Once Bitten, Twice Shy

After sending the message, Samantha put down the phone and leaned against the back of the chair.

Hatching schemes and plotting revenge were very tiring endeavors. All she ever wanted was to live a simple and ordinary life with the man she loved.

She was unfortunate because even her smallest of wishes was an unrealistic expectation.

Samantha could not help herself from looking at the photo frame placed on the table. It contained a photo of her and Timothy.

Back at Barrkjaer Island, she asked Timothy to take a picture of her and the scenery, instead, Timothy went and took a photo together with her.

When she joined Lychee TV, she got the photos developed and chose a beautiful photo frame which she kept on the workbench.

Looking at that photo again reminded her of how Timothy brought her to Barrkjaer Island simply to meet Harmony in secret. How laughable.

Samantha picked up the photo frame, removed the photo from it, and tore it forcefully.

The photo was separated into two halves, one of Samantha and the other of Timothy.

She then opened the drawer and left the torn picture inside—out of sight, out of mind.

…

After the pregnancy check-up the other day, the doctor prescribed some medicine to aid fetal development. Even so, she was not in a good condition after taking the medication. She felt nauseated at every turn and vomited anything she ate.

She had difficulty falling and staying asleep. Either she woke up spontaneously after falling asleep, or she had poor sleep and sweated profusely.

After that went on for more than a week, Samantha did not gain any weight and even went down a size.

Ever since Timothy knew that she was pregnant, he declined all business functions other than work and stayed with Samantha every night.

Unfortunately, he was not a doctor and did not know how to relieve her physical discomfort.

Timothy accompanied Samantha to sleep that night, but when she finally managed to fall asleep, she suddenly covered her lips not too long later and called out uneasily, "Timothy..."

The man opened his eyes as soon as she called out his name. He got up and carried her up quickly but carefully. He headed for the bathroom in a couple of strides and placed her on the small stool that had been earlier prepared in the bathroom. Then he opened the toilet bowl lid for her.

Samantha vomited yet again while facing the toilet bowl.

Timothy squatted at the side and placed his big palm on her back to comfort her.

He looked at Samantha's face from the side. When he saw her vomit so violently that the blue veins on her forehead and neck were popping out, a distressed expression appeared in his eyes.

Although he had known that some pregnant women felt very uncomfortable after reacting strongly to morning sickness, he never really experienced it before and felt heartbroken to see Samantha like that.

He did not expect it to be that excruciating.

The baby was taking a toll on Samantha.

After Samantha was done vomiting, her entire body felt light and she fell limply into Timothy's arms. She did not even have the energy to speak.

Timothy took a towel and carefully wiped her face and lips. She then carried her gently, walked to the bed, and placed her down.

He took the cup of water from the bedside table, felt it to make sure that it was still warm to the touch, and gently helped Samantha up to give her a drink.

"Do you feel better?" He spoke gently as if she were a fragile doll.

Samantha tried to force a smile but it looked like a bit of a wreck because she was so weak.

Timothy gently stroked her cheek and said softly, "I'm sorry I made you suffer."

Samantha seemed slightly startled. Her eyeballs rolled stiffly as she looked firmly at him.

Timothy noticed that something was amiss with her and could not help but say, "What's the matter?"

Samantha gulped quietly and shook her head. "Nothing, I'm just tired. I want to sleep."

"Okay, go ahead and sleep. I'll be right here. Call me if you're feeling uncomfortable."

Samantha turned to the other side so her back was facing Timothy.

She clenched the blanket unconsciously and she tried her best to remind herself that Timothy did not genuinely feel anguished for her.

He felt 'anguished' simply because she was still useful to him.

What she said to Harmony the other day was equal parts genuine and on purpose. She did not truly believe Harmony and still doubted Harmony's inability to get pregnant.

Since it would be difficult for Samantha to find out if Harmony really could not get pregnant, she deliberately made those remarks to try and rile Harmony up.

As incensed as Harmony was at that moment, she never once dared to lay a finger on Samantha, thus proving that she really could not get pregnant and needed Samantha's baby.

Once Timothy had an heir, nothing else could get in the way of her relationship with Timothy!

That was why Timothy and Harmony both valued the child in Samantha's belly.

Their actions would always revolve around the baby.

'Keep a level head, Samantha Larsson.'

'I must always protect myself.'

'I must see to it that those who hurt me will pay the price.'

Timothy did not go to sleep again. He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed Samantha's shoulders. Once he sensed that her breathing had become even and she had gradually fallen asleep, he pulled the blanket over her and got up.

He walked to the balcony and closed the balcony door. After confirming that the inside of the room was completely shut off from the outside, he took his cell phone out and made a call.

Samantha, who should have fallen asleep at that time, opened her eyelids slowly and looked at Timothy who was making a call outside.

The next day, Timothy was nowhere to be seen after Samantha woke up.

She sat up holding the quilt and saw a post-it note on the bedside table. Written on it was a message in bold, masculine handwriting.

'Take care of yourself. I'm on a two-day business trip, but I'll be back as soon as possible.'

Samantha's lips twitched. She crumpled the post-it note into a ball and threw it into the trash can.

She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Samantha did not need to go to work because it was the weekend, so she notified Alan after breakfast and drove to the hospital.

She went to the ward to see Corey and went through all the necessary patient transfer procedures.

Once that was out of the way, Alan's people arrived and were briefly introduced to Samantha. They then moved Corey from the ward to the vehicle outside.

Samantha stood there and her eyes reddened as she watched the vehicle leave.

It would probably be a while before she and Corey could meet again. Her only silver lining from their temporary 'goodbye' was that Corey would be able to wake up soon, smile at her, and call her 'Big Sis' again.

Her biggest worry had been lifted off her, and she no longer had anything else to worry about.

…

Timothy returned to the villa three days later. It was still morning, so Samantha had not woken up yet when he entered the bedroom. Without waking her up, he merely took off his jacket, lay on the floor against the bed, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Samantha finally woke up an hour later. The moment she moved, Timothy seemed to have sensed it and opened his eyes.

There was still a bit of confusion in Timothy's eyes and her voice was hoarse since she had just woken up. "When did you...come back? Why didn't you lie down and sleep?"

"I just arrived," Timothy replied softly, then said, "Time to get up.. I'm bringing you to meet someone."