Once Bitten, Twice Shy

442 Finding Her

“Ms. Gilligan, may I be so bold as to ask you...what type of man do you like?”

Samantha was stunned.

Abel had always done things the proper way and maintained a respectful boundary whenever he treated her. He never overstepped his line or said anything unnecessary.

Samantha narrowed her eyes when he asked such a sudden question. Could it be that he...also wanted to become the Gilligans’ ideal son-in-law?

Abel seemed to see what she was thinking and explained with a smile, “Please don’t get me wrong, Ms. Gilligan. I’m asking on behalf of someone else.”

“Someone else?”

“That’s right. I have a younger brother who is single, young, and promising. He’s also a doctor and he likes children very much.”

Abel’s glanced inadvertently at Matthew. “He’ll come to participate in this marriage proposal, so perhaps you can...consider him.”

After a pause, he added, “His name is Alan.”

Samantha’s memories were still completely blank. She tried to recall it countless times but her head always felt dizzy and she had to stop.

However, her heart skipped a beat the moment she heard the name ‘Alan’.

That name...seemed very familiar to her.

The familiar feeling was akin to what she felt when she opened her eyes and saw Matthew.

Could that Alan have something to do with her past?

Abel secretly smiled with satisfaction when he saw Samantha’s expression. His silly little brother was lucky because Athena might just be the same woman.

He could finally look forward to the day Alan brought his wife and son home to meet their parents.

Abel ended it at that since it would leave nothing to the imagination if he said too much.

He looked at his watch and said with a smile, “I have to go, Ms. Gilligan. Goodbye.”

Samantha returned to her senses and opened her mouth to try and ask something. However, she ended up not asking anything and merely said, “Alright, Dr. Sherwood. Take care.”

She remained in deep thought as Abel left.

Inside the bedroom, Samantha bathed Matthew and wrapped a large towel around him before carrying him out of the bathroom.

As she was dressing him, she could not help herself from thinking about what happened.

No one wanted to have a blank memory. She has suffered such a serious injury and has a child of over three years old, making her sensitive, easily suspicious, and extremely wary of people, so much so that she kept a certain distance.

Her curiosity about her past, who she was, what happened, and who Matthew’s father was...were all questions that she wanted to be answered.

Whose child was he? Who could possibly get her...to willingly give birth to a child?

Although she had no memory of what happened in the past, she was still very much aware of her character. Someone like her would never have children if she was not willing and if the father was not a man she liked.

In that case, she probably liked Matthew’s father a lot.

“What type of man do you like?” That question from Abel continued to ring in her ear.

She thought to herself, ‘My type is probably Matthew’s father...’

‘But who could that man be?’

‘Is it...Alan?’

Samantha tossed and turned the entire night and did not sleep well.

Early the next morning, Irene suddenly barged into her room and called her softly, “Time to get up, Athena!”

Samantha opened her eyes in confusion, “What’s going on, Mom?” 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝐞𝚠𝚎𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝚕.co𝚖

She subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was only seven in the morning...

Irene grabbed her wrist without so much as a single word and pulled her up from the bed. The woman then said angrily, “We have something important to do today!”

She was a far cry from the weak, light-headed, and bedridden state she was in the previous day!

Irene and Libby practically pulled Samantha up as they grabbed her on either hand. She went directly to the hall downstairs and was told to sit on the sofa.

Then, Irene snapped her fingers and said, “Let’s begin!”

It was only when Samantha looked up that she noticed about seven or eight fashionably-dressed people walking right toward her. They were holding makeup and other related equipment in their hand while signaling to each other.

Samantha was speechless.

Irene instructed them from one side, “Bring out your best skills! Your mission today is to make Athena shine like a diamond and blind the eyes of anyone who dares to look down on her!”

Everyone answered in unison, “Understood!”

Only then did Samantha wake up completely from her drowsiness.

What her mother said the previous night about finding a man for her to marry was not just talk-the woman was a very proactive person who already started to set things in motion.

In reality, Samantha had no interest at all when it came to marriage and was even thinking about canceling it once her mother’s anger was quelled.

However, she changed her mind after the name ‘Alan’ filled her thoughts throughout the entire night.

She wanted to meet Alan-the man who might just be the father of her child!

She also wanted to...find out about her past and understand what had happened to her.

Only then could she become whole again.

With that thought, Samantha did not resist and decided to sit quietly while everyone dolled her up.

She spent practically the entire day putting up with makeup, hairdo, changes of clothes, and all sorts of photoshoots.

When it was over, Samantha could not help but rub her eyebrows and stretch her stiff back.

Being a celebrity was hard work. She figured that she had nothing to do with the entertainment industry in the past because she would not be that uncomfortable otherwise.

...

Having wealth made everything a whole lot easier. At just over eight in the evening, the pictures that were taken that day had been enhanced and emailed to Irene.

Samantha looked at the photos on the computer and was a little stunned.

Her scar still existed on half of her face, but it had been completely covered with makeup that day. That, in addition to the extensive retouching of the photographs, successfully restored her to her original appearance.

She knew that she was good-looking because Irene and her brothers were all good-looking, but the scar still affected her appearance to some extent.

As she looked at her photographs, she realized she looked better than she imagined.

Irene was generous with her praise, “That’s my Athena! Every shot looks angelic! Perfect from every angle! All these photos are beautiful!”

Samantha could not help but smile.

She most certainly took after her mother in terms of narcissism...

“Don’t bother choosing. I’ll send all of them! Libby, send these photos to all the major media outlets and have them put her in the headlines. I don’t care how much money it costs. I want the best, largest and clearest layout!” Irene spoke like the true rich woman she was.

The Gilligan household had always been a closely-knit unit, sharing both moments of joy and hatred. Libby was just as incensed about what had happened with Fabian, so she complied and said, “Alright, Madam! I’ll do it right now! Fabian is going to regret it so bad that he’ll spew blood from his mouth!”

A few hours later, the advertisement soliciting a potential husband made the headlines of various media outlets and her photos were spread all over the internet.

...