Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 339: Cheer Me Up

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After a pause, Alan uttered the final three words of his sentence, “…cheer me up.”

He rarely said those kinds of words, and as much as he tried his best to be natural, they came out of his lips in a rather stiff manner and it even sounded a bit shy.

Samantha nearly choked on her saliva.

She never expected that a person as gentle and modest as Alan could say such a thing...

After all, Alan frequently maintained a serious and dignified image in front of her and had never said anything teasing or flirtatious.

She was not used to this sudden change and felt...very uncomfortable.

However, her relationship with Alan was more than just friends. She had promised to accept him when she returned?to Emsteldt.

It would mean that the two of them were stepping into courtship territory.

In that case, it was natural for Alan to say such things.

Samantha was the one who did not…adapt and move forward in the situation as much as Alan did.

It was her fault that she did not keep to her promise of coming home, and Alan’s request was a very reasonable one too. There was nothing Samantha could say to refuse him.

If she were to try and cheer Alan up...

Samantha frowned but did her best to give herself a bit of mental preparation. She tried to open her mouth and say something nice to coax him, but her lips merely trembled and she could not say a single word.

The more anxious she was, the more confused her mind became. It became increasingly difficult for her to speak up.

Alan waited for a moment but could only hear her breathing becoming heavier. He sighed softly and said, “Forget it.”

Samantha felt guilty. She scratched her head irritably and explained, “Dr. Sherwood, it’s not that I don’t want to, I... Maybe you can…hang on for a bit. I can do it!”

All she had to do was coax him. She used to be able to do so with ease after wooing Timothy for so long.

Then there was also Matthew. Even though she merely teased him childishly when she coaxed him, it was still coaxing nonetheless.

Perhaps it would be easier to imagine that Alan was Matt?

Samantha was still wondering how but Alan had already told her, “It’s fine.”

He wanted her to coax him, but she was having such a hard time that he might not be happy even after hearing her do so.

He discovered that he was the kind of man who developed genuine feelings for a woman that he liked.

It was the same when he found out that he and Samantha could not be together. He decided to let go of her then. Fast forward to the present, he did not want to force her after knowing that she still could not place her heart completely on him.

Samantha bit her lower lip. She was frustrated at her screw-up at the most crucial moment when she was so talkative during ordinary situations.

Alan adjusted his mood as his tone reverted to normal. He was as gentle as ever when he said, “This is the first and last time, Sammy.”

She knew that he was referring to her failure to keep her word.

Alan had accommodated her all the time and she was immediately overwhelmed by a strong sense of guilt.

She really felt that she was a bad person.

“I’ll help you to calm Matt down. You don’t have to worry about him.” Alan then softened his voice, “Come back...soon.”

Samantha gulped hard and nodded. “Okay.”

Alan spoke again and uttered, “You’ll...”

He did not continue his sentence.

Samantha could not help but ask, “I what?”

After hesitating for a moment, Alan did not continue his sentence. He simply smiled and said, “Be safe and rest well.”

“I will. You take good care of yourself too. And... thank you.”

On that occasion, Alan was the one who hung up first.

Samantha closed her eyes when she heard the beeping tone.

Regarding Alan’s unfinished sentence, she somehow felt that he wanted to ask: ‘You’ll come back, right?’

However, he held himself back and did not ask, probably because he did not want to pressure her...

Alan had always been considerate and gentle.

She thought about how she would certainly fall for a man like him if Timothy never existed. Only a blind person would fail to appreciate how good he was.

All of a sudden, she heard a rush of footsteps coming from outside the lounge. Along with that was Aunt Julia’s wailing.

The mess of irritable thoughts in Samantha’s mind disappeared instantly and was replaced by panic. Did something happen to Old Madam Barker?

Samantha immediately got up from the sofa and ran out.

As expected, she saw doctors pouring into the intensive care unit as soon as she stepped out of the lounge. Meanwhile, Aunt Julia was forced out by a nurse, who sternly advised Aunt Julia not to interfere with the treatment. The door of the ward was then closed shut in front of her.

Samantha quickly walked to Aunt Julia’s side and helped her up.

Aunt Julia turned around to look at Samantha and grabbed her arm while crying, “Sam, the old lady’s heart rate monitor showed a straight line earlier. What should we do! What should we do!”

Although Samantha had already expected some bad news, her heart shuddered violently when she heard that and her vision became a little darker.

Could that be the end of Old Madam Barker’s life?

She did not know what to do either and was just as scared as Aunt Julia. Unsure of what to say, she hugged Aunt Julia tightly while repeating, “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. Everything will be fine.”

Samantha could not tell whether she was saying that to comfort herself or Aunt Julia.

Time passed so slowly that Samantha and Aunt Julia were exhausted from all the crying. However, the two of them could not relax at all and kept relying on each other as they stared intently at the door to the ward.

At long last, the door opened and a doctor came out.

Samantha suddenly found herself afraid to go up and ask about the situation. Her greatest fear was that she would hear bad news.

Aunt Julia probably thought the same as her and stayed put without saying anything.

When the doctor saw that, he walked towards them out of his own accord and pulled down his mask to reveal a relieved smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ve managed to save her. The old lady has finally managed to go through this dangerous period. She might still be unconscious, but she will...live.”

Samantha felt as if she had journeyed from hell to heaven in a split second.

She cried tears of relief, although she was still unable to say anything and could only hug Aunt Julia tightly.

Aunt Julia was in tears as well. She returned the hug to Samantha and said emotionally, “She survived! She survived! Sam, it’s all thanks to you! The old lady must’ve been reluctant to part with you and managed to survive this. Thank you, thank you!”

Samantha thanked God in her heart too.

She thanked the Almighty for not taking away Old Madam Barker’s life, and for giving her a chance to make it up to the old lady in the future.

…

The next day, Rochelle came to visit Old Madam Barker and was sincerely happy to see that the old lady’s condition had improved.

Aunt Julia was out buying food, and Old Madam Barker was still unconscious, so Rochelle glanced at Samantha and said straightforwardly, “I learned some very...bad news yesterday.”

Samantha turned to look at her, “What is it?”

Rochelle frowned and said in a serious tone, “Jonathan told me that Timothy requested the hotel for the surveillance footage that night. Even though he won’t find anything because we’ve already overwritten the records in advance, he’s still a very dangerous man and we can’t take this lightly. Better to be safe than sorry, you know!”

“Since Old Madam Barker has already successfully gone through the risky phase, you can consider your mission complete. You should hurry up and leave, Sammy. I’ll bring you to the airport right now!”

As soon as Rochelle said that, she got up and went straight to pull Samantha’s hand.

Samantha, however, sat there without moving.

Rochelle was puzzled. “Sammy, you...”

Samantha clenched her hand little by little and there was a conflicted look in her eyes as she looked at Rochelle and said, “I can’t go yet, Chelle. I have one more thing to do!”