Once Bitten, Twice Shy

He came over, greeted Irene politely, then nodded toward the three Gilligan brothers. Finally, he looked toward Samantha.

He smiled gently and said, “My name is Fabian Garvey. Nice to meet you, Ms. Gilligan.”

Although she had no impression of a fiance that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, she had to maintain decorum and smiled in response. “Hello, I’m...”

She paused for half a second before continuing, “Athena Gilligan.”

The name was still very unfamiliar to her and she felt awkward whenever she mentioned it, almost as if the name did not belong to her.

In any case, she could not remember what her name in the past was.

Irene greeted him warmly and invited Fabian to sit down before turning to Samantha. “You don’t have to feel awkward, Athena. You’re both engaged, after all.”

Fabian took advantage of the situation and said, “Can I just call you Athena, then?”

He looked gently at Samantha.

Samantha felt somewhat awkward.

Her so-called fiance was a stranger. She had been inexplicably wary and averse toward everything around her since she regained consciousness, which explained why she found it difficult to be cordial toward the man before her.

He was gentle and polite, but perhaps her alertness or some other factor made her feel that it was inappropriate.

She could not make a scene at the time since it seemed rather obvious that her mother and three brothers had a very good relationship with Fabian.

Perhaps she was just suspicious.

Samantha tried to lower her guard and responded kindly. “Of course, Mr. Garvey.”

Fabian smiled at her response and said, “You can just call me Fabian.”

“Okay, Fabian.”

Irene smiled in satisfaction.

She was initially worried that the two youngsters would not be able to get along but the situation seemed better than she expected.

Irene had watched Fabian grow up. His character, and the way he carried himself, reassured her that he would treat Athena well in the future.

After dinner, Irene tried to get the two youngsters to spend more time together by suggesting, “Athena has recently been cooped up at home, so she must be bored to death. Since you’re here today, Fabian, why don’t you bring her out for a walk?”

Fabian agreed and looked at Samantha, “Would you like to take a walk, Athena?”

Samantha could not bring herself to reject when she saw Irene’s eager look. Alan had also told her that regular walks could aid in her recovery.

Samantha nodded, “Sure, let’s take a walk together.”

The Gilligans’ residence was located in a high-end villa area facing an artificial lake. That was where Fabian brought Samantha to have a walk.

It was early autumn and the nights were both cold and windy. Samantha had just only recovered and her body shivered slightly because she could not bear the cold wind.

When Fabian saw that, he took off his suit jacket and put it on Samantha in a very considerate manner.

Samantha felt awkward refusing his kindness and said gratefully, “Thank you.”

She bit her lips lightly and hesitated, but was the first to start the topic, “Mr. Ga- Fabian. You’ve probably already heard what happened to me, right?”

Fabian did not seem surprised that she would ask that and nodded. “I have.”

“Then... What’s your opinion toward this prenatal marriage? You and I were strangers before this, and today is only our first meeting. To tell you the truth, it’s...not something I want to think of right now.”

It had not been long since she regained consciousness and her brain was empty. She did not feel grounded in the world, let alone have the capacity to think about accepting a marriage.

Fabian looked at her sincerely, “I’ve known about this engagement since I was a child, Athena. I knew since I was a little boy that we were going to get married. I’ve always been waiting for you even though you...went missing for a long time. Now that you’re finally back, I feel that it’s a blessing from God and I must seize this opportunity!”

“We might be strangers right now, but there’s always room to let our feelings develop. I hope you’ll give me the chance to take care of you.”

Samantha was stunned when she looked into his eyes.

Any bystander who saw his tender gaze and affectionate words would have thought that he truly loved her deeply.

She wondered if she had previously interacted with him in some way.

It seemed unlikely because her family would have known about her interactions with him.

Then again, how could someone behave like that toward a person they had just only met for the first time?

Did he fall in love with her at first sight?

It was unlikely because she had been wearing a mask due to the disfigurement on the right side of her face. How could it be love at first sight when he did not even see her entire face?

Samantha did not know how to respond to him and merely smiled awkwardly.

Fabian seemed to realize his impetuous behavior and immediately said, “Did I scare you, Athena? I’m sorry. I get anxious when I think about how hard it is to get back something that’s lost. Don’t worry, we can go slow and take our time to get to know each other.”

“I’ll wait until you’re ready. We can fulfill the engagement then. Just...don’t reject me now, is that alright?”

Although Samantha had no feelings for Fabian, she could not single out anything wrong with his actions. Furthermore, her mother and three elder brothers were fond of him.

She did not want to make Irene unhappy because it was the latter who saved her life and that of her child.

Samantha answered softly. “Okay.”

She felt a little tired after walking halfway around the lake, so Fabian sent her back to the door of the Gilligans’ residence.

He said, “Go on in, Athena. I’ll leave once you’re inside.”

“Goodbye.”

Samantha turned around and entered.

Just as she walked into the entrance hall, she was about to change her shoes when she realized that Fabian’s suit jacket was still on her body. She smacked her forehead and walked out.

Fabian had not yet left and was standing beside his car while talking on the phone.

...

Samantha immediately stopped walking because she had no intention of eavesdropping on other people’s private matters. She planned to wait for him to finish his call before returning the jacket, but she vaguely heard her name being mentioned.

She cocked her eyebrows slightly and wondered if he was talking about her.

Samantha hesitated for a few seconds but eventually decided to approach him...