Chapter 289: Chapter 289 Misread Moment
Phoebe’s POV
I could see the conflict on Timothy’s face. He knew he couldn’t delay this situation any longer - he needed a plan if Jude refused to accompany him.
The idea of losing her again after finally finding his mate clearly disturbed him, so he had to discover the perfect approach to share the news and convince her to come.
From what I knew of Timothy, he possessed enough cunning to get what he wanted when necessary, but I could tell using manipulation didn’t feel right to him. He seemed determined not to be deceitful with his mate.
"So? How will you break it to her?" I waited for Timothy’s response.
"I have no clue," Timothy admitted honestly. "Zero idea. I can’t tell if she’d want to come with me or not." He dragged his hands across his face roughly, then gave me a helpless look. "What if she refuses? What happens then?"
I shrugged casually. "Then you’ll be stuck in a long-distance relationship," I said with a light tone, which made Timothy’s eyes go wide.
"Absolutely not! No way I want that!" Timothy stared at me like I’d just delivered devastating news. "I can’t stand being separated from her." He frowned deeply and muttered under his breath. "Maybe I should abandon my position to stay here?"
Now it was my turn to react strongly. "Not happening!" I felt genuinely upset because I knew Perry was already struggling without a proper royal beta, and if Timothy abandoned his role, Perry would be in an even worse situation.
"What options do I have..." Timothy looked down dejectedly. "I just discovered my mate... or could you convince Perry to extend our stay here? Maybe for much longer?" He raised his head and gazed at me hopefully.
"For much longer?" That’s when I realized Perry had been toying with me. I tapped his head lightly. "Perry would tear you apart if you made that request."
Timothy gave me puppy-dog eyes. "That’s exactly why I need your help with this. You have a mate too, so you must understand my feelings right now."
"I don’t." I shot him a judgmental look, narrowing my eyes. "Are you trying to manipulate me?" I felt like I was walking straight into a trap.
Since Perry would listen to me, Timothy was using me to speak with Perry and get his way.
"No, I’m not." Timothy blinked innocently, though nothing about this man was innocent - if anything, he was far too manipulative for my taste. "Pleaseee..." He drew out the word and looked at me with genuine pleading.
I considered it briefly. "I’ll talk to Jude instead and see if I can convince her to come with us."
Timothy’s eyes brightened immediately. "Yes, that works perfectly!" He looked thrilled. "Thank you, Phoebe, you’re the best queen!" Then he added, "If Jude still refuses to come with you, you could use your luna voice on her."
Once again, I smacked the back of Timothy’s head for his suggestion.
"You want me to force her to come? You want her to hate me for dragging her away against her will?" I hit his back again. "You want to look like the good mate while making me the villain in her eyes?" I could easily read Timothy’s intentions - this man wouldn’t hold his position if he was as innocent as he pretended to be.
I hit him a few more times.
"Hey, stop! Stop! That’s not what I meant." Timothy raised both arms in surrender. "It was just a suggestion. Only a suggestion. Hey, I’m a patient here... You shouldn’t hit me... Phoebe!"
I finally stopped. Even though I’d hit Timothy multiple times, those hits wouldn’t actually hurt him - the gamma was exaggerating his reaction because Jude had just appeared at the door.
She hadn’t heard our earlier conversation, but she definitely saw me hitting the royal gamma.
"Is everything alright?" Jude asked fearfully. She still felt intimidated by me, despite my showing her nothing but patience and kindness. But regardless, I was still the queen, and right now, she’d witnessed me hitting her mate.
Only when I heard Jude’s voice did I realize someone else had entered the room.
I glared at Timothy, who was grimacing. This man was still pretending to be in pain to earn his mate’s sympathy.
As the target of my annoyance, Timothy deliberately avoided my gaze, lowering his head as if he feared me.
This man!
"What happened?" Jude didn’t dare enter the room completely, but she couldn’t leave either because seeing Timothy in pain hurt her.
I sighed deeply. "This isn’t what it looks like..." I struggled to explain the situation to Jude.
"Please, whatever mistake he made... please forgive him." Jude looked ready to cry. "Don’t... don’t hurt him..."
Timothy, who had been faking his pain, immediately stopped. He exchanged a look with me, and we shared a silent understanding.
To others, the interaction Timothy and I had displayed was nothing more than friendly banter, but for Jude, who had endured so much, she was actually reliving her worst memories.
There had never been good-natured teasing in her life - it was either violence or nothing. No middle ground existed.
Realizing this, Timothy immediately understood his mistake and got out of bed. "Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine. We were just joking around. I’m fine."
