Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ronald was choked by Timothy’s words and could only remain silent for a long time.

Sadness soon ensued.

When it came to relationships, it was not as though he was disinterested or lacked the financial capability to be in one. He would be much sought after, considering his good looks and status as a well-paid member of the upper class.

Unfortunately, his workload piled up after Timothy took over the Barker Group a few years ago. As Timothy’s assistant, he naturally got busier and was unable to squeeze out even a little bit of time to meet women.

When Timothy and Samantha were preparing to get married, Ronald’s initial thought was that Timothy would need to balance work with family after getting married. After all, Timothy had to make time to be with his wife. That way, Ronald would also be able to free up some time and try his luck at a relationship. What he never expected was for Timothy to break off the marriage.

Worse still, Timothy turned into a workaholic and spent most of his time at work.

Whenever he could finally spare a little bit of time to go on a coffee date or a drinking date with a woman, Timothy’s intimidating and repeated calls came at the most inopportune times.

As time passed, no women were willing to date him and he ended up remaining single until then. Whenever his mom and dad chatted with him, a great majority of their conversation centered around exhorting him to get married.

He had the sudden urge not to give up on his boss just like that!

Whether it was for Timothy’s happiness or his own, it was imperative that he helped Timothy to foster a good relationship with Samantha.

Ronald adjusted his emotions, raised his eyes, and braved himself to look at Timothy. He then said, “Even though I don’t have any experience myself, I’ve seen enough to know a thing or two about it!”

“Oh?” Timothy cocked an eyebrow slightly. “Do tell, then.”

“Ahem.” Ronald pretended to clear his throat before saying, “I’ll be honest with you, Mr. Barker, my parents are the most loving couple in the entire village. This reputation of theirs extends far beyond the village and no one else can compare to them!

“But I heard from my mother that she met my dad on a blind date. At that time, the two of them did not take a liking to each other, but their respective elders were happy with them. It was only on their family’s insistence on their pairing that the two of them got married. In the beginning, my parents just could not stand each other. Big arguments happened on occasion but smaller ones were more frequent. The worst one caused my mother to pack up and head back to stay with her own family!”

Timothy’s gaze seemed to come into focus even more. “What happened after that?”

Ronald noticed Timothy’s intrigue and said even more enthusiastically, “After that, my dad’s family forced him to persuade my mom into coming back. My dad wasn’t happy at all and neither was my mom, so my mom’s mother—my grandmother—felt that she could not let the young couple go on like that any longer. She wanted their relationship to improve, so she paid for them to travel.

“You’ll definitely feel better if you go sightseeing and eat some delicious food. My parents got much closer when they were traveling.

“More importantly, when they came back from their trip, my mother had just conceived me. My mother was calmer because of her baby and my dad felt a sense of responsibility as well. Their life then became so sweet that they never quarreled anymore in the next few decades! Until today, I still have to endure watching them get all lovey-dovey with each other!”

His parents had told him that story for years on end, brainwashing him with it every single day. Whenever his father finished telling the story, his mother picked up from where her husband left off. It had reached a point where he could recite the entire story backward without having to take a breather in between.

Timothy remained silent for a few seconds before asking, “Traveling?”

“Exactly!” Ronald nodded. “Mr. Barker, if you really want to get along well with Mrs. Barker, you shouldn’t have a fall-out with each other all day long. If conflict can chip away at a couple’s feelings, it’ll be even worse with you two bec—”

Timothy’s frosty gaze swept over.

Ronald felt coldness around his neck and immediately changed his sentence, “What I’m trying to say is, when you and Mrs. Barker got married, all you did was sign an agreement, right? Don’t all women look forward to weddings and stuff like that? If you ask me, it’d be good for you to bring the missus on a trip. Treat it as a long-overdue honeymoon. You can also buy her a diamond ring. I’m sure she’ll be very happy.”

After a pause, he winked cheekily, “It’d be even better if you travel with her and come back with the future little Mr. Barker. That way, Mrs. Barker won’t always think about getting a divorce.”

“You…” Timothy uttered coldly.

Panic appeared in Ronald’s eyes. ‘Crap, I couldn’t control myself and ended up touching the boss’s sore spot!’

The next second, however, Timothy said, “…are pretty good. Your bonus this month will be doubled.”

That was Ronald’s first time experiencing sudden joy after grief!

Ronald was so excited that he immediately responded, “I’m eternally grateful, Mr. Barker!”

Timothy ignored him and immediately ordered, “Postpone all of next week’s work.”

Ronald’s words might have been harsh, but none of what he said seemed to be wrong.

Samantha really liked all that fancy stuff and Timothy was reminded of it when he proposed to her. At Zachary’s suggestion, he used a drone to spell out the proposal in the air and she was incredibly happy at that time.

Women were probably all like that.

Many women described such things as giving it a ceremonial feel.

…

Samantha thought that Timothy would disappear for nearly half a month after leaving the villa. After all, that was what he did in the past. To her surprise however, he returned after a mere couple of hours.

Timothy strode in and went straight upstairs. He came back down a few minutes later, then walked up to her and held her wrist before dragging her out.

Samantha was startled and wondered what was going on.

“Where are you taking me, Timothy?”

Rather than answering her, he led her out of the villa and walked to the car. He went to the front passenger seat and opened the door before shielding her head with his hand and forcing her in.

After closing the door, he went to the driver’s seat and got in. Once the engine was turned on, he stepped on the gas pedal and drove the car out.

Samantha could not help but glance at him from the side and ask, “Did something happen?”

Timothy still did not answer.

Samantha frowned. “Where are you taking me?”

The man finally glanced at her and said solemnly, “You’ll know when we reach.”

After a pause, he said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to sell you off. Besides, you’re not worth the money.”

Would it kill him to speak nicely?

Samantha was so incensed that she did not want to talk anymore. Engaging in a conversation with him would only shorten her life span.

The car was driven not into the city, but deeper and deeper into the suburbs. Samantha started to feel a little uneasy. What was Timothy going to do, exactly? If his intention was not to sell her off, could he be intending to bury her alive?

After about an hour and a half later, the car finally came to a stop.

Samantha stared blankly at the airport in front of her. Why did Timothy bring her to the airport for no good reason? Was it to pick someone up? It was not as if Old Madam Barker was coming back that day!

As her thoughts started to run wild, Timothy had gotten out of the car and went to her side. He grabbed her wrist after opening the door and unfastened her seat belt, helping her out of the car and bringing her into the airport.

He took her to a place and left her there, saying, “Wait here.”

Then he walked away.

Samantha’s first instinct was to chase after him. “Timothy, where are you goi—”

All of a sudden, Samantha bumped into someone by accident, sending the person’s ID card and plane ticket fluttering from their hand to the ground..