My One-month Marriage With Mr. Hawkins

Pressing her lips, Florence gradually yanked her hands back from Samantha.
She kept smiling, but showed a sense of alienation.
"Thank you for your generosity, Princess Samantha, but as an ordinary people, I didn't do some good at all so that I couldn't
deserve your reward and would be too anxious to sleep."
"These clothes are so gorgeous. You should reward them to the women who contributed a lot, which would be more appropriate
and would remind people of how Princess Samantha deals with everything fairly. People would be grateful for you."
It implied that if she gave the clothes to Florence, she showed favoritism and didn't handle things in a disinterested manner.
It was simply sending clothes as a gift. How could Florence defy her in this way?
Samantha could hardly maintain her smile.
Suppressing her temper, she said tenderly, "Flory, the women who had made a contribution would be rewarded naturally. Since
you come here from afar and I like you so much and even regard you as my own sister, I would like to give you such a gift as a
token of my appreciation."
She paused a few second, looking aggrieved, "Does it mean that you don't like me and even don't want to be friendly to me if
you don't want to receive my gift."
Of course she didn't want it, which was so evident that everyone could see.
However, Florence couldn't reveal it in public. Words had consequences. If she still refused her in public and made Princess
Samantha lose face, the rumor could spread across the whole country in a minute.
She would be regarded as a headstrong woman who dared to defy Princess Samantha. Then, she would come under fire from
the whole country and even risked to be thrown stinky eggs.
But she felt vexed to see the drama queen in front of her.
It would be embarrassing to receive her clothes.
Frowning and brooding, Florence said with her smiling face,

"Of course I would like to get on well with you, Princess Samantha. However, I'm so humble that I'm afraid of not having such an
honor. Since these clothes are considered to be a custom for treating a guest like me, I'm so grateful for that."
Florence implied that she received the gift because she was a guest from afar and it was a custom of welcoming new guests,
which bore no relationship with other reasons.
Samantha was certainly discontent with such a reply, but it was good for Florence to accept her gift in the end, which would be
convenient for her to plan for the next step.
However, as her smile was not lifted, she heard what Florence just said to her.
"Reciprocity makes sense, Princess Samantha. I would visit you one day and bring you back another gift."
Samantha stopped to smile instantly.
Reciprocity?
If Florence sent back another gift, it suggested that things were even between them.
Florence would not owe anything to her.
Therefore, it would be useless for her to come here again today.
Defeated over and over again, Samantha was so upset with a burst of fire popping up from her chest.
Florence was so difficult to deal with. It seemed that she would not be cooperative at all.
Therefore, Samantha would not treat her well anymore.
Since it was a failure to play soft, a firm hand was required.
One step forward all of a sudden, Samantha surrounded her arms around Florence as if embracing her.
Samantha leaned her red lips close to Florence's ear, whispering to her in a voice only captured by them.
"Florence, you know clearly my purpose. I treated you well, but you were so stubborn to reject my favor. I will not treat you this
friendlily anymore."
Florence frowned, realizing that Samantha finally gave up to pretend to be kind.

"Let me tell you. I'll make you the most honorable woman in the world. You can get whatever you want. Meanwhile I can also
make you be despised by everyone. As long as I want, you'll be driven away from Raflad and you can't survive!"
"Don't think that your brother could help you out. If I used some tricks, he would be occupied with lots of issues and trapped into
the court, having no time to care for you at all. When he returned, you could have been outcast or ended up with a pile of white
bones. Everything is possible."
"I'm bound to win Ernest. That is my ultimatum for you!"
An experienced malice was conveyed from her warnings.
It shouldn't be the first time for her to do so.
Florence was so scared that Princess Samantha in front of her looked gentle on the surface but vicious in essence. She grew a
lot more hatred from the bottom of the heart after knowing more about her.
No wonder Andrew, who blended himself into the court for years, even chose to lie to Princess Samantha that Ernest was single
when she started to stalk Ernest.
If not, it was likely that Florence was the first victim of Princess Samantha.
Nevertheless, as things went around, Princess Samantha ended up with targeting at Florence and wouldn't let her off.
It was unexpected that although Hector was blown away, Florence was trapped into a bigger trouble.
Snapping some threatening words at her, Samantha left angrily.
Florence sat in the small garden, pulling a long face and reflecting over what happened to her today.
Feeling worried, Bonnie looked at Florence and asked her.
"Flory, I found that you were morose and preoccupied after Princess Samantha left. What's the matter with you?"
Florence shook her head, but she couldn't tell the truth to Bonnie, though she found her relationship with Bonnie was improving
these days.
She didn't want to get Bonnie involved on one hand, and she couldn't totally believe in her yet on another hand.

Tightening her lips, Florence asked her a question.
"Bonnie, how much do you know about Princess Samantha?"
Reflecting on the question, Bonnie said, "Not so much. But I knew much more rumors about her."
"What about the inside information? That is, what does she usually do when Ernest is at the court?"
"Ah, yes, I see. I heard about it from the conversations between my father and mother."
Bonnie answered actively, "The Princess Samantha always frequented to where Mr. Hawkins showed up and attempted to come
across him accidentally and to walk together with him. Besides, she also visited his workplace to supervise his work and even
send food. She sent it to everyone so that it was hard for him to find an excuse to reject her food."
"Every time she went there, she usually stayed for a long time. I heard from my father that she always bent over the desk to
watch Mr. Hawkins. Many men lost their mind for working because of her, but Ernest was the only determined one that he always
accomplished his work excellently."
"But, to my mind, if she keeps doing so, even a decent man would fall for her if such a beauty showed up frequently."
As Florence heard about that, she frowned more and more tightly.
She couldn't have seen how Princess Samantha enticed Ernest in such an affront manner in the court.
Even though Ernest wouldn't have his eye on her, she behaved so apparently and flagrantly that nearly everyone would reckon
that they would become a couple sooner or later.
Then, they would subconsciously marry them up.
However, as for Florence, she had been staying Andrew's place like she was invisible, and now she offended Princess
Samantha. If she took any action, Florence would probably be eliminated from the world.
Besides, no one would know that at all.
When Ernest came back, she would be in danger.
She was in such a passive situation that her life was completely griped by others.