Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Samantha did not seem to have heard Harmony's rambling and felt like laughing when she stared at the trophy in her hand.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly placed the trophy onto the coffee table with a bang.

Harmony's words were interrupted by the noise and she raised her eyes to look warily at Samantha.

She did not doubt that Samantha wanted to hit her with that trophy at that moment. After all, Samantha was exactly that kind of a crude and shameless woman!

Just when Harmony thought that Samantha would lose all reason and explode with rage at the next second, Samantha did nothing and sat back down again.

There was a look of confusion in Harmony's eyes.

If anyone else were in Samantha's place, Harmony would be at least 70% to 80% confident of predicting their next move. With Samantha however, every single action was completely unexpected.

Could Samantha really remain indifferent in the place of such solid evidence?

It was true that the trophy shook Samantha's emotions for a moment and caused her to feel a little sad.

However, she would never cut a sorry figure in front of Harmony despite all the discomfort and sadness.

None of what Harmony did could even compare to the suffering she had experienced during her two years abroad.

Those experiences would all be in vain if she was defeated that easily.

Samantha's red lips parted and she asked, "Is this what you call evidence?"

"You might be in possession of the trophy right now, but how did it even get into your hands? You said that Timothy personally gave it to you, but I can claim that you got it through other means. Perhaps you stole it."

'You stole it.'

Harmony was angered by the accusation, "Why do I have to steal it? This trophy is rightfully mine!"

"Are you really going to continue shoving false arguments down my throat when everything's laid out clearly in front of you? Do you live your life deceiving others and yourself?"

Samantha remained unfazed and even said sarcastically, "Looks like…my guess hit the nail on the head."

'Why else would you be so jittery?'

Harmony finally realized what it felt like when other people had to deal with such unreasonable ghouls.

No wonder 'he' kept reminding her not to underestimate Samantha.

Back then she was very unhappy because she regarded Samantha to be someone that she could easily handle with the snap of her fingers. In the end, she had to admit that 'he' was more discerning than she was.

At the very least, 'he' could tell just how despicable Samantha was!

Harmony had only herself to blame.

She was the one who wanted to reclaim her dignity and insisted on doing so by getting back at Samantha.

In the end, she was not as deplorable as Samantha and had to suffer repeatedly in the latter's hands!

As soon as that thought occurred to Harmony, she decided not to engage Samantha's fearless contention and said coldly, "Okay then. What kind of evidence do you want?"

Samantha lowered her eyes slightly.

She had an idea, but it was one of those things she could never turn back from once she suggested it.

Then again, things had already reached a point where there was no turning back.

If she did not get to the bottom of what was going on, it would be impossible for her and Timothy to continue life as usual.

She had asked herself whether she could do that.

The answer was no, especially if Timothy had faked his reasons to stay by her side.

Regardless of how much she loved Timothy and cherished the love she had rediscovered with him, it was something she really could not do.

She wanted none of it if Timothy was insincere.

Samantha pursed her lips, looked up at Harmony, and said unequivocally, "Call him right now and get him to come over here!"

She would only believe it if she saw it with her own eyes.

There seemed to be a flash of emotion in Harmony's eyes, yet Samantha did not know if she had seen it wrongly. She did not hesitate and immediately smiled, "If that's what it takes for you to believe me, then I'll grant your wish."

Samantha's eyes sank all of a sudden.

Harmony took her cell phone out openly. She gave the '1' a long press in front of Samantha and Timothy's speed dial came up.

About ten seconds later, the call was connected and the man's familiar voice came. "Hello."

Harmony raised her eyebrows provocatively at Samantha, then put the phone to her ear. Her voice became sweet and soft as she greeted, "It's me, Tim."

The phone was very far away. Samantha could not hear what was being said but she looked away when she saw Harmony's smile becoming much sweeter.

Harmony hung up after telling him her location.

She put the phone down on the coffee table and looked at Samantha again. "Tim said he'll come right now. Just as you wanted."

Samantha curled her lips "He won't."

Timothy had already said that he was waiting for her at home to have dinner together.

He would not come.

Samantha was certain of it.

Harmony was infuriated because she did not expect that Samantha would still smile at that moment and say such things.

She remarked coldly, "Wait and see then!"

It took about 40 minutes to get there from the villa, bar any traffic jams of course. Since it was already past rush hour, there would be an answer in 40 minutes.

Samantha glanced up at the wall clock and noted that it was eight.

For a moment, she did not know whether she was expecting time to pass faster or whether she wanted it to just stop like that.

Every second of every minute was endless suffering for her.

Samantha and Harmony did not talk since they both disliked each other. Once Harmony stopped trying to provoke her, the whole tearoom was quiet and only the sound of boiling water could be heard.

At 8:35, Samantha felt nauseous again, though she did not know whether it was because of her nervousness or due to her missing dinnertime.

She tried hard to restrain it a couple of times, but it became stronger and stronger regardless of how much she tried to suppress it.

When she sensed that Harmony was looking over, she did not want Harmony to notice that she was unwell and immediately stood up. She reached for her bag and subsequently walked out.

Harmony was surprised at first and later sneered with disdain, "What's wrong? Trying to escape because you're afraid to face it?"

Samantha stopped walking and spoke without turning around. "Looking at your face makes me sick. I need to get out and take a breather or else I might puke."

"You..." Harmony's face turned ashen.

Samantha ignored her and left the room.

She went to the restroom at the end of the corridor and splashed some cold water onto her face. She then took out a sachet of glucose powder from her bag and tore it open to pour it into her mouth.

The slightly sweet taste succeeded somewhat in suppressing her nausea.

She did not go back right away because she was not lying when she said that looking at Harmony made her sick.

The time on her phone finally reached 8:40.. Samantha took a deep breath before exiting the restroom and walking back.