Once Bitten, Twice Shy

'Once multiple personalities are formed, it is difficult to cure, and the symptoms can only be controlled through drug treatment. The main drugs used are antidepressants and anxiolytics, antidepressants are mainly fluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine. Anxiolytics are mainly lorazepam, diazepam, and buspirone.'

Samantha sat up straight and read that paragraph several times while tapping her fingertips rhythmically on the table.

Since she had no way of dragging Timothy to do a professional checkup, she had to determine whether or not he had multiple personality disorder in a roundabout way.

In other words, she could ascertain whether or not he really was sick by investigating if he took drugs containing the above-mentioned ingredients to suppress his condition.

Samantha narrowed her eyes and thought carefully. When she went to the hotel suite where Timothy lived to search for the divorce certificate, she did not see any drugs even after searching the entire suite.

Another possibility would be his office.

She would have the chance to check his office when she started work at the Barker Group.

In any case, the information she had was still big enough of a breakthrough, and Milton providing her that information was helpful.

Samantha picked up her cell phone and sent a sincere thank you to Milton on WeTalk.

…

Two days later, Old Madam Barker informed Samantha that the arrangements had been made and Samantha would be able to join the Barker Group that very day.

Samantha read up on the information for two days at home and rested for two days. The red marks on her neck have faded quite a bit, and she even used foundation to cover it up when she put on makeup.

Another tough battle was on her hands from that day onward. She could not back down from it and had to face it in her best state!

Old Madam Barker originally wanted to provide her with a driver but she declined.

She did not enjoy being served by others and would feel very uncomfortable. After all, she was used to doing everything by herself.

Old Madam Barker did not insist but immediately decided to give her a car. The old lady's reasoning was, "You can't take a taxi or the subway every day to work. This is the Barker Group we're talking about. It doesn't conform to your position in the Barker Group. You are the deputy CEO after all."

Samantha did not know whether to laugh or cry, but she accepted the old lady's gesture after seeing how considerate the latter was. The old lady provided Samantha not a sportscar, but an Omlov with excellent safety performance that was suited for her daily work commute.

It would be convenient to have a car since she had to stay in the city for some time.

Samantha left the apartment and went downstairs to see the driver bringing the car over. He handed her the keys and proceeded to leave.

When she laid eyes on the brand-new white car in front of her, she could not help but think of the white car that Timothy once gave her.

The one thing that left her depressed for the longest time was her belief that she and Timothy had a good relationship. Timothy later told her that he was only acting.

After her 'miscarriage', the memory of confronting Timothy in the ward still haunted her until the present.

She just…could not accept it. She loved Timothy tremendously, yet Timothy...had never reciprocated even half that amount of love.

She knew that love was always unfair. It could never be forced, and the other person had no obligation to reciprocate regardless of how much love one lavished on them.

Even so, there was no need to pull any tricks on a person whom one did not love—because love should never be used as a tool to manipulate and exploit a person.

What if the present Timothy was not the Timothy who loved her?

Could the happy moments they had shared in the past be genuine?

Samantha shook her head violently to dispel all those assumptions.

She could not and should not think about those things anymore, because she could not let such things dominate her thoughts when there were no answers to any of her questions yet.

She knew all too well that people were often blind when they fell in love.

One would fail to see the other's mistakes. Perhaps it could be better described as willful blindness.

Samantha closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm down. She opened her eyes again and finally regained some clarity. She reached to open the driver's seat door, got in, then started the car and drove to the Barker Group.

…

At the Barker Group, Timothy took his exclusive elevator to the top floor and strode out after reaching it.

The employees were all whispering to each other, but as soon as they saw his arrival, they immediately shut up and returned to their workstations as they pretended to focus on their work.

However, everyone's gaze was still trailing Timothy's figure and observing his expressions.

Timothy had always been the focus of a crowd and he had long been accustomed to people looking at him. Despite that, he could keenly sense that there was something unusual with those gazes that day.

He glanced coldly across everyone there and they all shrank their heads as if they were groundhogs hit by a hammer.

Timothy's expression became colder.

At that point, Ronald had taken the elevator up after parking the car. He had just walked up to Timothy when he heard his big boss ask, "Is there anything unusual happening at the company today?"

Everyone would not have acted that way otherwise.

Ronald had a worried expression even before Timothy asked that, and Timothy's question made his eyes dart around even more. He gulped several mouthfuls of saliva before replying weakly, "It's probably…because... our company's deputy... deputy CEO has come to work..."

"Deputy CEO?"

Timothy knew that Old Madam Barker was the deputy CEO of the Barker Group in name only, but she had long stopped coming in to work in the company.

The only person who would have come that day was Samantha.

It was no wonder these employees were acting so weird.

First, there was the board meeting where she became the second-largest shareholder by force. Then, she decided she wanted to join the Barker Group.

Samantha had some guts!

Ronald watched as Timothy's face remained expressionless after listening to the explanation. Rather than breathe a sigh of relief, there was a chill coming down the back of his spine.

During the past three years, Ronald had come to know that an icy grin was better than an expressionless face—the latter was an onset of Timothy's bloodlust.

Sure enough, he saw Timothy turn around in the opposite direction and strode towards the deputy CEO's office.

Ronald lamented and was afraid of causing death!

His first thought was to follow along because he felt that he could stop the man if anything untoward happened.

He had just lifted his feet when Timothy said coldly, "Don't follow me. Get everyone to leave the top floor!"

Ronald's footsteps froze. He did not dare to disobey Timothy's orders. After freezing stiffly for a few seconds, he could only reply weakly, "Yes, Mr. Barker!"

Inside the deputy CEO's office, Samantha was arranging the flowers that Old Madam Barker gave her inside a vase. The door to the office was then kicked open.

Samantha then saw Timothy striding in with a murderous aura.