Once Bitten, Twice Shy

That name...was a name that she had not heard in a long time.

Samantha's expression was faint and did not fluctuate. Even her tone was rather monotonous. "Really? I didn't know."

During the past three years, those around her have deliberately avoided mentioning his name and anything related to him. On her part, she paid no attention to any news involving him too.

It was as if Timothy never even existed.

Furthermore, she had absolutely no interest in his affairs too.

Alan very rarely acted audaciously. He was usually a gentlemanly character who was both caring and considerate of other people's feelings. If a certain subject was out of line, he would stop immediately.

Although it was obvious that Samantha did not want to continue talking about it, he acted as if he did not notice it and continued, "How do you feel, now that you know?"

Samantha frowned slightly.

She turned around, looked directly at Alan, then said, "I don't feel anything. Whether he remarries, gets divorced, or marries and then gets divorced again…has nothing to do with me."

Timothy was already dead to her the moment he came for her life.

He could not be any more of a stranger to her.

Alan observed Samantha's expression and found that she was exceptionally calm, almost as if she was simply talking about the weather or discussing what to eat.

She had left it all behind in the past, it seemed.

If Alan were to be honest with himself, he would say that he was happy—or rather, that he was really happy.

Alan smiled warmly and apologized unapologetically. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to confirm."

Samantha was speechless.

She knew that he was not going to ask such a question on a whim, so she spoke up and asked, "Alan, I—"

However, Alan knew exactly what she wanted to say and interrupted her to prevent her from getting a chance to say anything. "Sammy, please. Just...let me go first."

If she spoke first, he probably would not be able to say what was inside his heart.

Alan took a deep breath to ease his nervousness and said with a smile, "Sammy, this might be a bit abrupt, but..."

Rather than continuing his sentence, he took out a small ring box from his pocket and opened the lid. A bright and beautiful diamond ring was contained inside.

He bent down slightly, knelt on one knee, then held the ring in front of Samantha. He said sincerely, "I like you, Sammy. I want to marry you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life and raise Matt together."

Alan was always simple and direct. He was never one for flowery language or overly sweet remarks.

However, everything he said came from the heart.

It was what he had always wanted to tell Samantha.

The only reason he delayed it so much was because of cowardice and other concerns that he had.

Although Samantha had a hunch that he would say that, her heart still sank slightly when she heard it from his mouth.

She kept quiet and did not seem surprised or happy. Alan was already mentally prepared for it, so it was not too difficult for him to accept her reaction. He stood up again, looked at her tenderly, and said, "Sammy, I thought this chance would forever slip by me, but now that God brought you here to me again, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing."

"I've always regretted missing that chance before, so now that I have this chance, I'm determined to seize it again. I'm not asking you to answer me right now of course. I'm proposing to you just to let you know how I feel about you."

"I hope that you can give me a chance so that I can take care of you and Matt…legitimately."

Samantha knew that each one of Alan's words was genuine and came from the bottom of his heart.

Unfortunately…

She opened her mouth but could not say a single word.

Alan smiled. "Don't let this burden you, Sammy. Think about it slowly. We still have plenty of time, don't we?"

He reached out and then placed the ring box in her palm.

His voice became gentler as he said, "Just keep this ring with you for now, Sammy. Put it on when you're ready and I'll know."

After a pause, he said, "But if..."

He did not continue his sentence anymore after those two words.

He hoped that it would never be the case.

It did not matter how long he would have to wait because he was willing to wait until Samantha saw him for who he was.

He did not fear the wait; what he feared…was never having the chance at all.

Samantha's long, curly eyelashes trembled slightly. She looked at the compassionate man in front of her and could not bring herself to say hurtful words to him.

Alan had saved her life, and without him, both she and Matt would not have managed to survive the past three years.

He truly was kindness personified.

Samantha did not say anything in the end. She raised her fingers slightly and accepted the ring, at least for the moment.

Alan's eyes lit up slightly at the sight of that. When he spoke, he sounded endlessly delighted and it was one of those rare times he lacked his usual seriousness. "Thank you," he said, like a happy little boy.

…

After Alan left, Samantha took a shower and leaned on the bedhead.

She picked up the ring and looked at it as she thought about everything that happened between her and Alan in the past three years.

It would be a lie for her to claim that she had no feelings for Alan at all.

On the contrary, she had all sorts of feelings toward Alan, so much so that she could not even begin to count them all.

However, she thought carefully and realized that the only feeling missing from all those other feelings…was love.

As far as the past three years were concerned, no man could stir love-like feelings in her, not even Alan.

Her heart had died three years ago.

Her thought process at that moment was very simple—earn money by working hard, live well, raise Matthew well, and make sure he was healthy and happy. That was satisfying enough for her.

She did not desire anything else.

Without Matthew around, she might not be willing to accept things as is and would want to make sure that the person who hurt her suffered as well.

Matthew's presence meant that he was her utmost priority, rather than revenge or hatred.

Samantha sighed softly and opened the drawer of the bedside table. She put the ring in it and closed the drawer shut.

Then, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes to sleep.

However, her mind was unable to calm down and she did not know whether it was because of Alan's proposal or because he mentioned Timothy's name. She tossed and turned for a while but still could not fall asleep.

In the end, she got out of bed.

After putting on a thin coat, she left the room and walked softly into the small room next to hers.

When she walked to the bed and saw her son's soundly sleeping face, her mood inexplicably became calm. She tucked him into the blanket, then lowered her head and kissed his fleshy little face before preparing to turn around and head out.

All of a sudden, Matthew kicked the blanket and turned over while muttering a few words.