Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Rochelle could not help but gnash her teeth when she heard Samantha suppressing the sadness in her voice.

‘That scumbag Timothy had better devote his entire heart to Samantha! I’ll never forgive him if he dares to betray Sammy!’

Rochelle was still a sensible woman despite having those thoughts in her heart. She squeezed Samantha’s hand, as if to lend her strength and support, and said, “Sammy, from the looks of things at the moment, Timothy hasn’t acted out of the ordinary in front of you and Harmony is the one who’s making the move. You need evidence to catch a criminal, so we have to investigate further before accusing Timothy.”

Indeed, one had to be in possession of evidence before making any claims about a person.

Timothy had been treating her well the whole time and they even enjoyed sweet moments together. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all.

On the contrary, it was Harmony who hinted at her, made overt remarks, and provoked her.

In the event it was entirely a one-person act by Harmony, Samantha would have fulfilled Harmony’s wishes if she fell into the trap.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Samantha nodded in agreement.

Rochelle picked up the cup and took a sip of tea from it to calm herself down a bit more. Only then did she ask, “What do you plan on doing?”

‘What do you plan on doing?’

Samantha lowered her gaze. She pinched the spoon between her fingers and unconsciously began stirring the soup in the bowl.

In truth, everything happened so suddenly that her brain was feeling a little exhausted after receiving so much information at one time. She would not be able to figure out what to do next because she had yet to even digest everything thoroughly.

Caring too much about the situation made her unable to be decisive on the matter.

She kept quiet. Rochelle did not urge Samantha on either because she understood Samantha’s feelings at that moment.

She knew exactly what it felt like to love someone because she once loved someone deeply too.

A love that was etched in one’s memories would taste the sweetest during moments of happiness but was agonizingly painful in times of suffering. Love was unreasonable that way.

She got up, sat down on the sofa beside Samantha, then spread her arms and said, “My arms are always welcome if you’re feeling down.”

Samantha did not hide her feelings with Rochelle. She snuggled into Rochelle’s arms and hugged Rochelle back.

She really needed that hug at that moment.

…

After Harmony left the entrance of Lychee TV, her wronged look and almost-teary expression on her face disappeared in an instant. She stopped a taxi and got in.

The driver asked her politely. “Good evening, Miss. Where would you like to go?”

Harmony did not give a location and merely said, “Just drive wherever.”

“Okay.” The driver started driving off into the traffic.

Harmony took out her cell phone and dialed a number. The other side answered almost immediately and she greeted softly, “Zac…”

The other person said something and she answered, “Okay. Understood.”

The call then ended.

She lowered her gaze as the corner of her lips curled up into a big grin. She placed her phone back in her bag, then raised the right hand that Rochelle had grabbed forcefully earlier.

Harmony looked at it for a moment, then raised her left hand and bent her fingers. She placed her long nails on the fair-skinned back of her palm and drew five long bloody lines.

She snorted in pain, although her expression did not change much and her grin became even wider.

After scratching the back of her hand, she looked at it again and felt that she had achieved the effect she wanted. She then raised her eyes and gave the driver a location to drive to.

…

That night, Timothy had dinner with a business partner whom Zachary introduced him to, and Zachary was there too. Their dinner only ended at ten.

After sending the business partner off, Ronald was about to go out to pick up the car when Zachary stopped him. He placed his hand on Timothy’s shoulders and said, “Timmy, you’ve been so busy recently that we haven’t seen much of you at all. You even stood me and Jonny up several times now! Now that I’ve finally gotten the chance to hang out with you today, you can’t just leave like this!”

Timothy narrowed his eyes at him.

“Come on, I’m just concerned about you, you know. Working all the time is so not okay. You have to take a breather and make sure to rest! Let’s head upstairs and have some tea. It’ll be perfect to get us sobered up from all the alcohol. I’ve given Jonny a ring too. He’ll be here soon.”

‘Make sure to rest.’

Those four words were the same four words that were always present in Samantha’s recent WeTalk messages to him.

Besides, a long time had passed since he hung out with Zachary and Jonathan.

Timothy finally spoke up and answered, “Okay.”

After leaving the VIP room, Timothy and Zachary walked toward the elevator entrance. There was a high-end tea room on the top floor of the hotel of which they were regular patrons.

When they entered the elevator, Zachary pressed the button to the top floor.

The elevator doors closed slowly, but before it could close completely, someone shouted from outside, “Could you hold it please.”

Zachary pressed the ‘door open’ button as soon as heard that.

The elevator door reopened and a figure walked in. As she walked, she said softly, “Thank y—”

Before she could finish her words, Zachary saw her familiar face and interjected in surprise. “Bunny, it’s you.”

Harmony raised her eyes slowly. There was first a hint of surprise when her captivating gaze laid eyes on Zachary. She then looked at Timothy beside her and smiled as she maintained her gaze on the man’s handsome face. “Zac, Tim, what a coincidence.”

Zachary smiled and asked, “Are you here for dinner?”

“Yeah, today’s my first day on the job, so I rewarded myself with a nice dinner. I’m feeling a bit bloated right now because of my meal so I was planning to head upstairs and have some tea,” Harmony said naturally.

“Are you alone?” Zachary frowned. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You just returned to the country, and we’re the only people you know. We happen to be going to have some tea too. Why don’t you join us? We can celebrate your first day at Lychee TV while we’re at it!”

Harmony smiled sweetly. “In that case, I’ll shamelessly crash your tea session then.”

The elevator dinged and they reached the top floor.

Timothy was first to walk out. Zachary gestured in a gentlemanly manner for Harmony to walk out before him.

As VIP guests there, the manager greeted them respectfully as soon as he saw them. “Mr. Barker, Mr. Summer, your tea room is ready. Right this way please.”

He glanced at Harmony subconsciously as he spoke.

Due to the immense publicity surrounding the recent competition, his wife had been duly following all the updates and talked to him about it every day. He therefore recognized Harmony at a glance, knowing her to be the fake ‘most beautiful anchor’ who robbed Mrs. Barker of the credit and deprived the latter of first place.

Logically speaking, Harmony and Mrs. Barker ought to be on bad terms with each other and should rightfully be mortal enemies. Why, then, would Harmony show up with both Mr. Barker and Mr. Summer?

Her relaxed look and smiling expression even suggested that she had a good relationship with the two men.

What was going on?

Although the manager was confused, he made sure not to let his emotions show on his face. After leading the party of three into the room, he gently closed the door behind him and took out his cell phone. He opened his WeTalk and recorded a voice message to his wife, “Dear, I just saw Mr. Barker and Harmony together….”