True Heiress Returns to Her Unemployed Rich Family (Arabella) novel Chapter 575

"Ohhh," Brielle drew out the syllable, a knowing look dawning on her face. "You're embarrassed. Got it."

She realized it probably wasn't her place to dig any deeper, so she dropped the subject.

Lucas only looked more confused. "Got what?"

"Never mind. Just drive," Brielle said, waving him off with a quieting gesture. She'd promised herself she wouldn't press further.

"Weird," Lucas muttered under his breath, shooting Brielle a brief side-eye before starting the engine and pulling the car away from the restaurant.

*****

Meanwhile, inside the Rolls-Royce, Arabella glanced over at Matthew, puzzled.

"Mr. Stewart, is everything alright?" she asked.

He hadn't said a word since getting into the car.

Matthew turned his gaze toward her. Truthfully, nothing was wrong—not really.

It was just that when they'd stepped outside earlier and he saw Arabella about to leave with Lucas and Brielle, something made him call out to her without thinking.

Now, sitting here in silence felt increasingly awkward.

"Mr. Stewart?" Arabella pressed gently when he didn't respond.

"Dr. Hamilton," Andy chimed in smoothly from the front seat, sensing the tension. "Derek's really pleased with how the collaboration is going. He wanted to extend an invitation for you and Mr. Stewart to join him for dinner sometime. We were wondering when you might be available."

Of course, Andy understood exactly what was on his boss' mind—and he also knew there was nothing actually happening to explain the quiet stiffness in the car.

"Derek?" Arabella paused briefly. "Did he mention when he had in mind?"

"He was thinking this weekend, if that works for you," Andy replied.

Arabella's expression shifted to one of slight regret. "I'm actually tied up this weekend. I don't think I'll be able to make it."

"Working on the weekend?" Matthew's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

Was she going on a date and just didn't want to say it?

"Not work," Arabella clarified after a moment. "I'm taking my family up to Misty Resort."

Most people might not have recognized the name, but given the long-standing ties between the Stewart and Hamilton families, Arabella assumed Matthew would know the resort belonged to Frank.

Sure enough, Matthew's expression remained neutral. "A family getaway."

"Yes." Arabella nodded.

His eyes seemed to darken slightly, but he didn't ask anything else.

Andy offered a friendly smile. "This is also to celebrate you getting your pilot's license, right?"

"That's right," Arabella admitted openly.

Testing the waters, Andy added lightly, "So... have you thought about inviting any other friends along?"

"We already celebrated today. I'm not planning to invite anyone else," she said simply.

After all, she didn't have a huge circle of close friends to begin with.

Arabella's confusion only grew. "There's no distance to create. We were never close to begin with."

What was there to create distance from? That had been the understanding from the start.

The corner of Matthew's mouth lifted just slightly, a cold, humorless smile. "Don't worry. I'll give you what you want. It's not like I should keep you tied down because of my grandfather."

Hearing him say it like that, Arabella felt even more puzzled.

Why did his tone carry a faint trace of... bitterness?

She tried to read between the lines. "Mr. Stewart, are you saying... you want to tell Robert that there's nothing real between us?"

"Yeah," Matthew grunted in reply.

She bit her lip gently, hesitating before venturing, "Did you and Robert have an argument?"

The only explanation she could think of was that Robert had been pushing too hard, Matthew had tried to come clean, and now Robert didn't believe him—so he needed her help to set the record straight.

"No," Matthew said simply.

Ever since his grandfather found out she had a boyfriend, he hadn't brought the subject up again. What would there be to argue about?

"Then why?" Arabella asked softly.

He couldn't quite put it into words himself. But as he heard himself say it was time to clear everything up for good, a dull, vague ache settled somewhere beneath his chest.

Matthew turned to look out the car window. "No reason. I just figured it's better if we're both free."

Then, unbidden, Brielle's words echoed in her mind. "She's going to marry Matthew."