THE ROYAL MATE

6. The Scandal

"W-What are you doing here?" Clarissa shrieked. She was surprised to see Michael in the room without wearing his coat. His athletic body flashed before her eyes. This was the first time Clarissa had seen a grown man's body other than Vincent's and her father's. That was unintentional.

Michael turned around. He smiled at Clarissa. "I should be the one asking. Why would Miss Clarissa MacLaren sleep in Michael Carson's room?" Michael asked. His smile grew. It was sickening for Clarissa.

"Your room?" Clarissa looked around. She didn't see Michael's stuff in this room. There was also no photo of the horrid man. Damn it! Clarissa forgot that Michael didn't live here. He just came from another city.

Michael suddenly approached and sat next to Clarissa. Until she shuddered, Michael's sexy body could be seen with her eyes. Not under his coat but directly on Michael's skin. Clarissa could also see the fine hairs on his chest.

"Why do you have that expression, Clarissa? Am I seeing a man's body for the first time? Come on, I didn't even take off all my clothes. It's not my fault, anyway. You fell asleep in my room, and I had to change my clothes immediately because I got the sauce on. I didn't do anything," Michael said.

Michael liked to tease Clarissa. Since childhood, Clarissa would quickly get angry if Michael talked to her until Michael wanted Clarissa's angry expression.

Clarissa tried to ignore Michael's words. She had to save her reputation. Otherwise, a lousy scandal will befall him. "Get out of my way; people will think that you and I have done something indecent!"

Michael doesn't care. He stayed where he was and watched Clarissa's face. "Why doesn't a woman like you want to get married? Do you want to marry my brother? I see your parents really hope that you and the future Duke would become a couple," Michael said.

"That's none of your business, Michael. You're not a resident of this town. You shouldn't meddle in the affairs of this town!" Clarissa shrieked.

"Okay, I won't bother you. But now, your parents are currently looking for you. They're fidgeting downstairs," Michael replied. Michael stood up and rummaged through the suitcase he had brought from Sorream.

Clarissa noticed Michael, who was utterly different from Loris, his older brother. Loris lived well with The Duke's wealth. While Michael is so simple, The Duke is always open and never forbids Michael to live properly like his brother.

"Why don't you stay here?" Clarissa asked, still with a stern tone and sharp eyes.

Michael just smiled. He knew Clarissa just wanted to talk without really wanting to know.

"Looks like it's none of your business either, Clarissa. Let's talk about something else. Like... Why are you sleeping in this room? You must know that a woman should not carelessly enter a man's room, " Michael smiled sarcastically.

Clarissa turned her gaze the other way because Michael didn't answer her question and chose to talk about something else. Shame began to creep into her feelings when Michael was not easy to talk to about personal matters. But that's okay. Clarissa didn't care about that either. She just didn't want to be stuck in a challenging situation in this room.

Clarissa rushed out of Michael's bed. She had to get out before anyone caught her in Michael's room.

"Are you ready to go out?" Michael asked, purposely as he pulled his pants down so Clarissa had to cover her eyes with her hands.

"What are you doing, Michael?" Clarissa shrieked.

Michael chuckled with satisfaction. He was deliberately pranking Clarissa. She opened her eyes, and Michael kept his pants on. He was just pretending in front of Clarissa.

"You bastard!" Clarissa shouted as she opened Michael's bedroom door. She was so annoyed that the man kept on teasing her.

However, it was unimaginable in Clarissa's mind that today would be such an unlucky day for her. When the door to Michael's room was opened, at the same time, The Duke was also opening the door. Morris Carson was standing right in front of Michael's room.

Clarissa was speechless. She froze and felt that her life would be done today. Morris Carson was catching the worst things in his son's room.

"Y-Your Grace," Clarissa stammered. She was terrified. Moreover, the charisma of The Duke made Clarissa not move at all.

Morris Carson was shocked to see Clarissa in her son's room. He was even more surprised when he saw Michael was not fully clothed. Of course, this is a shocking scandal in Winny. How could a noble maiden be in a bachelor's room?

"What are you doing?" Morris Carson shouted.

***

Sharma sat down with her whole body shaking. They had just returned from Lord Carson's house. And she was utterly embarrassed by Clarissa's behaviour.

Meanwhile, Clarissa repeatedly told her mother she had done nothing with Michael. Clarissa swore she would never do anything stupid with Michael, her childhood enemy.

"Mama, please believe me. I didn't do anything with Michael. You know very well that I hate him so much. There's no way I'd do anything indecent with that person!" Clarissa said to her mother, who was sitting on an expensive velvet sofa decorated with wood carvings from a country in the Southern continent.

Sharma looked at Clarissa with so much emotion. She didn't understand how Clarissa could destroy the family's honour this way.

"It doesn't matter if anything happened between you and Michael. The fact that you're in the same room with him has caused a big scandal in Winny's town. You vehemently refused when I blessed you with Loris Carson. But it turns out you prefer Michael. If I wanted Michael in the first place, you should have spoken! You have embarrassed me immensely in front of The Duke!" Sharma screamed.

Clarissa was unfortunate when her mother did not believe in her. Almost half of the people in this town knew that Clarissa and Michael were mortal enemies. There was no way she was messing with Michael in the room. Clarissa felt so disappointed. She regretted that she had carelessly entered other people's rooms. She shouldn't have fallen asleep and allowed all this to happen, and now everyone would think that Clarissa was a seducer.