Roxanne could only succumb to Ryler’s obvious threat.
She immediately shook her head vigorously and said, “Mr. Harrison, I don’t like you. Don’t pursue me.”
As a matter of fact, even if Ryler didn’t threaten her, she wouldn’t accept Luke’s pursuit.
But now, in the eyes of others, her behavior seemed to imply that she had a relationship with Ryler, but she didn’t realize it.
However, when Roxanne rejected Luke, a faint smile flashed across Ryler’s face.
He grinned at Luke and said, “Mr. Harrison. As Roxanne said, you-”
“It’s okay. Roxanne doesn’t know me yet. We will get to know more about each other in the future. Roxanne, although I used to be a playboy, I have a feeling that I will love you wholeheartedly when we are a couple.” After saying that, Luke didn’t press on any further.
But Ryler’s expression turned grim again. He was worried about Roxanne.
He turned toward Roxanne, but Roxanne pulled herself back out of fright. She didn’t dare to look at Ryler. However, her action seemed to have made her look guilty in the eyes of others.
An ominous aura flashed across Ryler’s eyes.
However, it was best not to cause any disputes at such a moment. Ryler didn’t come over to help Roxanne. In fact, he wasn’t even sure why he felt jumpy because of Roxanne.
After Ryler turned around and left, Roxanne let out a long sigh and quickly went to look for Damian to calm herself.
Everyone present who witnessed the moment saw the chemistry between Ryler and Roxanne very well. After all, the eyes of bystanders were always clearer.
The commotion amused Clarissa. She grabbed onto Matthew’s finger and whispered, “Are you men really that cheap? Not knowing the importance of a woman until she is being pursued by someone else?”
Matthew’s eyes turned cold. “Not me. I knew how important you were to me right from the beginning.”
“Is that so? Then, who was it that didn’t make up with me for so long after an argument?” Clarissa pouted.
“You were the one giving me the silent treatment,” Matthew sneered.
Clarissa remained silent for a moment before rubbing her forehead. “Oh, I don’t remember doing that. I seem to have a bad memory.” Clarissa used her pregnancy as an excuse to play dumb.
Matthew smiled in a doting manner as he watched her walk away while playing dumb.
The celebration did not last long because Clarissa was prone to experience fatigue due to her pregnancy.
Clarissa went to bed early as a pregnant woman. Everyone was considerate and left after hanging out for some time.
However, they gathered outside for another session.
They also invited a few people from the media to share their achievements, which was also Yael’s idea of annoying Shermaine.
Shermaine deliberately shot a lousy film to irritate them, so they should be allowed to celebrate their achievements to get back at her.
When the press release was published, Shermaine was the first to see it. However, like Clarissa, she learned to remain silent and did nothing.
Both parties were temporarily quiet for a while, each minding their business, and nothing happened to either one of them.
Clarissa was content with the achievements and settled down to prepare for labor.
After enduring the scorching summer and the cool autumn, Clarissa’s belly had grown bigger. Just as winter was about to come, the family came together to face the final hurdle of childbirth.
Clarissa’s due date was approaching quickly. Matthew took off from work since Clarissa became pregnant, and he returned to work in the middle few months when Clarissa’s pregnancy became stable. But when she was about to give birth, Matthew took leave from work gain.
Back when Damian was born, Matthew wasn’t always by her side. Therefore, he never actually see Clarissa’s struggle during her pregnancy.
Having personally accompanied her, he truly understood how hard it was for Clarissa to bear a baby. Thus, he decided not to have another baby anymore whether the newborn baby was a son or a daughter.
He truly didn’t want any more children and went for a vasectomy several months ago.
At that time, Clarissa disagreed, but Matthew secretly went for the surgery, and Clarissa wasn’t sure if she should feel angry or touched by his actions.
Now that he has sterilized himself, Clarissa made peace with the outcome and was satisfied with having two children.
In the past few days, she was admitted to a pre-arranged hospital and tended to around the clock, and Matthew stayed with her and made sure she never left his sight.
Clarissa felt helpless due to his restlessness. She had to console her husband even when she was preparing for childbirth.
“Matthew, you don’t have to be so nervous. The doctor says that my body and the baby are in good condition. I have given birth to a child before, so there will be no complications this time. Relax. Your anxiousness is making me and the baby feel nervous. Can’t you learn from Damian? He’s just calmly waiting for his sister to be born. He even prepared gifts for his newborn sister.”
