Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Chapter 7

With milk covering her face, Rachel shut her eyes in fright and screamed again. As Matthew helped Rachel steady herself, he couldn’t help but notice the milk dripping down her face. In a flurry of motion, he grabbed a tissue and helped her wipe it off, starting with her face and moving down her chin and neck. When he saw that the milk was still flowing, he continued wiping downward before he abruptly stopped. It seemed rather inappropriate for him to wipe that area. When Rachel opened her eyes, she noticed Matthew’s hand hovering in front of her chest. She instinctively raised her hand and slapped him. As soon as the slap landed, Matthew grabbed Rachel’s wrist and asked, “What was that for?” Rachel angrily shouted, “You’re the one acting indecently toward me! If I don’t slap you, who else should I slap?” Matthew was at a loss for words. As he showed the soggy tissue to Rachel, he said, “See this? If I hadn’t grabbed you, you would have fallen to the ground. “Besides, you’re the one who spilled milk all over your face. I was merely helping you wipe it off, yet you’re suddenly blaming everything on me. You’re being completely unreasonable here!” Rachel completely ignored the tissue and angrily pointed at her buttons, saying, “You’ve got some nerve! Why did you unbutton my third button then?” Matthew furrowed his brow and said, “Your button has been undone for quite some time now. Maybe because it was too… big, and the button popped open… It has nothing to do with me!” Did Matthew just accuse her of undoing the button herself? Fuming, Rachel was ready to let loose a string of expletives when her phone suddenly rang. Seeing that it was Fred calling, she hurriedly answered, “Hey, Grandpa.” Fred’s voice boomed through the phone, asking, “Did you pick up the person I asked you to?” He had tasked Rachel with picking up Matthew, with explicit instructions to meet the latter at the entrance of the courthouse. At that moment, she had agreed without much thought. Yet, she had regretted it as soon as she had gone down. As a woman of great beauty, she was never short of suitors. Yet, Fred had actually asked her to pick up a divorced man in front of the courthouse! She hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it, so she had asked Albert to do it instead. Just a while ago, she had received a call from Albert, informing her that he had dropped off Matthew at the hotel, so the latter would probably be on his way up. Rachel figured that she might still be able to catch up to him if she ran quickly enough. With that in mind, she hurriedly responded, “Yes, yes. I’m on my way!” After hanging up the phone, she pointed at Matthew and said, “You scoundrel! I’ve got things to do, so scram and never show your face before me again!” With that, she dashed into the lobby in a fluster to catch up with her target. As Rachel’s figure receded, Matthew observed her departure with a gentle shake of his head. What a mess! If he had known that things would turn out like that, he wouldn’t have helped her. Not only had his help been unappreciated, but he had also been treated like a scoundrel! With a brief glance at the milk-soaked tissue in his hand, he turned and tossed it into the trash can. After asking the waiter for directions to Euphoria Suite, he made his way into the restaurant. When he was about to make his way into Euphoria Suite, he was surprised to hear a familiar voice coming from inside—it sounded like Stanley’s voice. A wave of confusion washed over Matthew as he opened the door, and he found himself rooted to the spot by the unexpected sight inside the private room. Much to his bewilderment, Lillian was there, as was Fred, the man who had once begged him on his knees for medical treatment. The beautiful woman he had gotten into a misunderstanding with earlier was also there. When Rachel’s eyes landed on Matthew, she was momentarily taken aback. After that, she immediately shouted, “You scoundrel! How dare you follow me here?” Then, she yelled in the direction of the door, “Security! Someone get this creep out of here now!” Fred was startled. He reached out to grab Rachel’s arm, saying, “Why are you making such a fuss, Rae? He’s the miracle doctor I told you about!” A look of disbelief washed over Rachel’s face. She would never have thought that the person before her was the renowned Dr. Grant. It turned out that he was the man Fred had chosen for her. But… he was the scoundrel who had unbuttoned her third button earlier! He was nothing but a total pervert! She thought of getting up to leave. Yet, when she recalled Fred’s desperate situation, she gritted her teeth and remained seated. Meanwhile, Matthew was alarmed when he heard Rachel throw accusations at him in front of Lillian and Stanley. As such, he hurriedly explained, “Stop talking nonsense! You tripped and fell, and I merely helped you up. “As for the milk you spilled on yourself, I merely helped you wipe it off. You’re not only being ungrateful but also making false accusations against me!” Seeing this, Lillian stood up and explained on Matthew’s behalf, “There must have been some sort of misunderstanding, Rachel. You might not be aware, but Matt is actually quite shy. Whenever he’s around other women, he can’t even manage a full sentence.” Rachel couldn’t help but think to herself that it was true that every mother would think that their own gosling was a swan—to his mother, he could do no wrong. Now, Lillian was describing Matthew as a shy gentleman in front of Rachel when, in truth, he was the scoundrel who had dared to undo her button in broad daylight! It was truly ironic! When Fred noticed Rachel’s silence, he chuckled and tried to diffuse the situation. “Oh, I’m sure it’s all just a misunderstanding! You’re all