Once Bitten, Twice Shy

415 The Real Reason Behind the Broken-Off Marriage

Timothy pondered for a moment but did not answer immediately.

Samantha clenched her hand unconsciously. He could answer all those previous questions without hesitation, so why did he hesitate when it came to that question?

Did he still have feelings for Harmony?

Was it before Samantha came into his life, or did she have a place in his heart even after so many years?

Samantha simultaneously felt a bitterness inside her heart and a fit of uncontrollable anger.

Seemingly aware of her emotions, Timothy looked at her and smiled slightly before replying in a leisurely manner. “No.”

‘Tch. If the answer’s no, why did you hesitate then?’

Samantha could not hold herself back and sneered, “If you do, then just admit it like a man. Are you afraid to own up to your actions?”

She felt that it was all just rhetoric when he said that having an enemy in plain sight is better than an enemy in hiding. He might be aware that Harmony was plotting something bad but was somehow attracted by Harmony and lost his mind due to love.

It was like a romance novel where two people were madly in love with each other and yet were bad for each other. Old Madam Barker would not have bothered to break them up if that were not the case…

Just as Samantha was about to imagine a whole scene in her mind, Timothy chuckled softly and interrupted her again.

“I do not.”

The man said very seriously. “I wouldn’t’ve let her go abroad if I liked her, Sammy.”

He had some affection for her on account of them growing up together.

Unfortunately, those affections were all gone when he knew that she was sent by that person.

When Old Madam Barker sent Harmony abroad, she was letting Harmony get a new lease of life as a show of gratitude for saving Timothy’s life.

However, Harmony was ungrateful and never once felt content with what she had. Everything that led up to that point in her life was her doing alone.

Samantha stared at him for more than ten seconds, but he neither dodged nor avoided his gaze. His expression was so calm and indifferent that she really could not see anything wrong with it.

With Timothy’s character, he had ample means to keep Harmony by his side or even persuade her into being a turncoat and becoming his person.

He could very well have asked for it since Harmony liked him so much.

Although Samantha was thinking logically, Samantha was a little unhappy because of his hesitation.

Women were emotional beings, and that was exacerbated by the fact that Harmony was someone she hated very much!

Samantha could not help goading him and asking, “That means you’d still like Harmony if she wasn’t sent by that person, right? Then you’ll still get together, get married, have children, and grow old together?”

Timothy could not help but smile when she looked at her angry appearance. “That won’t happen. After all, you’ve got dibs on me ever since I was a child.”

“I’m a gentleman.”

Although he did not take to heart the claim that Samantha chose him as her young groom, his…grandfather had always whispered that into her ear.

He could not have ignored it and felt absolutely nothing after being nagged about her for such a long time.

Samantha was somewhat angry at first but immediately felt amused by what he said.

It was difficult to imagine that Timothy could be so self-conscious in such ways.

Moreover, his phrase ‘I’m a gentleman’ was hardly something that an overbearing CEO like Timothy would say!

His words suggested that he still remembered her, but…

Samantha cocked an eyebrow and said, “Hehe, you ignored me plenty of times before! Men are all liars, I say!”

She had followed him constantly and wooed him in all sorts of ways before she rescued him, but the amount of indifference and ignorance she received from him could still make her teary when she recalled that.

Timothy laughed at himself. “I was young and ignorant. I didn’t understand myself then. If I knew I’d love you so much in the future, I wouldn’t treat you like that.”

‘I’d be gentle with you from the first time I laid eyes on you.’

‘I would love you before you love me.’

Samantha’s heart skipped a beat.

‘Love?’

The man in front of her spoke so naturally and smoothly…

Timothy usually struggled to show his love for her in the past. He was more restrained and silent. Although he showed his love to her through actions, he never once spoke anything about love.

Was he able to say that so naturally because he had gone through so much and had endured all that hardship?

Or could there be another reason?

Samantha made a mental note.

The Timothy before her seemed both real and fake. She earlier thought he was real but had since felt that something was not quite right.

She still had to probe further.

Samantha licked her lips slightly and asked, “Timothy, do you know what happened…to Matt?”

Timothy frowned and had a confused look in his eyes. “Matt?”

She stared closely at him and saw the entire gamut of his expressions. They were all revealed in a very natural manner.

Based on the timeline, Timothy’s main personality would not have known about Matthew because the second personality was occupying the body when Matthew appeared.

“Matthew. He’s our son.” Samantha paused before asking, “Do you believe that?”

“Our son?” Timothy repeated those words in a daze and there was some fluctuation in his expression. “The child…from back then…survived?”

“Yes.” Samantha briefly explained what happened back then, as well as the fact that Matthew had been kidnapped by the second personality’s subordinates.

Timothy had a joyful yet solemn look in his eyes.

When Samantha was pregnant with the child, he was already in a situation where he was losing control. The second personality appeared from time to time and he could not suppress it.

After learning that Samantha had an accident and lost his child, his mood fluctuated too much and the second personality took the opportunity to engulf the main one.

After that, he could only use what limited time he had to arrange all escape routes for Samantha.

He wanted to make sure that Samantha would survive and live.

It came as an unexpected joy that his child with Samantha-the child he once looked forward to so much-was still alive.

However, the boy was in danger.

He did not take into consideration the boy’s existence three years ago and therefore did not protect him well. He would make sure not to lose his son again.

“Don’t worry, Sammy. I’ll find Matt’s whereabouts and I’ll definitely bring him back to us safely.”

His black eyes were calm, and he emphasized, “He’ll be fine.”

Timothy always did what he said.

Samantha felt as though the huge burden in her heart had become more relaxed. She had never had a good night’s sleep ever since she came back and had been thinking about Matthew all the time.

The second personality had no feelings for Matthew and even regarded the boy as a blight on him. Only the main personality would be sincerely considerate about Matthew.

After all, he was the child they had sincerely hoped for.

Samantha stared deeply at Timothy and hesitated for a few seconds before finally deciding to ask. There was one question that she suppressed at the bottom of her heart for many years, one that she could never get over even after so long.

She began in the most serious tone possible, “Timothy, I have one last question left.”

“When you broke off your marriage to me in public, I once went to you to ask why. At the time, you only told Ronald to tell me that you were tired of me.”

“I want to know the truth. If your feelings for me at that time were genuine, then what was your real reason for breaking off the marriage?”