“He’s not? Doesn’t he care about you?”
Ellie was immediately riled up. What kind of boyfriend is he?
He was too petty previously, but now he doesn’t care at all! Ellie couldn’t help but feel that this man was too unreliable.
Clarissa wasn’t aware of her friend’s disapproval at that moment, stretching out her arm with a wince on her face. Ow, it really hurts…
“Anyway, it’s a good thing he’s not coming! What am I supposed to tell him if he does? That I got into a fight?”
Ellie was terrified when her friend put it this way.
She was the one who started this and ended up implicating Clarissa, so she had no right to complain about others.
Clarissa reached out to hug Ellie, but the police officer on duty interjected in a strict tone, “What are you two doing? No hugging! Sit back down!”
Ellie whipped her head around and glared at the plainclothes officer who had taken her statement earlier.
With a displeased look on her face, she retorted, “We love each other and just can’t help it, okay? Who the hell do you think you are, anyway? Why aren’t you in your uniform during working hours? And you even yelled at me? Just because you’re a police officer, you think can just yell at anyone? Do officers nowadays have such horrible attitudes? Be careful or I might file a complaint against you.”
The plainclothes officer smiled coldly and his gaze turned sharp, making him look inexplicably dangerous at that moment.
He didn’t say anything, only folding his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to ripple beneath his T-shirt. It was easy to tell that his sculpted body was the result of years of working out.
Ellie narrowed her eyes at him, but another younger uniformed police officer interrupted them.
“Captain Hayes, sorry for troubling you. Let me take over.”
The young police officer courteously led his captain, Shawn Hayes, away. After he settled down in his seat, he noticed that Ellie was staring at Shawn’s retreating figure.
“Ms. Tyson?”
Ellie withdrew her gaze and frowned. “Who was that? Why is he in casual clothes? And ‘captain’?”
“That’s the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit, Captain Hayes. He happened to come over to handle some matters, so he helped us out.”
Ellie scoffed. “Captain Hayes, you said? I’ll keep that in mind.”
Seeing Ellie gnash her teeth in anger, the young officer was astonished. Well, this is a first. Usually, all the women who meet our captain are instantly bewitched.
He shook his head subtly and continued with his work.
Shortly after, Matthew’s lawyer arrived to bail them out. Clarissa initially thought that the lawyer came alone. Thus, she was immensely relieved. However, when she walked out of the police station with Ellie, she spotted a familiar car parked by the doors.
Ellie was unperturbed, but Clarissa’s stomach lurched, and her whole body stiffened.
Matthew got down from the car, his expression cold and terrifying while he exuded an intimidating aura. Ellie linked arms with Clarissa and stopped just a few meters away from him.
Ellie cracked a cajoling smile before chirping, “Uncle Matt, I feel bad for bothering you so late at night. You really didn’t have to come over personally. Everything’s settled now, so let’s all go home.”
Matthew kept mum, his gaze shifting from Ellie to Clarissa. His eyes flashed briefly before he approached them in long strides.
“Don’t be mad, Uncle Matt. I swear, this time it was someone else- Huh?”
Ellie watched as her uncle snatched Clarissa from her and carried her into the car. Still in shock, she stayed rooted to the spot.
“Get in!” Matthew said in a clipped tone.
Only then did Ellie trudge toward the car and get into the front passenger seat, completely perplexed.
“Head to the hospital,” Matthew ordered.
Afraid to turn back to look at her uncle, Ellie glanced at him through the rearview mirror. She perceived the glacial look on his face and Clarissa’s stiff posture.
Mustering the courage, she turned her head slightly to peek at her bestie.
The two of them made eye contact, but there was nothing else they could do.
No one dared to speak first. First, Matthew’s aura was too oppressive and the extreme coldness seeping from him could very well form icicles in the car. Second, Clarissa was scared out of her wits as she had been completely caught off guard by his actions earlier. Right now, all she could do was play dumb to avoid angering him further, lest he do something even more outrageous that would utterly blow their cover.
She knew Matthew had intentionally done that, wanting her to feel on edge.
Hah, I knew it. He’s a petty man through and through.
The car headed directly to the hospital. Matthew immediately scooped Clarissa into his arms when she got down from the car. Meanwhile, Ellie piteously trailed behind them on her own two feet. As she stared at her uncle’s back, she was suddenly overcome with self-pity.
However, that feeling quickly vanished after Clarissa was given a checkup.
Clarissa had sustained more injuries than she had, because the former had blocked most of the attacks. Ellie was overwhelmed with guilt as she cried out, “Clare, why didn’t you say something? It’s all my fault. You shouldn’t have protected me! I deserved to be beaten up…” She sobbed louder just then.
“Ellie, stop crying. You would’ve done the same for me. You’re my best friend and I’d take a bullet for you.”
Clarissa thought she could make light of the situation and express her loyalty to her friend at the same time.
However, off to the side, Matthew released a mirthless laugh.
“Why don’t I go get a gun and put your statement to the test? You’re really something, aren’t you Clarissa?”
