Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Since our marriage has been made public, you’re now rightfully and legitimately Mrs. Barker. You represent not only yourself, but also the reputation of the Barkers and the Barker Group.

“Therefore, it is important to get rid of any other men out there!”

Samantha, though speechless, agreed with his first sentence. Even if making it public was not what they wanted, Timothy had already done so to help her. As a result, she most certainly knew what was good for herself and would therefore pay special attention to her words and deeds before getting a divorce.

As for the following sentence…

Timothy had already come forward and said, ‘I’m the only man my wife, Samantha, has both before and after our marriage. Our marriage is a happy one, and there are no affairs or cheating!’ However, could it be that deep down he still did not truly believe her?

Samantha had written everything off as hopeless after the way he hurt her and no longer cared whether or not he believed her.

After what happened earlier that day, however, she no longer wanted to be misunderstood again for whatever reason.

Old Madam Barker treated her with such sincerity and Aunt Julia cared for her a lot too. Timothy, on the other hand, had at least stepped up to help her that day, and the villa finally felt a little like home. Samantha wondered if it was okay for her to want more.

“Timothy, whatever clarification I made at the press conference today is true. There really isn’t anything going on between me and those men on the namel—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Timothy interrupted her outright and said bluntly, “I’m talking about Dr. Sherwood.”

Samantha was stunned for a moment and did not know whether to get angry or laugh out loud.

Having misunderstood her and Alan some time ago, he did not believe her explanation since that time and continued not to believe her ever since then.

However, she was overly upset and angry last time because of her sadness, hence the countless harsh and wrathful remarks she spat out.

Samantha thought to herself for a moment in order to try and structure her sentences. She then said calmly, “Timothy, Dr. Sherwood and I are just friends, and at most our relationship can be described as being slightly special. What I mean by that is…he’s my savior. I suffered a serious injury when I was abroad and he was the attending doctor who treated me. He’s also the one who helped with Corey’s condition and asked the little saint for help on my behalf. That was why the little saint was willing to treat Corey. That’s all there is to our relationship.”

She raised her eyes to look at Timothy and saw no expression on the man’s handsome face. His dark eyes seemed distant and there was no discernible emotion from then.

Samantha bit her lower lip slightly and said, “Everything I said is the truth. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”

The bedroom fell silent all of a sudden after her sentence ended.

The hopeful glow in Samantha’s eyes faded little by little as time passed.

Just as she thought Timothy would not speak again, he asked out of the blue, “In that case, you said before that the man you like isn’t Dr. Sherwood. Who is it then?”

Samantha was a little surprised and speechless. She did not expect that the question had been playing in Timothy’s mind all along.

It was not that surprising because a man like Timothy would not allow any potential affairs to exist, whatever the reasons for their existence might be.

Samantha curled his lips and answered honestly, “That man doesn’t exist, Timothy. I don’t have a man that I like. I only came up with that excuse to try and convince Grandma against playing matchmaker for us.”

Had she known that it would cause such a serious misunderstanding, she would not have said that in the first place.

“You don’t like any man at all?” Timothy muttered those words while a convoluted amalgamation of emotion filled his eyes. He looked at her and asked solemnly again, “Is there really…no one that you like?”

In order to completely eliminate that misunderstanding, Samantha raised her hand without thinking and swore, “I swear. I don’t like anyone. No one, none!”

‘No one…’

In that case, Samantha definitively had no feelings for him two years ago.

The corners of Timothy’s lips twitched but he could not force out a smile.

After Samantha finished speaking, she looked at Timothy’s face again, thinking that he would believe her at long last.

However, the expression on his face left her stunned. He did not look even half as happy, but seemed to give off a sense of sadness instead.

She blinked instinctively. Could it have been her illusion?

Samantha wanted to get a clearer look, but Timothy did not give her that chance as he had already turned around and strode out of the room.

She could only look blankly at his rear figure.

The atmosphere had clearly been quite good earlier. She even thought about how good it would be if their relationship became more cordial and therefore allowed them to get along better.

He was indecipherable in the past and even more indecipherable then.

Samantha stood there for a minute and felt her body getting hotter. She came to her senses at once and walked quickly to the window, opening it so the breeze could be let in.

After drying her hair and doing her skincare routine, Samantha walked to the side of the bed, pulled the blanket, and lay down to prepare for a good night’s sleep.

Barely seconds after closing her eyes, she heard footsteps at the door and subconsciously looked over to see Timothy’s return.

He was still expressionless as he walked straight and went up to the other side of the bed. He then lifted the blanket and laid down.

The light was switched off with a snap and the bedroom suddenly became dark.

Sensing that he was in a bad mood, Samantha did not dare to say anything since it was not as though they had never slept together. The bed was huge anyway, and there was no problem for them to keep to themselves and sleep.

Samantha closed her eyes.

She was very tired, very sleepy, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Unfortunately, her body was unusually hot, causing her to toss and turn over and over again.

Although she moved in a very delicate manner, she seemed to have bothered Timothy because he soon asked, “Are you going to sleep or not?” The darkness seemed to amplify his hoarse and resonant voice.

Samantha immediately did not dare to move and said hurriedly, “Yes, I’ll sleep. I’m sleeping! I’m going to sleep!”

After a pause, she explained weakly, “It’s just… It feels a little hot.”

The man was silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth. “It is.”

“Ah, so you think so too? Then I’ll— Aghh—”

In the darkness, Timothy got up suddenly and grasped Samantha’s wrist. The next second, his body covered hers and he planted a kiss on her lips.

The rest of Samantha’s sentence, which was ‘…turn on the air conditioner’, had been completely cut off by Timothy.

His kiss was very strong and he had started to venture further while Samantha was still confused. His big palm had slipped in the hem of her clothes…

“Mmgghh…”

Samantha struggled. Did Timothy misunderstand her? When she mentioned being hot, it was purely to describe the temperature, not some kind of ambiguous hint!

In fact, she had slept with Timothy in the same bed before, but Timothy had always viewed her with disdain and never went so far as to become so…ravenous!

Could it be…

Samantha thought of something all of a sudden.

It had to be the dinner earlier!

No wonder Old Madam Barker did not take a bite when they were eating and insisted that they finish the food! There was a reason behind that action.

As soon as that thought occurred to Samantha, she pushed Timothy forcefully away and panted slightly as soon as she managed to distance herself from him a little. She then said quickly, “Timothy, you’re only like this because Grandma probably put something in our food.. Snap out of it!”