Chapter 98

Reece watched Brenda disappear out the door, then sank to the floor again, his face filled with pain. ‘She is right… It’s too late…’ he thought bitterly. Yet, Reece had always cared for Phoche! If he hadn’t, he couldn’t have enticed her to grow closer and more dependent on him back when they were young. “Have I really been wrong all along?” he wondered.

A boule he’d kicked toppled over, though it didn’t shatter. Reece reached for it, drinking more as if alcohol could drown his…

When Finnian returned, Ophelia immediately caught him for a tearful complaint. Going upstairs to check on his daughter, he discovered she wasn’t there. Noticing Reece’s door ajar, he walked in, only to find his son in complete despair.

Finnian frowned. “Drinking won’t solve anything.”

Reece looked up. “Then what will?”

Finnian closed the door tightly, moving over to stand before Reece. With a sigh, he placed a hand on Reece’s shoulder. “You’re already part of this. There’s no escape now. To break through this, you’ll need patience,” he continued. “You’re still too young…”

Reece looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Finnian shook his head. “Forget it.”

Seeing Reece in such a state, Finnian couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. “Don’t throw yourself…”

Reece laughed hollowly. “Didn’t you do just that for Mom! I think it’s hereditary.”

Finnian’s gaze turned dark. “I’m not like you. So, since you have plotted and regretted it, what good does it do?”

Reece asked, looking at his father, “Then what do you think I should do?”

Finnian paused to think. “Right now, there are two options. One: give up and cut off all hope.”

Reece gave a bitter smile. “If I could do that, I wouldn’t be suffering so much.”

Finnian went on. “Then pull yourself together, make an effort, and fight for it again. Just don’t pester her and make her resent you more and more. When she needs support, be there for her. Maybe that will move her, and maybe it’ll bring her back.”

The final words offered Reece some comfort. “Alright, I’ll try.”

Suddenly, Reece asked, “Dad, you don’t want me to marry Sienna?”

Finnian chuckled. “Why would I want you to marry Sienna? That’s your mother’s idea, not mine.”

Reece raised a brow. “Aren’t you worried she’ll get mad at you if she finds out?”

Finnian lifted his brow in return. “Are you going to tell her?”

Reece laughed. “No.”

Finnian responded, “Then that’s five.”

Finnian gave Reece another pat on the shoulder. “Cheer up, my boy.” With that, Finnian didn’t linger. He turned and walked out of the room. Kerre had always known his mother openly favored Soren. Finadan might pretend to go along with her, but in private, he treated Reece and Banda fairly well.

But as Reece watched his father’s retreating back, a strange feeling rose within him as if his father was growing harder and harder to read.

Meanwhile, Brenda took the file and returned to her studio. She carefully placed the file in her safe, then headed over to Phoebe’s attic.

Phoebe was already keeping an eye on the online discussions, and from a glance at the posts stirring up controversy, she could tell it was Leon trying to sow discord between her and Maddox, hoping to spark a fan war between their two fanbases.

But clearly, Leon underestimated their fans. Just as she was deep in thought, Brenda walked in and noted her pensive expression. “What’s on your mind?” Brenda asked with a smile.

Chapter 98 (continued)

Phoebe snapped out of it. “I’m thinking of giving Leon a taste of his own medicine.”

Brenda’s interest sparked immediately. “Oh? What’s the plan?” Brenda knew Phoebe was definitely not talking about counterattacking.

Phoebe explained, “Leon set up a series of steps. The first part was thwarted by Maddox and his fans without much effort. So now Leon’s likely fuming, gearing up for his next move.”

“He’ll probably use his second plan to expose my contract with Gwen, hoping to get people riled up against me,” she continued after a pause. “I was going to let him think he was winning by stirring the pot, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

“I’m going to follow his playbook so precisely that he’ll be left with nowhere to turn. I want him to realize I anticipated his moves, just to infuriate him,” she sneered.

Brenda grinned in agreement. “I like it. So we’re leaking this news ourselves?”

Phoebe nodded, pleased Brenda understood. “Exactly. I’ll make the announcement myself, undermining all the groundwork he’s laid. With his arrogant, control-freak nature, he’ll be livid.”

“It’ll be like he’s punching into thin air. Frustrating him to no end,” Phoebe added with a wicked smile.

Brenda clapped her hands together. “Perfect!”

Phoebe immediately sent a message, asking Brian and Gwen to come to her office. Once they arrived, she outlined her plan. Brian chuckled. “Great counterattack. I’ll drive Leon up the wall.”

Gwen, also amused, added, “I might not get all the strategy, but I’m totally in. This sounds way more satisfying. Count me in. I’ll follow your lead.”

Knowing Leon’s timing habits, Phoebe estimated when he’d instruct his team to break the news, so she told Gwen, “Tomorrow morning. I’ll make an announcement on Twitter welcoming you to the studio; just reply with a tweet of your own.”

“Leon will undoubtedly send his paid trolls after us, along with any of your old haters and people who’ve been misled,” she added. “I’ll respond with a follow-up tweet, and you can retweet it. After that, we’ll let things unfold naturally.”

With a sly smile, Phoebe said, “Let the Jenkins Group pour their money into hashtags and fake accounts to boost our publicity. The more they hype it up, the better it’ll be for your reputation. We’ll save ourselves a bundle on PR.”

“Then we can use those savings to invest in a project that’ll compete directly with Jenkins Entertainment’s next series. Make a profit while we’re at it. Pure perfection!” she added.

Brenda couldn’t help laughing. “Hey, so interesting! I bet the Jenkins brothers will thank you…”

The others burst out laughing as well, amused by Phoebe’s plan. They could hardly wait to see the Jenkins brothers’ faces when they realized what happened. It was going to be interesting.

After finalizing the details, Gwen and Brian left the office with smiles still on their faces. Then Brenda mentioned overhearing the father–son conversation to Phoebe.

Phoebe chuckled. “You practically read my mind.”

“I have no need for affection that arrives too late. I don’t care for it, nor do I want it,” Phoebe wondered. After all, whatever reasons Reece and the others had for their choices, they’d made them, and there was no undoing that. Besides, before her time travel, those choices had cost her death. There was no way Phoebe would forgive or consider reconciliation. Brenda nodded and sighed. “That’s exactly how I feel. Honestly, I really just want to go back and slap some sense into my younger self.” Phoebe wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Everyone’s fallen for the wrong person at least once. Let’s just focus on the present and what’s…”

Brenda nodded. “You’re right. I’ll spare myself the slap.” She gently touched her face, adding with a playful tone, “I’m too gorgeous to risk slapping. Would be a shame. Don’t you think!”

Phoebe burst out laughing. “Exactly!”

The next morning, Leon arrived at the office bright and early. Checking the time, he instructed his operations team, “Start the leak at ten o’clock.”

Hot just five minutes before the hour, his assistant suddenly rushed in, knocking on the door in a panic. “Leon, we’ve got a problem. Phoebe just posted a Twitter announcement, and it’s completely thrown off our plan!”