarissa and Shermaine’s expressions hardened as they locked eyes.
Without uttering a word, Clarissa gestured at Matthew to leave.
Kayla, on the other hand, was clearly stirred up by the sight of Clarissa and her family at the doorstep. She was about to give them a piece of her mind when she was stopped by a very calm Shermaine.
Shermaine darted a quick glance at Matthew, who was carrying Damian in his arms, and said to her mother in a low voice, “Mom, let’s just go inside.”
Kayla’s eyes welled up. She was thankful that her daughter was once again by her side; hence she had been on her best behavior all day.
The other Wynters, however, were not prepared to deal with this family. As such, Damon and his parents were quick to take their leave, too.
“Uncle Jacque, Aunt Sandra, Grandma, happy new year,” greeted Shermaine.
Compared to the heavy makeup and detestable attitude in the past, it was as though Shermaine had undergone a major transformation. She now appeared to be even-tempered, and there was even remorse in her eyes as she spoke.
Kayla started to voice her displeasure, “Mom, how could you—”
“Mom, they’re Uncle Jacque’s guests. It’s us who have interrupted,” Shermaine cut her mother off mid-sentence before the former could finish her complaint.
James went along with his daughter and said, “We’re sorry for the unannounced visit, Hannah. But, you see, Shermaine just got out this morning, and we took her to lunch afterward. Please forgive us for not visiting sooner during this festive season. We’ve come here to apologize and to spend some time with you, if you’ll allow us.”
Considering his attitude had softened, Sandra could not bring herself to refuse their entry.
“Well, now that Shermaine has been released, both of you can stop blaming everyone else for her misfortune.”
Sandra studied Shermaine’s expression carefully to search for any sign to indicate her knowledge of the fact that her life had essentially swapped places with Clarissa.
It doesn’t look like she has any clue at all.
“Aunt Sandra, is something wrong?” Shermaine asked.
Sandra replied with a smile, “Oh, I just thought that you’ve changed a lot from a few years ago. We’ve actually become quite close with Clarissa recently, mostly because she resembles Mom when she was young. It’s quite uncanny how much they look like each other. Say, you’ve known Clarissa the earliest, didn’t you notice before?”
“No, I was too consumed by my hatred toward her to notice if she and Grandma shared any resemblance. Now that I think about it, I didn’t know any better then and had hurt many people in the name of pursuing love,” Shermaine intoned thoughtfully.
Is she really feeling remorseful for all the horrible things she had done in the past?
Sandra continued to observe her closely.
“You’re really a different person now, Shermaine. It’s still not too late for you to learn from your mistakes…” uttered Jacque.
“That’s good, Shermaine. I’m happy to hear that you’ve learned your lesson and are ready to move on. After all, you’re still my dear granddaughter.” Even though Hannah was not thrilled to see her daughter, she could not bring herself to reprimand her granddaughter anymore.
Besides, it was New Year’s, and Shermaine had just been released, so Hannah was reluctant to dampen everyone’s mood during this time.
Thus, Sandra, too, decided to keep the peace and welcomed them into the house.
Meanwhile, Clarissa chose not to bring up the topic of Shermaine on their drive back home.
She even felt repulsed at the thought of uttering Shermaine’s name.
Damian was already fast asleep by the time the family was back to Zen Highlands. Matthew carried him upstairs and tucked him into bed before the couple finally returned to their bedroom.
Sitting on her bed, Clarissa was overcome by a wave of exhaustion.
Socializing proved to be way more tiring than constructing the story plots in novels. I’ll much prefer dealing with the fictional world in the novels to dealing with reality, which can be completely illogical. Bumping into Shermaine today was one good example.
Never had she thought that she would one day come face to face with Shermaine.
“Is something on your mind?” Matthew sat down next to Clarissa and wrapped his arm around her. “Are you still thinking about the Smallwoods?”
Clarissa kept silent.
Right then, a cold glint flashed across the man’s eyes. “If you want to, I can find out why Shermaine was released before she finished serving her jail time.”
“There’s no need to since they can’t lock her up forever anyway. I don’t want you to waste more time on her.”
“I’m not doing it for her.”
“I know. She had already been punished for her crimes. I’m sure she’ll think twice about trying to pull something again. Besides, for a woman who had served time in the prison, her future prospect is already doomed.”
Having said that, it was not as though she had forgiven what Shermaine had done to her. Rather, Clarissa chose to anchor her life around the things that really mattered to her, instead of being held a prisoner of her past.
I have to start looking forward in life rather than backward.
Her mind then drifted back to the DNA test incident where other people had tried to meddle in her own family and the fact that she had not completely forgiven Matthew on that matter.
At that thought, Clarissa pushed him away and sprung to her feet.
Crossing her arms, the woman stared down at Matthew with her piercing eyes, “Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about what I’d said to you before. So, tell me, the stuff that I’ve asked you to reflect on, have you thought about it?”
What stuff?
The man appeared befuddled for a few moments before it finally dawned on him what Clarissa was referring to. “Yes, of course. I’ve given it a lot of thought,” he replied with a sheepish grin.
