Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As soon as Samantha approached Timothy, he happened to have hung up already. He put his phone away and looked at her.

Samantha froze. Realizing that she had wanted to come over and see who Timothy was calling, she felt a little embarrassed and could not help but laugh dryly at herself.

“Why…are you still at home? Don’t you need to go to the company today?”

Timothy smiled. “I’m skipping work today.”

Samantha was lost for words. Hearing a statement like that from a workaholic like him made her feel as though the sun had risen from the west instead of the east.

She unconsciously turned and looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Time to eat,” the man then said.

“What?” Samantha snapped back to herself and answered without thinking, “I haven’t cooked yet.”

Aunt Julia was not around and there were no other servants in the villa.

“Food’s already ready,” Timothy uttered those three words and got up to head straight to the kitchen.

Samantha stared at the man’s rear figure in surprise. It took her a full ten seconds to realize what he had just said. ‘The food was ready? Who could’ve cooked it? Timothy?’

She followed along.

An array of dishes was laid out on the dining table, consisting of three dishes and one soup that was being kept warm. Surprisingly, all of them were her favorite dishes.

The presentation of the dishes was rather pleasant and it smelled delicious.

Samantha blinked several times and was a bit skeptical after sitting down. She looked at Timothy and asked softly, “Timothy, did you…order takeout?”

She had recalled how Timothy was born with a silver spoon and was the kind of high-bred man who steered clear of the kitchen and never cooked before.

Timothy glanced at her and said emphatically, “I cooked them.”

“Really?” Samantha did not hold himself back and asked right away. “When did you learn how to cook?”

Timothy’s hand tightened slightly as he held his cutlery.

Back when Samantha regained consciousness after being shot, she had always been staying in the hospital to recuperate. At that time, she had no appetite for the bland and tasteless hospital food, finding it to be especially unpalatable. That was one of the things she inadvertently complained about to Timothy.

He remembered hiring a dietitian specifically to create some customized meals. Of course, he could have told the dietitian to cook it every day, but he felt that he should learn to cook it himself. Samantha was a big eater, and it would be good if he could cook whatever food she wanted to eat in the future.

That was how he started to learn the tips and tricks of cooking nutritious meals for her every day.

His pride stopped him from telling her that he had rolled up his sleeves and cooked all the food for her, so Samantha always thought that the nutritious meal was prepared by a nutritionist. She even praised the food several times in front of him and extolled the nutritionist’s skills in preparing such sumptuous food. Timothy did not know whether to be pissed or to laugh when he heard that.

She still had not noticed anything at all, even until the present day. Just how little was his place in her heart?

Timothy’s tone became half as warm compared to earlier. “I learned it long ago.”

Samantha wondered just how long ago that could be.

She thought carefully about her relationship with him in the past and seemed to realize that she had never seen him entering the kitchen before. Could he have learned how to cook within the past two years?

“Why would a man like Timothy learn to cook for no apparent reason?”

She unconsciously said what was in her heart.

Timothy’s voice became even frostier and he asked instead, “What do you think?”

“What do I think?”

Samantha bit her lower lip and frowned in thought.

Most men only start learning to cook because of a woman. Could it be for Penelope? Or perhaps one of the other women around him?

Samantha felt a little uncomfortable in her heart when she thought of that.

She had been with Timothy for so long and yet he never learned to cook for her. It was with other women that he learned to cook…

Just how much did he dislike her!

She would be lying if she said she was unconcerned about what happened in the past. A woman’s instinct was to compare various aspects of herself with other women.

Talking about that subject was bound to make her feel even more stressed and annoyed. Samantha, therefore, decided to end it right then and there. “I don’t know. Let’s eat. I’m getting hungry.”

She picked up the cutlery, scooped the food, and ate it right away. Her attitude suggested that she was going to keep quiet throughout the meal.

Timothy’s gaze came into focus and he lamented how she was not even willing to guess…

There was a slight ache in his heart.

Although their relationship has improved, that little bit of improvement seemed to be the farthest that they were going to go…

Timothy lost his appetite. He ate a couple of bites and got up to leave the dining hall.

Samantha heard his footsteps heading upstairs. About five minutes later, he then came back down, went out, and drove off.

She stopped eating as well.

Samantha, too, had lost her appetite.

…

Over at the Barker Group, Ronald was stunned to see Timothy walking over and thought that he was seeing an apparition.

Timothy called earlier that morning to inform Ronald that he would be staying with his wife at home for a few days and would not be going to the company. Ronald was told not to disturb him if there was nothing important and to postpone anything that was important!

In the end, barely one morning had passed and his boss somehow came to the company again!

Could the company be facing some huge emergency? It was unlikely because he would not have missed the news if something went awry at the company!

In that case, could his boss have had some conflict with the missus?

It was a bolt from the blue for Ronald. He really would rather have something major happen to the company than see friction between Timothy and Samantha!

Judging from the way Timothy walked blankly into the office, Ronald felt that the latter possibility was more likely. He wondered why life had to be so cruel to him…

He did not even have the chance to spend a few days in peace.

Nevertheless, his first priority as a special assistant was to solve problems for his boss. Even though Ronald did not want to end up like cannon fodder, he still got up and bit the bullet as he headed into the office.

He stood at his desk, pondered over the kind of language he should use, then spoke in the softest of voices. “Mr. Barker, did you…come over so suddenly because you…had a falling-out with the missus? There’s actually…a knack for husband and wife to interact with each other…”

Timothy looked up and glanced coldly at Ronald.

The air conditioner was working well enough inside the office but Ronald’s back was sweating profusely.

He forced himself to stop speaking and said weakly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Barker. I overstepped my line. I’ll go out and continue my work right now.”

Ronald turned around immediately as soon as he finished speaking and lifted his feet to exit the office.

However, Timothy’s voice sounded the next second, “Come back here.”

He stopped instinctively and turned around immediately. His expression was miserable and he begged for mercy, “It was my fault, Mr. Barker. I shouldn’t have talked so much. Please give me another chance…”

Timothy shot back impatiently. “Shut up!”

Ronald closed his mouth and did not dare to speak anymore.

Timothy leaned against the back of the chair and massaged his eyebrows using his fingers. He had a briefly strained expression before he opened his lips, “Are you married, Ronald?”

Ronald was startled by that question but he responded promptly and answered truthfully, “No.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?”

“Uh… Once? During kindergarten…”

Timothy sneered.. “What kind of advice do you think you can give me if you’ve never been married nor been in a relationship before?”