Hilary then made her way back to D City immediately after she hung up the call with Clarissa.
The moment she returned, someone showed up and brought her to another place.
Hilary was intimidated as the two buff-looking men next to her remained silent throughout their way to a certain somewhere.
Her mind was all over the place until she made her way into a room and saw Clarissa sitting on the couch.
When she ensured her life wasn’t at stake, she heaved a sigh of relief and started yelling at Clarissa, “Are you trying to give me the shock of my life? Have you sent them to intimidate me?”
Clarissa glared at her in the eyes and answered in a callous tone, “Why haven’t I thought of taking you out when you’re on the way here?”
“Are you trying to pull my leg? Aren’t you afraid of karma?”
“I’m pretty sure karma will gets to you before it gets to me.”
“Y-You—” Hilary was about to throw another tantrum, but Clarissa got ahead of her and interrupted the infuriated woman in front of her.
She asked, “Shall we talk about the amount of compensation or not? If you want to get the things you’re here for, just shut up and listen!”
Hilary was reluctant to give in, but she had to take a seat as instructed.
She put her bag aside and carried on with her chest held high.
“Alright, let’s begin! The first thing I need from you is monetary compensation for my hard work over the years! On top of that, I need you to clarify the ongoing issues since the netizens are still waiting for my clarification! Just announce we have patched things up!”
“That’s impossible!” Clarissa turned Hilary down without a second thought.
“Oh? If that’s the case, forget about it! Since we can’t see eye to eye, I think that’s the end of our conversation!”
Hilary got up from her seat and was about to leave.
Afraid Hilary would try something reckless after the failed negotiation, Clarissa yelled, “Hold it right there!”
Her so-called mother turned around and yelled at her in return, “I’m still your mom! You better keep that in mind and show some respect instead of yelling at me in the face! I’ll drag that old hag to hell if you don’t stop getting on my nerves! Since you’re trying to ruin my life, I’ll go ahead and ruin everyone else’s life as well!”
Clarissa glared at Hilary in the eyes—she couldn’t afford to put Catherine at stake.
Meanwhile, Hilary, who had nothing to lose, sneered and asked, “Is that a deal?”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t have turned me down in the first place!”
After Hilary returned to her seat, she said, “You need to ensure everyone is aware we have patched things up.”
That was the only thing that could tarnish Clarissa’s image since that might invalidate her statements when she had announced she would press charges against Hilary.
Others would hold her accountable should she announce they had patched things up over the night without much explanation.
If Hilary were to take advantage of Clarissa’s announcement and bring everything to an end, others would definitely think Clarissa was the one at fault.
Even if it’s going to tarnish my image, I guess I’m not really in a position to turn her down, huh?
“Speaking of the compensation amount, I’m not that much of a greedy woman. Just five million per annum will do. You spend more than that as Mrs. Tyson, don’t you?”
Clarissa had long foreseen Hilary demanding more than she would ever need. However, the amount Hilary brought up was absurd.
“Half a million per annum!”
“Huh? Stop wasting my time, Clarissa! You’re the almighty Mrs. Tyson of Tyson Corporation! I’m sure your monthly allowance is more than half a million, isn’t it? I won’t accept anything less than five million!”
Hilary showed no signs of tolerating at all. Although Clarissa had come prepared, she wasn’t about to give in just yet.
“A million!”
“Nothing less than five million!”
“Two million!”
“I won’t repeat myself for another time! Nothing less than—”
“Why don’t you go ahead and tell Grandma? You don’t think I’m a freaking cash generator, do you? I’m Mrs. Tyson, but I don’t have authority over Matthew’s personal asset! I don’t even have that much for myself! The most I can offer is two million! If you want anything more than that, just forget about it and tell Grandma the truth!”
The doubtful Hilary looked at Clarissa with her brows arched. When she caught a glimpse of Clarissa’s stern look, she reluctantly announced, “Three million! I’ll accept nothing less than three million!”
“Alright! Here’s the contact number of the attorney representing Tyson Corporation! Just get in touch with him, and he’ll take over everything from there.”
“Are you sure he’s capable of defending me?”
“If you’re having your doubts, feel free to forget about it.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have faith in my beloved daughter! Clare, shall we forget about everything and move on? Jonathan has always been fond of you! Once he grows up, we’ll get him to be a member of Tyson Corporation! If that’s the case, you won’t have to rely on Matthew anymore! Don’t you think that’s a great idea? I was the one at fault for neglecting you back in the day, but I’ll take you seriously in the future! Also, I’ll stop causing you any more trouble!”
The shameless Hilary had the audacity to bring up the absurd suggestion with a bright grin, but Clarissa would never take her suggestion into consideration.
Sneering, Clarissa asked, “Are you sure that’s possible?”