young folks. With a quick chat, it’ll all be water under the bridge.” As someone who was seasoned in worldly affairs, he could tell from Matthew’s indignation that it was a misunderstanding. After all, if Matthew truly had been a person of questionable character, Fred wouldn’t have wanted Rachel to get involved with him. Out of respect for Fred, Rachel gave a noncommittal grunt and let the matter go. Of course, she hadn’t dismissed the matter entirely. Stanley gestured for Matthew to take a seat and said warmly, “I’m so glad we’ve put that misunderstanding behind us. We’re all gathered here today for these two. “Since Rachel is willing and Mr. Carter Senior is also in favor of it, we wholeheartedly support their union as well. We should take this opportunity to finalize the engagement between these two.” Engagement? Matthew’s eyes widened in surprise as soon as he heard that. He had come there expecting Fred to ask for help with his illness. Yet, the conversation had taken an entirely different turn and unexpectedly shifted to the topic of engagement. “Why didn’t you discuss this with me before making such a decision?” Lillian glared at Matthew and said, “What’s there to discuss with you? You should be over the moon about this.” She thought it was a godsend that Rachel had accepted Matthew even though he was a divorcee with a child. What was most important was that Rachel was stunningly beautiful. She looked like a famous celebrity! Matthew had definitely hit the jackpot this time! Matthew was rendered speechless. Lillian made it sound like he was the one who had somehow gotten the better end of the deal. However, he had developed a distrust of women and was cynical about marriage. Although Rachel was a beautiful woman, inner beauty and good character were more important to Matthew now. So, he still found it hard to come to terms with the idea of getting engaged. “We’re practically strangers. Moreover, she just accused me of being a scoundrel. I barely know anything about her.” When Rachel noticed Matthew’s reluctance, she shot him a cold glance. She was accustomed to being pursued by men, and she always dismissed them without a second thought. But here Matthew was, wanting to reject the proposal! What a fool! When Fred noticed Matthew’s hesitation, he chuckled. “If you’re not well acquainted, there’s an easy fix to it. I’ll have Rachel get you a job at the office so that you can spend more time together. “That way, you’ll become acquainted in no time! When you get to know each other well enough, you guys can get married!” Get married? As soon as he heard that, Matthew started to feel a headache coming on. After all, he had just gotten divorced. After noticing Matthew’s reservations, Stanley said, “Your mother is really concerned about your well-being, Matt. Everyone needs to move on and start afresh. You should give it a chance and get to know Rachel better.” Matthew glanced at Lillian and saw the worry lines etched on her face and her hair peppered with gray. Her eager gaze was fixed on him. At that moment, her eyes were filled with expectation. A pang of guilt struck him, and at that moment, he felt he truly understood the weight of Lillian’s worries. She was probably worried that he wouldn’t be able to cope with the heartbreak of getting divorced after his release from prison. In order to ease Lillian’s worries, he agreed to give it a shot. After all, it was just an engagement, not a lifelong commitment. “Alright then. I’ll go along with whatever you decide.” Stanley was overjoyed to hear that. “Wonderful! Now that both of them are willing to get to know each other better, our matchmaking can be considered a success. We should settle on a date for their engagement.” After hearing that, Fred breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally settled—his illness would finally be addressed. “We should set it for five days from now, on the 20th of May, a date that symbolizes eternal love.” As soon as he heard that, Stanley’s face lit up. After all, he felt that once the engagement was set in stone, the marriage was practically guaranteed. “Alright, then we’ll proceed with the engagement on the 20th of May.” With the date settled, they began to eat. At the dinner table, the atmosphere was lively and cheerful, except for the two people who were the focus of the matchmaking, who seemed somewhat subdued. As they ate, it was decided that Matthew would report to Wealthwave Group the following morning, and the details of his position would be worked out once he got there. … Meanwhile, Tessa and Randall were dining in Utopia Suite, which was adjacent to Euphoria Suite. They had barely taken a few bites of their meal when Tessa got a call from Jennifer. “Has the divorce been finalized?” When Tessa realized that she had forgotten to tell Jennifer about it, she quickly said, “Yes, it’s been finalized.” Jennifer was surprised at how quickly the procedure had been completed and said, “Now that the divorce is done, you can’t just let Matthew get away with beating up Xavier. Tell Randall to get some of his guys to give Matthew a good beating!” As soon as she heard that, Tessa recalled how Xavier had gotten beaten up by Matthew. She also thought of the humiliating scene when she was unceremoniously kicked out of the car at the courthouse. She suddenly realized that Matthew had truly changed. He had once been a gentle and refined man, yet now he had resorted to violence. On top of that, he had always been infinitely tolerant of her, but this time, he had actually hired a motorcade of luxury cars to humiliate her. Could it be that his true nature was finally revealing itself? She was lost in thought for a moment before she responded, “Don’t worry, Mom. Since he dared to lay a hand on Xavier, I’ll never let him get away with it unscathed.”