Chapter 70

Maddox hadn't expected Reece to ask to switch seats the moment they boarded the plane. Maddox looked up at Reece. “Reece, you think you’re somebody, huh?”

Reece looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Maddox raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think you are, thinking I should just give up my seat?”

Reece was momentarily speechless. “Maddox, don’t go too far. I need to talk to Phoebe, so could you please swap seats with me?”

Maddox thought Reece was incredibly self-centered. He sneered. “You want to switch seats to talk to Pheebs. Did you even ask if she’s okay?”

Before Reece could respond, Phoebe, who had been staring at her phone, spoke up without looking up. “No. I don’t agree.”

Maddox spread his hands, looking at Reece. “Reece, you heard her. Pheebs doesn’t want to sit with you.”

Reece became anxious, turning to Phoebe. “Pheebs, I really need to talk to you,” he said with a rare, soft tone. “Just for a moment, please!”

Phoebe finally looked up at Reece. “Sorry, but we’re not close enough, so no.”

“If you sit next to me and people see us, what if they get the wrong idea?” She gave him a cool glance. “I’d rather not hit the trending list with you again and waste everyone’s time.” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm; Reece knew Phoebe well enough to understand her implication. She must have figured out that the relationship buzz online was his doing.

“Three minutes… Just give me three minutes, okay?” Reece took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to explain.”

Phoebe turned her gaze away, picking up a magazine and flipping it open. “I have no interest in your explanations.”

Her attitude and actions made it clear she had no intention of engaging with him. Phoebe hadn’t realized before just how annoyingly persistent Reece could be.

Reece felt hurt by Phoebe’s words and actions, but he knew that if he didn’t clear things up with her now, given her personality, there might be no going back.

Reece pressed on. “We have a major misunderstanding between us. I just want to clear it up.”

Phoebe continued flipping through her magazine, ignoring him completely.

Maddox then pulled out his phone, opened Twitter, and suddenly shoved it in front of Reece’s face. “Reece, you’ve both been wearing matching pendants, and now you’re putting on a show. What’s the point?” Maddox said, “You’re a superstar with millions of followers. There’s no need to act so desperate, right?!”

Reece glared at Maddox, pushing his hand away. “What happens between me and Pheebs has nothing to do with you.”

This jerk’s trying to move in on Phoebe and sabotage us. How shameless; Reece thought angrily.

Since they were among the last to board, most passengers were already seated, and now everyone in first class was glancing over curiously. Some even took out their phones to record the scene.

Jamar, sitting nearby, listened to their conversation and glanced at Phoebe’s reaction. Thinking for a moment, he stood up and walked over, draping an arm over Reece’s shoulder. “Reece, if Pheebs doesn’t want to listen, then stop pestering her,” Jamar said, trying to steer Reece toward a nearby seat.

But Reece shook off Jamar’s arm and shot him a cold look. “It’s none of your business, either.”

“Oh, so now you’re trying to act all chummy with her?” Reece said, irritated. “You think Pheebs is going to bother with you?” Reece was growing increasingly frustrated with Jamar’s constant interference.

Jamar hadn’t expected Reece to lash out at him like that, and he felt a pang of hurt as he stole a glance at Phoebe, still engrossed in her magazine. Immediately defensive, Jamar shot back. “I don’t have to pretend. We’re already close.”

Maddox couldn’t help but laugh at that. Turning to Jamar, he said, “Maybe you also think you’re somebody, huh? No wonder you all get along so well. You’ve got shamelessness in common.”

Jamar’s annoyance with Maddox reached new heights. “Why don’t you mind your own business!” he snapped.

Maddox gestured at his seat. “You’re blocking my view, for one.”

At that moment, a flight attendant approached, reminding Reece and Jamar to take their seats.

Reece couldn’t care less anymore. He braced his hand against Maddox’s seat, leaned down, and moved closer. “There’s nothing going on between me and Sienna,” Reece said softly. “I was asked to look out for her. That’s all. All those photos showing something between us are fake.”

Reece quickly explained the situations captured in those photos, like Sienna stumbling, which gave an impression of intimacy. “And the couple pendant? That wasn’t my doing,” he continued. “My pendant was a gift from an elder, meant to bring safety and peace. That’s the only reason I wear it. Sienna’s pendant is from the same elder. Neither of us had any idea they were a limited-edition set for couples until someone posted about it on Twitter.”

Seeing no reaction from Phoebe, Reece grew more desperate. “The reason we even meet up in private is that the elder sometimes asks me to give her things or the other way around.”

“Pherbs, you know me,” Reece leaned closer, his voice gentle. “I wouldn’t be stupid enough to wear a couple’s pendant with Sienna and give people such an obvious reason to gossip. It’s all just coincidences and misunderstandings. Please believe me, okay?”

The other passengers, watching Reece, who seemed humbled and earnest, couldn’t help but wonder if it really was just a big misunderstanding. After all, Reece, a big star, went to such lengths to explain and beg for forgiveness from Phoebe.

Maddox hadn’t expected to see Reece, who was usually stoic, go this far. Rubbing his arms with an exaggerated shiver, he looked at Reece with mock admiration. “Got me all goosebumps, Reece. No wonder you’re the big star. You’ve got the acting skills.”

Reece stood there, stunned for a moment. The urge to throw Maddox off the plane flashed through his mind. This guy’s insufferable, he wondered.

Reece glared icily at Maddox. “Nobody’s asking you to speak, so stay quiet.”

Maddox was ready to snap back, but Phoebe looked up again, her expression frosty. “Done with your performance, Recce! You’re only saying all this in front of everyone to make yourself look like the devoted one and wipe away all the bad press, right!”

A sarcastic smile curled on her lips. “An elder gives you both matching pendants and keeps sending you to exchange gifts? What else could it mean but approval of your relationship?”

“You think if you tell me there’s nothing going on, that you had no idea, I’ll just believe you? Do I look that naive to you?”

“Besides, we’ve already broken up and cut ties. If you want to put on an act, you’re asking the wrong person.”

Reece’s eyes widened, disbelief and hurt flashing across his face. “You think I’m acting!” Reece had offered his heart to her, only to be dismissed as performing a show.

Phoebe chuckled. “What che? If you were truly this devoted, why didn’t you show it before? I certainly never saw this side of you back then?”

Knowing someone was recording, Phoebe smiled with deliberate exasperation. “Reece, you really are deserving of that title of the Best Actor. If I didn’t know you so well, I’d almost be convinced myself.”

Reece glared at Phoebe, his voice tight. “You’re great.”

Now Reece understood that Phoebe had done this to trap him on purpose. Phoebe shrugged nonchalantly. “I know I’m great, but you’ve already lost the chance to have someone like me.”