She then brought herself up in an attempt to leave the shameless woman behind. It was then Hilary stopped her and demanded, “Huh? Where are you going? Give me my money!”
When the one behind Clarissa handed her a check, she couldn’t stop herself from grinning as the only thing she cared about was the agreed-upon sum.
Never had she ever gained such a huge fortune over the night throughout her life.
Hilary was thrilled by the presence of the check. The only thing she had in mind was to make a trip to the bank and get the check cashed as soon as possible.
On the other hand, once Clarissa made her way out of the venue, Matthew’s car pulled over at the entrance.
Surprised by his presence, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
He held her hand and asserted, “I have dropped by to check on you because I’m worried. How’s it going?”
Sighing, Clarissa announced, “It’s more or less the same as we have imagined.”
Overwhelmed by the pent-up fatigue, she nestled in between his arms in silence. Matthew ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her on the cheek to console the exhausted woman.
“I’m sure she’s going to behave herself for the time being since she has gotten her hands on the things she desires the most. Just tend to the things you have in mind and allow me to take over from now onwards.”
“I wish to leave her alone, but she remains a nightmare of mine as long as she’s around. I’m afraid—”
Matthew interrupted and assured her, “It’s going to be fine.”
Clarissa secretly hoped things would turn out just fine as Matthew had assured her. She just couldn’t wait to sever ties with Hilary.
Her mind was all over the place in spite of being next to Matthew. The thought of Hilary provoking Catherine wouldn’t stop haunting Clarissa.
In order to cheer herself up, she ran her fingers across Matthew’s chest and asked, “Haven’t you been casting others for the role of male protagonist behind my back? How’s it going?”
Matthew chuckled and queried, “Clare, are you aware of the things going on all along?”
She raised her head and looked at him. “Have I hit the bullseye? Are you seriously casting others for the role of the male protagonist?”
The question was nothing more than a trick question. To her surprise, she was spot on for once.
Matthew pinched her on the cheek and reprimanded, “You’re such a cheeky woman!”
“It’s because I’m certain you won’t want Ryler to be involved in my upcoming movie. Since he’s going to play your role in the movie, there’s no way my petty husband will allow that. Have you stopped casting because you’re afraid I’m going to be upset after all the things that have occurred over the past few weeks?”
Matthew nodded and acknowledged Clarissa’s speculation.
“I’m just afraid of getting on my wife’s nerves!”
His wife found him hilarious and rolled her eyes in return.
“Can you stop getting jealous over such a trivial matter? I’m also afraid of getting on your nerves since this is a gift for you! If you don’t really appreciate the actor playing the role of the male protagonist, things are going to be so odd! Actually, it’s nothing more than a fictional plot! Ry is just a close friend of mine! You need to keep that in mind!”
Matthew was well aware of the things Clarissa had brought up. He no longer deemed Ryler a love rival, but he couldn’t get used to Ryler being anywhere near Clarissa.
Actually, Ryler is the pitiable one—he has to withstand us being lovey-dovey in front of him. There’s nothing else he can do to stop us since he considers himself a close friend of Clarissa.
As Matthew thought to himself, he made up his mind to stop getting worked up over such a trivial matter since it was just another movie.
Well, it’s nothing more than a fictional story! I guess I’ll just turn a blind eye to it for once!
After spending a few seconds to persuade himself, he felt a sense of relief.
Clarissa was the only one he cared about. Therefore, he said, “It’s fine! At the end of the day, you’re still my wife!”
Matthew responded with an amorous kiss as he thought Ryler would no longer be a threat. There was no way he would get his hands on Clarissa for the rest of his life.
…
In the meantime, the moment Hilary got her hands on the fortune she had been seeking, she got in touch with Shermaine to share the good news with her daughter.
“Although three million per annum isn’t much, it’s more than enough to irk Clarissa! On top of that, she has given in to all my requests! Shermaine, I get to live a carefree life thanks to you and your brilliant plan! I should’ve thought of this years ago! How foolish have I been throughout the years to leave them alone? Had I allowed her to get married to Matthew three years ago, I’m a freaking billionaire by now!”
Thrilled, Hilary wondered if something was wrong with her back in the day. Had she been slightly more open-minded, she would have long lived the sort of carefree lifestyle she sought.
Shermaine scowled at Hilary’s reply.
Three years ago? I guess she’s willing to do anything, including betraying her daughter to acquire the fortune she seeks, huh?
She kept her thoughts to herself and instructed, “You need to stop getting full of yourself and save up as much as possible. Otherwise, you won’t get a single cent if Mrs. Quigley is no longer around.”
“Oh, God! What if that old hag falls down and makes an express trip to hell tomorrow? Shermaine, you need to do me a favor! What am I supposed to do next?”
“Clarissa is the only one who possesses the things you’re seeking for. There’s nothing much I can do to help you.”
