Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Samantha was utterly speechless. She did not expect him to hear her words so clearly despite being unconscious.

She only blurted out everything that was in her heart because she was anxious and worried at the time. It was not as though she expected it to work. When Timothy posed those questions to her, Samantha’s inner cowardice appeared again.

Her expression flickered several times and she gulped twice. At the end of the day, she did not have the guts to admit it and could only whisper, “I didn’t. You…must’ve been dreaming, I guess.”

‘She didn’t?’

Timothy frowned. Could it really be a dream he had during his coma?

However, he clearly remembered that Samantha’s voice had woken him from his dream. If she had not spoken beside his ear, he would have probably indulged himself in that dream and never willingly woke up.

Timothy looked intently at Samantha and spoke again. “Look at me, Samantha.”

“What?” Samantha raised her head subconsciously and happened to make eye contact with the man.

Timothy’s words were very clear. “Look at me and answer me again! Was I really dreaming?”

Samantha bit her lower lip. She opened her mouth and closed it again, until finally she replied in a most unconvincing tone, “Yes.”

Timothy smirked.

He stretched out his hand, tapped her forehead with his slender finger, then said in a husky voice. “You’re lying, Samantha.”

He was not always able to tell whether she was lying or telling the truth, but at that moment, he could clearly see that she was lying.

Samantha’s long curly eyelashes trembled relentlessly. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them and looked at Timothy.

There was a look of affirmation in her eyes. She straightened her neck and said, “You’re right. I lied. I…I said all that. It was real, and you weren’t dreaming.”

Back at the intensive care unit, when she held his cold hand and watched him lying quietly on the hospital bed, she had let go of whatever conflicts they once had.

Deceiving herself was no longer possible.

Why was she so afraid of Timothy’s death? There was one answer to that and one answer only—she still loved him.

Regardless of how much or how often she repressed, restrained, or denied her true feelings, everything spilled out at that exact moment.

After she spoke, she could not help but lower her eyes and wait quietly for his next sentence.

Would he taunt her or warn her like before? Or would there be a different result?

More than ten seconds later, Timothy still remained quiet and motionless. She could not help but look up furtively and take a peek at Timothy.

Little did she expect to look straight into his bottomless eyes.

Timothy was looking right at her and there seemed to be a countless array of emotions surging within those pupils. She could not discern what was on his mind and became inexplicably more nervous as a result.

Another period of time had passed. It felt as though a century came and went, but then it seemed as though everything happened within the span of a second. The man finally opened his mouth and said, “Okay.”

‘Okay?

‘What did ‘okay’ mean?’

Samantha froze for a moment and was dumbfounded.

It took Samantha about a minute to understand that Timothy’s ‘okay’ was a response to everything she said when he was unconscious.

In that case, what did ‘okay’ really mean?

Was it merely a response to acknowledge her words, or…?

As Samantha pondered over everything, she heard the man’s voice once again, “Samantha, let’s…live happily from now onward.”

As soon as he completed his sentence words fell, Samantha’s black pupils widened abruptly in disbelief.

Did Timothy just…confess?

Old Madam Barker told her that Timothy liked her, and she also felt that Timothy had changed recently. There was also his selfless act of giving up his life to save her.

However, his inexplicable abandonment two years ago became a thorn in Samantha’s heart, making her afraid to continue having feelings for him.

After all that, Timothy suddenly told her—using clear and easy-to-understand language no less—that he wanted them to live happily from then onward?

Samantha’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Timothy, licked her dry lips, and asked softly, “What are you… What are you talking about, Timothy?”

She really could not believe it.

Timothy looked at Samantha before him and remembered all of a sudden that she had the same silly look when he agreed to be her boyfriend for the first time.

Her round eyes stared at him and she asked him what he was talking about.

Timothy’s eyes were slightly stained with joy and he repeated his remark, “I said, let’s live happily from now onward.”

After a pause, his voice softened even more as he asked, “Okay?”

He was willing to let go of what happened two years ago because he wanted to start over again with Samantha.

During that moment where he disregarded his own life to protect her, he finally came to realize that perhaps he cared more about that woman than he thought he did.

People sometimes took things to heart because it was too difficult to forget.

Since that was the case, he did not want to keep it all in and make life difficult for himself anymore. He did not want them to hurt each other and miss out on each other.

Samantha heard it clearly the second time.

Timothy really wanted to start living happily with her.

Those words were sweet enough even though there was no ‘I love you’ or anything of the sort.

Although…

Samantha’s delicate eyebrows frowned ever so slightly.

Timothy saw each one of her expressions and clenched his hands tightly. The glow in his eyes faded a little and he asked, “You…don’t want to?”

Did he have no place in her heart?

“No, that’s not it!” Samantha shook her head unconsciously and flat-out denied it.

She wanted to of course, but there were some doubts in her heart.

The memory of him denouncing their marriage two years ago still bothered her. She wondered if she should ask whether there was any other reason for him to break the marriage off?

“What is it, then?” Timothy stared deeply at her.

Samantha looked straight into his eyes.

She wanted to ask him that but could not bring herself to when those words finally reached her lips.

The atmosphere was perfect, and everything might be ruined if she opened her mouth. Bad memories might resurface and he might give the same ‘I got tired of playing’ reason again.

Perhaps it was time for her to let go of the past and embrace the future.

After all, it had already been two years since then, and both of them were not the same people as they were in the past. They were already married too, and it might still be possible for her to hedge her bets on a new and much happier beginning. 

With that in mind, Samantha gulped and got up slowly from the chair. She then smiled and borrowed a page from Timothy’s book. “I’ll be in your care for the rest of my life, my husband!”

‘For the rest of my life…’

That was the first time Timothy ever came to appreciate the beauty of words.

Samantha was willing to leave the rest of her life in his hands.

On that occasion, he was determined to hold onto it as firmly as possible and never let go.

Timothy raised his hand and reached out toward Samantha. His slender fingers grabbed her hand slowly, but he was just about to give it a tight squeeze when the door of the ward swung open..