“I’m not nervous.” Matthew smiled apathetically.
“Hmph! I don’t believe that.”
“By the way, when I give birth, you are not allowed to enter the delivery room, do you understand? I won’t allow it.”
Clarissa had emphasized this too many times. Matthew tried to reason with her and wanted to accompany her to the delivery room.
However, after Clarissa refused him several times, Matthew changed his mind and promised that he wouldn’t go in with her.
But Clarissa was afraid that Matthew would go in nonetheless. She didn’t want Matthew to witness her hysterical side as she worried she might traumatize him.
Matthew nodded obediently to coax her.
“Okay. I won’t go in.”
Clarissa wondered why Matthew sounded indifferent.
She glared at Matthew sideways and snorted, “If you go in, I won’t give birth to the baby.”
“No. I won’t…”
He held her hands and went for a walk together in the garden at the hospital.
In his heart, Matthew recalled what the doctor told him about the process of giving birth, as well as the documentaries he watched about giving birth. He knew that he wouldn’t be traumatized, but the thought of his wife giving birth the same way tore him apart as though he was the one giving birth to a baby.
Being a mother is not easy. It is a noble role of humanity.
Catherine was left at home alone when Clarissa’s due date was nearing.
She wanted to meet her granddaughter, but Clarissa refused. Catherine was too old and had limited mobility. Clarissa was afraid that she would be nervous, so she had her stay at home alone.
However, Catherine was not nervous at all. In fact, her granddaughter was treated like a queen. The doctors would check on her every day, and it was also her second child. Thus, Catherine didn’t insist on following her to the hospital.
But that was when Clarissa made her worst mistake.
“Mrs. Quigley, Mrs. Tyson called this morning when you weren’t awake. She told me to report to you that she wasn’t expected to give birth today.”
Jenny told Catherine about Clarissa’s condition while she helped her to her breakfast.
Catherine chuckled. “That girl. There’s no need to report to me every day. I’m not as nervous as Matthew. He isn’t experienced in this matter after all. But most people sure are spoiled nowadays. We didn’t have this kind of treatment when we were giving birth back in the days!”
“That’s because Mrs. Tyson’s husband loves her very much.”
“Yeah. That was unexpected of Matthew. He has been so kind to Clary. As her grandmother, I must thank him.”
“If you were to thank him, he wouldn’t be able to accept it.”
The two of them had a friendly chat over breakfast.
Jenny watched as Catherine sat quietly in the living room. When the sun came out, Jenny went to work on her chores.
At this moment, Catherine’s phone rang. She fumbled to put on her reading glasses and swiped on her phone.
Her fingers weren’t very agile. After putting the phone to her ear, she greeted hello a few times.
Usually, her old friends were the only ones who would call her or video conference with her. However, she heard the voice of a young girl from the other side of the phone.
“Mrs. Quigley, my name is Shermaine. You might have or haven’t heard about me before, but that’s not important. I have something particularly important to tell you.”
After Jenny cleaned the room upstairs, she went downstairs. That was when she heard…
“Aaaahh! Someone-”
Catherine was lying on the floor. She wasn’t sure if she had passed out, but her face was pale, and her body was motionless.
In her room, Clarissa repeated muttered, “You must absolutely not go in. If you go in, I won’t give birth to the baby. Also, I’m being serious, Matthew. Stop responding to me so indifferently!”
Matthew smiled helplessly. He stood up and strolled with Clarissa while supporting her waist with his hands.
“Clare, I promised you. Why won’t you believe me?”
“Because I am afraid that you might go in on your own. I don’t want you to see how ugly I look-”
“Ugly? How could you be ugly? You will always be beautiful-”
“How can I believe you when you say it like that?”
“Haha… Let me put it another way. You worked so hard to give birth to our baby. How could I despise you? If I really do despise you, that means I have a problem as a human being. Do you think I am that kind of person?”
“I know you won’t despise me, but I can’t do this. If you don’t want to upset me, then you must not go in with me.”
“Okay. I swear. I won’t go in. I’ll wait for you outside, okay?”
Clarissa nodded in delight. “That’s more like it.”
Then, she meticulously stroked her belly and said, “This second child is really taking its time. I’m worried that it might be a lazy baby. Think about it, when I was pregnant, I was sluggish all the time. That was when I suspected that it might be a lazy baby. Now that it’s already past the due date, I honestly think it’s a lazy one. Look, it turns around leisurely, and she won’t even kick me more than once.”
