“Clarissa, here you are, come on in!”
At first, the women greeted her. After a while, the men followed in excitement when they recovered from their initial amazement, especially the unmarried male classmates—they were the most excited out of them all.
Some were pulling out chairs, inviting her to sit. Finally, Clarissa chose to sit next to Tianna, whose husband was there too. He looked like a decent man.
There was a reason why Clarissa had not contacted her classmates for so many years. It was not because she was cold or unfriendly.
Because of her beauty and intelligence, Clarissa was rejected and tormented by female classmates while male classmates harassed her and looked at her in a different way. She could never forget this kind of bullying.
However, every year, she would still visit the teachers who cared about her. These teachers did not publicize her visits.
Just as before, Clarissa was not overly enthusiastic about meeting these eager classmates, some of whom still thought of her as a curiosity.
Today was just an interlude.
“Oh dear, beautiful Ms. Quigley, you are still so attractive! Take a look around this room. All the men are bewitched by you. I am sure your husband would be worried about letting you out of his sight.”
Just look! They may be half-joking, but that doesn’t hide the evil intent in their hearts.
“You shouldn’t say that. Our Beauty is the type who puts family and husband first.”
It was Tianna who spoke fairly. Besides, the men did not like hearing those spiteful remarks, so they changed the subject.
“Clarissa, when did you get married? Why weren’t we informed… I heard that your son is already two years old. Why isn’t your husband here with you?”
“That’s right. A beautiful girl such as you definitely married well, didn’t you?”
“Where does your husband work? Perhaps we know him… After all, for the past few years, we had a lot of business dealings, and we do know quite a lot of people.”
“Yes, yes, our President Clark is the big boss. President Clark, those days, did you fantasize about beautiful Ms. Quigley? Now that she is married, are you disappointed? You’re still single, yes? Do you have any plans?”
Johnny was obviously the most prominent figure at the gathering.
The man was seated at the main seat. Before the arrival of the teachers, everyone’s attention was on him.
Meanwhile, he did not try to conceal his eager gaze upon Clarissa.
When others in the group chided him, he just smiled and shook his head. “Oh, stop kidding around.”
There was no serious denial, indicating that he was hopeful.
Clarissa did not accept their bait, instead, she ignored their remarks and maintained a cold expression whilst turning around and looked at Tianna.
“President Clark, why aren’t they here yet? Should you give them a call and ask?”
“Oh… they should be here any minute now…”
As Clarissa seemed to ignore their remarks, they felt a little awkward.
“Our beautiful Ms. Quigley is as aloof as ever!”
Still, Clarissa did not reply.
Those who are mature enough would usually not be jealous, but women are jealous by nature.
Jolene Marcus, the girl who always had a crush on Johnny since they were schoolmates, sat next to him the moment she came in, and she acted as if they were lovers. However, the moment Clarissa walked in, Johnny totally ignored Jolene. In Clarissa’s presence, Jolene did feel rather inferior. However, she could not stand the fact that Clarissa was ignoring the classmates’ attempts to start a conversation.
With a sneer, she snorted. “Clarissa, are you ignoring us because you have been unsuccessful in life? Do you have a guilty conscience? Those days you acted so haughty and got accepted by a prestigious university, but now, you may not be doing well compared to most of us. Where is your husband? Are you ashamed of introducing him to us? Or have you married that scum boyfriend of yours from those days?”
Scum boyfriend from those days?
At Jolene’s words, everyone was stunned and uncomfortable, while some were even embarrassed
Pleased with the effect of her words, she gloated, hoping to see Clarissa guilty, afraid, or even panicky…
However, Clarissa showed no change in her expression. At the same time, three grey-haired teachers walked into the private lounge. Clarissa arose immediately, and the others followed suit to welcome the teachers.
Craig Anderson was their class teacher through their high school years one to three. They used to call him “Boss.” Now, his hair had turned grey, and he was slim, unlike those days when he was still energetic and had that imposing aura. Now, he was just a kind old man.
The other two were their language and mathematics teachers, both very important educationists in their growing up years.
When Craig saw Clarissa, he said softly, “Clarissa, I never thought you would really come.”
This was the first time Clarissa smiled tonight, and it was at the teachers.
“Boss, after coming back, I didn’t have time to visit you. I heard you were unwell. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was nothing, really nothing. Just something common and not life-threatening. Are you spending New Years here?”
Clarissa was a bit embarrassed. “I’ll tell you later. Don’t worry. It’s okay.”
