Lips pursed tightly. Phoebe watched them with a gloomy gaze.

Vanessa was soaked, her misery akin to a drowned rat, with a cheek swollen so severely that no pretense was necessary to convey her pitiful state.

“Theodore, I’m so heartbroken, my parents kicked me out,” Vanessa looked up at him, her expression wretched, her beautiful face streaked with water, rain and tears indistinguishable.

Theodore’s brow knit together slightly. “What happened?” he asked.

Vanessa bit her lower lip hard, shook her head vigorously, and looked at Theodore with pitiful eyes. “I’ve been such a disappointment, made them mad. Theodore, I have nowhere else to go. Can you take me in?”

Theodore eyed her swollen face, his expression one of hesitation. Though he had multiple properties to his name, only the Imperial Apartment and the Westside Villa were truly livable. Neither seemed the right place to shelter Vanessa. Yet, leaving her to fend for herself didn’t sit well with him either.

Seeing Theodore’s indecision and hearing no response, Vanessa felt a chill in her heart. She slowly disentangled herself from his embrace and whispered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to trouble you. Don’t worry; I’ll figure something out on my own.”

As she turned to rush into the rain, Theodore stopped her, “Hold on. It’s late and pouring out there. I can’t let you go like this. Come to the Imperial Apartment with me for tonight.”

Vanessa, with her back to Theodore, allowed a sly smirk to cross her face, which he couldn’t see. She turned around, feigning unease, “Theodore, you don’t have to force yourself. I don’t want to cause you any trouble.” “It’s no trouble. Let’s go,” Theodore replied coolly.

“But…” Vanessa began, but her gaze caught Phoebe standing not too far behind Theodore, her eyes flickering slightly, “Miss Ziegler might mind, don’t you care about her feelings?”

Theodore’s lips pressed together in a thin line, recalling Phoebe’s words outside the Starbucks earlier. He scoffed, “Why should I care about her feelings?”

Amid the bright lights of the lobby and against the backdrop of the relentless rain, Phoebe’s face was pale as a sheet. Despite the loud rain, she could hear Theodore’s dismissive words clearly, sending a sharp pang through her heart. She clenched the umbrella in her hand reflexively.

Vanessa caught Phoebe’s gaze from afar, her triumph as evident as a victorious general returning from battle, yet she maintained her waif-like demeanor before Theodore. “Theodore, let’s head back then.”

Theodore opened his umbrella and wrapped an arm around Vanessa’s shoulders as they walked into the sheeting rain.

Watching their figures fading into the distance, Phoebe’s heart twisted in discomfort. He had never cared about her feelings. He didn’t need her consent to bring anyone back to the Imperial Apartment. She knew this well, so why did it still hurt so much?

‘Theodore, do you even have a heart?’ Phoebe thought.

Phoebe stood frozen in the middle of the lobby, only snapping out of it when a colleague leaving late greeted her. Outside, the downpour continued, and as Phoebe stepped out with her umbrella, the only sounds were the rhythmic pattering of raindrops against it.

She didn’t want to go back home, didn’t want to witness their lovey-dovey act again. It’d drive her insane.

Out of sight, yet not out of mind, the images of what they might be doing haunted her, driving her to the brink of madness.

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