Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 115: All Fired Up

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Everyone longed to be loved and Samantha was no different.

She was not asking for the love of a thousand people. All she wanted was for at least one person to stand on her side and fight against the evils of the world.

She could not help but stretch out her hand and return Old Madam Barker’s hug firmly.

“Sob! I want a hug too!” Aunt Julia also stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged the two women.

The three of them seemed quite childish but their acts were just so comforting and warm.

Timothy inadvertently directed his gaze to Samantha’s face, watching as her tears streamed down the corner of her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

He raised his hand unconsciously.

By the time he had realized what he did, his fingertips had already touched Samantha’s eyes and wiped her tears away.

Samantha was stunned and so was Timothy.

Her teary eyes were exceptionally glimmering and shiny. Samantha looked at Timothy and his figure was reflected clearly in her eyes.

Timothy’s fingers stiffened slightly and he retracted them quickly before spitting out harshly, “Exceedingly ugly!”

Everyone was silent.

After that, he stretched his legs and headed upstairs without taking a second look at Samantha.

Samantha blinked a couple of times.

He could have just looked away if he thought that she looked ugly when she cried. It was a needless attack coming from him!

Old Madam Barker could not bear to hear such a thing and yelled at him from behind, “You little brat. Can’t you speak nicely? If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all!”

Timothy disappeared up the flight of stairs without turning around.

Old Madam Barker scoffed angrily and complained to Aunt Julia, “Just look at him. I thought he could finally act like a decent husband from his actions today, but it turned out that his good character lasted only for a short time!”

Aunt Julia nodded her head in acknowledgment. “What a waste of his good looks! He really shouldn’t talk because he ruins the atmosphere whenever he opens his mouth!”

In such a sympathizing situation, he ought to come over and hug Samantha as well as comfort her. Only then could their feelings improve by leaps and bounds.

Samantha was amused when she listened to their complaints.

Great minds think alike it seems. She shared the same opinion that Timothy—as handsome as he was—would have been better off keeping his mouth shut!

“Forget about him. Just ignore what he said!” Old Madam Barker wiped away the tears on Samantha’s face and said kindly, “Sammy, go back to the room, wash your face, and get some rest. Julia and I will cook a delicious meal for you to welcome you into your new life!”

‘New life.’

She had to continue moving forward and go on with life.

Looking back and wallowing in past suffering was unconducive for a good life. It would be better to erase all those memories and keep moving forward.

“Thank you, Grandma. Thank you, Aunt Julia!”

…

Seeing Samantha heading upstairs, Aunt Julia was about to turn around and head to the kitchen when the old lady pulled her over.

Aunt Julia was confused. “What’s wrong, Old Madam?”

Old Madam Barker squinted and said mysteriously, “Didn’t I tell you to bring that thing back here when we went to the old mansion?”

For a moment, Aunt Julia could not remember what that thing was and ended up at a loss. It soon occurred to her what it was and her eyes widened suddenly. She unconsciously lowered her voice and said, “Old Madam, are you talking about that medicine that has been passed down for generations?”

“That’s exactly it!” Old Madam Barker’s smile turned cryptic. “Find it, and add it to all the dishes we cook tonight!”

Aunt Julia covered her lips. “A little bit of this medicine is enough to fire people up and get them all excited. It’s very…strong. Eating too much at one go will make the body too heaty, and that would be bad for health!”

“You dummy. That heat is exactly the effect we’re looking for!” Old Madam Barker glanced upstairs and sighed. “That brat can never live up to my expectations, so as his grandma, the only thing I can do is add a little spark for them!”

Since Timothy would never speak, Old Madam Barker might as well just say it and do it.

That was also the best way to foster his husband-wife relationship with Samantha!

Aunt Julia understood. “I shall follow your orders then, Old Madam!”

…

Samantha returned to the room, washed her face, then changed into some comfortable home clothes before sitting on the sofa.

Once her body started to relax, she became a little sleepy and drowsy.

Never before had the villa given her a sense of home. She maintained a constantly detached state of mind and never really allowed herself to relax there, but for the first time ever, she felt a sense of belonging there.

After falling asleep on the sofa for some time, Aunt Julia went upstairs and told her to go down for dinner.

Samantha opened her eyes, tied her hair neatly, then tidied her clothes before getting up and going downstairs.

When she entered the dining hall, Timothy and Old Madam Barker were already sitting there, and she made a conscious decision to sit beside Timothy.

Old Madam Barker smiled and said, “Bring out the dishes, Julia.”

“Okay!”

Julia brought out the dishes one by one, each of which was steaming hot and deliciously fragrant.

“Go ahead and tuck in, Sammy. Make sure to eat up!” Old Madam Barker instructed, then glanced at Timothy and said, “You made some contributions today as well, so eat more too!”

“Alright,” Samantha answered, then picked up some food using her cutlery. Then, she said in a very flattering expression, “It’s delicious!”

Timothy also held up his cutlery. Although his expression was as insipid as ever, he still uttered two patronizing words, “It’s delicious.”

Old Madam Barker was not expecting to hear anything nice from that mouth of his, but she nagged him again, “This is a gesture from Julia and me, so you two have to finish it all!”

Seeing the old lady not having any cutlery in hand, Samantha could not help but ask, “Grandma, aren’t you going to eat too?”

“Ah...me? Well, I’m going vegetarian today!” Old Madam Barker said very naturally. “Julia has already prepared some vegetarian dishes for me. I’ll eat a little later.”

Samantha knew that the old lady had the habit of being vegetarian and so nodded without suspecting a thing.

After dinner, Timothy had company matters to deal with and went to the study. Meanwhile, Samantha took a walk with the old lady before returning to the room.

Samantha did not know if the room was a little stuffy or whether she was just feeling a little hot after the walk, but she took some clothes and went to the bathroom to take a bath.

After taking a shower, she happened to see Timothy returning to the room.

He had probably returned after taking a shower in the guest room because his hair was slightly damp. A few drops of water dripped from the tips of his hair and slid down his body’s contours before being absorbed by his clothes.

He wore a simple T-shirt that revealed his muscles slightly as he moved about. Simply looking at them could easily cause a person to be lost in thoughts...

Samantha did not specifically look at him and merely glanced over out of habit. She had already cooled down after coming out of the bath, but she somehow felt her body heat up again!

She looked away hurriedly and gulped a couple of times.

‘What’s going on with me? Am I sick? Do I have a fever?’

She exhaled heavily, and—in order to divert her attention—opened her mouth suddenly and asked, “Timothy, when you said that I begged you...”

Samantha bit her lower lip lightly, seemingly having some difficulty speaking. Nevertheless, she eventually spat out each and every word, “…could I have called you when I was drunk?”