Forbidden Passion
Chapter 350 The Ruthless Theodore

Madison was clearly more excited to see Vanessa. She ran over, linked arms with her, and gave her a once-over. "Vanessa, you've lost so much weight. Is it because you've been taking care of Theodore?" Sarah and Taylor both looked at Vanessa and noticed she had indeed slimmed down. Vanessa, who usually took great care of her appearance, now had dark circles under her eyes. Vanessa smiled. "Not really."

"You really have lost weight. Grandma, Mom, look at Vanessa. She must have been working too hard taking care of Theodore," Madison chimed in, praising Vanessa in front of Sarah and Taylor. Sarah took Vanessa's hand. "Vanessa, thank you for your hard work. When Theodore is discharged, come over to our house for dinner."

Vanessa smiled shyly. "Thank you, Grandma. If I have time, I'll definitely come."

With Madison's help, Sarah's attitude toward Vanessa had warmed up. Vanessa's trip abroad seemed to have been a good move.

Sarah patted the back of Vanessa's hand and then entered the elevator with Taylor.

Madison leaned closer to Vanessa and whispered, "Don't fret. I'll speak highly of you to my mother and grandmother."

Vanessa gave Madison a grateful smile.

As the elevator doors closed, Vanessa jogged back to the hospital room.

Vanessa always knew that dating was between two people, but marriage involved two families. Winning over the elders of the Reynolds family was half the battle.

When Vanessa returned to the hospital room, she saw Theodore leaning against the headboard with an IV in his hand. She quickly hid her satisfaction and walked over briskly. Theodore glanced at her. "Did Sarah and the others leave?"

"They're very worried about you," Vanessa said, sitting down by the bed with an apple in her hand. "Do you want some fruit? I'll go wash it."

"I don't want any," Theodore said flatly. "Vanessa, I remember Mr. Black's film is about to start shooting. You should go back and prepare to join the cast."

Vanessa was stunned, the apple falling to the floor and rolling under the bed. She looked at Theodore stiffly. "Theodore, I want to stay with you." "There are doctors and nurses here. They'll take care of me. You don't need to worry," Theodore replied.

Vanessa bit her lower lip. She hadn't expected Theodore to be so heartless. She thought that after these few days together, she had won his heart again. It turned out she had been fantasizing all along.

"But I..." Vanessa started.

Theodore looked up at her. "Vanessa, your dream is to stand at the top. Don't let me hold you back."

It was a reason Vanessa couldn't argue with.

She wanted to stand at the summit not to flaunt her brilliance but to show Theodore her excellence.

Vanessa lowered her eyes, tears falling. "Theodore, are you tired of having me around?"

Theodore wasn't good at comforting women. If it were Phoebe, he might have licked her tears away, but with Vanessa...

He could only sit there with a cold face, awkwardly saying, "No."

No matter how heartless Theodore was, he couldn't be harsh to Vanessa, who had just taken care of him for several days. That was a courtesy ingrained in him.

Vanessa cried while sneaking glances at him. Seeing Theodore remain indifferent, she became very angry. She stood up and said dejectedly, "Theodore, I won't bother you anymore. Rest. I'm leaving."

Vanessa walked slowly to the door, hoping Theodore would call out to her. But even as she stepped out, he didn't say a word.

She glanced back and saw through the crack that Theodore was staring at the sunset. Her heart ached.

'What should I do? Even though he's so heartless, I still love him deeply,' she thought.

Meanwhile, Phoebe slept all the way to Starfall City. Brandon had Daisy book her a first-class ticket, so her motion sickness wasn't too bad.

The moment Phoebe disembarked from the plane and powered on her phone, a deluge of messages inundated her device, momentarily causing it to freeze. She first opened John's messages, scrolling from the bottom up. John: [Phoebe, did you get on the plane?]

John: [Phoebe, can you ask the pilot to turn back and let you off?]

John: [Phoebe, I have some frustrating news. I saw Mr. Reynolds outside the airport. He actually came back to the country.]

John: [Phoebe, have you arrived in Starfall City?]

John: [Phoebe, I booked you a return ticket for the same day. When you arrive, don't leave the airport. Just grab something to eat and get ready to board the flight back.]

John: [Phoebe, did you get off the plane?]

The rest were various frantic and irritable messages from John. Phoebe was confused. 'How did Theodore come back to the country?' she wondered.

Just as she was about to reply, John's call came in. She quickly answered.

"Phoebe, you finally got off the plane. It's so frustrating. I just saw you off, and as soon as I left the airport, I saw Mr. Reynolds. Do you know how I felt? If it had been just a few minutes earlier, you could have gotten off the plane," John said.

"I fully understand your frustration," Phoebe replied.

"You haven't left the airport yet. I booked you a return ticket. Get something to eat first. I got you a first-class ticket, so you can rest in the lounge for a bit and then get ready to board the flight back," John said. Phoebe was also very frustrated. "Got it."

She ended the call and stood in the middle of the airport with her suitcase, feeling very complicated as she watched people come and go.

It took her a while to collect herself before she dragged her suitcase to get something to eat.

After eating, Phoebe took out her documents to go through security again and headed to the lounge. The lounge was large, and she found a corner to sit down. Phoebe took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Just as she was debating whether to call Theodore, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

She looked up and saw a familiar handsome face as the person took off his sunglasses. "Edward, what are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. Edward raised an eyebrow and sat down across from her with a smile. "Are you that surprised to see me?"

Phoebe was indeed surprised. She remembered that the Vanderbilt family had no business in Starfall City. "Yeah, are you here for a vacation?" Edward's eyes flashed, smiling meaningfully. "I came from Montgomery. I played around for two days and was just about to head back." "I see," Phoebe replied.

Edward looked at her. "When did you come to Starfall City? Are you here to see Donovan?"

"It's a long story," Phoebe said, not wanting to discuss Donovan's actions with outsiders.

Edward just laughed, his tone particularly indulgent. "Don't worry. We have dozens of hours before we head back. You can tell me slowly."