Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Numerous possibilities appeared in Alan's mind before Samantha's answer, but never did he expect it to be something like that...

He was genuinely stunned. "Might not be divorced?"

Samantha nodded. "I'm just as surprised."

Timothy was the one who handled the divorce back then, and his ruthlessness was such that she had no reason to suspect anything wrong with the divorce.

After getting the divorce certificate, she was in a bad state of mind and therefore did not read it at all.

As a result, she never would have expected that the divorce certificate would be fake.

In the meantime, she recounted everything that happened earlier to Alan.

He knew everything about her anyway and that additional bit of information was not going to make a difference. There were no secrets between her and him anymore too.

Alan's face became solemn after listening.

It happened so suddenly that they were all caught off guard.

A few seconds later, Alan looked up at Samantha and asked, "Do you believe what he said?"

The person just appeared out of nowhere.

Samantha was silent for a while before replying, "I don't want to believe what he said, so I have to know...what's really going on."

Alan nodded and said, "I'll get someone to check right now. You'll soon know the answer to whether you're divorced or not."

As soon as he said that, Samantha protested, "No. You can't do that."

After a pause, she added, "Sending someone over to the Civil Registry Bureau might be the easy way out, but at the same time, Timothy will know that I'm still alive if the records are checked. Then he'll know about Matt as well, and the both of us will never have a peaceful life anymore."

All her years spent in hiding would then be meaningless.

Alan clenched his hands suddenly and roared weakly, "I know. Of course, I know."

He took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions to the best of his ability. He then said, "Sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you."

Samantha's heart ached like never before.

Alan had always been gentle and doting in front of her, like a warm ray of sunlight. He never said a single harsh word to her and never once raised his voice at her.

He was truly a gentleman ever since the day he was born.

Samantha felt extremely guilty to see him act like that because of her.

She shook her head, then asked in a very gentle voice, "You don't want me to go back, do you, Dr. Sherwood?"

For the moment, the only thing she could do was go back by herself and find out the truth in secret.

She brought the divorce certificate with her when she went to Aharromoggh three years ago, but her bag fell to the ground after she had been kidnapped.

After she 'died', whatever remained of her belongings was sent home.

She had severed ties with her parents, so sending them to her parents' place was out of the question. The only other people they could be sent to were either Rochelle or Timothy.

It was better for her belongings to be in Rochelle's hands.

If they were with Timothy, it would be far more troublesome for her.

In any case, she had to get to the bottom of it at all costs.

How could she justifiably be with Alan if her divorce was invalid? How was she to give Matthew a complete family?

The best-case scenario was if the divorce certificate was in Rochelle's hands. Samantha could then secretly go home, compare it with the divorce certificate Rochelle had, and come back after ascertaining that the divorce certificate was real.

She did not have to worry if Rochelle knew that she was still alive. The entire world might betray her, but Rochelle would never do such a thing.

Rochelle would always be on Samantha's side.

Alan looked at her silently with a desolate look in his eyes.

He finally said, "My honest answer? Yes!"

He was afraid that something would happen to her again.

He was afraid that she would get into trouble again.

He was afraid that she would not come back again if she returned.

Samantha lowered her eyes and kept quiet.

She would not have wanted to go back either if she had a choice. She had gone through hell just to struggle out of everything.

There were times she still dreamt about suffocating under the ocean, but there was something far more uncomfortable than that suffocating feeling—her endless despair.

The man she loved wanted her dead.

That nightmare was something she would never be able to forget for the rest of her life.

After a long while, Alan finally caved in and said, "You should go back, Sammy."

He laughed in spite of himself as he said, "I know that you won't be able to pretend as if nothing happened and continue living peacefully if you don't go back."

"So, go back. Get to the bottom of it."

After a few seconds, he lowered his voice slightly, "Just… Remember to come back."

Samantha's eyes felt slightly teary. "Thank you."

He was the same as always and only had her interests in his heart all the time. Even if he was unenthusiastic about what she did, he would never make things hard for her.

What did she do to deserve his care and kindness?

She pursed her lips lightly and tried to speak in a relaxed tone. "I'll leave Matt in your care, then. You can…take him hostage."

'That way, you don't have to worry about me not returning.'

If Matthew was with him, she would still have to come back alive even if she had to go through hell.

Alan was amused. "Sure. I'll take good care of this hostage."

…

At the airport, Matthew hugged Samantha tightly and wailed, "Mommy, I don't want you to go! Don't go! Don't leave me behind!"

Samantha was also very reluctant to leave Matthew behind.

After she gave birth to him, they were practically together all the time and had never been separated for too long before.

Samantha hugged him back and coaxed, "Be good okay, Matt? You like Uncle Alan, don't you? You can stay with him for the time being."

Matthew did not give in and said, "But I like Mommy more! I don't want to be away from Mommy!"

When the time was almost up, Samantha had no choice but to be firm. She pushed Matthew away gently and helped wipe his tears away as she said, "Matt, you're a three-year-old boy now, and boys shouldn't cry so easily. I'm going on a business trip, and I'll be back soon."

Matthew reluctantly stopped crying but continued to hug her neck. He tried to confirm with her, "How long is soon?"

Smart kids were not easy to fool.

Samantha did not know how long it would take to handle everything, so she could not give him a definite timeline, lest Matthew felt cheated if she did not come back within the time frame.

She thought for a while and replied, "I bought you several Gelo sets at home. By the time you finish putting them together one by one, I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

Matthew had always been quick when putting together those Gelo blocks. He could finish several sets easily and felt that his mother was giving him a very reasonable time frame. He nodded reluctantly and said, "Pinky swear!"

Samantha smiled and stretched out her pinky to hook his little hand.

She stood up and looked at the still-silent Alan. She hesitated for a while but eventually opened her bag and took something out of it.

Samantha handed the item to him and Alan's expression changed slightly when he saw what it was.