Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 63: Will You Help Her?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘Might as well just get lost and never show up again…’

Samantha, who was bending over to change her footwear, stiffened in an almost imperceptible manner. She remained frozen in that posture for some time.

She thought about how she was probably a wicked person in her past life, which was why God punished her in her present life by depriving her of everything—her parents, her younger brother, and her lover.

Even more laughable was how she unknowingly walked back to the villa after roaming around in such a sad and desperate situation.

It was as if she went back there because she knew that Timothy was there.

Unfortunately, the man in front of her was not the Timothy she had once loved so dearly, but a demon who wanted nothing more than for her to disappear forever.

Samantha was physically and mentally exhausted. She did not have the energy to go against Timothy anymore. After changing into her house shoes, she looked up and met his gaze.

It was only when she straightened her body that Timothy noticed how miserable she looked.

Her hair and clothes were completely drenched, just like a drowned rat. Her face had turned pale and her eyes were lackluster, with her entire body looking as though she was drained of all energy after suffering a huge mental blow.

Timothy frowned and the expressions within his eyes sank deeper. The anger boiling within his chest froze up and whatever words he was about to say perished.

Ever since Samantha had returned, she had never displayed such a dejected appearance in front of him, even when she was at her weakest. What could possibly have happened to her?

“You—” He could barely even ask his question when Samantha spoke ahead of him.

Her voice was as cold and emotionless as a robot and she said, “Let me know if there’s anything you want me to do, Mr. Barker. I’ll do it immediately.”

That would probably be enough to shut his mouth and prevent him from saying anything hurtful.

Timothy knew exactly why she said that and his expression darkened as a result. He stared at her stubbornly, pursed his thin lips tightly, and took a couple of seconds before stiffly remarking, “First thing you should do is clean up this ghostly appearance of yours. I don’t want you to get sick and infect me!”

Samantha did not continue interacting with him and simply responded, “Okay.”

She lifted her feet and walked in. When she passed by him to head upstairs, she did so without even looking at him.

Timothy was rooted on the spot and watched as she straightened her back stubbornly and took the stairs one step at a time. Although she had concealed her emotions well enough, he could still notice her hand trembling slightly as it grabbed the staircase railing.

She had disappeared for an entire day and came back in such a state...

A severe frown made Timothy’s forehead very wrinkled, and a trace of uncontrollable distress flashed through his eyes.

…

After Samantha returned to the master bedroom, her strength seemed to have been taken away in an instant. She fell limply on the ground before she could get to the bed and sit down.

She hugged her knees and curled up slowly.

A notification came from her cell phone. Her eyes moved stiffly as she took out the phone and glanced at the screen.

It was a text message from Simon. [Remember, one million and not a dollar less!]

Corey’s photo was attached along with it.

Samantha looked at the photo and saw Corey lying on the hospital bed. With a pale-looking face and weak breathing, he slept uncomfortably and his forehead was full of sweat.

It was immediately clear that he was stressed out.

Samantha’s hand clenched her phone tightly and the sadness in her eyes disappeared.

It was not the time for her to be a coward and wallow in sadness, not when her brother needed her!

Samantha closed her eyes, adjusted her emotions in no time, and used the bed to support her as she stood up.

Having been in the rain for several hours already, her body was a little cold and her head was a little dizzy. She thus hurried to the bathroom and turned on the hot water.

Although Timothy’s words were harsh, getting sick was absolutely out of the question. If she collapsed, no one else would be able to save Corey.

Samantha soaked herself in the hot water, waited until the coldness in her body was gradually replaced by warmth, then allowed herself to finally delve into her chaotic thoughts.

Corey would be fine for the next three days and she would not need to worry about him for the time being. After all, her parents would most certainly do their best to safeguard their cash cow up until they saw the money.

Cynthia had also reminded her not to try and search for Corey, which was further proof that they were hiding him very well and was not afraid that she would check it. Moreover, she could not take the risk because they would almost certainly mistreat Corey if they found out that she was up to some funny business.

After mulling over it for a long time, she felt that there was only one solution—gather one million in three days!

Money can cause problems even for the smartest of men, much less someone like Samantha. She did not even have 10,000 in her bank account, let alone one million.

There was nothing valuable she could use to pawn either.

When it came to borrowing money, the first thought that came to Samantha’s mind was Rochelle.

The next second, however, she shook her head and dispelled those thoughts.

Rochelle could not get any money from her family since her grandfather was not much better than Samantha’s parents. Although she was married to a wealthy family, she and Samantha were both in similarly difficult situations. Samantha was poor, and Rochelle had no money either.

She knew that Rochelle would definitely give her the money as long as she made that request, but Rochelle would then have to deal with her husband Jonathan, and Samantha did not want Rochelle to have to go through that.

In that case, only one other person she knew seemed capable of coughing up that sum of money—Timothy.

Samantha’s brows were knit in a tight frown and she could not help but feel upset.

…

In the study.

The phone rang and Timothy immediately answered, “Yes.”

Ronald’s respectful voice came from the other end, “Mr. Barker, I found out what happened. Ms. Larsson went to the hospital to visit Corey, but he had already been picked up by his parents two days ago, so Ms. Larsson then paid the Larssons a visit...”

The glow within Timothy’s eyes turned colder by the second as he finally comprehended what happened. When Ronald finished explaining everything, his eyebrows seemed to emanate a maliciously dark aura.

Those greedy Larssons.

Timothy had misunderstood Samantha again... He assumed that she went out to meet some rowdy man, but that was not what happened at all...

He even said all those nasty things to her earlier.

Timothy’s hand clenched abruptly into a tight fist and the blue veins on the back of his hand started to pop out slightly.

Ronald’s meek voice sounded from the other end, “Mr. Barker, I have a question but I’m not sure whether I should be asking it or not.”

“Ask.”

“Um... I think it’s really unfortunate that Ms. Larsson has parents like that. There’s probably a lot of things that she doesn’t do out of her own volition. If... If she asks to borrow money from you, will you help her?”

Timothy did not speak.

Ronald also knew that he had overstepped his boundaries. Afraid to say another word, she proceeded to hang up the phone quietly.

Timothy put down the phone and leaned against the revolving chair as Ronald’s question echoed in his ears.

Ten seconds later, he heard footsteps approaching and finally stopping outside the door.