Both girls were stunned speechless.
Ellie hurriedly said, “Uncle Matt, this is all my fault. Don’t blame Clary. Besides, she did it to protect me. You have no right to get mad at her.”
Matthew narrowed his eyes abruptly, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“I have no right?”
Clarissa panicked, rushing to explain, “No, no. You do. As our elder, you’re the most qualified to get mad at us.”
When Matthew glanced at Clarissa, she gave him a meaningful look. All of a sudden, her features were scrunched together as she yelped, “Oww! It hurts!”
“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt? Just stay calm and try not to move. I think you should lie down.”
“My back hurts.”
Ellie was getting more anxious by the second. “Then, lie on your tummy and don’t move around. You should stay in the hospital for a few days. Once you’re better, I’ll take you to my house. There’ll be someone to take care of you there, otherwise I’ll worry about leaving you all alone.”
“No, it’s fine, I can just…”
“Don’t say no. Are you trying to make me feel more guilty?”
Ellie’s eyes reddened once more. Clarissa had no choice but to acquiesce for now.
She quietly lay on the bed while Ellie turned to Matthew and said, “Sorry for troubling you tonight, Uncle Matt. You should go home and rest now. I’ll stay with Clare.”
“You don’t need to. I’ll be fine on my own,” Clarissa cut in.
Ellie completely ignored her objection.
Matthew looked at the lady, who was still putting up a pretense. “So? What do you think, Clare?”
Clarissa’s heart almost stopped beating in her chest. “Ellie, I don’t need anyone to take care of me. You’re injured too. How can I feel at ease if you stay back? Please, just go home or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Faced with her insistence, Ellie finally agreed.
“You should go home too, Uncle Matthew. Really. Send Ellie home first. I’ll be perfectly fine on my own. Besides, there are nurses here to take care of me.”
Matthew stared at Clarissa for a while before turning on his heels to leave the ward.
Ellie left as well after fussing over her for a bit.
Finally having the room to herself, Clarissa’s breath whooshed out of her and she relaxed significantly.
At that moment, her mind gradually registered the pain in her body. The first hit she had taken for Ellie was a heavy punch from that man, and it had landed directly on her back. After that, he charged at Ellie. His subordinates showing no mercy as they attacked everyone else like their sworn enemies.
Clarissa seriously suspected that the man had violent tendencies.
The throbbing pain in her back prevented her from falling asleep. She puffed her cheeks slightly, trying to vent her frustrations, but it was to no avail.
Sleeping on her stomach wasn’t comfortable at all. Hence, she fished out her phone to distract herself from the pain.
At the door of the ward stood Matthew. He had returned at some point and was currently watching her playing a game on her phone.
Clarissa didn’t hear him come in until all trace of light was blocked by his towering figure.
She looked up distractedly. Upon seeing Matthew, she tucked away her phone with guilt creeping into her heart, then pretended to lie obediently in bed. Afraid to meet his gaze, she stared at the bedsheet as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Neither of them spoke, but Clarissa didn’t speak out of fear. Meanwhile, Matthew gazed intently at her face which was covered in light bruises. Her originally fair and delicate skin was now an alarming sight to behold.
Matthew suddenly extended his hand to part her hospital gown, revealing the large and dark bruise on her back.
His eyes flickered with emotion.
Although embarrassed, Clarissa could only lie flat on her belly. “Don’t worry. It may look bad, but it’s actually just a superficial injury.”
Matthew turned and lowered himself into a chair at the side. He clenched and unclenched his fists, resisting the urge to light a cigarette. It was obvious that he was in a bad mood.
“Don’t worry, okay?” Clarissa tried to reassure him in a soft voice, “There was a small incident tonight. I’m not sure if Ellie told you, but the guy that attacked us probably has a violent streak. On top of hitting his girlfriend, he even tried to hit Ellie. But of course, bad things like this don’t always happen and it’s not like we run into people like him every day.”
Matthew’s lips curled into a mocking smile. His voice was chilly when he said, “You’re still in the mood to worry about Ellie?”
Clarissa was at a loss for words. She was certain she did nothing wrong.
“I couldn’t just stand there and let them beat Ellie up, right? She’s my best friend and your niece. Should I have left her behind and ran instead? Do I look like that kind of person to you?”
Matthew snorted coldly. “Of course you’re not. As I recall, you’re someone who’d take a bullet for her, right? What next? A bomb?”
Clarissa was rendered speechless again.
It was clear that he was doing this on purpose.
“I’m not a heartless person, and I don’t regret my actions today. Not one bit. If you have a problem with that, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it, but if something like this happens again, I’ll still react the same way.”
Her words evidently angered Matthew. However, Clarissa was undeterred, stubbornly standing by her principles as she fearlessly met his gaze with eyes that were blazing with resolution.
Seeing as he wasn’t able to change her mind on this, he didn’t stop to try. Instead, he leaned forward and grasped her chin, then bit down on her bottom lip.
