Matthew smiled adoringly at the sight and made his way over to the woman’s side. He leaned forward and met her eyes.
However, Clarissa swatted him away and continued to stare out into the space. One would be curious as to what was on her mind.
Matthew let out a chuckle.
He pinched her little ears and asked, “Penny for your thoughts?”
Clarissa did not answer the man, or at least she seemed disinterested to answer him.
Helpless, Matthew could only bent forward and carry the woman in his embrace and sat back down himself, placing her on his own lap. He pinched her chin and edged close to kiss her on the lips.
“Clare, are you unhappy? Are you feeling alright?”
Clarissa shook her head and blinked her eyes blankly. Her voice sounded weak.
“Just lazy.”
Matthew was rendered speechless before he smiled. “Are you feeling bored? What about we go on a trip tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
They had agreed to have a getaway trip some time ago but somehow did not get around to it.
All this while, Clarissa had assumed that Matthew just did not have the time. They would be garnering unwanted attention if they had chosen to go on a getaway trip right then.
However, it would be impractical to wait until the case was solved.
“Yes, tomorrow.”
Seeing as the woman had been cooped up in the house for some time, Matthew thought it must have taken a toll on her.
However, he found her demeanor irresistibly adorable.
He lowered his head and planted a deep, long kiss on Clarissa’s lips.
After their lips parted, Clarissa asked again, “Are we really going tomorrow?”
“Yes, so where do you want to go? We can decide right now.”
Clarissa got down from his lap and checked her phone. After fumbling with it for quite some time, she gave Matthew an address.
“Erihal?”
“Sure, I’ve never been there.”
Matthew reached out his hand and touched the tip of the woman’s nose affectionately.
“Sure.”
Their passports were ready, and as for the other items needed, Matthew had a knack for getting everything ready done in a jiffy.
Clarissa and Damian were especially excited about the getaway. The little guy had been looking forward to a trip with his parents.
The two of them packed a lot of stuff into their suitcases as they ruminated over what else to add on. Matthew merely watched them in a corner with a serene smile on his face.
Matthew was a man of his words. Under some disguise, the little family departed for the airport and boarded the plane that was headed for their destination.
Clarissa had only heaved a sigh of relief after boarding the plane. She was thanking her luck that no reporter had managed to tail her. Otherwise, they might have to take a raincheck for the getaway.
Unlike the Jeradus flight which only took two hours, the flight they had boarded was taking a much longer time.
Clarissa and Damian went from getting all excited before they slept and woke up, only to realize that they had not arrived at the destination yet.
Only then did they realize that the flight was a long one.
Clarissa placed Damian down securely before leaning against Matthew’s shoulders and into his embrace.
“This is the first time our family has gone on a vacation together. How rare.”
Matthew could detect a hint of grumble in her tone, to which he replied with a smile, “Didn’t we go to Jeradus as a family too?”
“But you were occupied with work all day. Then on our next trip…”
“Yes, my bad.”
Clarissa grinned. “Yes, exactly. Contrary to the popular belief of young women out there, a president like you does not flirt with girls all day. I’m starting to think that you’ve only gotten married in your thirties not because you’re demanding in your taste in women, but because you’re simply just too busy.”
“Why, thank you for being so observant, Honey.”
Clarissa lifted her chin smugly, “Right? You’re lucky that I’m Ellie’s friend, and that I went to your house. Otherwise, I think you’re going to stay single for so long that even if you do get married when you’re old and cranky, it wouldn’t be for love. Even if you do find love, I bet you’re not going to be able to find someone as interesting as me, and you’re not going to have such an adorable son. Am I right?”
Matthew shook his head. “You got one thing wrong.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Matthew said dryly, “It’s not true love if it’s not you. So, there won’t be talks of marriage and the sort.”
“Hehe.” Clarissa beamed with delight after listening to her husband. She wrapped her hands around his neck and edged close to peck him on his cheek.
“Hubby, you’re getting more and more handsome.”
I’m getting more handsome just because I said something that tickled her fancy?
Matthew did not quite understand her logic, but seeing as she was quite happy about it, he did not protest.
He turned around and was about to say something when he noticed that the woman had already leaned against his shoulders with closed eyes. She’s fallen asleep.
Matthew chuckled softly. She’s gone mute in less than a fraction of a second.
What an enviable skill.
He pulled her blanket up and let her lean against himself close before he cuddled her and closed his eyes to rest.
After the plane had landed, Clarissa made her way over to Matthew’s side. The man was pushing the trolley with their luggage and Damian while she was still trying to snap out of her jetlag.
However, they need not worry about any paparazzi since they were on the other end of the planet. It would be quite impressive if any reporter had somehow managed to get photos of them.
After getting out of the airport, Clarissa noticed the gloomy weather and wondered if she had come to the wrong place.
