Chapter 34
Reece forced himself to take another bite of the fish tacos, fighting the urge to gag. Compared to Phoebe’s cooking, Sienna’s dish was practically inedible. But he wouldn’t crush Sienna’s spirit, so he forced a stiff smile and muttered, “It’s alright.” There was no way he could convincingly lie and say it was good.
Sienna, mistaking their lack of complaints for praise, relaxed a bit. “If you like it, have some more,” she said, trying to sound confident. She took a bite herself, and her face went rigid. The fishy taste was overpowering. What the hell went wrong? I followed the damn recipe exactly? she thought.
With the live stream rolling, she couldn’t spit it out. So, she discreetly shoveled most of her portion onto Jamar’s plate, trusting her brother to take one for the team. She served up some more to Erika and Reece, leaving herself just enough to not raise suspicions.
Jamar stared down at the pile of fish in his bowl, feeling a wave of annoyance and resignation. But what could he do? He forced a smile and started eating, all the while longing for Sienna’s usual cooking.
Erika wasn’t thrilled about eating this mess either, but since Sienna kept insisting this was her idea, she had to keep up the act for the camera. She choked down the fish as quickly as possible and focused on the pasta, which, thankfully, wasn’t as bad.
Reece followed suit, trying to look like he was savoring each bite. Under normal circumstances, maybe he could’ve pulled it off. But after tasting the other group’s food, everyone could see right through his performance.
Man, that’s why he’s an award-winning actor—he can make anything look gourmet.
You can tell Reece Hill is really soft on her.
There’s no way they’re just friends. To have a top actor and superstar bending over backward for her? Come on.
Poor Jamar, having to finish that whole bowl. Let’s hope he doesn’t get sick later.
Guess that’s what brotherly love looks like—eating bad food and keeping your mouth shut.
The comments were coming in fast, and Reece’s diehard fans weren’t exactly happy. For once, they weren’t jumping in to defend him—they were too curious about what kind of hold Sienna had on Reece. Jamar’s fans couldn’t hide their unease as they watched him struggle through each bite. He’d been dealing with stomach issues all day, and seeing him force himself to eat only made them feel worse for him. For the first time, they thought Sienna might be a bit out of line.
Meanwhile, Phoebe and her group, along with Charles, made their way to an old puppet master’s house—his grandson—after using his son and daughter-in-law in a tragic accident. When the old man heard of Phoebe and her group’s interest, he lit up with excitement. He gladly welcomed them, proudly showing off his cherished puppet collection.
After chatting for a while, they decided to stage a puppet show based on The King and… The old man already had puppets for the main characters, but they needed more for the show. Phoebe and her friends offered to help make additional ones and even suggested letting the audience watch the whole process live.
This offer meant everything to the old man. He was thrilled to share the history and art of puppet shows with them. Phoebe and her crew listened closely, asking questions and showing genuine interest.
It was well after 8 PM when they finally returned, only to be greeted by the unmistakable sound of Jamar throwing up. His condition had gone downhill—vomiting and diarrhea hitting him hard. Phoebe, half-amused, remarked, “That’s what love looks like, huh?” clearly implying that Jamar brought this mess on himself.
Maddox added, shaking his head, “Ain’t that the truth? I wanted him earlier in the kitchen, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Lexie, secretly feeling a bit satisfied, sighed and said, “Poor Jamar, he’s having a rough time.”
On the live stream chat, Jamar’s fans were flipping out, placing the blame squarely on Sienna. Some even started going after Phoebe, remembering how she refused Jamar’s earlier request for medicine. But Phoebe’s fans weren’t having it. They shot back: [Phoebe doesn’t owe him a damn thing. He knew his stomach was screwed, and he still ate it. How’s that on her?]
Even after the stream ended, the comments kept buzzing with concern over Jamar’s health.
Meanwhile, back at the Jenkins household, while Elliot was away on business, Lydia and her four sons had watched the entire live stream unfold, seeing every last second of the drama. Lydia was beside herself with worry over Jamar’s health.
“His stomach’s always been so damn sensitive, and now he’s out there in that harkwater town, throwing up and dealing with diarrhea. I’m really scared something serious might happen to him,” she said, her face lined with frustration. “Why the hell is Phoebe being so cold? He’s in a terrible state, and she just doesn’t give a damn.”
In the past, whenever Jamar got sick, Phoebe was always the one to take care of him. Even this time, when Jamar let down his guard and asked Phoebe to help find herbs for medicine, she flat-out refused, icy as ever.
Since Phoebe left, Lydia struggled to adjust. When Phoebe was around, she’d keep an eye on Lydia’s blood pressure, remind her to take her pills, cook herbal soups, and even give her massages every night to help her sleep. Now that Phoebe was gone, all of that care was gone too, and Lydia’s sleep had taken a nosedive. She used to take Phoebe’s attention for granted, thinking it was just what a daughter was supposed to do.
But now, she couldn’t fathom how her once-considerate daughter could be so indifferent to her own brother. “Does she really want nothing to do with us anymore?” she muttered. The thought made Lydia’s chest tighten.
Ollie sighed, rubbing his temples. “She’s probably still pissed about the whole mess with Jamar. Jamar’s something else, always pushing himself when he knows he can’t handle it.”
“And Phoebe—what the hell is wrong with her? They’re enabling! Throwing a tantrum like that on the show just made the whole family look like idiots.”
Leon was clearly on edge. “Exactly, Phoebe’s behavior is way out of line. I spent all this effort crafting Sienna’s image, and she was supposed to be the standout.”
“But Phoebe had to crash the show, creating this awkward contrast with Sienna and messing up her public image over the last few days,” he continued, his tone edged with frustration. His original plan was to draw a clear line between Sienna, who had grown up alongside them, and Phoebe, who hadn’t, to make Sienna look better by comparison. He wanted Phoebe to get the message: without him backing her, she wouldn’t last long in this industry.
But none of it was going according to plan, and it was already hitting Sienna’s career hard. Leon had even hired PR teams to manage the backlash, but Jamar’s health crisis stirred up Jamar’s fans, and now some of them were lashing out at Sienna.
To make things worse, a bunch of viewers were twisting the narrative around Jamar and Sienna’s relationship, and it was giving Leon a headache.