Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 90: Gaining the Upper Hand by Making Concessions

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Timothy’s eyes turned dark. He pursed his thin lips and said nothing.

“Tell me!” Old Madam Barker was anxious. She held her crutches and hammered it twice on the ground.

Timothy looked like he did not hear it at all and merely said, “You should go back to your room and rest, Grandma. I’m going to take a bath.”

“You! You just want to piss this old lady off!”

Old Madam Barker asked that question two years ago as well, but he did the same thing and stayed quiet, refusing to say a single thing.

She also knew that no one could pry his mouth open if it was something he did not want to say.

Had he not lost his consciousness after getting drunk the previous day, he would not have called out Samantha’s name that whole time.

Old Madam Barker sighed and could only compromise. “Fine. I won’t ask again if you don’t want to tell me, but there are some things that I—as an elder and someone who’s lived longer than you—must remind you.”

She held Timothy’s hand, patted it twice, then said politely, “Women are very emotional beings. I watched Sammy grow up and I know she’s a very emotional child. You can see it from the way she treats Corey. She will never leave those she cares about and she won’t give up on them. But...if you make her heart cold, she will be sad and disappointed. Once that happens, she would give up...just as she did to her greedy parents.

“I don’t know what happened between you and Sammy, but if you’re still worried about her, like her, and care about this hard-earned marriage between the two of you, you ought to think long and hard about how you’re going to treat Sammy after this. I can tell you that the only way to earn sincerity is to be sincere.”

After a pause, Old Madam Barker’s tone changed. “Of course, if you don’t like Sammy anymore, then I’ll accept it with an open heart. Forcing two people to stay together when they clearly don’t like each other will only hurt you and Sammy. If you want to get a divorce, then get a divorce. If that’s what you want, then I won’t keep fretting over you not having a wife. Sammy’s still young and beautiful, plus she has a good personality too. I’m sure she’ll meet a good man. It’d be good too if you didn’t waste each other’s time!”

As she was talking, she thought excitedly, “It’s hopeless for me to expect you to give me grandchildren. But if Sammy finds a new husband, gets married to him, and gives birth to a cute baby for me to carry, I think I’d be happy enough.”

Timothy’s handsome face turned sour.

Old Madam Barker seemed not to have seen Timothy’s expression and continued, “Oh by the way, Sammy told me last time that she already has a man that she likes. Her choice of men would definitely be very good. Maybe you should get a divorce and be done with it. What Sammy needs right now is someone who can be by her side, so when the time comes, the man she likes can accompany her openly. When Sammy gets married again, I’d have to prepare a proper dowry for Sammy and—”

“Grandma!” Timothy interrupted sternly and unceremoniously told her to leave. “I have a headache and I want to continue resting. Please let me rest.”

Old Madam Barker cast him an angry glare. After seeing his pale face turning red with anger, she cleared her throat lightly and spared him the nagging. “Alright, you can continue resting. Remember to think long and hard about what I told you.”

She stood up, walked slowly out of the room with the support of her crutches, then closed the door.

Aunt Julia, who stood at the door and listened to everything, could not resist giving a thumbs up to Old Madam Barker. Her tone was filled with admiration as she said, “Your trick of using concessions to gain the upper hand is just too amazing!”

The old lady raised her head proudly. “That’s nothing. I’ve experienced more in life than the two of them combined. I’m more than confident that I can play this matchmaker role!”

…

Samantha slept in Rochelle’s apartment and only woke up slowly the next evening.

The sky outside had turned dark and she glanced outside in a daze, thinking she was still in the hotel suite.

She stayed like that until she heard footsteps.

Samantha moved her stiff eyes and followed the sound.

Wearing loose home clothes, Rochelle—who had tied her hair up casually—walked over and smiled when she saw that Samantha was awake. “You’re finally awake, huh. If you hadn’t woken up, I’d already be considering whether or not to bring you to a hospital.”

Samantha immediately lowered the tenseness and vigilance in her heart. She held the blanket over her body and sat up, but nearly collapsed back in pain after feeling that her entire body was falling apart.

Rochelle immediately stepped forward to support her and saw the bruise marks on her white neck. They extended all the way underneath her clothes and Rochelle’s eyes immediately had a fierce glow. “That damn b*stard Timothy. I didn’t manage to catch him yesterday or else I would’ve punished him on God’s behalf!”

“I’m fine! Don’t look for him!” Samantha forced out a smile.

She had already involved Alan and she did not want Rochelle to get involved too. The last thing she wanted was for those few friends of hers to be caught in the crossfire.

Rochelle was well aware of Samantha’s thoughts. She pursed her lips without unmasking Samantha’s show of bravado and changed the subject. “By the way, I bought you a new cell phone and put your SIM card inside.”

She picked up the phone from the bedside table and handed it to Samantha.

When it came to critical moments, her best friend was still the most reliable and caring.

Samantha hugged Rochelle lightly. Her actions alone conveyed her gratitude. She then picked up the phone and switched it on.

Once the screen lit up, a dozen missed calls were displayed at once.

Samantha was stunned. Her hands trembled a little and she wondered if something had happened to Corey.

She held her breath, clicked on the address book, and saw that the missed call was not from only one person. It was neither the hospital nor the nurse.

Alan was the one who had called her.

Her anxious heart finally calmed down somewhat, but when it was halfway calm, another thought occurred to her and she became anxious yet again.

She had told Alan the previous day that she would get a meal with him, but it was already evening and Alan was probably getting anxious from waiting...

Rochelle watched Samantha’s face change so drastically and became uneasy as well. “What’s going on, Sammy? What’s wrong? Don’t scare me!”

Samantha had no time to explain to Rochelle and dialed Alan’s number right away.

Alan’s voice came in mere seconds. “Sammy?”

“Yes, it’s me.” Samantha gulped and said in a very embarrassed tone, “I’m sorry, Dr. Sherwood, I… Something happened at that last minute on my end, and I won’t be able to treat you to dinner today.”

“What happened? Is it serious?” Alan sounded worried.

“It’s nothing huge. I took care of it,” Samantha replied curtly.

“That’s good. When I couldn’t contact you, I thought you were going to disappear out of thin air just like before,” Alan teased her lightly. “What’s important is that you’re alright.”

Samantha said, “Thank you for being considerate. I’m really sorry I missed our appointment today.”

Alan chuckled and said, “I actually have something going on today and I called you to tell you that I won’t be able to make it for today’s appointment. You don’t have to apologize.”

After a pause, Alan said again, “However, it’s still important that we meet today.”