Craig was the only person who knew about the problem she was facing with Matthew. This was not a good place to talk, and so, he didn’t ask much.
“Boss, has Clarissa been keeping in touch with you all this time?”
Craig smiled. “We bumped into one another by coincidence.”
Since Clarissa did not want to keep in touch with these schoolmates, he respected her privacy.
However, this was obviously not just an accidental meeting. The others realized that this beautiful schoolmate was not an unfeeling creature who did not even contact teachers. She had been seeing the teachers but just did not want to contact her schoolmates.
Undeniably, everyone had a different perspective. Some would feel remorse for what they did when they were still teens, but some would let bygones be bygones.
No one had the courage to come out and be the first to apologize.
“Come on, let’s give a toast to our three teachers…”
As they talked, someone spoke out and changed the awkward atmosphere. Instantly, the crowd became cheerful.
After all, the school reunion was not for picking on Clarissa, even though she was a hot topic for discussion. Johnny’s success story made him the center of attention of the gathering.
Throughout the entire night, Clarissa kept her head down and ate a little, trying to keep a low profile.
Halfway through, she went to the restroom, and Tianna went with her.
When they were inside, Tianna asked her a little nervously, “Clarissa, do you still hold a grudge against us?”
Clarissa washed her hands and walked to one side of the room. She took out some tissue and dried her hands before replying simply, “No, I hold no grudge.”
Tianna was about to feel relieved when Clarissa added, “But I cannot forgive them.”
Hearing that, Tianna was taken aback. “But back in those days, we were still young and ignorant… we did not do it on purpose. It was only because we didn’t know better… “
Clarissa sneered. Can we pretend that it did not happen just because they were young and ignorant?
Nonetheless, she did not refute too much. No matter how much she said, the harm was already done, and those people still lived a life without guilt. Who would care if there was any harm done to her?
Who would care about her?
Clarissa came out of the restroom and turned to walk back to the hall. Suddenly, she saw a man at the end of the corridor.
As she stood there, stunned. Meanwhile, Tianna came out right after her. “Clarissa…”
However, Clarissa continued walking, totally ignoring the man.
Tianna noticed this extraordinarily handsome man, too. He was aloof and attractive. At first glance, one would know that he was a cut above. Tianna could not help gazing at him. For the thousandth time, she lamented why she could not have such a handsome man.
They left the man behind, and when Tianna entered the private lounge, she could not help saying with a laugh, “Oh my goodness! Girls, I literally just saw the hottest man ever while coming out of the restroom earlier! That man is absolutely a class above. You, single girls, do go and try your luck. I daresay that this is the most handsome man I’ve ever met.”
“Really? I must go and check him out…”
This piqued the curiosity of a few ladies who went toward the restroom. Meanwhile, the rest of the schoolmates, who remained there, burst out in laughter.
Only Clarissa remained quiet and whispered to Craig.
After some time, the ladies had still not returned, and someone joked. “Perhaps he is a kidnapper? Maybe he kidnapped those few girls at one go?”
“Hahaha… no way! Come on, let us guys go and take a look. What guy can be better looking than us?”
He was just joking as he pretended to get up. At the same time, the door of the private lounge was pushed open.
When the several female classmates walked in, all of them looked particularly excited. They seemed to be blushing as if they were falling in love.
Meanwhile, the rest of them were astonished. Were they really abducted? Were a few of them abducted together at one time?
Before they could voice their queries, they saw a man behind these ladies. And he was, indeed, an exceptionally handsome man.
It was just as Tianna had described him—a class above.
The women were amazed and starry-eyed with palpitating hearts. On the other hand, the men wanted not just to look like him, but also have his air of superiority, cold gaze, and domineering charisma.
This was no ordinary man.
After entering the hall, this man looked around the room and his gaze finally rested on Clarissa.
They suddenly became vigilant, and Johnny was even more so, besides being more hostile than the others.
The man strode toward Clarissa, but he was stopped by Johnny.
“Mister, you…”
The man’s stern look caused Johnny’s words to get stuck in his throat and even panicked him.
Jolene, who was beside him, quickly stepped forward at the same time, her face turning a little red as she asked sweetly, “Mister, who are you looking for? This is our classmates’ reunion. Are you from our school?”
Jolene’s motive was very obvious, and Johnny was looking grim.
How disgusting! Jolene had always tried so hard to flirt with me, and now, she’s drooling over that guy over there!
