Clarissa’s heart raced upon getting into the car. It was as if she had done something unspeakable.
“What if someone sees us?” She couldn’t help but complain while making herself comfortable.
Matthew raised his eyebrows as he turned around and stared at the surreptitious girl. He let out a sigh.
“Why would I be scared about that?”
“Well, I’m worried that someone might see us. Alright?”
Matthew’s lips curled. “Why would a beautiful girl like you afraid of being seen by others?”
Upon receiving such a compliment, she blushed and fell silent.
Damn this man, he knew full well why I’m acting like this.
Matthew stared at Clarissa’s reddened face in fascination for quite some time without looking away, making her blushed even more.
Clarissa couldn’t help but turn away from his intense soul-piercing gaze and looked out the window.
Fortunately, Matthew’s phone rang and diverted his attention instantly.
“Yes?”
Matthew’s voice was deep and husky.
“I’m not free… Go home for dinner, no I can’t… Woman is mine.”
It sounded rather noisy on the other end of the line. Soon after, Matthew hung up the phone.
Clarissa blushed upon hearing him utter ‘Woman is mine.’
Was he talking about me? She couldn’t stop her face from reddening even more.
“Do you want to go and have some fun?”
She could feel his warm breath at the back of her neck and she shrank away. The moment she turned her head around, her lips gently brushed against his.
In a moment of shock, she leaned backward. However, Matthew reacted faster than her, he grabbed the back of her head and kept her in place until their lips and noses were almost touching.
Clarissa blushed as she stiffened. “You… Let go of me…”
Her lips brushed against Matthew’s while uttering that. She could feel herself burning from within.
Matthew chuckled softly and his deep voice filled the air between their lips.
“Answer my question, do you want to go and have fun?”
He leaned forward deliberately while asking that as if he was going in for a kiss. It was becoming more and more enticing for him.
“No!” Clarissa exclaimed instantly.
“Alright, we shall not go then!”
With Matthew being so close, Clarissa couldn’t help but shut her eyes. She didn’t dare to look anymore as she uttered her prayer inwardly in an attempt to calm herself down.
Seeing that, Matthew chuckled. In the end, he gave her a light peck and let go of her.
Just when Clarissa was about to take a deep breath after being released, he leaned in once again and pressed his lips against hers. Being utterly shocked, both of her eyes were opened so wide it looked as if they were about to pop out of her eye sockets. After a while, Matthew let go of her and burst out laughing.
Clarissa frowned while complaining, “Matthew, can you not be so childish?”
She didn’t expect Matthew to act in such a way.
Matthew stopped laughing. With his fingers propping up the corner of his forehead and his lips curled up, he stared at the infuriated Clarissa and replied, “Sure. I guess you prefer the composed me after all, right Clare?”
“Who likes the composed you, huh?”
“You don’t like it? So you prefer the childish version then?”
“I… I don’t like either!”
She retorted loudly and Matthew fell silent.
Just when Clarissa thought that Matthew was angry at her, he suddenly uttered, “You never say what you truly feel, huh?”
Clarissa was rather speechless because she knew he was on point about that. In response, she simply remained silent.
Feeling embarrassed, she turned her head to avoid looking at Matthew. His gaze was too passionate and it was burning with desire.
A smile flashed across his face as this was even more interesting than what he had imagined.
He failed previously because he had rushed in too quickly and it was too hasty of him.
But now, it seemed that slow and steady was the right strategy, and having an unspoken bond like this would add joy to his everyday life.
Not to mention, it would be more satisfying and rewarding at the end of the day.
Upon getting out of the car, Clarissa ran into the kitchen where Mrs. Lawson had prepared the ingredients for her to cook as usual.
Matthew went upstairs for a shower and after spending some time in the study, the dinner was finally ready.
The moment he sat down and was ready for his meal, someone arrived at the door unexpectedly.
Mrs. Lawson spoke into the videophone by the door and turned around to announce, “Sir, Mr. Smallwood and Mr. Payne have arrived.”
Matthew frowned. “I don’t want to meet them.”
After Mrs. Lawson relayed the message, Matthew’s cell phone suddenly rang.
Jeremy and Yarick were waiting outside. They were thinking of getting a free meal and taking the opportunity to find out who the woman was.
They thought that it could be Clarissa.
Knowing that Matthew would refuse to see him, Jeremy didn’t give up and called him again.
“Matt, don’t hang up. Let us in and join you for dinner, won’t you? Ah, don’t hang up. If you don’t let us in, I’ll go find your parents and tell them you’re hiding a woman! Wait! Don’t hang up, I won’t tell, alright? But please, we’re famished here, so just let us in, Matt!”
Yarick was sitting in the car with his legs crossed. He felt all kinds of disdain upon seeing Jeremy using threats and playing dumb just to get a free meal.
After Jeremy hung up the phone, Yarick couldn’t help but mock him.
“Jeremy, do you really have to go that far? It’s really embarrassing to see you like that.”
