Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Timothy kept quiet while his dark pupils stared at Ronald.

That one look caused Ronald’s hair to stand on end and he swiftly started to recall where exactly he had gone wrong.

After giving it a lot of thought, he felt that he had already done what Mr. Barker ordered and there was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said.

When Ronald finally could not handle his own boss’s death stare, he decided to bite the bullet and ask weakly once more, “Mr. Barker, what have I done wrong? Please tell me directly. I’ll definitely change!!”

A few seconds later, Timothy finally opened his mouth and asked, “What did you call her?”

Ronald was even more confused at that sudden question. However, he soon had a lightbulb moment after having digested that question thoroughly. “Mr. Barker, I misspoke. I shouldn’t have called her Ms. Larsson. I should’ve addressed her as…Mrs. Barker.”

After saying that, he secretly glanced at Timothy and saw the man’s lips curling up. He then retracted his gaze before bending slightly to get into the car.

It was only then that Ronald breathed a massive sigh of relief. He was lucky to have guessed it right.

Moments ago, he nearly died of fright. His big boss had looked at him in such a way that he thought he had leaked the company’s high-level secrets. In the end, it was nothing more than the issue of addressing Samantha.

Then again, Timothy never seemed to take offense when Ronald called Samantha ‘Ms. Larsson’ in the past, yet for some reason Timothy suddenly could not bear to hear him addressing Samantha as ‘Ms. Larsson.’ Perhaps Timothy’s domineering act of saving the damsel in distress and succeeded in warming up Timothy and Samantha’s relationship!

Ronald could not help but feel happy for them. Sweet mother of God! He was just super overjoyed to see them finally being a couple!

…

The car arrived at the entrance of the Barker Group.

Timothy had just opened the car door and exited the vehicle when a slender figure rushed up to his side all of a sudden. The figure tried grabbing his arm, but he dodged it easily, causing the figure to grasp nothing but thin air and end up falling onto the ground.

Timothy lowered his gaze and looked at the woman coldly.

Penelope had a mournful expression as she looked at Timothy pitifully. There was a very strong hint of weeping in her voice. “Timmy, ssnnff…”

She immediately started to grumble, “I came to look for you but the two security guards at the entrance refused to let me in. They said something about having to make an appointment. Do I still need to make an appointment? You should fire them, Timmy. They have terrible judgment!”

Ronald had already gotten out of the car too. He tried hard not to laugh when he listened to her.

Penelope was and always been a good-for-nothing rich daughter. She was clearly the one with ‘terrible judgment’!

Ronald walked to Timothy’s side and asked in a low voice, “Mr. Barker, should I deal with her?”

They were at the company entrance, after all. It would leave a sour taste in people’s mouths if Penelope was allowed to bawl her eyes out there.

Penelope saw that Timothy was quiet and noticed that his handsome face was very icy too. In addition, the way he looked at her did not seem to contain even the slightest bit of warmth, unlike the indulgence he showed her in the past. Her heart tightened and she did not dare to be impudent anymore. She stood up and said tearfully, “Timmy, I… I have something to tell you. Can you spare me some time?”

The corners of Timothy’s lips twitched. “Sure.”

Penelope was immediately overjoyed. She knew that Timothy’s heart would melt as long as she shed tears. As long as she admitted her mistake and used a bit of cajolery later, Timothy would definitely stop being angry at her and forgive her. It worked so many times before that she was confident of her success for the next one too.

…

At the CEO’s office, Timothy walked in first, followed by Penelope.

She was wondering how best to cry and start her wheedling when she heard the man’s cold and indifferent voice. “You have five minutes.”

Penelope was so stunned that she quickly returned to her senses. Her lips twitched and tears began streaming down again. “Timmy, don’t be so cold. I…”

“Four minutes.”

The affectionate and coquettish sentences she had prepared immediately became stuck in her throat. Penelope knew that Timothy kept to his words, and once her five minutes were up, he would probably throw her out for real!

Her father, Justin, had received news earlier that morning regarding the Barker Groups’ intentions of canceling all cooperation with the Schmidt Group. The Schmidts’ were relying on her and she did not dare to mess around anymore.

Penelope sniffled, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eyes, then said, “Timmy, I’m here to admit my mistakes to you. I was the one who did all that to Samantha and I didn’t expect to get you involved. I’m sorry. This is my mistake. I really didn’t mean it! I just…didn’t know that you and Samantha were already married.”

It was her mother who taught her that trick. Compared to grumbling and grouching, admitting one’s mistakes would be more successful in getting the pity of a man like Timothy.

Moreover, the blame had to be shifted to Samantha.

Her mother had analyzed that there were probably unavoidable circumstances at play when Timothy married Samantha, which was why such an identity was fabricated and kept under wraps for so long. Everything probably only happened because Samantha wanted to absolve herself of the situation and use some underhanded means to make Timothy come forth and make the marriage public.

In short, they were certainly not as loving as they said they were.

“Timmy, I only did this because Samantha came for us first. She was jealous of my relationship with you. She joined hands with Sheena, who then seduced my father and wrecked my entire family. We’re breaking apart and all I want is an eye for an eye!”

“Timmy, Samantha isn’t as simple as you think she is. Her schemes and plots are dirty and vicious. Don’t be fooled by her!”

Timothy’s gaze finally landed on her face. His lips curled up slightly but there did not seem to be any joy in his eyes.

His gaze was evidently very indifferent, but Penelope was unable to say a single word and felt as though her throat had been strangled.

Timothy’s face was expressionless and her words seemed like air to him. He raised his hand to glance at his watch before opening his lips and saying, “Your five minutes are up.”

It was a simple and direct order for her to leave.

Penelope’s eyes widened in disbelief. She said so many things but he did not have any reaction nor any response. He should not have treated her like that or act in such a way toward her!

“Timmy, how could you treat me like this? Did you forget your promise to ‘her’? You said you’d treat me well!”

Timothy scoffed softly. “If it weren’t for ‘her’, do you think you could still stand here?”

That sentence caused Penelope to stagger back a couple of steps, as if she had been struck by lightning.

She always thought that Timothy had developed feelings for her after their interaction during the past two years. She had previously leaked out rumors saying that they were in a relationship and followed up by teasing how there was good news in store. Timothy was not angry at all, and he always indulged her by giving her whatever she wanted. She really thought he did all that because he fell in love with her, but…was all of that simply because he had promised ‘that woman’?

Penelope was extremely saddened but could not help using ‘her’ to plead with him once more. “In that case, Timmy, can you…give me and my family another chance? For ‘her’ sake?”

It was either that, or the Schmidts would suffer the same fate as the Larssons….