Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Zachary's heart softened when Harmony cried like a delicate little damsel.

As someone who had a penchant for defending his close friends even when they were wrong, he could not bring himself to refuse when he saw Harmony suffering as such.

Zachary sat next to her, squeezed her hand firmly, and responded without hesitation. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

He could not be happier if he was able to return Timothy and Harmony's relationship to what it used to be.

Samantha on the other hand was a scheming, cunning, and deceitful woman. Her recent actions had nearly discredited Timothy's reputation and caused the Barker Group to plunge into crisis.

Behind every great man was a woman, and Samantha was neither fit for Timothy nor the Barkers!

Harmony's eyes finally had a glimmer of hope when she heard his words. The corners of her lips curled up and she answered hoarsely, "Thank you, Zac. I know you have a good relationship with Tim, so you can be rest assured that I won't ask you to do anything that'll put you in a tight spot. I won't ruin the brotherhood you have with him. I just need a little favor from you."

"Tell me and I'll make sure to get it done for you!" Zachary patted his chest and promised her.

Harmony leaned close to Zachary's ear and whispered to him.

Zachary was a little surprised to hear her request and could not help but confirm it with her again. "That's all? Are you sure?"

He thought it would have been something else altogether and was completely surprised to hear that.

Harmony nodded affirmatively. "Yes. That's all I need for now. Thank you...for your trouble."

"Okay. Sit tight and wait for my good news."

Harmony's tears finally stopped with Zachary's assurance.

Seeing that it was very late, Zachary suggested, "Would you like to stay with me tonight, Bunny? Or shall I ask the driver to send you back?"

He could not drive because he had been drinking earlier.

Harmony got up. "I'll head back. I've troubled you all night."

Zachary did not insist on her staying either. Although they were friends, being together in the same house was not entirely appropriate and it would be bad if anyone else knew about it.

"I'll see you off then."

Zachary sent Harmony to the car and told the driver to drive slowly. He stood there and watched the car disappear into the night before returning to the house.

When Zachary's figure disappeared in the rearview mirror, the delicate and pitiful look on Harmony's face disappeared in an instant. In place of it was a vicious, ruthless look.

The driver inadvertently glanced at the rearview mirror and felt an inexplicable chill down his spine when he saw Harmony's expression.

It was as if he was looking at a female apparition.

…

Timothy and Samantha feasted on oriental food for dinner. Samantha did not know whether she was feeling good because of the happy occasion, but her appetite was tremendous.

As a result, she accidentally overate and felt bloated.

Timothy did not drive home immediately but called a driver over. He walked on the street with his hands around Samantha while the driver drove the car and followed behind them.

Samantha enjoyed herself as she nestled in Timothy's arms and walked slowly beside him.

The breeze was slightly cold as it blew over and felt quite pleasant.

Samantha could not help but say, "If only time stopped at this exact moment."

She was so happy that she almost felt like she was floating.

Timothy looked down at her beautiful face and chuckled. "You don't need to stop time. We'll spend every day like this in the future."

As soon as he said that, Samantha raised her hands and covered her mouth.

Timothy cocked an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

He thought she liked hearing those words.

Samantha clutched her mouth tighter and said seriously, "You shouldn't jinx it, Timothy. These kinds of remarks can easily bite you back one day."

She had once suffered from a situation like that too.

When she was in love before, she held herself hostage to fortune every single day. She felt that she and Timothy would always be together, hold the grandest wedding ever, and be in love forever.

It all ended up biting her back.

She was afraid of jinxing things ever since.

Timothy stared into her eyes and held her wrist gently to give her hand a gentle kiss. "We'll be the exception."

His words were firm and inexplicably convincing.

Samantha certainly hoped that they would be the exception too. She smiled and nodded, "Yes. We'll be the exception!"

Back at the villa, Timothy went to the study to deal with some urgent work matters. On the other hand, Samantha went back to the bedroom and rested briefly before going to the bathroom for a shower.

Once she was done, she inadvertently glanced at the mirror while drying her body with a bath towel. Her expression froze suddenly as a puzzled look gradually appeared on her face.

The steam inside the bathroom had yet to dissipate completely and her reflection in the mirror was not very clear. She was afraid that she was seeing things, so she hurriedly took a paper towel and walked up to the mirror to wipe away the foggy surface.

She then stood in front of the mirror to scrutinize her waist and abdomen.

During her two years abroad, her body received insufficient nutrients due to her lack of money and frequent skipping of meals. Coupled with other factors such as her frequent injuries, her body was always naturally very thin.

Old Madam Barker had been trying hard to fatten her up after she remarried Timothy but to no avail, even after feeding her all sorts of supplements and nutritious food.

More recently, everything that happened had left her in a state of anxiety and tension, and she had to move about constantly too.

Logically speaking, she should have been much thinner.

She never expected that her waist and belly would grow a little fatter.

Still reeling from her weight gain, she stretched out her hand and pinched her waist, only to find that there was a bit of extra flesh there.

It was baffling.

Did Old Madam Barker's unrelenting efforts finally succeed, or did she gain weight because she was enjoying herself too much with Timothy around?

When Timothy returned to the bedroom, he happened to see Samantha walking out with a frown and a rather convoluted expression.

He strode in and walked over to her before smoothing her eyebrows using his fingertips. "What's the matter?"

Samantha looked up at Timothy and mumbled. "I actually...gained weight!"

Women always cared deeply about their figures.

"You've gained weight?" Timothy's black pupils instinctively looked at her breasts. He examined them and said, "Gaining a little weight isn't too bad."

Samantha was speechless.

Sure enough, discussing the issue of weight gain with a man was a futile exercise!

They would never be on the same page!

Samantha covered her breasts as she blushed and reprimanded, "What are you looking at? I'm talking about my waist! My waist!"

Timothy's lips twitched evilly. "Oh really? Show me then."

'Show me' was an obvious sign that he was going to act like a rascal right there and then!

He still had stamina but her waist was still sore, so she turned around immediately to run away.

Timothy, however, had already reached out to grasp her waist and pulled her into his embrace from behind.

He placed his thin lips on her ears as he breathed all over her cheek. His hand then roamed naughtily around her waist, causing Samantha to get goosebumps all over her body.

He chuckled again. "You did gain a bit of weight."

After a half-second pause, desire filled his voice once more. "But it doesn't matter. I'll exercise with you to help you lose some..."

At the end of his sentence, he lifted Samantha in a bridal carry and walked to the big, soft bed.

…

The next day, Samantha heard a phone notification and opened her eyes with difficulty. She then reached for the phone and glanced at it.

Only then did she realize that the phone was Timothy's, not hers.

She wanted to return it to its original place, but then caught a glimpse of the sender: it was Bunny, Harmony.

The text read: [You haven't forgotten our special day, right? See you tonight.]

She thought she had misread it or was probably still dreaming in her sleep.

However, Samantha continued to look intently at the message.. As soon as she made sure that she read every single word correctly, she felt as though a basin of cold water had been poured over her head and her drowsiness disappeared in an instant.