Chapter 77

Chapter 77

On the drive back, the car was unusually quiet.

Melissa was obviously angry, and I didn't dare provoke her, so I just drove in silence.

As the car entered the underground parking garage, the headlights illuminated a tall figure in the distance. My heart skipped a beat.

Could Matthew still be here?

Just as I was thinking this, Joanna in the passenger seat suddenly cried out, pointing at the figure and saying, "Claire, that looks like Mr. Griffin!"

I glared at her and hissed under my breath, "Shut up."

Seeing my expression, Joanna finally noticed that Melissa was leaning forward from the back seat, staring at the figure ahead to identify who it was.

She coughed lightly and tried to cover up, "Mom, I'm a bit tired. Why don't we just head back quickly?"

Melissa ignored her, snorted coldly, and looked at me with unfriendly eyes. "Didn't you say you were just regular clients? Would a regular client wait here for you this long?"

I instinctively knew I couldn't explain this clearly, and besides, Matthew did have feelings for me, so I chose to stay silent. I gave Joanna a look and said quietly, "You and Mom wait in the car."

With that, I unbuckled my seatbelt, pushed open the door, and got out.

The tall, slender figure saw me and immediately straightened up.

As I got closer, Matthew's dark eyes looked at me. "Claire."

I pressed my lips together, rolled my eyes, and said in a low voice, "What are you still waiting here for? Didn't I already tell you? We have nothing to talk about. Just go home."

Seeing my tough but nervous manner, he frowned. "I came to apologize. I know I shouldn't have done it without your permission—"

I quickly cut him off, giving him meaningful looks. "Okay, okay, I get it. Just leave, please."

If he didn't leave soon, Melissa would probably come charging over.

Seeing my somewhat anxious expression, his brow furrowed slightly, looking a bit dejected. "Do you really not want to see me that badly?"

Since he didn't get my hint, I had to spell it out. "Just go, please. My mom's still in the car, and she doesn't like us being in contact."

As soon as I finished speaking, Joanna suddenly shouted from behind, "Claire!"

I turned around to see Melissa marching toward us aggressively.

I panicked and stepped forward to block her. "I was already telling him to leave. Mom, please be polite to my client. He's a major client for the company!"

Melissa snorted coldly and pushed me aside. "Enough, I know you're protecting him."

I felt a bit embarrassed.

But then I saw Melissa stride forward and look Matthew up and down, her face stern and her tone very displeased. "I know you're a wealthy boss, but we're not some family that worships money. Claire has gotten a bad reputation because of you. If you know what's good for you, stop looking for her. Since you're work partners, just do your job as work partners and don't contact each other privately."

Melissa's words were really quite extreme. I couldn't help but look at Matthew with concern.

I had already told him to leave. I couldn't even handle Melissa's sharp tongue myself, let alone him.

He was used to being treated with respect. He'd probably never been scolded to his face like this before.

I thought Matthew would feel humiliated, but after hearing Melissa's lecture, not only did he show no shame, he actually apologized to her seriously.

"I'm sorry for causing Claire so much trouble. It's my fault, and I'll take responsibility. Some things I did on my own initiative before made Claire angry with me too. I know I was wrong, and I'll make it up to her."

Hearing him say all these humble words of apology, I almost didn't recognize him.

When had he ever been this modest?

Melissa seemed stunned by his polite admission of fault too.

But even though she found him well-mannered, she still didn't change her attitude. She just softened her expression a bit and said, "No need to make it up. Just stay away from her from now on. We can't reach up to wealthy families like yours. Michael said you must be very rich, right? Since you're rich, you couldn't possibly marry Claire."

"Of course, I don't think Claire isn't good enough for you. You're just not suitable for each other. So stop looking for her from now on and giving people something to gossip about."

Melissa's words were very clear. Afraid Matthew might say something shocking, I quickly made faces at him.

"Alright, alright, my mom's tired today. Mr. Griffin, please go."

Matthew looked at my expression, thought for a moment, and said nothing. He just nodded.

"Then I'll come visit another day. Claire, I'm very sorry about Amanda."

I avoided him and quickly called out to Joanna.

Joanna came forward to support Melissa and pulled her toward the elevator.

I went back to get my bag and lock the car. As I passed by Matthew, I said quietly, "You'd better not come looking for me lately. My mom has a bad temper, and she's very upright. She'll definitely be angry about us being in contact. Don't come looking for trouble."

After saying this, I jogged after them without looking back.

Even though I'd already walked into the elevator, I could still feel that gaze fixed on me from behind.

I felt a bit helpless.

To be honest, when I first found out that Matthew didn't respect me, I was very angry. But thinking about it carefully now, wasn't this actually a clean break?

Michael and I had been entangled for so long, and it was pretty pointless.

I'd already gathered all the evidence I needed. Getting away from that kind of family earlier might be better for both my physical and mental health.

I just couldn't accept at first that Matthew would publicly expose Michael's scandals in front of people in our circle without my permission, making me lose face too.

It was a bit like being embarrassed into anger, I guess.

"Still thinking about him?" Melissa's cold words instantly pulled me back from my thoughts.

I looked up to meet her disapproving gaze, coughed lightly, and shook my head. "How could I be? I was just thinking about how to divorce Michael."

Melissa snorted coldly and said firmly, "Since you have nothing going on with Mr. Griffin, even if Michael takes the evidence to court, we're not afraid."

Joanna leaned against the elevator wall and muttered quietly, "Mom, you're underestimating Michael. He's really sneaky."

Things really weren't as simple as Melissa thought.

Although Matthew and I hadn't actually had an affair, the so-called evidence Michael had could still confuse the judge's judgment.

Once we went to court, it would inevitably drag Matthew into it.

After all, Michael had already become shameless to the extreme. Who knew what nonsense he'd spout in court.

If Michael lost the lawsuit, would he just let it go?

Probably not. He might adopt a "mutual destruction" mentality.

After getting home, I thought about it for a while and finally had my lawyer file for divorce with the court.

Things dragged on for several days without any progress. Just when I was at my wit's end, I unexpectedly received a call from Eva.