Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zachary frowned even more. “Today’s your first day of work at Lychee TV, right Bunny? Did you get this injury in the station? Were you bullied there?”

“It doesn’t make sense though. You’re new at the television station. None of your colleagues could possibly have any grudges with you and there’s no need for them to treat you like that, but… Wait a minute. Isn’t it Samantha’s first day on the job too? Did she do it?”

After considering the possibilities, Samantha—who also had her first day at Lychee TV—was the only one who could have any enmity with Harmony.

“Stop your random guesses. There’s no such thing.” Harmony reprimanded, as if Zachary had hit the nail on the head. She then forcibly pulled her hand away from Zachary’s grip and hid it behind her back.

She looked as if she was trying to cover it up.

“It really was her!” Flames of anger burned in Zachary’s eyes. “Didn’t you already return the title of champion to her? Why does she still resent you? She’s just the same as before. What a ruth—”

Before he could complete the word ‘ruthless’, a lighter flew across the air and struck his head. Zachary’s words got stuck and he unconsciously looked up to see Timothy’s cold gaze. His little heart trembled slightly but he added stubbornly, “Timmy, isn’t it wrong to hurt others on a whim?”

Timothy looked at him coldly and kept quiet, but his slender and beautiful fingers had reached for the vase on the coffee table.

There was cold sweat on Zachary’s back. He was absolutely certain that the vase would be smashed on his head if he so much as made one more unpleasant remark about Samantha.

“Okay, okay! I’ll shut up! I won’t say anything!” Zachary said while raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.

When Harmony saw that, she hurriedly said, “Tim, don’t take it out on Zac. He’s just worried about me, plus it really has nothing to do with Samantha. I just hurt myself by accident.”

Timothy glanced at her and remained silent. He stretched out his long legs and left immediately.

Harmony sat there while watching the man’s back figure disappear behind the door. She had an unbearably disappointed and dejected look as she lowered her eyes and pursed her lips lightly.

The tea room suddenly became quiet.

Zachary scratched his head when he saw Harmony like that and comforted her. “Bunny, you… I hope you don’t take it to heart. That’s just how it is with Timmy’s temper. He treats everyone coldly. Just look at how treats me! He was going to crack my head just because of a little disagreement!

“At the end of the day though, Samantha is the one to blame. Timmy used to be more approachable last time. It’s because Samantha betrayed him and caused him to experience those two years of pain that he became much colder. I really can’t wrap my head around what exactly he sees in Samantha.”

He touched his chin for a moment. “Could Timmy be the kind of guy who likes things hardcore and enjoys being abused?”

The two of them then heard footsteps at the door of the tea room.

Zachary and Harmony unconsciously looked at each other. Did Jonathan arrive? Or did Timothy come back because he was worried?

The door was pushed open. The person who came in was neither Jonathan nor Timothy, but a waitress.

She stepped forward with a paper bag in her hand and said respectfully to Harmony, “Ms. Johnson, this ointment is for you.”

Ointment?

Harmony took the paper bag and opened it. Inside was some ointment that was used specifically to treat scratches.

The only people who knew about her scratched hand were herself, Zachary, and Timothy.

Did Timothy request someone to buy the ointment and send it to even though he left without saying anything?

Zachary scoffed, “I knew it. Timmy doesn’t look like the kind who likes getting tortured. He’s the stereotypical broody man. He might not have said anything nice, but he still cares about you deep down. If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have asked someone to buy some ointment for you.”

Harmony looked at the ointment and could not control her smile. All that sadness and disappointment from earlier had disappeared.

Zachary picked up the teacup and finished the tea in one sip. He then sighed and said, “If you ask me, Timmy definitely likes you more compared to Samantha. If you hadn’t come back so late, Timmy wouldn’t’ve married no matter what tricks she has up her sleeve or how much Old Madam Barker urges him. In fact, there wouldn’t even be a place for her in his heart. It’s such a pity…”

‘Pity?’

Harmony looked at the ointment in her hand as her emotions began swirling deep in her eyes.

It would never be a pity because what was hers would always belong to her.

Timothy was destined to belong to her. He always was and always had been.

…

Samantha lay on the bed while waiting for Timothy to come back but felt very restless. She lay on her left, then on her right, and none of the positions she was in seemed comfortable to her.

She held her phone and thought about reading some gossip or watching a television series, but she was unable to pay attention to anything she read or watched.

In the end, she got up, put on a thin jacket, then went out of the room and headed downstairs. She wanted to make herself a warm cup of milk and calm her mood while she wondered how to start the conversation with Timothy later.

Samantha walked into the kitchen and took out a large bottle of milk from the refrigerator. She poured some into a glass and heated it briefly in the microwave. Once it was warm, she held the glass and walked out of the kitchen while drinking the milk.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Aunt Julia’s room door swinging open.

Aunt Julia walked right out. Samantha originally thought that Aunt Julia was either going to the bathroom or to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen just like how she went to get some milk. To her surprise, Aunt Julia walked straight toward Old Madam Barker’s room.

Samantha unconsciously glanced at the wall clock. Old Madam Barker had long gone to bed at that hour, so why would Aunt Julia go to the old lady’s room?

Was Old Madam Barker feeling unwell?

She knew that Old Madam Barker had, in recent years, suffered the occasional illness due to her old age. She could not help but feel worried for the old lady and hurried over right away.

When Samantha walked up to the room door, she was about to walk in when she heard Aunt Julia say, “Old Madam, remember when you told me to investigate Harmony’s return to the country? There have been some discoveries.”

‘Harmony.’

When Samantha’s ears picked up on that name, her left foot—which she had lifted up just before taking a step into the room—froze briefly. She then slowly placed it down again and turned around, deciding instead to stand by the wall near the door rather than go in.

She felt a buzzing in her ears because she never expected Old Madam Barker to investigate Harmony.

According to the information that Rochelle found, Old Madam Barker knew and liked Harmony when the latter was a child. Why did the old lady suddenly decide to investigate Harmony’s return to the country?

Samantha’s senses made her aware of something. Her heart sank unwittingly and her hand tightened its grip on the glass.

Old Madam Barker’s voice was then heard. “Tell me.”

Aunt Julia replied, “Harmony came back much earlier than we thought. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but she returned on the same day Mr. Barker came back from Barrkjaer Island with Mrs. Barker. They were on the exact same flight too.”

Old Madam Barker remembered that.

Timothy and Samantha went to Barrkjaer Island for a vacation. The journey back was marred with unhappiness and they were even photographed being at odds with each other.

Harmony came back at the same time too?

Old Madam Barker rubbed her temples because the entire situation was giving her a slight headache. “Go on..”