Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 143: A Dying Flash of Lucidity

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The doctor said calmly to Ronald, “Help her to sit down. I’ll check her condition.”

Ronald carefully helped Samantha to sit on the chair. The doctor bent down and gave her a quick check before saying, “Not to worry, it’s nothing serious. Her body just couldn’t get used to it when she was finally relieved from all her sadness and anxiety. That’s all there is to it. Just send her back to the ward and make sure she gets proper rest.”

Ronald could not help but wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Yes Doctor, sure thing!”

…

When Samantha next opened her eyes, the sun was shining particularly bright outside. She turned her head slightly to soak in the warm rays.

The door of the ward was pushed open and the sound of footsteps came in.

She looked over instinctively and there was a hint of disappointment when she saw the visitor was Rochelle.

“That disappointed to see me?” Rochelle acted as if she was complaining.

Samantha held back her emotions right away and beamed with a smile. “Of course not, I’m so glad to see you!”

“Now that’s more like it!”

Rochelle walked over, helped her raise the front half of the bed up, then placed a pillow on her back so could lean back more comfortably.

She looked closely at Samantha’s face and asked in a soft yet concerned voice, “Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just a graze.”

Timothy had taken the blow from those fatal attacks, and had he not done so, she would be the one lying unconscious with no sign of waking up anytime soon.

Rochelle knew what Samantha was thinking and so held her hand and comforted her. “That scu— I mean, Timothy…has already weathered through the risky period, right? He’ll be fine once he wakes up. You don’t have to worry so much. He won’t die so easily.”

Samantha unconsciously looked at her.

Rochelle smirked and explained, “Because he’s the same as Jonathan. Scourges that haunt us for centuries on end!”

Samantha was speechless.

Even though those words did not sound too pleasant, Rochelle had a knack for comforting her.

Samantha smiled ever so slightly.

A thought crossed her mind and she asked, “Hey Chelle, what happened to Penelope?”

Speaking of Penelope, Rochelle’s eyes sank a little. That darn woman might well have gotten her way had Timothy not been near enough to protect Samantha in time. In turn, Timothy would not have been there had Rochelle not endeavored to give Timothy another chance by calling him to come over and pick Samantha up.

If something happened to Samantha, Rochelle would most certainly skin Penelope alive!

“She was arrested for assault and attempted murder. Now she’s just waiting to be jailed!”

Penelope only had herself to blame for that.

However, Samantha frowned slightly and said doubtfully, “Based on my understanding of Penelope, she wouldn’t have lost it just like that. Her state of mind was really odd that day, and she was unusually strong. The expression she had was very strange too, unlike her usual self.”

Rochelle replied, “When the police came to take statements, the bartender and manager both said that she had been coming there to drink quite often recently. She must have had too much to drink and went bonkers after getting drunk.”

“Was it really just because she had too much to drink?” Samantha still had a puzzled look.

Would one’s mental state be off after drinking too much?

“Why do you ask? Is there something wrong?” Rochelle asked in reply.

Samantha felt that something was not right but could not put her finger on what it was exactly. In the end, she could only shake her head and say, “I must’ve been overthinking.”

“Alright now, no more worrying about Penelope. What you need is rest.”

“Okay.”

Rochelle sighed gently. “I really hate hospitals. Get well soon, alright?”

Samantha felt the same way too. “That makes two of us. I hope that I, and the people I love, will always be free from illness.”

…

In the other ward, Timothy opened his heavy eyelids slowly. Since it had been quite a long time since he saw light, he narrowed his eyes and closed them slightly before opening them once more.

“Mr. Barker, you’re awake!”

A joyful weeping rang in Timothy’s ears. A man rushed over, hugging him immediately and crying as if he was Timothy’s wife, “Sob, sob! Mr. Barker, you’re finally awake! I was scared out of my wits! I don’t know what I’d do if you were dead!”

Timothy lowered his gaze and looked at the teary, snotty Ronald. He decided that it would be better to die right away.

He took a deep breath and said in a firm but soft tone. “Go. Away.”

Ronald felt cherished more than ever when he heard those words. He straightened himself up and spoke sobbingly, “Mr. Barker, if scolding me makes you better, then by all means, scold me as much as you want!”

Hearing Timothy’s scolding was better than seeing Timothy lie there weakly.

Timothy was speechless and his head hurt a little.

He initially thought that Samantha would be the first person he would see after opening his eyes. After all, she was the one who woke him up.

Unfortunately, the person before him…was an eyesore.

He could not be bothered to entertain Ronald and glanced around the ward. Samantha’s figure was nowhere to be seen and his eyebrows frowned unknowingly.

“Have you been here the entire time?”

“What? Oh yes, I have! I’ve been keeping watch over you the entire time! I never left at all!” Ronald patted his chest and spoke with conviction to show his undying concern for Timothy.

Timothy’s expression instantly sank.

In that case, did all the crying he heard while in a coma come from Ronald? Did that also include the phrase ‘I’ll never mention divorce to you again, and I’m willing to give you a baby’?

His expression became worse.

Ronald’s heart practically stopped beating after seeing how Timothy appeared to be on the verge of fainting. “Mr. Barker, you... Are you suddenly seeing a light at the end of a tunnel? I… I’ll call a doctor!”

If Timothy died, his annoyance toward Ronald would have made him spring back to life.

Timothy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m fine.”

He paused for a few seconds before asking hesitantly, “Where’s Samantha? Where is she?”

Timothy only fainted after making sure that Samantha was safe. Her condition was probably stable, so why was she not there?

Was it so difficult to even get the slightest bit of pity from her even when he was about to lose his life?

“Mrs. Barker? Mrs. Barker is in another ward. She’s probably awake now. I’ll tell her that you’re awake.”

Ronald then turned around, walked out of the ward, and closed the door gently.

…

At the entrance of the hospital, a fair-faced woman got out of a car with a bouquet of lilies and walked into the hospital. Dressed in a tailored light-blue dress, her long black hair draped over her back and contrasted against her delicately fair skin.

Her stunning figure drew the attention of many passersby.

She walked up to the nurse’s station and smiled at the nurse before asking softly, “Hi there, I’d like to ask, which ward is Mr. Timothy Barker in?”

The female nurse was awestruck by the woman’s smile and came to her senses only after a few seconds. She answered immediately, “Please hold on while I check that for you.”

The nurse did a search on the computer and told the woman where to go.

“Thank you.”

The woman then started making her way to Timothy’s ward.