She was looking to a change in mood, but the weather was not very helpful.
However, Damian seemed unfazed by the untimely weather and snuggled himself in his father’s embrace. He was mesmerized by the people looking vastly different from himself; people with vastly different hair colors and people whose skin colors were dark as chocolate…
Even though he was no stranger to foreigners as his school had quite a number of them, it was still quite refreshing to see a lot of them at one time, all of whom were speaking a language he could not fully grasp. His eyes lit with bright curiosity as he glanced around.
“Daddy, I know what he said! He was saying ‘good afternoon’.”
Matthew smiled and praised his son before carrying him to the car.
“Good job, Damian. I’m sure you will be able to fully understand them once you’ve learned more from your teacher.”
“Okay! I will make sure to pay attention and learn it all at school.”
While the father and son were quite energetic, Clarissa formed a stark comparison with the two.
She had been sitting right by the window after reaching the hotel. The gloomy weather seemed to accentuate the troubles that had been haunting her as she leaned against the window and stared out into the space blankly.
Damian noticed her mother spacing out and whispered into his father’s ears, “Daddy, is Mommy sick? She seems quite odd…”
Matthew chuckled, albeit sharing the same sentiment as his son.
“I think Mommy is too tired from not getting enough sleep.”
“Oh.”
The little guy walked over to Clarissa’s side and held her hand while saying adoringly, “Mommy, are you tired? Do you want to get some sleep on the big bed? Let me accompany you.”
“I’m not tired. I just think that I’ve picked the wrong place. It’s so gloomy out there. I doubt that we’re going to have much fun this way.”
Damian peered outside and said, “Daddy said we have a lot of fun things to do. We could go sightseeing…”
His suggestions did not manage to lift Clarissa’s spirits.
“Mommy, let’s go eat something.”
“Hmm, too lazy.”
“Mommy, Daddy said we’re going boat rowing tomorrow…”
“Mommy is too lazy…”
“Mommy, how about if we go visit Sherlock Holmes’ house?”
“No, I’m too lazy…”
Clarissa was feeling so sluggish that even saying another word felt like a chore to her.
Matthew finally realized that something was not quite right with Clarissa.
He ruminated over her responses throughout the whole night. The next day in the morning, Clarissa was greeted by the sight of her husband and her son sitting on the sofa.
Both of them stood up with a deadpan expression after noticing that she had woken up.
Damian made his way over to his mother’s bedside as he beamed delightfully at Clarissa.
Matthew was more restrained in his manner. He cast a glance over at Clarissa and smiled gently. “Are you awake already? Wash up and have your breakfast. We need to go someplace later.”
Clarissa shook her head. “I don’t feel like heading out.”
“No, Mommy. You have to go out.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m having a sister!”
“Huh?”
Clarissa was baffled and still could not wrap her head around it.
“What sister?”
Damian reached out and caressed her belly expectantly. “My little sister of course. Daddy said my little sister is in your belly.”
It was the last thing that Clarissa expected to come out of Damian’s mouth. Befuddled, she cast a look in Matthew’s direction.
Matthew merely smiled. Oddly, Clarissa could sense that the man was quite nervous despite him looking impassive.
Nevertheless, the man had always been good at concealing his emotions. Well, he still looks like the cool Mr. Tyson.
“Yes, I think it’s very likely.”
Again, Clarissa took quite some time to respond.
She mumbled a response before saying, “Why not confirm it with a pregnancy test first? Why do we have to go to a hospital for that? The fees abroad are not exactly cheap either…”
Sometimes, Clarissa would forget that she had a crazy rich husband.
She’s right. A pregnancy test is faster. Then, Matthew hurriedly headed for the door.
Damian climbed onto the bed and sat by her mother’s side. Propping his chin with his little hands, the little boy asked curiously, “Mommy, how did little sister get inside your belly? It’s so amazing.”
Clarissa was stumped.
The way he’s putting makes it sound really… weird.
Her face twitched awkwardly. After a seemingly long time, she finally came up with an excuse. “Daddy put it in there. I have no idea how he did it too. Let’s wait for Daddy to come home so that he can explain it to you.”
“Oh… Did Daddy secretly put her inside of you? Why didn’t he tell you about it? I don’t think it’s right for him to do that. He should have told you and me…”
Clarissa was at a loss for words.
She hurriedly steered the topic in another direction. “Darling, I’m going to love you all the same even after having baby sister.”
Clarissa knew it was quite common for the first child to feel neglected or unloved after having a younger sibling. Hence, she was trying to mentally prep her son.
However, Damian seemed unfazed and waved his little hands to dismiss his mother. “Mommy, don’t worry. I will love you just as much, and won’t favor only my baby sister when she’s here.”
