Passion and Ambitions

Chapter Twelve: Can't Be Tamed/ I Hate This Part

Chapter Twelve: Can't Be Tamed/ I Hate This Part

   Phoebe, being the stubborn, hard-headed person that she is, continued living her own rules. Melanie didn't even bother to talk to her, not that Phoebe cared.

   She found refuge in the arms lof Joaquin..... and Daniel. And Craig. And Nathan. And Henrie. Of course, she and Joaquin made it clear to each other that what they have is nothing serious, and that it's all for fun.

   People in Cosmo began to notice a change in Phoebe, her attitude became a bitch-tittude that drive people to the roof. She does her work well, and she never missed a meeting and any invite, so nobody can really complain. Whatever Phoebe does, she does it extremely great.

   Sales of the magazine sky-rocketed, and the publishers and the committee were so proud and amazed of her capabilities. Phoebe couldn't care less. They pay her, she does her job. Cased closed.

   But what gets her ticking are the parties. Meeting men and making connections occupy much of her time. She made 'friends' with world class designers such as Michael Cinco, Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, etc. Because of her vast influence, she also managed to get free clothes from high-end brands. Heck, some even begged her to wear their clothes, but Phoebe only chose the best.

   In no time, she was ranked as no. 1 in best dressed for the season by different fashion critics and various blogs and networking sites. She emerged as the 'It Girl' of the year and became a fashion goddess and maven.

   As for relationships within the company, she had few hookups. Those who pursued her to be in a serious relationship ended up with broken hearts. Not to mention, broken wallets.

   Phoebe swore she would no longer take love seriously, refusing to be in a relationship with anyone. She made it her motto to eat broken hearts for breakfast. She made herself cold, hard, unapproachable, and heartless. Though at parties, she does make herself available the rich, handsome, famous men.

   A pretty envelope lay on Phoebe's desk this afternoon. An invite for something sossy, for sure. Phoebe smiled as she opened the envelope, revealing an intricately patterned card. It's an invitation for a wedding. Her cousin's wedding. Her smile vanished.

   Phoebe hailed one of her assistants to come to her.

"Who brought this to my table?" she asked.

   Drake, the new assistant, noticed his boss's foul mood. He heard from her past assistant which he replaced of Phoebe's infamous cold shoulder and bitch-titude.

"Miss Yves, it's me who left that on your table. You told me to put all the invites sent to you on your table ASAP. Is there any problem?" Drake said, as polite as possible.

"Right. Every invite. Well, from now on, if ever you recieve an invite for a wedding, block it. Tell them I won't be able to come. I'm busy. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Yves."

"Go."

   Drake nodded and skittered out. Phoebe felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She stood up as her eyes started to water and faced the glass window. She remembered how Steve promised her of the wedding of her life. That he'd do her the honor of giving her her dream wedding, and walking her down the aisle. He promised her of a big happy family, a life so peaceful and beautiful that she would have nothing else to ask for.

   But he left her hanging. He never had the courage to tell her what had gone wrong. He never even tried to make an effort to work things out. Nothing.

   Phoebe looked back again at the wedding invite. Katherine, her cousin, must have been so happy to have found the one. Phoebe was a year older than Katherine. She remembered when they were young, they used to play wedding and promised to plan their dream weddings together. They even planned to be wed at the same time. She used to believe in love. Everlasting love. But she realized that love is such a difficult thing to say and do.

   She pushed her selfish thoughts aside and decided to call Katherine.

"Hello?" Katherine said. Phoebe tried to hide the sadness in her voice. She must sound happy and proud of her cousin. She must be there for Katherine.

"Hey, Kath. Long time no hear. I'm glad for you. Congratulations on your wedding." Phoebe clutched her phone. Her words sound fake even to her.

"Thank you. It's really great. Finding Mr. Right, I mean. After a long search, I finally found him. Please come. I know you're busy, but it would mean a lot to me."

"Sure. Of course I'll come. But I haven't even met the guy. Why didn't you even introduce me to him?"

"Oh, I heard you were busy at work. But, I got it all covered. I'm having a little family reunion at my place this Saturday, so the whole family can meet him. I'm hoping you could come?"

"That would be great! Perfect! I can't wait to see the lucky man, Kath."

   Phoebe held her breath and tears. Katherine noticed.

"Phoebe, are you crying?"

"What? No! I'm just so proud that my little cuz is already getting hitched! I'm so happy for you."

"Hey, I know that you promised to get married at twenty-seven, you still have many time."

"Yeah. Haha, I'm fine. Oh, Kath, I'm sorry. I have to go. Meeting's 'bout to take place in five minutes. Got to go. See ya on Sat."

"Bye."

   Phoebe ended the call. She felt herself about to collapse, her emotions taking over her and tears streaming down her cheeks. She gasped for air and rushed to the powder room in her office and poured her heart out.