Forbidden Passion
Chapter 492 You Don't Need to Be Afraid of Me

The old building's light bulb had fizzled out, leaving the room pitch black. Phoebe was chilling on the sofa, feeling the cold wind sneaking in from every crack, hitting her like a ton of bricks. She was freezing her butt off.

Phoebe shut her eyes, and bam, that old yellowed newspaper popped into her mind. Harper was there, grinning like a fool, looking at her all sweet.

Phoebe grabbed her head, burying it deep in her arms, feeling like crap.

She thought, 'Dad, is Donovan for real? Did Brandon really kill you?'

Phoebe was a mess. She couldn't wrap her head around it, but she had zilch to prove Donovan was full of it.

Even if Donovan was clueless, he wouldn't joke about his dad getting whacked. But if it was true, could she and Theodore keep living like this?

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Phoebe's ears perked up, and she glanced at the door. A sliver of light crept in, igniting a spark of hope within her that she hadn't even acknowledged.

She waited, holding onto a sliver of hope for Theodore to arrive and declare it all a hoax. If Theodore dismissed it as falsehood, Phoebe was ready to believe every word he said.

The door creaked open, and a tall figure walked in, moving slowly towards Phoebe.

Phoebe's eyes flickered as she squinted, trying to make out who it was.

Edward looked down at her, bending slightly, tracing her outline in the air with his finger.

He said, "First day of Christmas, why so down?"

From the second Edward walked in, Phoebe knew he wasn't the one she was waiting for. She dropped her gaze and gave a bitter smile.

She thought, 'Salvation? How could Theodore be my salvation?'

Outside, fireworks lit up the night sky, casting brief light into the dark room.

Phoebe croaked, "Why are you here?"

"I heard you bailed on the Reynolds family's party tonight, so I figured you might be hiding out here." Edward plopped down next to her.

Edward knew this spot. Back when Evelyn wanted to kick Phoebe and Donovan out, Edward had a huge blowout with his family.

Despite the abundance of vacant rooms at the Vanderbilt residence, Evelyn remained adamant about their expulsion. Subsequently, Edward frequently sought out this location to seek out Phoebe.After they started dating, he was here all the time to pick her up.

Phoebe glanced at Edward's long legs, which had nowhere to go, and said, "Edward, what time is it?"

"It's past ten. The Reynolds family's party should be over by now. Wanna go? I can take you." Edward tilted his head, still as sweet and thoughtful as ever. Phoebe shook her head and turned to the fireworks outside the window.

Last night, there were fireworks downtown too. She and Theodore kissed under the midnight fireworks, and she felt like it was the best moment ever. "Edward, do you know how my dad died?" Phoebe asked.

Edward was caught off guard for a few seconds and then asked, "Didn't Evelyn say Uncle Ziegler died in a shipwreck? Why are you bringing this up now?" Phoebe closed her eyes, contemplating the disparities in her and Donovan's narratives, realizing that the root of the issue lay with Evelyn.

She took a deep breath, the cold air hitting her lungs, making her cough like crazy. "Edward, take me to Golden Apartment." Edward looked at her. "Phoebe, you look beat. How about I take you home to crash?"

"I'm not tired, let's go." Phoebe stood up. She'd been sitting too long, and her legs were all pins and needles. As she got up, she wobbled. Edward quickly reached out to steady her shoulder. "Watch it."

Phoebe quickly got her balance, stepped back to put some space between them, and, ignoring the pins and needles in her feet, frowned and walked out. Edward stood there, silently watching her head to the door. Only then did he shove his hands in his pockets and follow her slowly.

The dim hallway light cast a soft glow, illuminating each step they took in succession, reminiscent of their past walks together.

Once, they strolled through this hallway countless times, believing they would continue to do so for eternity. However, somewhere along the way, they drifted apart. "Phoebe," Edward suddenly called from behind.

Phoebe paused on the steps and looked back at him.

The familiar scent of his cologne hit her. Edward stopped in front of her, leaning in like he was gonna kiss her.

The hallway went dead silent. Phoebe watched as his shadow loomed over her, his warm breath on her cheeks.

Just a little closer, and they'd kiss. Phoebe snapped out of it and turned her head slightly, dodging him.

Edward's hand pressed against the dusty stair railing, still in the same posture, but his eyes dimmed as he looked at her.

Phoebe's heart was racing. She hadn't expected Edward to try and kiss her. She kept walking down, too flustered to look at his disappointed face.

"Edward, remember senior year? There was this girl in our class who was crazy about you, always asking me to pass her love notes." Phoebe's voice was tense.

Edward clenched his fists, looking at Phoebe's small figure ahead, hiding his frustration and anger deep down. He said, "Yeah."

Phoebe continued, "I just found out that girl got married, to a guy from our class who used to chase her..."

"Phoebe," Edward cut her off, "I used to love you and chase after you every day. When are you gonna marry me?"

Phoebe was speechless.

Luckily, they had already walked out of the dim, awkward hallway. The cold air outside cleared Phoebe's head. She wrapped her down jacket tighter and said, "It's freezing. Where's your car?" Edward was still standing in the hallway. His voice echoed in the semi-darkness, low and suppressed. "It's just outside. Let's go."

Phoebe didn't dare look back at him and hurried forward.

The snow was heavy, and the ground was thick with it, crunching under their feet. When they reached the car, Edward unlocked it with the key.

Phoebe hesitated for a moment by the passenger seat, but eventually opened the door and got in. She buckled up and said, "The snow is really coming down."

Edward wiped the dust off his hands with a wet wipe, started the car, and drove off. Once they hit the main road, Phoebe finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The whole way, Phoebe desperately searched for conversation topics, scared of the awkward silence. She asked about Delilah, Brian, and Bianca, and finally about Benjamin.

When the car stopped at Golden Apartment, Phoebe immediately unbuckled her seatbelt. Just as she was about to open the door, Edward grabbed her wrist. Phoebe instinctively clenched her fist, thinking that despite her efforts to keep the conversation going, she couldn't escape this suffocating awkwardness.

Edward gazed at Phoebe's trembling eyelashes and said softly, "I won't go in. Merry Christmas, Phoebe!"

With that, he took off the scarf around his neck and gently wrapped it around Phoebe. "I was out of line earlier. I won't do it again. You don't have to be scared of me."