Once Bitten, Twice Shy

"Finally willing to answer the phone?" Harmony asked furiously as soon as she spoke, probably because she had made numerous calls that had all went unanswered.

Samantha walked over to the sofa and leaned back lazily while smiling. "You should be grateful I'm willing to answer your call, Harmony. Do you think a side chick like you has any right to talk to me?"

"You..." Harmony exploded in anger. "You shameless b*tch! Who do you think you are, acting so high and mighty in front of me? You're a woman who's been abandoned by her husband. How dare you make all those demands? Do you think you can delay the divorce by doing that? You're a joke!"

"Oh?" Samantha's expression did not change in the slightest and she continued to speak indifferently, as if unaffected by Harmony's words. "Judging from how anxious you are, my conditions probably got you all in a twist!"

Harmony yelled out some expletives.

Samantha could not be bothered to listen to everything and so placed the phone on the coffee table. Rather than hanging up, she simply left it sitting there and picked up the remote control. Then, she turned on the television and tuned in to the live news.

Harmony cursed wildly, but instead of hearing any response from Samantha, she heard only what sounded like the live news. It was then that she realized she had been scolding in vain, and she immediately trembled in anger as a result.

She knew that she was wasting her breath because Samantha was a thick-faced woman who would not be affected by her scolding. At that moment, she took a few deep breaths and regained her composure.

She said sarcastically immediately after that, "You think I don't know what your plan is? The only reason you're putting forward all these conditions and delaying the divorce is that you want Tim to change his mind."

"But this plan of yours is just wishful thinking. I'll have you know that you'll only make Tim feel disgusted by you and hate you even more!"

"Then again, your trademark move has always been to muddle your relationship with him!"

Samantha's gaze switched from the television screen to the phone screen. She picked up the phone and said, "Instead of calling to yell at me, why don't you sit down and have a nice discussion with your beloved Tim. Since he loves you so much, I'm sure he can find it in his heart to fulfill the conditions I mentioned for your sake. Unless, of course...he doesn't think you're as important as his shares!"

"Heh, I'm most important to him, that goes without saying. It's just… why in hell should we give you our shares!" Harmony retorted without thinking.

"'Our? As in the both of you?"

Samantha was amused to hear that. "You probably should go back to school if you didn't attend one. Don't let yourself be left behind because you're uneducated, Harmony!"

"On a serious note, it's not just his shares, you know. Half his net worth belongs to me since I'm his rightful wife according to the marriage certificate! He's lucky that I only asked for half the shares!"

"You, on the other hand, only have the right to talk about those shares once you're actually married to Timothy. Doing so now makes you seem uncultured."

"Samantha!!" Harmony was gritting her teeth!

That vile woman had a sharp tongue, and every word she said made Harmony want to rip her to shreds!

"I finally realize why Tim doesn't like you anymore. Even if you use every trick in your book, Tim will never look twice at a wicked woman like you!"

Samantha sneered and chided unhesitatingly, "I can never be on the same level as you when it comes to wickedness. Don't you agree?"

"I'm sure you know exactly how my baby died!"

There was silence on the phone.

Harmony reacted quickly enough and spoke as if that was an inexplicably ludicrous accusation, "It was Penelope who killed your baby. What does it have to do with me? I didn't lay a finger on your baby and you're now accusing me of killing it?"

No one could seize the crown from Harmony when it came to putting on an act!

Samantha replied, "God is always watching, Harmony. You never should've targeted my child. Do you expect to live a happy and loving life with Timothy now that my baby is dead? Keep dreaming!"

Since Harmony had planned to use the baby as a stepping stone to get into a relationship with Timothy, Samantha was going to let her have a taste of what it felt like to have that very same stone crush her foot!

Had it not been for the child's 'death', she would never have thought about the condition that Timothy would be required to mourn for three years.

If Harmony wanted to become Mrs. Barker, then Samantha would be sure to get under their skin for at least three years!

Harmony called because she wanted to vent her anger by scolding Samantha, but rather than getting Samantha riled up, she was the one who was eventually goaded into exasperation. Her eyes were full of murderous intent and her tone sank. "I've given you numerous chances because I pity you, Samantha. But you never seem to cherish my kindness at all!"

"I won't go easy on you, Samantha. Just you wait and see!"

She was about to hang up after uttering those cruel words.

Samantha said abruptly. "Wait a minute."

Harmony stopped herself from hanging up and a touch of smugness appeared in her eyes. "What is it now? Are you starting to feel scared?"

Using force was the only way to get to a contemptible person like Samantha.

Samantha's voice turned gentle. "I changed my mind when I heard you say that."

Harmony was not surprised at all. Samantha neither had Timothy nor a family to support her. She was powerless and alone, which made it easy to pick on her.

Samantha seemed to have finally understood the situation she was in.

"Are you finally willing to sign the divorce papers?" Harmony asked again in a contemptuous tone.

"I'll sign it…" Samantha spoke clearly and added word for word, "But..."

She then paused on purpose, which made Harmony ask anxiously. "But what?"

Samantha smirked. "I'd like to add another condition."

"Have you lost your damn mind? Another condition?" Harmony had never expected that plot twist.

Samantha ignored her and said, "I want you to do a news broadcast and tell the entire nation that you were wrong, that you're a mistress who destroys other people's families, that you are morally corrupt, that you don't deserve to be an anchor, and that you'll permanently retire without ever showing yourself in public again!"

"I won't sign the divorce papers if you leave out even one single word!"

"It's either that, or you won't become Mrs. Barker even if you wait those three years!"

As soon as Samantha said that, she could hear Harmony having a mental breakdown on the other end. She did not bother to listen any further and ended the call without saying another word.

All that mattered was that she got a good kick out of it.

Samantha placed her phone down and looked up at Rochelle, who had come into the living room at some point during the phone call.

Rochelle smiled at her and said admiringly, "I was really worried about you before, Sammy. My greatest fear was that you might look fine on the outside when in fact you were depressed and fragile inside. From the looks of it, I can rest at ease now."

As far as Samantha's fighting spirit was concerned, it was already rising to Rochelle's level.

Rochelle stepped forward, sat on the sofa, and suddenly thought of something as she frowned and looked at Samantha. "It's just...."