Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Samantha had just returned from the dock and Timothy happened to return too. Could he have gotten off the cruise ship just moments after she did?

In that case, Timothy had recognized her from the beginning and deliberately gave her that money? Was that why he followed her back as soon as he gave the money?

Could it have been a coincidence instead, and Timothy came back from the party because he was pissed at having lost?

Samantha was initially not the hesitant kind of person who allowed her thoughts to run all over the place. Her character leaned more toward decisiveness, but when it came to Timothy, she had no choice but to be cautious because there were too many uncertainties about him.

She thought that Timothy loved her very much when they were together two years ago. Unfortunately, what she eventually received from him was utter embarrassment and a tremendous amount of hurt.

Doubts over her own feelings had surfaced from then onward. She could never be certain whether Timothy’s every move was what she expected it to be.

While Samantha was having all sorts of thoughts, Timothy had already stretched his legs and walked up to her.

He lowered his eyes and looked at her. She had completely removed her makeup, leaving her face in all its naturalness. It was much better that way compared to all that glamorous and heavy makeup she deliberately put on earlier.

He saw the slight frown in her delicate brows and the overflowing emotions in her beautiful eyes. Zachary’s words unknowingly started ringing in his ears.

…

“Your actions were actually quite obvious. Samantha’s not a fool—she must have guessed that you were deliberately helping her.

“If you go back to the villa right now, you’ll definitely hear her express her gratitude to you.

“Take the hint she gives you…”

…

Although he did not hold any hope for that woman, it was not as though he would not be magnanimous if she knew to thank him.

However, he waited for about half a minute and still did not hear Samantha speak. Some traces of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes.

He pursed his thin lips and was the first to speak. He kept his voice low and asked, “Is there anything you’d like to say?”

‘Sigh…’

Timothy’s words snapped Samantha back to her senses. Timothy usually ignored her, and the number of times he initiated a conversation with her could probably be counted on one hand.

It was surprising that he took the initiative to ask such a sentence…

Samantha did not reveal any emotion. She opened her mouth to speak, but she did not answer the question. “Why are you asking me that, Mr. Barker?”

He was the one who gave her a hint first and yet she still played the fool?

Timothy’s handsome face was devoid of emotion and his voice was extremely cold. “You’ve been staring at me all this time. Isn’t that because you have something to say?”

It turned out that she had been staring unconsciously at Timothy when she was in deep thought. She thought Timothy initiated the question as a means to guide her into talking about the cruise ship.

Sure enough, she misunderstood his intentions again, but fortunately she was clever enough not to let herself be mocked again.

Reading too much into a given situation was something Timothy found intolerable.

Samantha noticed that Timothy’s black eyes had been staring at her, seemingly to try and probe into her thoughts. She could not help but feel a little flustered because of that.

From the looks of it, her guess that Timothy deliberately gave her money probably did not hold water. It must have been nothing more than a coincidence. Since that was the case, she must not let Timothy notice anything strange about her, lest he decide on the spur of the moment to find out what she had been doing and expose all her antics that day.

“Ahem.” Samantha cleared her throat as her eyes rolled around inside her eye sockets. She then said, “Yes, I have something to say to you.”

Timothy’s icy face softened almost imperceptibly.

Samantha seemed to have a bit of conscience, it seemed.

The night breeze blew over suddenly, and because the villa was located in a rather empty area of the suburbs, a burst of coldness shrouded them. Samantha trembled subconsciously because her clothes were rather thin.

Timothy glanced at her, but before Samantha could say anything else, he said, “Let’s go in and talk.”

After saying that, he stretched his long legs and walked toward the villa.

Samantha could only carry her luggage bag and walk in.

…

In the living room.

Timothy sat on the sofa and folded his long legs gracefully. His slender fingers unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt as he leaned back lazily.

Looking up and directing his black pupils toward Samantha, his thin lips opened slightly and he spoke in a slightly low voice that seemed to conceal a touch of gentleness. “Go ahead.”

Samantha did not speak, but merely stood in front of him and bowed sincerely to him at a 45-degree angle.

Timothy cocked his eyebrow.

That woman seemed to be quite formal in expressing her gratitude. She seemed capable of doing anything if it was for her little brother.

He waited some time for her to speak.

After Samantha straightened her body, she said in a low voice. “I’m sorry, Timothy. I promised to be your caregiver and take care of you, but I went out early and came home late during the past two days due to my personal affairs. I did not do my duty and take care of you as much as I could. I regret it deeply and I wish to apologize.”

Timothy was speechless. He gritted his teeth forcefully and his breath became heavier, but he still maintained his calm tone. “Is that all you want to say?”

Timothy was angry at her for coming back late the day before. A day later, she was tactful enough to apologize out of her own will, but why did it feel as though he was even angrier than the day before?

She had once been with Timothy for many years, and although she could not understand his line of thought, she could still boast about having some understanding of his temper.

Why then, did she seem unable to understand him at all?

It was not too surprising because if she really understood him, she would not have experienced abandonment, bullying, and suffered from being shaken numerous times by his actions.

However, Samantha still had something to say. She took a deep breath and continued, “No, I’m not done…”

Timothy closed his eyes and quickly dispelled the turbulence in his eyes. He leaned back on the sofa and uttered a concise reply, “Proceed.”

“I…” Samantha hesitated because she found it difficult to say what she wanted.

Timothy was extremely patient on that occasion. His black eyes stared fixedly at her, but he did not urge her along and simply waited for her to continue her sentence.

Samantha gulped twice. She finally mustered the courage and said in one breath, “I want to take a day off tomorrow to deal with my affairs!”

There was a deathly silence throughout the room.

Samantha could feel Timothy’s eyes staring at her like a sharp knife stabbing into her flesh.

If looks could kill, Timothy would have murdered her a thousand times over!

She had to go to her parents’ place the next day in order to save Corey. There was no other way aside from asking for a day off.

Samantha resisted the urge to retreat and cower. She clenched her fists tightly as her arms hung on both sides of her body and she opened her lips stubbornly, “Mr. Barker, I swear to you, it’ll only be one day. You don’t have to wait. It’ll only be a few hours tomorrow. Once I’m done handling the matter, I’ll come back as soon as possible and take care of you.. Is that alright?”