Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Samantha glanced at her from aside and tilted her head slightly. "Yeah?"

"Well… can I ask you something, Sammy? What is it you've experienced during your two years abroad that made you so… strong?" Rochelle phrased it as gently as possible.

She wanted to ask that question many times already but had always refrained from doing so. At that moment, she could not help but ask involuntarily.

After all, there must be a reason why a person's character would change 180-degrees, especially when Samantha's living environment since she was young was taken into account.

Of course, the main point was that she felt devastated for Samantha.

She hoped that Samantha would forever remain a happy and carefree little princess.

The biggest question for Rochelle was Samantha's experiences abroad.

A couple of scenes appeared in Samantha's mind and she unconsciously clenched her hand.

Although her life was difficult during those two years, there was a half-year period that could be considered as her darkest moment. That place could be likened to purgatory, and regardless of how many times she tried escaping death, she always sank back in and was unable to see the sun.

The fact that she was able to leave that place and live until the present day was somewhat of a miracle for her.

Even the most fleeting of memories about that place could make her break into a cold sweat. It was something she never wanted to think about.

She did not want anyone to know about it, not even someone like Rochelle, who was as close to her as a sister could ever be.

In any case, she had completely severed all ties from that place, and since that memory was forever sealed, there was no point mentioning it at all.

Seeing Samantha's prolonged silence and serious expression, Rochelle hurriedly called out, "Sammy?"

Samantha's thoughts snapped back and she unconsciously smiled as she said, "There's nothing to say. It's all in the past."

Rochelle understood Samantha well and knew that she always made light of anything that she did not want to mention.

In the end, Rochelle pursed her lips and did not ask any further questions.

Everyone had their secrets which they never let on to anyone else. Samantha was no different and the same could be said of Rochelle, hence why Rochelle could understand her.

"Okay. I won't ask anymore since it's in the past." Rochelle handed her the medicine she brought and said, "Time to eat your meds."

Rochelle had become somewhat of a timer for her to take her medication.

Samantha smiled and took them, tossed the pills in her mouth, then swallowed them with some water. She then hugged Rochelle coquettishly and said, "Thanks, Babe."

…

Timothy was silent for the next few days and Harmony did not call to cause trouble again. All of a sudden, everything became very calm.

Samantha was neither anxious nor worried. She dutifully ate, drank water, rested, and exercised when it was time for her to do so.

Vincent came over to check on her that day and was amazed at how fast she had recovered.

After all, she had been crying a lot and was in low spirits when he came to visit her the last time around. It was as if she was about to give up on life anytime soon. Amazingly, she was full of vigor and seemed to have been reinvigorated after just a couple of days.

He could not help but sigh. "Ms. Larsson, you truly are the most amazing patient I have ever treated."

Physical pain was easy to treat, but the same could not be said of mental illness. It was up to the patient to draw strength from their willpower, but the human mind was far too easily affected by various external factors. Those who had sufficient tenacity and fortitude were few and far between.

Aside from Vincent, Samantha was a little surprised at herself too.

The reason why she could recover that quickly was firstly due to her past. Secondly, she had probably grown stronger than ever since she became a mother.

She had a baby and so was no longer alone. Even if she could ignore her needs, ignoring the baby's needs was simply out of the question.

Corey was her sole family after she had severed ties with her parents long ago. However, she did not know when he was going to regain consciousness. As a result, she cherished her relatives tremendously.

In all honesty, she initially did not want the baby.

She would rather never have the baby than let it be born just to become a tool. It was very unfair for the child to face such a fate at birth.

As a result, she still decided she could not have the baby even after giving it some serious thought the other day.

The reason she changed her mind was because of a tiny incident.

It happened when she was feeling overly depressed about Timothy and could not sleep. She reached for her cell phone and decided to swipe through the Qittoq app to watch some short videos.

By accident, she started swiping through countless short videos of babies.

The babies were all smiling at her and her heart melted because of that.

She could not help thinking about how cute her baby would be if they were born—she was certain that their smiles would be just as cute and good-looking.

The more she thought about it, the more reluctant she became.

Even so, she was afraid when she thought about their future.

She could not accept the fact that her child would become a tool for someone.

Something even more difficult for her to accept was that her child would acknowledge and address Harmony as their mother.

That was the exact moment Samantha decided that her baby should 'die' a legitimate death.

Only then would the child be hers and hers alone. Timothy and Harmony would no longer be concerned about her baby.

Samantha raised her hand involuntarily and gently stroked her lower abdomen.

When she was done with everything there, she would leave with her baby, give birth safely, and let them grow up healthy and happy.

Samantha's cell phone rang after Vincent left with Leah.

She glanced at the phone screen and saw that Timothy was calling.

He finally had an answer after five days.

Samantha picked up the glass of water and sipped some water to moisten her throat. She then picked up the phone and slid her finger across it to answer. "Hello."

The man's icy, low voice was heard from the other end and he said succinctly, "Come to the company at ten tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Samantha answered succinctly as well.

She hung up as soon as she said that and did not have any intention of talking nonsense with him.

…

The next morning, Samantha and Rochelle walked into the CEO's office right as the clock struck ten.

Timothy was sitting on the sofa. His long legs were folded elegantly and his black suit lent him a beautifully sinister look.

He looked up and glanced at Samantha before saying coldly, "Have a seat."

Samantha walked over with her head held high and sat on the sofa opposite him. Rochelle sat beside Samantha and leaned lazily on the sofa as she shot icy glares at Timothy.

Had she not promised Samantha that she was just merely keeping Samantha company to settle the divorce, she might have found it difficult for her to stop herself from hitting him.

There was a knock on the office door.

Timothy called out and said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and Ronald came in first, followed by a man in a well-cut suit. Samantha recognized that man as Clive Manning, head of the Barker Group's legal department.

Clive was well-known for being the man who had a 100% winning streak when it came to divorce lawsuits!

Samantha cocked her eyebrows slightly.

Was Timothy planning to put pressure on her using his lawyers after deciding that he did not want to give in to her demands?