Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although Rochelle’s interactions with Timothy were few and far in between, she understood his character to some extent. After all, he was a childhood friend of Jonathan’s and used to be in a relationship with Samantha.

Timothy’s cold disposition was the stereotypical kind, deterring people from approaching him. Jonathan had a cold disposition as well, but it was the ruthless and ravenous kind. It would not be out of place for Jonathan or that playboy Zachary to do such an act, but it looked absolutely incongruous when Timothy did it.

Rochelle might be a fiery woman, but impulsiveness was the one thing she lacked. After all, one could never form conclusions just from a glance. She cocked a brow, looked askance at the waiter who seemed ready to shout at any time, then ordered frostily, “Shut your mouth and leave—quietly.”

One look and the waiter knew that she was not someone to be messed with. The waiter knew his place and slipped away while covering his mouth.

Rochelle put down the fire extinguisher in her hand, then said to the bodyguard who was following behind her. “Hand me your phone.”

The bodyguard offered it respectfully without hesitation.

Rochelle took his cell phone, typed out a short text, then sent it.

…

Inside the VIP room, Jonathan glanced at his lit-up phone screen when his phone buzzed. He clicked on the message and saw a line of words: [Come out. I’m at the door.]

Those words were so concise and domineering that one could not easily say no.

Although it was sent using the bodyguard’s phone, he could tell who the real sender was at a glance.

Jonathan put away the phone, straightened his clothes casually, then stood up.

Zachary started to complain when he saw that. “Hey, hey, where are you going? We’re just getting started and you’re already leaving? Didn’t we all agree to welcome Bunny back by drinking till we drop?”

“Wife’s orders,” Jonathan remarked curtly.

Rochelle’s icy expression appeared instantly in Zachary’s mind. Although she was as beautiful as could be, her ruthlessness was also second to none.

He still remembered that one time Rochelle smashed a wine bottle over his head after he tried to stop her fight with Jonathan. He ended up having gauze around his head for more than half a month.

From then onward, he never said anything to them nor got involved when they were at each other’s throats.

He immediately sported an ingratiating smile. “In that case, you should leave, Johnny. Remember to say hi to the missus for me.”

Jonathan’s lips twitched. He looked at Timothy and Harmony before saying, “I’m leaving.”

Timothy nodded slightly.

Harmony smiled. “Let’s meet up again some time.”

Jonathan turned around and strode out of the VIP room.

He spotted Rochelle standing in the corridor and walked over to her. He had just only approached her when he saw Rochelle’s fist coming sharply toward his face.

Rather than dodging, he allowed her to punch him and took it like a man.

Rochelle still felt irked even after giving him that punch. Punching him was no different from tickling him, but the reason she did not use the fire extinguisher was because she wanted him to remain conscious and answer her questions.

Jonathan was a little surprised when Rochelle only gave him one punch. His dark eyes stared at her and he finally asked, “That’s it?”

“Yep.”

Rochelle snorted coldly and said, “I have something to ask you. If I’m satisfied with your answer, I’ll ignore whatever stuff you’ve been doing behind my back recently. If I’m not, then you’d best prepare yourself to spend half a month in the hospital.”

Under normal circumstances, Rochelle would have given him only one option, which was to be hospitalized for half a month. At that moment, Jonathan had another option.

Who could possibly have been able to turn Rochelle into such a merciful woman?

Jonathan raised his eyebrows and said, “Ask away.”

“Who’s that woman in there?” Rochelle went straight to the point without saying another word of nonsense.

Jonathan replied without even thinking, “None of my business.”

“I’d much rather she be your business.” Rochelle rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t sidestep my question. You know what I’m asking.”

She could not care less if that woman inside the room had something to do with Jonathan.

As long as Jonathan did not end up fathering a child, he could play as much as he wanted and she would not give a single damn about it.

Timothy’s involvement, however, was a whole different matter altogether. Sammy’s relationship with him had just started to progress and they were about to live the rest of their days in happiness. Rochelle was not prepared to let anyone destroy that.

Jonathan pursed his lips and said again, “Harmony Johnson. A friend.”

“And?”

“That’s all.”

Rochelle felt amused at that moment. “You think you can dismiss me with that answer?”

She took one step closer to Jonathan and reduced the distance between them. Her beautiful eyes gazed up at him and she emphasized each word of her sentence, “Well then, you enjoy playing word games with me, don’t you? I’ll spell it out for you then. What’s the relationship between Timothy and that Harmony or whatever her name is?”

Jonathan lowered his gaze at her and did not shy away from making eye contact with her. He opened his lips and said the same two words, “A friend.”

Rochelle could resist remarking sarcastically, “Bros always have each other’s back, don’t they? It’s always this sort of chicanery that gets covered up so well.”

Jonathan remained expressionless and Rochelle could not discern anything at all from his expression.

Having lost all patience, she chuckled evilly and said, “Fine. It looks like you prefer being hospitalized for half a month. I’ll be happy to grant your wish!”

…

At the villa, Samantha took a short walk with Old Madam Barker after dinner, then spent an hour watching the old lady’s favorite television series. Once it ended, she sent the old lady back to her room to get some rest.

Samantha went back to her own room too. She took a shower, dried her hair, and did her skincare routine. It was not until she finished talking with the nurse that she realized it was already past ten, and Timothy still had not returned yet.

Just how much work did he have?

Samantha thought for a moment and decided to ask him out of concern. She clicked on WeTalk, typed a message, then sent it.

[Are you still busy, Timothy?]

The message went unanswered for a long time and Samantha frowned slightly.

Although it was about time for her to sleep, she did not feel like sleeping at all, perhaps because Timothy did not reply to her message.

She leaned on the bedhead and decided to start reading the book about news anchors and presenters that she bought.

Having passed the interview, the first knockout round would soon begin and she had to prepare by studying more.

She pored over the book so seriously that she had no idea how long she had been studying. When her eyes felt slightly sore, she closed them and opened them again before looking up at the wall clock. It was already almost midnight.

More than an hour had passed since her message to Timothy.

Did work take so much of his time that he could not even spare a moment to look at his phone?

Samantha placed her book down and picked up her cell phone. Just as she was dithering over whether or not to call Timothy, her phone started ringing all of a sudden.

She originally thought that Timothy had finally seen her message and was calling back, but she glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Rochelle.

Samantha was taken aback for a moment. Rochelle would not have called her that late under normal circumstances, so could something have happened to her?

She gulped and hurriedly answered the call, “What’s the matter, Chelle?”

Rochelle’s characteristically hoarse voice could be heard from the other end of the line, but she asked instead of answering the question, “Haven’t you slept yet?”

“No. Why are you asking me this?” Samantha was confused..