Once Bitten, Twice Shy

"By the way, have you gotten sick recently? You must be mindful of your health and eat your medication on time. Take care of yourself, alright? Don't let me get worried about you."

"Okay," Penelope responded.

Harmony's glanced across her face and smiled. "I'm leaving then. See you next time."

After leaving the prison, Harmony tilted her head backward and looked at the blue sky.

A bright future that belonged to her was soon forthcoming.

Her dark days would forever be in the past.

Those who looked down on her in the past and present would be stomped under her feet and cleaned up one by one!

…

After receiving a week of treatment from Vincent, Samantha's morning sickness had improved significantly. Her vomiting and discomfort had almost disappeared, while her appetite had returned and her sleep saw considerable improvement.

Nightmares were a thing of the past and she could now sleep soundly until morning.

Timothy made a point to arrange another meal for Vincent. In addition to thanking the doctor, Timothy also proposed that the doctor stay a while longer to help Samantha until her fetus reached the first trimester.

On balance, the fetus would be much more stable after the first trimester.

Vincent frowned because it would be very difficult to accommodate this arrangement.

Samantha's pregnancy was only about a month along, which meant that he would have to stay behind for more than a month, at the very least. His research was still underway and that was a matter of racing against time.

Timothy knew that would be difficult for Vincent so he smiled and said, "If you don't mind, Dr. Jameson, I can provide you with a research institute that's equipped with all the materials you need for your research. That way you can work in synchrony with your team from the other side and your research would not be delayed."

One could only acknowledge Timothy's ability to understand what a person wanted.

The conditions he promised were an offer that one simply could not refuse.

Vincent could not help shaking his head and chuckling. He joked and said, "I suppose it'll be very ungrateful of me if I decline, right Mr. Barker?"

Timothy knew that Vincent had agreed to it and picked up his glass of red wine to raise a toast to him. "Thank you, Doctor."

Vincent picked up his glass of red wine and clinked glasses with him.

Once the meal ended, Ronald drove Timothy and Vincent back to the hotel.

Ronald went back into the car and could not help but feel awe at how much Timothy loved Samantha.

His boss was a businessman whose very motivation should be to make a profit. He could always force Vincent to stay using other means, but he was willing to do anything for the sake of his wife even if it meant drawing upon his wealth without getting any financial return.

Ronald had always been cheering for Timothy and Samantha, and with the couple poised to have a happy life along with a cute baby Timothy or Samantha in the future, he really could not ask for more!

…

When Timothy returned to the hotel room, Samantha was hugging a pillow sitting on the sofa watching some variety shows.

She laughed uncontrollably when a funny segment came on. Her eyebrows turned into little arches and her voice was beautifully sweet.

Timothy could not help but slow his footsteps and lean slightly against the cabinet. A satisfying feeling swelled in his heart as he watched lazily at her smiling face.

In the past, he spent his days merely existing in the world.

He worked like a robot day in, day out and repeated the same routine over and over again.

There was a time when he thought that he would spend his entire life like that.

Then, Samantha showed up.

It was strange that he did not like her at first, even when his grandfather droned on and on for almost all his life about the story of her grabbing him during her one-year-old catch.

That was probably why he ended up feeling the opposite way.

His feelings had been relatively cold since he was a child and nothing seemed to excite him. He had no objection toward the school courses and development plans that his grandfather had arranged for him, regardless of how arduous they were.

When it came to that little girl known as Samantha, he acted a little more rebellious.

It was probably the first time he ever had a different outlook on his life.

When they met later, he felt that Samantha looked better than the photos he had seen of her, but that was pretty much it.

He was even a little disappointed to see the way she looked at him with unconcealed awe.

Nothing about her stood out from the other girls.

They either liked him for his looks or coveted his family background.

What happened next was no surprise to him. She started chasing after him, creating some 'by chance' encounters, struck up conversations when there was nothing to talk about, and looked at him with such fanatical devotion even though she thought she was hiding it well.

She never once felt discouraged despite him giving her the cold shoulder.

There were also times when he wondered where she got her shamelessness from, although that was the extent of his curiosity.

However, there were good things about Samantha too.

In addition to her obsession with chasing him, she was also obsessed with her studies.

Many people in the upper-class circle ridiculed her because she could not keep up with her studies. After all, she had just moved to the city from a small place.

Everyone derided her because she was only able to enter that circle by relying on the Barkers. They laughed at her for being a good-for-nothing who could only enter the school through her association with the Barkers.

At that time, she never refuted them and simply left silently.

On a certain night, Timothy was sleeping when the noises outside woke him up 

He got out of bed and walked to the balcony to peer out.

A little girl was running around in the yard next door while memorizing her subjects out loud.

Upon getting a better look, that little black shadow happened to be none other than Samantha.

When he saw her turning around and leaving silently earlier that morning, he thought she was going to hide somewhere and cry. He did not expect her to put in the extra effort to become better.

It really came as a surprise for him.

He was curious to know just how long a finicky little princess like her could keep at it.

One day? Two? Perhaps three at most?

The result? That was the very first time in his life he had been so shocked.

He was awakened by that little girl's memorizing every single night for about three months. At the end of that semester, Samantha aced the exams and came out on top of everyone in her year.

When she gave her speech at the assembly, she said to all those rich kids who laughed at her, "Thank you for your encouragement back then. I'll keep working hard to continue coming out on top!"

What she really meant was, 'As long as I'm around, you scumbags can kiss goodbye to your hopes of ever coming out on top in our year!'

She did as she said and came out on top whenever she took her exams. All the other students were incensed but could do nothing about it.

That tenacity might be the reason she dared to give chase by herself when she witnessed his kidnapping.

She was even brave enough to rush out and block the gunshot, seemingly without a care in the world.

He remembered the exact moment she rushed into his arms and was hit by the bullet. The shock he felt was unlike anything he ever experienced before.

Timothy had always felt that Samantha was no different from other girls, but that was the exact moment he found out what separated her from all the others.