Clarissa got back to her room and changed into a fresh set of clothes, regaining her composure as she tried to banish the image from her mind.
Meanwhile, Ellie dragged the prankster along.
“Apologize, Damon! Are you afraid of admitting what you’ve done?”
Damon looked awkward and was about to flip out from being pushed around by Ellie. However, at the sight of Clarissa, he held his anger in.
The twitch of his lips seemed odd juxtaposed against his handsome face. Embarrassed, his ears flushed beet red.
“Um… I’m really sorry! I had no idea that you don’t know how to swim…”
“It’s alright. It’s just a misunderstanding,” Clarissa tried to lighten the mood.
Damon’s ears went vermillion at the sight of her smile.
Ellie seemed to have caught onto something and nudged Damon. “Hey man, what are you doing, acting all coy in front of Clarissa, you-”
“Shut up, Ellie,” Damon interrupted Ellie before the latter could finish her sentence. He shot a glance at the breathtaking Clarissa and darted his eyes immediately before turning to shoot a warning glare in Ellie’s direction.
The latter was grinning from ear to ear. Damon looked at Clarissa, trying to sound serious, “Why don’t you give me your number so that I could ask you out for a meal sometime, you know, as my way to apologize to you.”
“It’s alright.”
“Sure!” Ellie had betrayed her friend right then as she blurted Clarissa’s number out loud. She was all smiles as she said, “Damon, Clare is my bestie. You can treat her to a meal but do not ever bully her again or you’re good as dead.”
“Right. You know I’ll never do that.”
Then, Damon turned to Clarissa again, “You’d better get some rest. I’ll call you.”
When it was time for dinner, Damon was hanging around Ellie and Clarissa. Jeremy observed them intently from afar, his lips twitching as he cast a glance at Matthew who had been on the phone for quite some time.
Jeremy gestured discreetly in the trio’s direction. Matthew traced his gaze and narrowed his deep-set gaze at the sight.
Jeremy was inexplicably pleased with Matthew’s reaction.
Damon seemed to have cracked a joke that set Clarissa off chuckling. It was a crisp, hearty chuckle, almost as pleasing to the ears as tinkling bells. Matthew tapped absentmindedly on his lap at the sight before him.
After noticing that he had hung up the phone, Jeremy approached him and asked in a low voice, “Matt, that girl sure gets a lot of attention. Did you really…”
Matthew remained impassive as he shot another glance toward the trio, his thoughts running wild.
Jeremy smirked and said nothing further. Deliberately, he said aloud, “Ellie, Damon, why don’t you guys come over here? I’m getting all lonely here.”
Ellie rolled her eyes at his remark. Clarissa stole a glance in the men’s direction and retracted her gaze right away.
Damon whispered, “Clare, are you afraid of Uncle Matthew too? To be honest, I’m not too fond of him either. I think somehow he’s the type to make people anxious. But don’t worry, I’m right here with you.”
Their huddled conversation in a rather intimate fashion did not go unnoticed. A sharp glint fleeted across Matthew’s eyes.
The trio approached Matthew and Jeremy. Damon obviously tried to let Clarissa sit beside him. However, Jeremy deliberately separated the two and pushed Clarissa toward Matthew’s side.
“Mr. Jeremy, this is my friend, Clarissa. Clarissa, Mr. Jeremy.”
Ellie thought the two did not know each other and introduced them.
“I’m like a brother to Ellie, Ms. Quigley.”
Clarissa smiled awkwardly and said, “Mr. Jeremy.”
Jeremy continued to tease her, “Why the formality? Well well… I think it’s quite interesting when someone addresses you like an elder. Am I right, Matt?”
It was a private joke between him and Matthew.
Ellie did not notice the undertones in Jeremy’s words and said, “You’re my uncle’s friend. Drop the act. You’re only fooling those gullible young girls out there. Nobody here will be tricked by you.”
“What act? I’m the nation heartthrob, alright?”
“You don’t stand a single chance against Uncle Matt.”
Jeremy did not try to refute her. He chuckled as he cast a glance at Matthew, his lips curving into a devilish smile.
“I will gladly let him take the limelight if it were Matt. I think young and matured women alike would like to marry Matt. Right, Ms. Quigley?”
“Huh?”
Clarissa was stumped when she was called out and mindlessly nodded along.
“Haha… So can I say that Ms. Quigley is keen to marry Matt too?”
A pin-drop silence ensued.
Everyone was bemused. Clarissa was the first to respond. Her face was already crimson red when she shook her head repeatedly.
“No, no. Quit joking, Mr. Jeremy. He’s an elder figure…”
“Mr. Jeremy, that’s not funny. You’ve crossed the line,” Ellie scowled at him.
Jeremy threw Matthew a look.
The latter shot him a stone-cold look to warn him off. Jeremy shrugged as he snickered.
“Okay, I’ll stop with the jokes. Please don’t mind me, Ms. Quigley. Surely, you have a lot of men pursuing you since you’re so gorgeous.”
“No…”
Ellie was irked by Jeremy’s attempt to corner her friend and berated, “Mr. Jeremy! What do you mean? Why do you keep ogling at Clare? She’s like my sister. You should mind your manners since you’re the senior here!”
Jeremy was initially stumped, then broke into a roar of laughter as if he had just heard her crack a joke, “Hahaha! Matt, listen to her! We are the seniors…”
