Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Samantha’s anxiety was about to shoot through the roof, she finally heard a response from the other end. The man’s voice seemed to lower slightly, revealing traces of charm as he greeted her, “Yes, darling.”

Even though Timothy’s voice was on the other side of the phone, Samantha’s earlobe became inexplicably hot and she immediately blushed.

Scumbags really did have an irresistible charm when they teased others on purpose.

Although she was aware that Timothy understood her intentions and merely cooperated with her theatrics, her heartstrings were still tugged on like a piano’s strings.

Hearing them calling each other so sweetly elicited a beaming expression on the old lady’s face. She teasingly waggled her eyebrows at Samantha and smiled so wide that teeth were in full view.

Samantha’s face turned red after being teased.

She cleared her throat slightly and said, “Are you busy tonight? If you aren’t… Can you come back for dinner? Grandma misses you.”

Upon seeing the expectant look in the old lady’s eyes, Samantha bit her lower lip and added another sentence, albeit really softly, “I…miss you too.”

Sure enough, Old Madam Barker nodded and was immensely pleased.

Then came more silence. Was Timothy disgusted by her words?

Samantha was not as worried as before. Since Timothy already knew that Old Madam Barker was there, he would definitely find an excuse not to come back. Everything would be settled just like that!

As much as she did not want to lie to the old lady, she was married to Timothy in name only.

Before she could finally breathe a sigh of relief, Timothy immediately replied, “Alright. I’ll be back for dinner tonight.”

Samantha’s eyes widened in disbelief. She hurriedly sought to make up his words, “Aren’t you…busy?”

Timothy seemed to chuckle on the other end and his voice became much gentler, “No matter how busy I am, I will always have time…to keep my wife company.”

The word ‘wife’ seemed to roll off his tongue and sounded extremely ambiguous.

Samantha was completely stunned.

She did not expect Timothy’s acting skills to be so top-class, to the point where she…was nearly smitten by his sweet words!

Samantha was still finding it hard to snap back to her senses even after the call ended.

Old Madam Barker was obviously ecstatic after hearing how sweet the couple’s conversation was. She grabbed her and said, “Sammy, you have no idea how happy I am after seeing the two of you being so sweet with each other!

“Don’t worry, I’m a considerate person. All Souls Day is just a few days away, and I have to go back to the old mansion for a few days to burn some incense for my late husband. I’ll leave with Aunt Julia later tonight. Have a nice candlelight dinner with Tim later and spend the next few days in your own little bubble with each other. Most importantly, you have to put in some work! Make sure that you’ll have a little Timmy or a little Sammy in your stomach by the time we come back!”

Samantha forced out an awkward smile. She had no choice but to get in on the act with the old lady. “Okay, we… We’ll work hard.”

“Do your best! Good luck!”

Old Madam Barker made a cheering gesture, then got up all prim and proper before yelling for Aunt Julia, “Julia, get the car ready! We’re going back to the old mansion!”

…

Samantha stood at the door and watched as the car ferrying Old Madam Barker and Aunt Julia disappeared into the road. She could not help but shake her head and laugh.

The one constant character about Old Madam Barker that never changed over the years was her impulsive character.

Samantha and Timothy’s charade had achieved the initial result—at the very least, Old Madam Barker no longer suspected them to be incompatible.

She took out her cell phone and called Timothy again.

Since the old lady had returned to the mansion, Timothy had no reason to come back and put on an act. That would save both of them the trouble of disagreeing with each other in the house.

The phone rang until the dial tone was cut off, but no one answered it at all.

Samantha frowned. Was he busy?

After a moment’s thought, she drafted a text to explain the situation and sent it to Timothy.

At least she did her part to notify him!

When she was about to put away the phone, she unknowingly glanced at the date on the phone and suddenly remembered something… The date was that of her birth date on the lunar calendar.

She usually celebrated her birthday based on the dates of the Gregorian calendar, while her birthday date on the lunar calendar was exclusively for her celebration with Timothy.

So many things had happened recently that she had forgotten all about that. After standing motionlessly on the spot, Samantha turned and went back into the house.

Old Madam Barker and Aunt Julia used to be there all the time, and Timothy only came back on occasion. Back then, Samantha never really experienced just how big and empty the villa was. Now that there was no one around, she felt that the size of the villa was somewhat daunting.

She seemed to be much sadder that day, perhaps because it was her birthday on the lunar calendar.

It seemed as though she still longed to have a home with a real family… The house did not need to be big or luxurious. All she needed was for her family to love her and for her to love them…

At least there would be people who remembered her birthday and spent it with her.

Samantha exhaled slightly, tried her best to put on a smile, then walked toward the kitchen.

She might be alone, but she insisted on living a good life and would never treat herself badly.

Who said that birthdays had to be celebrated with a huge group of people? She could always have a good time all by herself!

Aunt Julia had stuffed the refrigerator with raw ingredients, and there was plenty of wine that Timothy had collected from all over the world. Samantha chose the finest cut of steak and grilled it expertly. She then showed no hesitation in opening the most expensive bottle of wine from the bar.

She found a candlestick meant for candlelight dinners, placed it on the table, and lit the candle.

Two plates of steak were set down along with two glasses of red wine. The main lights were turned off and she put on some music, after which she went upstairs to change into a beautiful little dress.

As Samantha came down from upstairs, she looked at her arrangement with satisfaction. It was important to have a sense of celebration in life, and it was not that difficult to make oneself happy!

She walked over, pulled the chair, and sat down.

Her gaze subconsciously landed on the steak opposite her and her long curly lashes trembled slightly.

She had no clue why she prepared two portions, but by the time she came to her senses, she had already plated them up. Letting that food go to waste was out of the question, though.

Worse comes to worst, she would just eat both of them!

Samantha gracefully picked up her wine glass and raised it to the other wine glass. “Cheers.”

She swore that there was nothing on her mind at the time, but during that split second, it was as if a man had sat down opposite her. His facial features were charmingly handsome, while his eyes looked at her in a gentle and affectionate manner. There seemed to be no end to the warmth in his gaze.

He raised his glass gracefully and clinked against hers. “Cheers, my little princess.”

Samantha suddenly tightened her grip on the red wine glass.

It used to be a day that was exclusively for her and Timothy, but he must have forgotten all about it already.

Little princess? How ridiculous.

Samantha shook her head vigorously and dispelled the apparition in front of her. She took a deep breath and was ready to taste the meal she prepared for herself.

Suddenly, there came the sound of a car engine from the entrance.

Samantha was stunned. Did Timothy come back? Did he not see the text message she sent or did he come back for some other reason? She could not help herself from getting up and walking to the door to have a look..