Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Matthew was the first to react. He jumped off the sofa, wiggled his little legs as he rushed to the man's arms, then called out in an infantile voice, "Daddy."

The man squatted down, held the little boy in his arms, and carried the boy up firmly.

At long last, the man could finally be at ease after being worried sick earlier.

Timothy's lips twitched when he heard the boy call out 'Daddy'.

He thought that the boy was a miserable little kid who did not have a father, yet he went around hugging strangers and calling them 'Daddy'! Did the boy enjoy taking advantage of other people's sentiments?

Ronald froze all of a sudden too.

The fantasy he had was instantly shattered. The child could not possibly be Timothy's illegitimate son if he had a father already.

He thanked his lucky stars that he did not put his thoughts into words, otherwise he would make an absolute fool of himself and Timothy would start to question whether there was something wrong with his brain!

However, that man looked somewhat familiar.

Ronald opened his eyes slightly and was surprised to see Alan.

The boy…was Alan's son?

Then again, there was nothing to be surprised about because they were in Emsteldt, where Alan had been living for a long time. Although meeting him was a coincidence, it was not entirely unexpected.

Alan put Matthew down and checked him thoroughly to make sure that he was okay. Then, he picked the boy up and looked at Timothy and Ronald.

The moment he spotted Timothy's handsome face, his expression changed slightly and he unconsciously tightened his grip on Matthew.

Not long later, he held back his emotions and smiled as he walked over and said, "It's been a while, Mr. Barker."

Timothy looked up and glanced at him before nodding his head slightly.

It had been ages since they last saw each other.

Ronald got up politely and greeted. "What a coincidence, Dr. Sherwood."

Alan looked at Ronald and replied, "Yeah, what a coincidence."

After a pause, he said to them in a formal voice, "Thank you for bringing Matt here. I'm really grateful."

As he said that, he bowed slightly and expressed his deepest gratitude.

Ronald waved his hand quickly. "Don't worry about it. You're very welcome."

Timothy stared at Alan for a second and turned to look at the still-angry child, who was hugging Alan's neck and had turned to look the other side without even bothering to look at Timothy.

Timothy sneered to himself.

His lips then parted open and he said, "Since you found your child, please remember to teach him not to wander off calling other people 'daddy' on a whim."

Ronald's face soured instantly.

'Do you have to be so vengeful? You're lucky the boy even called you 'daddy'!'

There was a fleeting, near-imperceptible change in Alan's expression. "Thank you for your kind advice, Mr. Barker. I won't let him call anyone else 'daddy' anymore."

Although Alan was manifestly warm when speaking and had a rather cordial attitude, Ronald somehow felt a murderous aura coming from him.

It was as if Alan was saying, 'You won't even get another chance to hear this little boy call you 'daddy' in the future.'

Ronald decided to be a peacemaker.

He interrupted hurriedly, "When did you get married, Dr. Sherwood? I haven't heard a thing and I didn't expect your child to be so big already! Haha."

Alan smiled in response and said nothing.

Ronald scratched his hair embarrassingly.

After all, it was Alan's personal life, and he was not that close with Alan either. There was no need for Alan to inform him about the marriage.

Ronald felt that it would be best for him to say less.

Alan did not want to stay any longer since he had already thanked them. He then said again, "We have someplace to be, so goodbye."

Timothy did not respond.

Ronald answered immediately, "Oh, please, yes. Go ahead."

Alan nodded slightly, then turned around and strode away with Matthew in his arms.

Just as they were about to exit the VVIP room, Timothy glanced casually at the boy and happened to make eye contact with him.

The little kid made a face at him.

Timothy snorted angrily.

He wondered just how 'amazing' the boy's mother was if he had been taught to be an ungrateful little brat.

After Alan left with Matthew, the room became quiet again.

As soon as Ronald sat back on the sofa, he saw Timothy's black pupils staring straight at him and felt a chill come down his spine.

The stare made it difficult for him to sit still and he stood up again while asking weakly, "Mr. Barker, did I do something wrong? Please tell me if I have."

'Just get on with it! Don't make me feel so uneasy.'

Timothy looked at him and was probably bored when he asked cryptically, "What did you want to ask earlier?"

That sudden question stunned Ronald.

After a few seconds, he finally realized what Timothy meant by that.

He felt somewhat awkward because he did not expect his big boss to pay such close attention to every detail of his mistake.

What a man of detail Timothy was!

The Barker Group would not have reached such heights otherwise.

Of course, he could not ask the question in such an excited and eager manner like before. He rephrased it to be less direct, "I just wanted to ask whether you feel that the little boy kinda looks like you."

"Tch," Timothy sneered in an incredibly disdainful look.

'The kid? Looks like me? How so? The boy should be thankful if he looks even the slightest bit like me.'

'My future son would never be a little brat who would only cry and scream until kingdom come.'

Ronald understood at once and shut up.

However, he still felt that it was very similar.

If Timothy's child with Samantha was still alive, they probably would be around that age.

'Enough, enough!' He felt that his thoughts were getting a little out of hand and started to feel as though the baby resembled Samantha too!

Ronald shook his head and chucked aside all those wild thoughts.

…

Alan carried Matthew to his car, opened the rear door, and put him in a special children's car seat.

He then went to the driver's seat and got in to start the engine.

The car drove a long way out before Alan gradually regained his composure. He said softly, "You scared me to death, Matt. If I lose you, the only way I can apologize to your mother is with my life."

Matthew was Samantha's life and blood.

Three years ago, Samantha was on the verge of death after being rescued. She was completely soaked in water and her body was gravely unwell.

At that time, the child had become a burden on her health, so Vincent and Alan both felt that she should give the child up to save her own life.

However, she was unwilling to do so and insisted on keeping him.

She suffered greatly during her pregnancy and nearly lost her life just to give birth.

Her body was extremely weak, and the child was not in good health either. Both of them had to stay in the hospital for a very long time.

The only reason mother and son both slowly came out of the danger was probably due to God's grace.

The name Matthew meant 'gift of God'.

Samantha wanted to thank the Almighty for giving her that child.

Matthew obediently apologized. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

He had let go of Alan's hand after a toy attracted his attention.

"It's alright. As long as you know your mistakes and correct them." Alan could not bring himself to chastise the child.

After a pause, he pretended to act naturally and said, "Matt, why did you call that man 'daddy'?"

Samantha and Timothy never had any contact during the past three years and she did not want to have any further contact with him either.

Based on normal logic, Matthew could not have known that Timothy was his biological father.

Was Samantha's heart still unable to let go of Timothy? Could that be the reason she told Matthew that Timothy was his biological father?