Forbidden Passion
Chapter 603 Was He Crying?

Riley brought the soup over and handed it to Phoebe, saying, "Hey, Phoebe, drink this. Your voice sounds like it's been through a blender." Phoebe stared at the bowl, watching the soup ripple, her face giving away nothing.

Waking up every night screaming like a banshee would mess up anyone's voice. It was a miracle that Theodore managed to hold off calling a shrink to see her until now.

Earlier, Phoebe had spilled the beans about her kidnapping to Yandel just to mess with Theodore. Since Theodore wouldn't divorce her, she wanted to see how long he could take it.

Riley had seen Phoebe eat, drink, and sleep fine during the day, only to freak out at night, which was clearly wearing Theodore down.

Riley felt bad for Theodore but couldn't say anything to Phoebe.

Phoebe was sick, and she was stuck in her own misery.

"Drink up. Seriously, I almost thought you were an opera singer. You're tiny, but you got some serious lung power," Riley joked.

Phoebe acted like she didn't hear, taking the bowl and sipping the soup slowly, her eyes locked on Theodore and Yandel in the hallway.

Theodore had a cigarette, flicking off the ash. The past few days had left him looking like a wreck.

Yandel stood next to him, "Dude, you're a mess; you know that?"

Theodore blew out a long stream of smoke, sounding beat, "She's worse off than me. Every night when she screams in my arms, I just wanna end it all." Yandel stayed quiet.

"You heard her earlier. Bishop messed her up bad. She said she was in pain, but I still chose to save Vanessa first. I let her down. I gave her trauma. I made her lose faith in me," Theodore admitted, his voice heavy with regret. Yandel didn't know how to comfort him. Didn't Theodore get that Phoebe had been playing him all along? When Phoebe talked about her torture, she didn't show fear but a twisted sense of satisfaction and revenge.

Phoebe was getting back at Theodore. She was showing her wounds to make him hurt, to make him hurt even more. And she nailed it.

Theodore felt not just heartache but guilt and self-blame. The one really stuck in that nightmare was him, not Phoebe. "Theodore, have you ever thought that she might actually be..."

As if reading his mind, Theodore cut him off, "Shut up!"

Yandel's face tightened. He could see that both Theodore and Phoebe were in on this.

Neither of them needed a shrink because they both knew exactly what they were doing.

Yandel patted Theodore's shoulder. "You're choosing this, so I can't say much. This is your mess, and no matter how tough it gets, you gotta deal with it. But trust me, Phoebe's got no mental issues; she's tougher than most." A huge emptiness filled Theodore's heart.

He'd rather believe Phoebe had PTSD than accept that she was perfectly sane and just pretending to be crazy every night.

Phoebe was torturing him, maybe to make him let go sooner. But he was in pain, and he didn't want to leave.

"You're as annoying as you were in school," Theodore said.

Seeing that Theodore could still throw shade, Yandel felt a bit better. "If you wanna keep indulging her, go ahead. If it gets too much, just be straight with her." Theodore shut his eyes.

How could he even think about coming clean to her?

If he blew Phoebe's cover, she might never let him hold her and comfort her again. No one knew that holding Phoebe every night was his only slice of happiness.

It was like drinking poison to quench his thirst. He knew it was toxic, but he couldn't stop.

Theodore muttered, "I shouldn't have let you come today."

After Yandel left, Theodore stood in the hallway, finishing his cigarette. When he turned around, he saw Phoebe staring blankly at him.

Their eyes met by accident. They locked eyes for what felt like forever before Phoebe looked away, staring at the floor.

Theodore stubbed out the cigarette and walked into the villa, kneeling on one knee in front of her.

The fresh scent of tobacco mixed with mint hit her nose, and Phoebe frowned.

Theodore took her hand, looking up at her, "Phoebe, have you had enough? If not, I'll stay with you. I'll do anything to make you feel better." Phoebe yanked her hand back.

Theodore had brought Yandel over to expose her. Phoebe coldly said, "You're tired of playing along with me every night, aren't you?"

Theodore choked, "It's not like that."

Phoebe turned her face away, looking at the sun outside the window, "Mr. Reynolds, you see. Your affection for me only lasted a few days. What's the point? Let's just let each other go." Theodore stared at her cold, mocking profile, the intense pain almost numbing his heart. He lowered his head, resting his forehead on her knee.

Theodore spoke, "Phoebe, let's stop torturing each other, okay?"

Phoebe felt her knee burning. Was Theodore crying?

From that night on, Phoebe stopped screaming. She slept quietly, no longer causing trouble, and the villa became peaceful.

The next day, Riley saw Theodore coming downstairs and beamed, "Phoebe didn't wake up screaming last night. Yandel is amazing." Theodore's handsome face showed no expression.

He knew it wasn't Yandel's doing. Phoebe just didn't want to waste energy acting anymore. There was no turning back for them.

"Riley, Phoebe is sleeping. Don't disturb her. She hasn't slept well in days," Theodore remarked, his voice steady.

Riley was delighted, "Alright. But Mrs. Reynolds said she would come by today to see Phoebe. She'll be so happy to know Phoebe is better." "Okay," Theodore nodded absently.

Theodore hadn't been to the office for over half a month. Now that Phoebe had stopped acting, staying home would only make her avoid him. He didn't want Phoebe to be so exhausted, so he decided to go to the office.

After breakfast, Theodore left. Shortly after he left, Taylor arrived. Hearing that Phoebe hadn't screamed last night, Taylor wanted to thank Yandel personally.

"Theodore should have asked Yandel to come sooner. Look at the torment Phoebe has endured these past few days. It's heartbreaking," Taylor said.

Riley nodded, "Exactly. She hasn't had a good night's sleep since she came home. If this continued, both she and Theodore would have been worn out. Now it's better."

"It's all that damned Bishop's fault. In his vendetta against the Reynolds family, he has taken out his anger on Phoebe. She's endured so much for us," Taylor said. Riley agreed, "Yes."

"This is a grave injustice the Reynolds family has inflicted upon her. Since she's better now, I plan to host a party to officially introduce Phoebe as a member of the Reynolds family. Let's have a celebration."