“So what, fatty? What do you know?”
Soon, Zen Highlands’ door finally opened and Jeremy drove the car inside. At the same time, he uttered, “Do you really think it’s just for the free meal? Let me tell you, the main reason I’m doing this is because of the woman who’s cooking. A woman, do you understand? Fatty, can’t you grow some brains instead of getting fatter?”
“Woman? What woman?”
“Hmph, don’t blame me and say that I never warn you! When we head inside later, do try to use your intelligence to filter what you should and shouldn’t say, do you understand? If you make Matt unhappy, you’d be doomed!”
Yarick shrugged. “Haha… So what if there’s a woman? Isn’t it just Shermaine? I’m aware of that too.”
Jeremy stared at Yarick as if he was looking at an idiot while the latter glared back at him defiantly.
“What are you looking at? Have you never seen a handsome man before?”
“I’ve never seen someone as dumb as you! You weren’t as stupid as this when you were young. Did your brain got waterlogged or something?”
“Jeremy, what did you say?”
Yarick was so infuriated that he wanted to hit him. Both of them started arguing in the car.
Just like that, the car rattled while driving in. It was fortunate that they didn’t crash into a tree or fall into a lake and they managed to arrive at the house safely.
After the car stopped, Jeremy kicked Yarick out of the car and gave him the middle finger. Then, he went into the house.
Even though Yarick wasn’t as agile, he managed to catch up from behind.
Upon stepping into the house, both of them made a beeline for the dining room.
“Matt!”
“Whoa, Matt! Mrs. Lawson has really good cooking skills! The food’s delicious! It’s almost as good as the food in Skylight Restaurant!”
Yarick wasn’t shy at all. The moment he sat down, he grabbed a spoon and started shoveling food into his mouth. He wasn’t aware that Matthew’s face had darkened.
Jeremy couldn’t help but mourn for the gluttonous Yarick who was still munching away ignorantly.
This fatty, didn’t he notice that someone else was using the bowl and spoon?
Jeremy moved away from him instantaneously.
“What’s wrong?”
All of a sudden, Yarick felt a cold breeze washed over him.
Before Matthew was able to respond, Clarissa walked out with another freshly made dish and she flinched the moment she saw Yarick sitting in her seat.
Yarick looked over and said, “Hot D*mn! It’s a woman!”
“Oh my God! Clarissa, why are you here? Shouldn’t it be Shermaine?”
At that moment, Jeremy was certain that Yarick was dumb indeed.
“Yarick!”
Matthew uttered coldly, “Get out!”
Cough! Cough!
Jeremy cleared his throat in an attempt to prevent the situation from becoming more awkward. “Ah, Mrs. Tyson, you’ve worked hard, hard work indeed, uh-hum…”
Upon hearing Shermaine’s name, Clarissa could feel a pang in her heart. However, after Jeremy had politely addressed her, she blushed right on the spot.
“Please don’t call me that, Mr. Smallwood. I’m just here to cook for Mr. Tyson.”
After saying that with a reddened face, Clarissa turned around and went back into the kitchen after placing the dish down.
The situation had become more awkward because Clarissa had plainly addressed Matthew as ‘Mr. Tyson.’
Darn it, that fatty just couldn’t think twice before opening his mouth. He wouldn’t have brought Yarick along if he knew that was going to happen.
Jeremy glared daggers at Yarick who finally realized what was going on. Fearfully, he turned around and looked at Matthew’s darkened face. “M-Matt, I-I…”
Matthew suddenly got up and Yarick shrank back in fear, but the former simply walked pass them and went into the kitchen.
Jeremy made a throat-slitting gesture toward Yarick before he picked up some new cutlery and started eating in a calm manner.
Gee, the food really tastes good. Matt is really lucky, Jeremy thought to himself.
In the kitchen, while Clarissa was cooking with her back facing him, Mrs. Lawson sensed that it was the right time to leave the two of them alone.
Matthew approached her and stroked Clarissa’s hair softly. Then he asked smilingly, “What’s with the Mr. Tyson, Hmm?”
Clarissa smacked his hand away without lifting her head and remained silent.
“Hehe… Someone is jealous!”
He said that with confidence.
Clarissa replied coldly, “I’ve added some lemon into my dish. If you don’t like it, I’ll leave it out.”
She gave him a sideways glance while focusing on her cooking.
Sheesh!
It seems like this conversation isn’t going anywhere.
Suddenly, Matthew hugged her from behind, sticking close to her.
“Ah! You, stay away from me.” She yelped before remembering that Jeremy and the rest were outside, Clarissa instantly lowered her voice.
Matthew, however, continued hugging her tightly with his lips pressed against her ear. “Pay attention to the food, it’s getting burnt.”
Clarissa turned off the heat immediately and transferred the food onto a plate. Just as she was done with that, Matthew pulled her with force and held her against the countertop.
Both his hands were propped up against the wall behind her. Clarissa had no choice but to look up and face the domineering man.
