Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Samantha's heart skipped a beat.

She pursed her lips lightly and tapped her fingertip on the phone screen to answer. "Hello."

The man's low, pleasant, but slightly cold voice was heard saying, "Let's meet."

After a pause, he spat out two more words. "My wife."

A speechless Samantha unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone.

It was not wrong for him to call her that, since she was not officially divorced from Timothy yet and they were still husband and wife in the eyes of the law.

However, it was still very uncomfortable to hear him say that because she was unsure what Timothy's actual situation was.

Samantha calmed down and opened her lips to say, "Okay."

He did not seem to have expected that she would agree without hesitation and was slightly surprised. After a few moments' silence, he said, "The car is already waiting for you at the hospital gate."

Samantha could not help but sneer, "Was I going to be tied up if I didn't agree?"

Even his car had already arrived, which meant that there was nothing she could do to avoid it

Her words did not irk Timothy and he even replied playfully, "Sure, if that's what you prefer."

Samantha immediately ended the call.

When Timothy heard the beeping tone, his lips twitched and an unfathomable glow appeared at the bottom of his eyes.

After Samantha put down her phone, she said to Rochelle, "I'm going to see Timothy!"

"I'll come with you!" Rochelle offered without hesitation.

Timothy was an extremely dangerous lunatic and Rochelle's greatest worry was that he might do something to Samantha if she went to see him alone!

Samantha shook her head. "I have to meet him alone, Chelle. You don't have to worry, alright? With his temperament now, he would've sent a killer instead of a car if he really wanted me dead!"

It made sense.

Rochelle looked at her with a frown and opened her mouth to try and persuade Samantha. However, she could only sigh heavily in the end.

"You have to be careful, then. Let me know as soon as possible if something goes wrong!"

"I will!" Samantha promised.

Rochelle sent Samantha to the door of the hospital and watched as Samantha got into the car. She then stood firmly on the spot and watched the car drive away, leaving only when the vehicle was completely out of her sight.

The car drove slowly on the road.

Samantha looked up at the driver in the driver's seat. Instead of Ronald, it was the bodyguard in charge of all the others during the wedding that day.

Such a sight was something she had never seen before when she was with Timothy.

Timothy never got his bodyguards to tag along for such things and practically only brought Ronald along to make handling work matters easier.

The increase of bodyguards seemed to occur only in the past three years.

What did he need that many bodyguards for? He was a businessman, not someone who muddled in shady stuff.

Could that Timothy really be an imposter?

Was that why his temperament and habits had changed so drastically? Could that explain why he was so heartless towards Old Madam Baker and herself?

During the few times that she had encountered him, she did not seem to have noticed anything wrong on the surface. However, she wondered if it had been difficult for her to notice because she tried to avoid him and always kept a distance from him. Could that have prevented her from getting a closer look at him?

Samantha was very confused. The car reached the underground parking lot of the hotel and parked there, after which the bodyguard got out of the car and opened the car door for her. "Please head upstairs, Ms. Larsson. Mr. Barker is waiting for you."

She lowered her eyes, set aside all the guesses she had in her mind, then got out of the car and walked toward the elevator.

Whatever the reasons were, finding the answer was something she had to do. That was Matthew's only chance of survival.

Since she was very familiar with the hotel, she pressed the button on the top floor as soon as she entered the elevator.

The elevator doors closed and it began to ascend.

The ascent was rather quick and the doors seemed to have opened again in the blink of an eye.

Samantha walked out of the elevator and toward the room door.

When she left the last time around, she thought she would never have to step into this place again. Unfortunately, life was always unpredictable, and she found herself at the suite even though it had not been long since her last visit.

She did not know what she would be facing when she opened the door, and despite being mentally prepared, she could not help herself from breathing gently when she finally opened the door.

After stepping into the room, she was stunned by the scene in front of her.

The room was decorated festively and romantically, with hanging ribbons, floating heart-shaped balloons, and complete with scented candles too. Anyone who set foot in there would feel as if they were in a dream.

The man stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and was still in his wedding suit. His slender and straight body, wide shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs were all features contributing to his beautifully perfect proportions.

His slender fingers were holding a wine glass, which he swirled gently. He then turned his face to the side to reveal the handsomely sexy contours of his side profile, which touched the hearts of many.

Then, he turned around and glanced over, with his black pupils looking directly at Samantha.

Behind him was a sudden display of fireworks that lit up the night sky. Like trees of fire and silver flowers, they were all extremely beautiful.

The contrast set off beautifully against the man's face, with the occasional burst of illumination from the fireworks revealing traces of evil in his handsome, deadly, and dangerous expression.

Samantha was a little lost in thought as she looked at it.

It was as if nothing changed between her and Timothy, and all the sadness she felt in the past was all fake...

"You're here, my wife," the man said. His voice was slightly lower and it seemed to resonate with one's heartstrings.

Samantha's vision came into focus all of a sudden.

Timothy had called her 'my wife' before using different tones, but on that particular occasion, there was a certain indescribable feeling when he called her that, although she did not know whether it was a misconception on her end.

Samantha said, "I'm here. Why did you want to see me? What's the matter?"

Seeing the rapid change in her expression, Timothy curled his lips slightly. Rather than answering Samantha, he strode over to the dining table.

There were candles on the table and a decanted bottle of red wine.

His fingertips tapped the table and he said to her, "It's been a while. How about a drink?"

After making that offer, he picked up the red wine and poured a glass without waiting for Samantha's answer.

When he saw Samantha standing still, he maintained his smile but spoke in a slightly colder tone. "Won't you do me the honor?"

Samantha had no plans to drink with Timothy or reminisce about the old days. The room looked like it was decorated for his wedding, and she felt very repulsed to think that it had been prepared for Timothy and Harmony.

From the looks of it, it appeared that she would not be able to reject Timothy that easily and it would be unwise to have any conflict with him.

After only a second's worth of hesitation, she walked over, pulled the chair, then sat down magnanimously.

Timothy raised his eyebrows slightly and pushed the cup toward her. He raised his cup and said, "Cheers... to the surprise you gave me today."

Samantha looked at the red wine in front of her. Although she wanted nothing more than to splash the glass of red wine on his face, she took a deep breath and held herself back.

She raised the glass of red wine and said dourly, "That makes both of us. You gave me a big surprise today, too."

She would never have disrupted his wedding if he had not sent someone to capture Matthew.

He was the one who brought it upon himself!

She replied him with more or less the same words he used on her.

Timothy stretched out his hand and clinked his glass to hers. After raising his head slightly, he took a sip and looked at her with a tilt of his head.

Samantha smiled as well and raised her head fearlessly to take a sip.

Timothy smirked with intrigue. "Aren't you afraid that I'd poison you?"

Samantha replied unceremoniously, "I'll drag you down with me before I die."

Timothy rested his chin on one hand and looked at her quietly for a few seconds with what seemed to be a fleeting emotion in the depths of his eyes.

The next second, Timothy's smile froze and he spoke in an icier voice.. "It's time we get down to business."