Clarissa spent a month and a half at home since it was one of her late grandmother’s instructions.
As Catherine was afraid that Clarissa might have to undergo cesarean delivery, she insisted on having her granddaughter take a longer break since it was winter.
Clarissa took note of her late grandmother’s instruction and ensured she did nothing but get ample for a month and a half.
A month and a half later, she made her way to W City with her children. She was overwhelmed by the desolate scene the moment she returned to the place she once considered home.
The person she loved the most was nowhere to be seen anymore. However, she had no intention of getting rid of the place.
She thought that would be their home whenever they made their way to W City in the future.
It was part of her plan to bring her children there during their semester break. She wanted them to know how it would feel growing up on the suburbs.
“Shall we take a short break?”
Clarissa nodded and made her way to the room. Jenny had made her way to the place to help them out as soon as she found out they would be there.
“Jenny, I have a request. Actually, I’m pretty reluctant to sell this place because I wish to come here every once in a while. Can you do me a favor and drop by to keep the place clean whenever you’re free? I’ll continue paying you for your service, but you just have to drop by on a monthly basis. What do you think?”
“Clarissa, you don’t have to pay me! I’ll drop by whenever I’m free! It’s not even much of a hassle! I’ll definitely try my best to help you!”
“No! I’m sure you don’t wish to be a burden of your son, do you? Just stop turning me down and accept the offer.”
Clarissa’s reply was spot on since Julia, who couldn’t do much due to her age, was afraid her daughter-in-law might pick on her for being a burden.
As much as Julia was against the idea, she made up her mind to accept the offer since she was aware she needed the income to contribute to the family.
She was glad Clarissa had reached out to her when she needed help the most.
After striking a deal with Jenny, Clarissa took a nap before making their way to Catherine’s grave to pay respect to her.
Standing in front of her grandmother’s grave, she held Leia in her arms tightly since she was afraid that her daughter would catch a cold.
Holding her sleeping daughter in her arms, she shared all sorts of things with her late grandmother.
“Grandma, have you long figured out I’m blessed with a daughter? We have named her Leia since she’s such a slothful little girl! Her father and brother have never once addressed her name! Thankfully, Matthew has finally found out Leia wasn’t such a bad name after checking the bible! In other words, Leia is no longer just a nickname but the official name of our sweetheart.”
Matthew exchanged glances with his son in his arms when he heard his wife picking on him in front of her late grandmother.
She had no intention to stop just yet, but their children couldn’t stand it anymore. Albeit reluctantly, she made her way home with her husband and children.
When they were about to leave, they encountered Gloria, who seemed to have aged over the past few months.
Gloria wasn’t aware Clarissa and her family were there as she continued making her way to Catherine’s grave with a basket of fruits.
Clarissa, who had returned to the car, saw Gloria getting down on her knees in front of Catherine’s grave. When Gloria saw the bouquet of flowers, she turned around and saw the departing car.
……
Matthew and Clarissa threw their daughter a party to celebrate the joyous occasion after sorting out everything. It was an opportunity for Matthew to show others the sort of affection he had for his beloved daughter and family.
Amongst the invited guests were Matthias and Yuliana. They might be Matthew’s family and relatives, but they weren’t much different from the ordinary guests.
After all, they were ashamed to show up in front of Matthew. Nonetheless, they thought they needed to keep in touch with Damian and Leia.
It turned out George and Margaret knew they were the ones at fault as soon as Shermaine’s scandals made it to the headlines.
They thought someone had been messing with Damian’s DNA test result, but they were against the idea of taking the initiative to patch things up with Clarissa.
On the other hand, Matthias and Yuliana thought it wasn’t much of a big deal. In fact, they thought they needed to consider themselves lucky since Matthew hadn’t resorted to severing ties with the family.
Therefore, as soon as they showed up with gifts for the children, they excused themselves after a short while since they were aware their presence wasn’t really appreciated.
With that being said, they shared the photos of the children with their parents the moment they returned to the Tyson residence.
Instead of consoling the upset grandparents, Yuliana remained silent throughout the session.
Shermaine and Gary were sentenced to death a few days after the banquet for Leia was over.
