Forbidden Passion
Chapter320 Revenge Must Be Timely

Phoebe buried her head in her food, not noticing Noah's unusual behavior. After she filled her stomach, her drained energy began to recover significantly.

The others had long since put down their utensils. Phoebe wiped her mouth with a napkin, removing the lipstick she had just reapplied.

Cindy noticed her chapped lips and immediately knew what she had been up to during her hour-long absence. 'No wonder she was eating so much, she must have been starving!! Cindy glanced sympathetically at Noah and thought, 'Noah, as long as Theodore is around, you don't stand a chance.'

"Has everyone finished eating?" Phoebe put down her napkin and glanced around at the group. The chef had already stopped preparing dishes, but Phoebe still asked. Everyone expressed that they were stuffed and could barely move.

Phoebe got up to pay the bill. Tonight, they had ordered top-grade Japanese cuisine and drank several bottles of sake and wine, costing nearly thirty thousand dollars.

Phoebe used the secondary card Theodore had given her to settle the bill. After paying, the waiter gave her a small Culinary Haven doll, which was said to be a limited edition collaboration with a certain blue-blood brand, priceless and rare. The doll was both ugly and cute. As soon as she took it, Noah's voice sounded beside her. "Phoebe, can I have that doll?"

"Here you go." Phoebe handed it to him without thought.

Noah finally showed his first smile of the night, revealing his teeth in a rather adorable way. Phoebe said, "You haven't said much tonight. Are you feeling upset?"

The concert tonight was quite successful, and the other members were all very happy. Only Noah seemed down and had been silent.

Noah's gaze paused for a moment at the corner of her skin-broken mouth and immediately slid away. He mumbled, "No."

"Are you feeling guilty because your fans attacked me?" Phoebe guessed.

Noah looked down at his shoes, his heart full of unexpressed affection.

He blushed in aggravation and shook his head straight in depression.

Phoebe patted his back. "Alright, my big star. I'm fine, and I don't blame you. Don't feel bad, okay?"

Noah said, "I'm not feeling bad."

Phoebe smiled. Noah was only in his early twenties. If she had a younger brother, he would be just as considerate. She tilted her head to look into his eyes. "Let's go home then. Stop crying." Noah's eyes and nose felt hot as if he had eaten wasabi. He wiped his eyes. "I'm not crying. Wasabi makes my eyes wet."

Phoebe didn't expose his lie. Seeing the others coming out, she didn't say anything more.

After sending everyone off in the business car and watching it drive away from Culinary Haven, Cindy linked her arm with Phoebe's. "Let's go, Miss Ziegler. I'll walk you home." Phoebe smelled the alcohol on her and said, "No drunk driving."

"I'm walking you. I don't have a car," Cindy replied.

They walked along the sidewalk towards the Imperial Apartment. Culinary Haven was close to the Imperial Apartment, and it was a thirty-minute walk.

Cindy opened the navigation app and said, "What's going on between you and Theodore lately? It seems that he's not indifferent to you."

Feeling exhausted, Phoebe didn't want to talk.

Cindy sighed. "Phoebe, shouldn't you be a bit more proactive?"

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

Cindy turned to look at her. Phoebe's profile was beautiful but somewhat stubborn. "You know what I mean. You and Theodore have been like this for three years. Any other couple would have divorced by now, but you two seem quite affectionate."

"My relationship with him is not good," Phoebe sneered.

Cindy let out a huff and poked at the bite mark on Phoebe's neck, saying, "If not affectionate, why are you two still..."

Phoebe dodged her hand, only to hear Cindy laugh. "Stop contradicting yourself. If you have feelings for him, hold on to him. Don't wait until he rekindles things with Vanessa and then regret it."

Phoebe didn't know how to explain to Cindy. If there were even the slightest possibility between her and Theodore, she wouldn't be facing it so negatively.

Cindy walked her to the entrance of the Imperial Apartment. After they parted ways, Phoebe's phone rang. It was John calling.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked.

"Miss Ziegler, there's definitely some manipulation behind Noah's trending topic. I find out that there are paid posters fanning the flames. Tracing it back, I discover the company these paid posters work for. I just contacted their manager. It turns out Ruby transferred a sum of money to them to smear you," said John on the other end of the phone.

Phoebe narrowed. "So it is Ruby."

"What should we do now?" John asked.

Phoebe licked the wound on her lip, the sting making it throb. She said, "Revenge must be timely."

'Doesn't Vanessa think I wouldn't dare to touch her based on the billion-dollar investment she had in me?  Well, I will teach her a good lesson,' Phoebe thought.

If Vanessa's reputation were ruined, the company would naturally find someone else to replace her in the role. They were never dependent on her alone. John asked, "What should I do?"

"Find paparazzi to stake out Vanessa's apartment. I don't believe she's so squeaky clean that she has no scandals. Once you get the photos, don't even show them to me. Send them directly to all the major marketing accounts. She wants to be famous. Negative news can make her famous, too," Phoebe said.

Phoebe was capable. She didn't want to use such despicable means to deal with people. But Vanessa had crossed her bottom line. She had no choice but to fight fire with fire.

John hadn't expected her to go all out against Vanessa. He couldn't help but remind her, "Miss Ziegler, Vanessa is a signed artist with our company. She has a billion-dollar investment riding on her. If Mr. Reynolds finds out..." "Then let Theodore know it is me," Phoebe interrupted.

John was momentarily speechless. A billion dollars was no small amount. If Vanessa lost the role, Theodore would definitely come after Phoebe.

Moreover, if it became known that Phoebe was targeting her own company's artist, it would damage her reputation, and no one would dare sign with QUEEN Entertainment in the future.

Phoebe hung up the phone, and her fingers swiped across the WhatsApp interface. A notification popped up, indicating a message from a friend. She clicked to take a look.

Besides the message notification, Vanessa's post was pinned at the top of her feed. Phoebe had never blocked Vanessa for reasons she needed help understanding.

She opened Vanessa's post and saw the photo she had posted. She finally understood: Vanessa was a glutton for punishment.

In the photo, a man was eating spaghetti. His face was not fully shown and was even pixelated. The caption read, "Someone who loves my spaghetti."

Phoebe had lived with Theodore for three years, knowing his face from every angle. It was obvious who it was only by glancing at the missing button on his shirt, which she had earlier ripped off in agony. Vanessa certainly intended for Phoebe to see her post.

If Vanessa had put this much effort into her career, she would have been a huge star by now and wouldn't have had to endure being under Phoebe's control.