Matthew did know Clarissa’s birthday from her ID card, but not the unconventional name day.
It was Clarissa’s family tradition to celebrate their name days instead of the traditional calendar birthdays.
Matthew would not have known if Catherine had not alerted him.
“I’m sorry, Catherine. I didn’t know your family celebrates name days instead of calendar birthdays.”
Nevertheless, he did have some time to prepare for it.
Catherine chuckled lightly as she said, “That’s alright, Matt. You couldn’t have known. It’s really only a few days away from her calendar birthday and you can treat it just like her birthday. So let’s just prepare more food for the occasion.”
Tilting her head in Matthew’s direction, Clarissa looked at the man wittingly with her brow lifted.
The delighted glint in the woman’s eyes clearly suggested that she did not just expect more party food for her birthday.
Rather, they seemed to indicate that some sort of presents should be in order.
That cheeky look cracked Matthew up as he returned Clarissa’s gaze with a manly chortle.
The way the couple exchanged affectionate looks at each other did not escape Catherine’s eyes as she looked at them with a smile. The elder woman had an early dinner and retreated into her bedroom and left the pair alone.
The content of their conversation afterward, however, was anything but corny and cheesy.
Clarissa’s mind was occupied by something else.
She had been informed by Gina of Shermaine’s encounter with the Lesters in the morning. I must say I admire her tenacity in this matter. But what trick is she going to pull by involving the Lesters? I hope she’s not thinking to use them as bargaining chips to make me leave Matthew. If yes, her plan will be destined to fail as I don’t care for what they do at all. That’s not a wise move on her part.
Clarissa then recounted the incident to Matthew. “What puzzles me is that, so what if she succeeds in breaking us up? With her rock-bottom reputation, there’s no way your mom will take her in as daughter-in-law. In such a way, we’re actually not that different from each other. So, my question is, why is she still doing all these things? Is it just because it’s now become something personal for her and she just wants to see me suffer?”
Stroking her hair, Matthew refuted matter-of-factly, “There’s a big difference between the two of you.”
A smile flashed across Clarissa’s face as she turned around and rested her body on top of Matthew. Her chin rested on the back of her hands, which rested on the man’s chest as she questioned, “Why don’t you tell me how different are we from each other? Aren’t we both on your mother’s reject list?”
Despite what Clarissa nonchalantly said, Matthew saw in the woman’s eyes a gleam of expectation from him to clarify what distinguished her from Shermaine.
An affectionate smile appeared on the man’s face as his fingertips brushed playfully at Clarissa’s long eyelashes, causing the latter to blink her eyes involuntarily.
Clarissa continued to pester, “So, what is it? How are we different?”
Matthew finally replied lazily, “Fine. The biggest difference between you two is that I love you, not her.”
Clarissa was rendered momentarily speechless by the man’s bold profession of love for her. In the next moment, she let out a satisfactory laugh and patted his chest to indicate a job well done. “Not bad, not bad. Your argument is very sound,” Clarissa spoke with an unmistakable triumph look in her eyes.
Matthew held onto Clarissa’s body and lifted her closer to him so that when he lowered his head, his mouth could reach her lips.
Clarissa was happy to cooperate and they kissed playfully for a few moments before Matthew held the woman in his arms and asked smilingly, “So, what do you want for your birthday?”
Clarissa replied the man with a searching look. Did he just ask me straight out what I want for my birthday? Where did all the sweet talks and romantic gestures go? This is such a buzzkill. Isn’t birthday gift supposed to be a surprise?
Clarissa pouted a little as she spoke, “There’s nothing that I want.”
She was not entirely lying when she said there was nothing that she wanted. She just felt so contented with her life now that she did not feel like anything was missing in her life right now.
Matthew pondered on what birthday present he should get for Clarissa.
I bought her an island as an engagement gift last time, I can’t be downgrading her birthday present now. I have to think of something better than an island.
Clarissa leaned onto Matthew’s body once more, completely unaware of what the man was planning in his head. If she had known that he was planning to up his game for her birthday, she would have rejected it outright. She was not one who enjoyed over-indulgence, nor would she like his nice gestures to be negatively publicized by the media again.
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