Forbidden Passion

Noomi rolled into Phoebe's arms, almost squashing Ollie, who nimbly dodged and complained loudly.

Noomi hugged Phoebe's neck, trying to reason with Ollie, "This is my mom, mine."

Ollie squatted on the couch, anxiously pacing in circles. Hubert and Boris also climbed up to stand behind Phoebe and hugged her, not giving Ollie a chance to get close. "Mom is ours, you go away," they said.

Watching Hubert, Boris, and Noomi not allowing it near Phoebe, Ollie scratched its ears, looking hurt. Phoebe reached out and scratched Ollie's fluffy chin, "Ollie, they are just playing with you. Don't be mad."

Ollie nuzzled her hand and went back to chasing its tail on the couch.

Phoebe patted Hubert and Boris on their butts, "Hubert, Boris, you two go sit down, I'm a bit tired."

Hubert and Boris obediently sat next to her, continuing to watch cartoons.

Phoebe watched TV with them for a while. Pamela came over to call the kids upstairs to wash up and go to bed, but they dawdled and didn't want to leave.

"Mom, can you help us with our bath?" They pulled Phoebe.

She stood up, helplessly saying, "Alright, I'll go upstairs with you."

After bathing Hubert, Boris, and Noomi one by one, drying their hair, and coaxing them to lie down, Phoebe was almost exhausted. She bent down and kissed their foreheads.

"Sleep now, I'll stay with you," she whispered.

Soon, Hubert, Boris, and Noomi were snoring softly. Phoebe lay down beside them, her thoughts drifting to Donovan. Before long, her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell asleep.

The next day, Phoebe went to Kedora High School to visit the set. Since the filming of Spring Island started, she had been busy with work and hadn't had time to visit. Phoebe had Lori order the most luxurious afternoon tea from Kedora, and they delivered it together.

Kedora High School had set aside an office for their filming. When Phoebe arrived, they were in the middle of an intense shoot with a dozen professional actors and a large number of extras. Phoebe stood by and watched for a while until the director enthusiastically called for a wrap, and the scene was finally finished.

Noah immediately emerged from the eight camera setups and came to Phoebe's side, eyes full of surprise, "Phoebe, why are you here? You didn't tell me in advance."

"I wanted to surprise you and see if you were seriously filming. Where's the lead actress?" Phoebe looked around but didn't see Valerie Powell, the lead actress.

Alfonso stood nearby, fanning Noah to keep him cool. He was young and energetic, and the recent heat made his makeup easily smudge, requiring frequent touch-ups. Hearing Phoebe ask about the lead actress, Alfonso pursed his lips and lowered his voice, "Her? She's juggling several roles in different productions."

His tone was full of disdain.

This situation was quite common in the entertainment industry. Many big-name actors had multiple film contracts and sometimes needed to juggle between sets to save filming time. Of course, if they encountered a big-name director, they usually restrained themselves a bit, as a film by a big-name director was often a guaranteed hit.

"The director didn't say anything?" Phoebe asked softly. "Noah is now a popular idol, not any less important than Valerie. How can the director just ignore her juggling multiple roles?" Alfonso glanced at Noah, who didn't stop him, so he continued, "Valerie is the investor's mistress, so they can't control her. Actually, she's just taking it out on Noah."

Phoebe frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Her agent previously discussed with me about creating a couple's buzz for the two of them, but I refused. Since then, she's been causing trouble. One afternoon, the sun was scorching, and we were filming on the field. She made us redo the scene at least 30 times. Noah almost got a heatstroke. Look at Noah's ears; they got sunburned that day."

Phoebe stood on tiptoe to look at Noah's ears and saw that they were indeed red and peeling, as was the back of his neck.

She pursed her lips, her face darkening, "The director just lets her cause trouble like this?"

"The director has no choice. She's the investor's mistress. Even with Noah's status, he has to..." Alfonso trailed off, stopped by a look from Noah.

Phoebe thought that with Noah's current status, any production would treat him like a treasure. She didn't expect that even a popular idol had to give way to the investor's mistress. "Who's the investor?"noveldrama

"Mr. Brian Vanderbilt from the Vanderbilt Group," Alfonso replied.

Phoebe suddenly remembered Bianca trying to persuade her to be with Edward. Did Bianca know that Brian had a mistress?

Phoebe patted Noah's shoulder, "Just focus on your work. We won't put up with her nonsense. If she dares to mess with you again, I'll make sure she regrets it."

Seeing Phoebe's fierce look, Noah gave his first smile of the day, "I'm a grown man; I can handle her."

Phoebe sighed softly, "If she bullies you, it's like she's disrespecting me."

It showed that Superstar Entertainment wasn't strong enough, so people didn't take her artists seriously and felt free to bully them.

Noah's smile faded. He knew that Phoebe's concern for him wasn't romantic but rather the concern of a boss for her company's artists.

"I heard our company recently signed a batch of new talents. Any potential ones?" Noah leaned casually against the railing outside the classroom.

Noah, dressed in a high school uniform with his bangs falling over his forehead, looked every bit the part of a typical high school student, exuding a youthful and innocent appearance.

"No matter how many new talents the company brings in, it won't affect your status. Don't worry, don't overthink it," Phoebe reassured Noah.

Noah turned his head to look at Phoebe's delicate face. This face was quite different from the youthful one in his memory, but when he looked at Phoebe, he often remembered the expression she had when she reached out to him back then. Even though Phoebe had matured and become more beautiful, he hadn't forgotten his initial feelings. She had saved his entire youth.

"Phoebe, no matter what, I won't let you down," Noah said seriously.

"I had Lori order the most luxurious afternoon tea. Come on, let's see how it tastes," Phoebe suggested.

The afternoon tea Phoebe brought put the entire crew in a joyful mood. Everyone who saw her thanked her. Once they were back to filming, Phoebe quietly left.

As Phoebe walked out of the school gate, she immediately saw a silver-gray Maybach parked at the entrance. The window slowly rolled down, revealing an exceptionally handsome face.

She stopped and silently exchanged glances with the person in the car.