On top of the murder cases, Gary was guilty of another few people’s death. Therefore, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise for someone with such a complicated background to be sentenced to death.
As the mastermind behind several murders, Shermaine was also sentenced to death. However, an attorney showed up out of nowhere and turned the tables.
Nevertheless, Shermaine would have to spend the rest of her life behind bars.
The netizens were against the sentence for Shermaine and thought the only way for her to atone for her sins was death.
There wasn’t much the netizens could do to defy the judgment of the panel and judges. Hence, Shermaine was destined to spend the rest of her life behind bars.
A few days after she was thrown behind bars, Shermaine’s first guest showed up.
Clarissa had put on a pink coat and a white shirt and a pair of jeans. The fact she had just given birth didn’t affect her sexy figure at all.
She had dolled herself with makeup, highlighting her facial features and flawless skin—she didn’t seem to be someone who would show up at a jail in the middle of nowhere.
As compared to the dejected Shermaine, Clarissa seemed to be the superior one.
Instead of greeting Shermaine, Clarissa asked in a callous tone, “It has been quite a while, huh?”
Shermaine got increasingly infuriated once she heard Clarissa, but she knew she had to keep her emotions to herself.
Thus, she ended up glaring at the woman in front of her.
To her surprise, Clarissa couldn’t care less about her response and announced the reason she was there, “I’m merely here to tell you a few things.”
Chuckling with her chest held high, Shermaine asked, “What is it? Are you sure you’re not here to make fun of me?”
Shermaine got full of herself when she thought of the secret that could easily shatter Clarissa’s blissful life.
However, she had no intention to share the secret with Clarissa just yet. She thought it would be better to share it with Clarissa after a few years to make the most out of Clarissa’s misery.
It was then Clarissa chuckled and asked, “I’m sure you’re proud of what you have done, aren’t you? Well, we shall see if you’re still able to carry yourself in a similar manner once you figure out the surprise I have in store for you.”
After a few seconds of pause, she muttered to herself, “What should I share with you? Shall we talk about the company of the Smallwoods? I sold it off the moment I acquired ownership over it!”
“Y-You!”
Startled by the news, Shermaine couldn’t suppress her wrath anymore.
Unfortunately, Clarissa had no intention to stop just yet. She interrupted the wrathful woman and announced, “Do you know who’s the one doing you a favor to keep you safe? I have gotten Matthew to send someone to defend you, but you don’t have to thank me since I need you to stay alive!”
As Shermaine gaped at the news, Clarissa added, “After all, I need to keep you alive to torture you for the rest of your life. I want you to spend the rest of your life in isolation, recalling your futile efforts and failures over the years until the very day you pass on.”
Shermaine started shrieking hysterically as Clarissa went on. “You don’t think you get to leave the jail as long as you behave yourself, do you? Just forget about it because I’ll stop you from leaving at all costs as long as I’m alive!”
“Clarissa, I’m going to kill you! I’m going to-”
The wardens rushed over to stop Shermaine from going berserk. Instead of showing her the way back to her cell, they rendered her incapable of motion and allowed Clarissa to finish her speech.
“Stop getting worked up when I’m not even done yet! Aren’t you getting full of yourself because you think you have swapped my daughter with someone else’s child? Well, I’m afraid I’m going to let you down again because I have sent the innocent child back to their parents! I guess that’s all I have for you, Shermaine! It’s time for you to enjoy the rest of your life behind bars!”
Clarissa brought herself up and wrapped up the speech with a bright grin, indicating it was over.
Meanwhile, Shermaine had long lost her mind. Glaring at the departing woman, she knew she was completely defeated.
As she went berserk in front of the wardens, she was knocked unconscious and brought back to her cell.
Matthew, who had been waiting outside of the jail, rushed over to his wife’s side the moment he saw her. He held her in his arms and kissed her on the chin, asking in a gentle tone, “Shall we go home?”
“Sure! I wonder if Leia is currently awake and missing me because I’m missing her even though we’re merely away from one another for just a short while!”
Matthew responded with a smile and said, “Damian is afraid you’re going to make your way home soon because he doesn’t get to spend enough time with his beloved sister.
The lovely duo talked about all sorts of things on their way home.
