Chapter 243: Acting

Chapter 243: Acting

Phoebe quickly dodged to the side. The teacup grazed her cheek as it flew past, then fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

A few drops of water splashed onto Phoebe's face, leaving it wet. Several strands of hair stuck to her skin, making her extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't dare move.

"You dare to dodge?" Larry wore a dark gray suit and had lost even more weight compared to before. The wrinkles on his face were more pronounced than ever.

Phoebe kept her head down, her hands trembling slightly beyond her control, saying nothing.

Patricia stood beside him, her face full of concern. "Larry, don't let this upset you so much. It's not worth it."

"How can I not be angry about what they've done?" Larry said loudly, then covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed several times violently, his face turning deathly pale.

Patricia gently patted his back. "Maybe they had their reasons."

"Reasons?" Larry let out a cold laugh, looking at Phoebe and Noah. "You had reasons? Wasn't it because you thought I was dying soon, so you dared to team up with outsiders to trick me? You even managed to buy off the hospital director. You're really something!"

Phoebe bit her lip, tears streaming down her face, but she said nothing.

Noah knew she was acting, but when he saw the tears on her face, his heart still ached uncontrollably.

Actually, Ryan was right—he couldn't even protect his own woman.

"Weren't you so capable just now? Why so quiet now?" This was the first time Larry had been fooled like this, and combined with what happened at the shareholders' meeting, his expression was extremely ugly. "Both of you, kneel down!"

Noah didn't argue and knelt directly on the ground. Just as Phoebe was about to kneel as well, he reached out to support her. "Don't kneel. The floor is cold."

"But I've already made Mr. White angry, and this really is my fault." Phoebe didn't cry out loud, but her eyes were red, making her look especially pitiful.

Larry snorted coldly, walked up to Phoebe, aimed his cane at the back of her knees, and said coldly, "Will you kneel yourself, or shall I help you kneel?"

"Mr. White, I..." Phoebe had just started speaking when the cane came down.

She hadn't expected Larry to suddenly strike, and with such force. Her pupils dilated slightly as she instinctively protected her lower abdomen.

Noah stood up as fast as he could, but still couldn't stop it.

Phoebe fell heavily to her knees, her upper body lurching forward uncontrollably.

The sound of teacup shards piercing flesh was exceptionally clear.

The broken teacup was right beside her, and Phoebe's arm landed right on the shards. Bright red blood instantly flowed out.

"Phoebe!" Noah rushed to help Phoebe. She signaled with her eyes for him not to interfere, but he acted as if he hadn't seen it, stepping forward to support her and letting her lean against him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Phoebe shook her head.

Seeing that neither of them took his words seriously, Larry's expression darkened as if water could drip from it.

He struck the ground forcefully several times with his cane, saying through gritted teeth, "Noah, don't push me."

"He's just too worried about the baby and me. Please don't be angry." Phoebe pushed Noah away and knelt on the ground again.

It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned the baby. At the mention of the child, Larry remembered being deceived, and his face immediately turned iron-blue.

"At a time like this, you still dare to lie to me about being pregnant!" Larry raised his foot to kick Phoebe.

Noah frowned and quickly stepped forward, but under Phoebe's restraining gaze, he stopped. "If you don't want a great-grandson anymore, go ahead and kick!"

Larry had been tricked by Noah and Phoebe once before, so hearing these words now, hesitation showed on his face. But the temptation of his first great-grandson was too great.

His expression wavered, and ultimately he stopped his foot.

"Mr. White, I really am pregnant." Phoebe looked terrified as she covered her stomach, tears flowing freely down her face.

Larry hated seeing people cry the most. "Stop crying! Just like your mother, all you know is crying, not a brain in your head. I really don't know what Noah sees in you! Idiot!"

That last word, "idiot," could have been directed at Phoebe, or Noah, or perhaps both of them.

"I'm sorry, Mr. White. I lied to you before, but I really am pregnant now. I just found out a few days ago." Phoebe covered the wound on her arm with one hand, then wiped her tears with her blood-stained hand, getting quite a bit of blood on her face as well, looking utterly disheveled.

Larry was annoyed by her crying. "Stop crying!"

"I won't cry." Phoebe sniffled, trying hard to hold back her sobs.

Larry felt that Phoebe was different from usual today, but he couldn't say exactly how. Maybe it was just the difference between crying and not crying?

However, it made sense that she would cry out of fear now that her deception had been exposed.

"How do I know you're not lying to me again this time?" Larry glared at her, demanding harshly.

Phoebe bit her lip. She was already trying hard not to cry, but her eyes were still red, and her voice still trembled noticeably when she spoke. "Last time I lied to you, it was also to save my life."

"This time you're lying to me; it could also be to save your life!" Larry thought about how he'd been fooled by such an idiot, and his chest heaved violently with anger.

His gaze was like a venomous snake, fixed tightly on Phoebe, cold and deadly.

Phoebe's whole body tensed. "I haven't had much contact with you. I didn't understand your temper before, but after Noah told me about it, I got scared."

"There's something he's afraid of in this world?" Larry looked at Noah sideways, his expression still ugly, but his tone slightly softer.

Phoebe looked at him with red eyes, with a bit of flattery in her voice. "I used to think he wasn't afraid of anything either, but later he told me that he's actually a little afraid of you."

"He really said that to you?" Larry squinted. "Phoebe, I hate being lied to most!"

Phoebe shrank back, tears flowing down again.

She wiped her face with her blood-stained hand, saying tremblingly, "Actually, he didn't say afraid."

Larry's expression instantly became extremely ugly.

"He just told me he respects you, admires you, with a bit of awe mixed in," Phoebe said shakily.

Noah looked down at her, thoughtful.

But his attention was more focused on the wound on her arm.

That glaring blood made him feel somewhat dizzy.

A flash of surprise crossed Larry's face, but more than that was doubt.

He glanced at Noah and said mockingly, "Respects and admires me, yet threatened me with a fruit knife for a woman?"

"That's actually, that's actually because..." Phoebe sneaked a glance at Noah and didn't continue.

Larry seemed to have expected this and sneered. "Can't make up any more lies?"

"Noah, Mr. White asked me, so I'm telling him," Phoebe said to Noah with a troubled expression, then looked at Larry. "You dote on Neil so much but are so strict with Noah. He did that to get your attention!"

Larry didn't respond, but clearly didn't believe it.

Noah's eyebrow twitched slightly as he lowered his eyes, concealing the expression on his face.

"He's just going through a really long rebellious phase." Phoebe wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and said quietly, "If you still don't believe it, just think about it yourself. Noah has similar bloodlines to other people in the White family. Why is he so outstanding?"

Outstanding? Noah's eyes flickered.

Larry instinctively felt that everything Phoebe was saying was made up, but he still couldn't help asking, "Why?"

"Because he works harder than others. When others are playing around, he's been working hard to make himself more outstanding."

Phoebe's eyes were bright and sincere. "He does this to get your attention, hoping you'll praise him the way you praise Neil."