Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Samantha subconsciously glanced at her phone and saw that the caller ID read 'Master'.

It was never a good idea to talk about people behind one's back.

Speak of the devil!

Samantha took two deep breaths and calmed herself down. She picked up her phone and answered his call, "Hello, Sir."

Theodore's gentle voice rang from the other end. "Are you home, Sammy?"

"Yes." Samantha's tone was relaxed and natural. "I just arrived."

After a pause, she said again, "When did you return to the country, Sir? Why didn't you tell me? I was planning to pick you up."

She spoke in a slightly complaining tone.

Theodore chuckled lightly. "I was invited over by my friend Michael at the last minute and I came here with him and his wife on their private jet. At the same time, I thought of surprising you too."

Nothing he said was any cause for suspicion.

Samantha smiled and said, "It was quite a surprise alright. I didn't expect you to know Michael. When I saw you today, I almost didn't recognize you. It's been so many years since I last saw you and you've changed a lot."

"At the end of the day, nobody cares about what you look like in the 'underworld'. Now that I've returned to society, I have to adapt to the rules here."

Theodore paused for a second and spoke in a more serious voice, "But no matter how much my appearance changes, I'm still the same person deep down and I'll always be your master. That's something that will never change."

Although it had been many years since they last saw each other, chatting with each other seemed to return them to the days when they used to depend on each other. It was as if nothing had changed.

Samantha reminisced and felt a surge of warm current inside her heart. "Sir, I sincerely do hope that our relationship will never change."

A place like the 'underworld' was a dog-eat-dog world where everyone tried to outwit the other through deceit and treachery. Yet Samantha and Theodore never betrayed each other and could confidently let their guard down to each other. Such friendship probably did not change very easily...

Samantha thought for a while and asked, "Shall I treat you to dinner tomorrow? We can catch up and talk about the good old times."

"I'd be happy to," Theodore accepted cheerfully. "See you tomorrow."

After ending the call, Samantha held the phone and bit her lower lip gently.

Though the surveillance footage did not reveal any clues, Samantha suddenly remembered that Harmony's backer handed over a handkerchief. Samantha got a clear look at the man's hand back then.

Although it was a little far away, she still noticed that the man's hand was extraordinarily fair.

The light shining over it made it look even fairer and somewhat transparent.

She did not have the chance to interact much with Theodore that night and had not been able to notice what his hands were like. Since she happened to be having dinner with him the following day, she would take a good look at them then.

Samantha hoped that everything was just a coincidence and that her master was not the man she was looking for.

…

The next day, after confirming the address of Theodore's hotel, Samantha got in the car and drove following the directions provided by a navigation app.

Although Theodore was always abroad, he preferred the food from his hometown. When they were in the 'underworld', Samantha cooked for him regularly to show her gratitude.

She knew what he liked to eat and chose a delicious exclusive restaurant.

When she reached the hotel to pick Theodore up, he was dressed much more casually and eschewed the formal suit alongside the leather shoes he donned the night before.

The two came to the restaurant and entered the private room. After being seated, Samantha handed him the menu and said with a smile, "Please go ahead and order whatever you want, Sir."

Theodore accepted her graciousness and ordered his favorite food.

After the waiter excused himself, Samantha poured two cups of tea and pushed a cup to him. She then lifted her cup and said, "I'll raise you a toast, Sir, but with tea instead of wine."

Theodore picked up his teacup and clinked cups with her before drinking the tea in one go.

While drinking, Samantha surreptitiously looked at his hand and saw that he was not fair-skinned—it was quite dark.

It was different from the hands of the man in the black trench coat.

Just in case, Samantha asked in a casual tone after drinking her tea, "Sir, why are your hands so dark? I don't remember them being so dark in the past."

He was stunned for a moment, for he did not seem to have expected such a question from her. He then raised his hand before her and explained with a smile, "To tell you the truth, I stayed behind in the 'underworld' for a while after you left, but I decided it was pointless without you around. I already had all the information I needed anyway, so I found an opportunity and left."

"You're probably aware that the information from that place was very valuable. I sold it to intelligence organizations for a good price, invested in some business, and then went traveling around the world."

"I've been photographing wildlife in Cafria for the past few months and got this tan from all the sun."

What he said was very much in line with his character.

He was someone who could never stay in one place for very long. Had his character been the opposite of that, he would not have dared to break into the 'underworld' alone to search for information.

Samantha acknowledged that his words made her feel tremendously relieved.

She tossed and turned the entire night and could not sleep well because she was fretting over how she should handle things if her master was really the man in the black trench coat.

For the moment at least, it appeared that her initial suspicions had been cleared.

As for the possible places where the man in the black trench coat could hide without leaving the venue, she would think about it later on and figure out if she had possibly missed something.

Samantha smiled slightly. "I'm really glad to see that you're living your life the way you like it."

Theodore smiled too. "I feel just as relieved. When I saw you being so smart and witty yesterday, I knew that you'd be able to survive no matter where you are."

He had never seen anyone with a survival instinct as tenacious as Samantha.

When he was beside her, her tenacity rubbed off on him even when they were in such a dark place. She was unwilling to let herself succumb to any forces and never once failed to struggle.

Samantha lowered her eyes and said, "Sir, I... I do have times when I'm powerless too. I'm not as good as you think I am."

When it came to dealing with Timothy's second personality, her knowledge was very limited and she did not know where to start.

Theodore was slightly surprised. "I'm surprised there could be situations that leave you stumped."

He saw her frown and comforted her, "Alright, open your heart up. Didn't you say that you wanted to ask me a question when we spoke on the phone? Ask away. I'll always help you."

Samantha's dark eyes were filled with a look of gratitude. She then said straightforwardly, "Sir, my husband's second personality was forcibly awakened using hypnotism. It has been more than three years at least, maybe even longer… I don't know whether the main personality is still in his body."

"Do you think there's any hope for me to awaken his main personality?"

Theodore could not help chuckling after listening to her account of the situation. "What a good apprentice you are, Sammy. This question you've posed is a tricky one"

On the contrary, Samantha found it difficult to even smile. "Sir, does that mean...it's very difficult?"

Her voice sank slightly. "Is there really no…hope?"

Samantha felt a flick on her forehead and she could not help but raise her eyes to look at Theodore. "Sir?"

Theodore smiled and said, "There is no need to be so discouraged. It might be a little tricky, but it's not entirely hopeless. After all, if the main personality was completely eradicated, there's no need to suppress it using hypnosis. Judging from the current situation, there is a greater likelihood that the main personality is in a hibernating state. In that case, waking him up is still possible!"

Theodore lived up to his name as being one of the best psychology masters in the world.

He could come to a conclusion with such accuracy!

If Timothy's main personality had disappeared completely, then she would never have accidentally chanced upon the scene where Harmony hypnotized him.

Samantha's eyes lit up unconsciously. "In that case, how can I reawaken Timothy's main personality?"