Chapter 120
A hint of surprise flickered in Phoebe’s eyes. “At least three months. It mainly hinges on how the subsequent rehab goes.”
Declan nodded and said, “Got it.”
She asked, “Why the sudden question? Do you want to recover quickly?”
“No, just asking,” Declan said.
Phoebe didn’t say anything else. She went to the bathroom and got some water to wipe down Declan. After the last incident, she was very composed this time.
After cleaning him up, she turned to Declan and said, “Mr. Richardson, I’ll sleep in the next room tonight. If you need anything, just call me.”
Upon hearing her words, Declan immediately soured, and his eyes chilled.
“Phoebe, I’m still your husband now! And now that I’m paralyzed on one side of my body, you expect me to sleep alone like this?” he asked.
Phoebe furrowed her brow and said, “Weren’t you able to manage bathing and using the restroom by yourself in the hospital?”
He said, “That was different. You declined to come to the hospital to take care of me before. I had no choice but to handle those things myself.”
Facing Declan’s icy stare, Phoebe pursed her lips.
“Fine. I’ll sleep in this room with you tonight,” she said.
Then, she went to the other bedroom to get a blanket and simply laid it out on the floor. Declan remained silent with a stone–cold expression.
After spreading the blanket on the floor, Phoebe was just about to dim the lights when, bam! Her phone rang out of the blue.
It was Olivia on the line. Phoebe was taken aback because Olivia never called her on her own.
Without hesitation, Phoebe hung up the phone.
But Olivia persisted with several more calls, really getting on Phoebe’s nerves. In the end, she blocked Olivia’s number to silence the incessant ringing.
Shortly after, Jennifer pinged her a message.
Jennifer: [Phoebe, why did you block Mom’s number? The gossip mongers dug up your past mess! Mom was at a cocktail party and got roasted by those snobby rich ladies over it. She was nearly in shock!]
Jennifer: [If you see this, call Mom ASAP.]
Squinting, Phoebe clicked Twitter and saw hashtags, [Phoebe resorted to violence] and [Phoebe stole someone’s boyfriend].
Phoebe tapped into the first trending topic and saw the video of her beating Bianca up at the mall.
The second was exposure from an influencer claiming Phoebe had stolen Jennifer’s boyfriend and publicly flaunted their affection in front of that poor girl.
Phoebe looked furious. She wasn’t even in the limelight. Such things wouldn’t trend unless someone had paid to push them.
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After a moment of silence, Phoebe dialed Cora.
“Help me figure out what’s behind these trends. It’s definitely Bianca’s scheme,” she said.
Soon, Cora called back.
Cora said, “Here’s the thing–Bianca somehow landed the fourth female lead in “The Legend, and today is the film’s release. She seized the moment to grab attention, saying she’d do well because she’d been through what the character did.
“Then, she revealed that you beat her up at the mall, answering reporters‘ questions and portraying herself as a loyal friend standing up for her pal, accusing you of stealing her bestie’s boyfriend. After that, she paid that influencer to spread the
rumors.
“I’m gonna rip that bitch’s face off.”
Phoebe looked surprised and said, “She got a role in “The Legend“?”
Cora rolled her eyes and said, “That’s not the point. The point is that she’s slandering you for coming between Jennifer and Declan. What are you gonna do?”
After a pause, Phoebe said, “I’ll call the police.”
“Okay, I’ll handle that right away,” said Cora.
After ending the call, Phoebe noticed Declan’s peculiar stare and turned to him. “What’s up, Mr. Richardson?”
Declan turned his phone screen towards her and said with a smile, “You must be nuts about me. Why do you keep sneakily looking at me?”
The photo on his phone showed Phoebe sneakily glancing at him with an obsessed expression. Phoebe felt mortified.
Despite the internet celebrity spreading rumors, the photos posted online were genuine. Phoebe could even recognize when and where they were taken, though she had no idea someone had snapped them secretly.
She pursed her lips and pretended to stay calm. “People all do foolish things when they’re young, but they eventually grow up and stop.”
After hearing that, Declan looked displeased and asked her, staring into her eyes, “So, you don’t have any feelings for me at all now?”
She said, “The answer is quite obvious to you, Mr. Richardson.”
During the years she was in love with him, she always followed in his footsteps, but he never once bothered to look back at
her.
Now, she was fed up and wanted to quit, but Declan suddenly changed his mind, leaving Phoebe utterly confused.
The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Then, Declan said, “Do you need me to handle those rumors online?”
Phoebe shook her head and said, “No. I don’t care about those things, and it will be over soon.”
With a hint of disappointment, he said in a low voice, “I’m your husband. Sometimes you can try to rely on me.”
But Phoebe frowned and said in displeasure, “I said no, Mr. Richardson. I don’t want to get involved with you or owe you anything. Now I’m tired. Good night.”
After saying that, she immediately turned off the lights, ignoring Declan’s reaction.
She had a good sleep.
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The following day, as Phoebe was squeezing toothpaste for Declan, she received a call from Lim
Sneering. Phoebe realized that those jerks wouldn’t give up unless she answered their calls.
So, she went to the balcony and heard Liam’s grumble immediately after answering the call “Phoebe, you’re one of the mess on the internet, right? It’s having a huge impact on Greene Group’s stock price. Just apologize, okay?
Phoebe sneered and said with her eyebrows raised. “Why should I
Liam and Olivia should know better than the public whether she interfered in Jennifer and Declan’s relationship
“I know you feel wronged, but the netizens are all losing their minds. It’s damaging the company. Please apologize for the sake of Greene Group! I’ll make it up to you, alright?”
Phoebe felt deeply disappointed. He didn’t even consider clarifying the slanders against his daughter but intread demanded that she apologize for something she had never done.
He had no idea that an apology would mean admitting that she was an immoral mistress.
“Greene Group has nothing to do with me, so why should I compromise myself for it? The more important thing is that I didn’t do it, so apology is not an option.”
As she finished speaking, there was some noise over the phone, and Phoebe heard Olivia’s furious scream
“Finally admit it, huh? I’m telling you, don’t even think about inheriting Greene Group. Jennifer will be the one and only heiress!”
Even though Phoebe had known how biased Olivia was, she couldn’t help but feel a little bitter in her heart.
“Well, you can ask Jennifer to clarify that I have never stolen Declan from her. What is this call for?” Phoebe said.
“How dare you?” Olivia got furious and even started panting.
“Why should Jennifer clean up the mess you made? If you don’t apologize online, I’ll disown you.”
Phoebe sneered and said, “I won’t. Don’t even think about it!”
