Forbidden Passion

At this late hour, the streetlights in front of the villa illuminated their faces. Theodore looked at her flushed cheeks and leaned down towards her.

Suddenly, the door behind them opened. Evelyn stood at the doorway, and upon seeing the two outside, she swallowed back the "Edward" that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Theodore?"

Theodore's movements suddenly froze. He straightened up and looked at Evelyn, who hadn't changed much. "Evelyn."

Phoebe heard Theodore call out to Evelyn so naturally, as if they had never divorced, and she felt a strange stir in her heart.

Evelyn was also taken aback by the call, then responded, "It's so late, have you eaten? Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

"Mom!" Phoebe quickly stopped her. "It's too late, and the house is quite messy. It's not convenient to have guests."

Phoebe gave Evelyn a look, and Evelyn instantly snapped back to reality. How could she have been so carried away by Theodore's call? If she really invited Theodore in, the three kids would be exposed.

"Yes, yes, it is quite late. Maybe next time," Evelyn said with an awkward smile.

Theodore's gaze swept over the two of them before he finally said gently, "Then I'll come by next time. Phoebe, go inside."

Phoebe lifted her skirt and stepped into the door, pulling Evelyn in with her and closing the door quickly, afraid that Theodore might force his way in if she delayed.

Once the door was closed, she leaned against the wall, her legs weak, almost collapsing.

Outside, there was no sound of Theodore leaving for a long time. After a while, footsteps finally sounded, and it wasn't until Theodore's steps faded into the distance that Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief.

Evelyn also recovered from her fright. She glared at Phoebe and whispered, "Phoebe, are you crazy? How could you bring Theodore here?"

"Theodore was waiting for me outside the villa area. What could I do?" Phoebe said, feeling a headache coming on.

Phoebe stood up and walked inside the villa, with Evelyn following her. "Didn't Edward propose to you tonight? I even saw it on a video. Didn't you accept?"

Phoebe pressed her head and said, "I didn't accept."

Evelyn slapped Phoebe on the back, almost knocking her to the ground. Phoebe steadied herself and glared at Evelyn angrily. "Mom, one day you're going to kill me with a slap."

"Why didn't you accept?" Evelyn said, exasperated. "Besides Edward, can you find anyone better who likes you more?"

"Mom, do you think Delilah would want a woman who has been divorced and has triplets as her daughter-in-law? Edward is not thinking clearly, and neither are you," Phoebe said.

"How do you know if you don't try?"

"I have self-awareness. Why humiliate myself? Besides, I don't love Edward anymore. Accepting his proposal would be irresponsible to both of us." Phoebe was always clear- headed. She knew the problems between her and Edward. Rather than ending in disappointment in the future, it was better to refuse now.

Evelyn sighed. "Edward is such a good man, and you don't like him. What kind of man do you like? Phoebe, do you still like Theodore?"

"No."

"Then what were you doing when I opened the door? If I wasn't mistaken, Theodore seemed to want to kiss you." Evelyn stared at her, not missing any subtle expression on her face.

Phoebe rubbed her cheeks and avoided Evelyn's gaze. "How could that be? You saw it wrong. I had something in my eye, and he was helping me get it out."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

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Phoebe turned and walked inside the villa, with Evelyn slowly following behind, sighing constantly. Phoebe, annoyed by Evelyn's sighs, urged her to go to bed.

"It's late. You should go to sleep."

Evelyn still followed her, all the way to the door of the master bedroom on the second floor. Phoebe said helplessly, "Mom, why are you following me?"

"I just want to know, are you planning to get back together with Theodore?" For the past few years, Phoebe had almost never mentioned Theodore in front of her.

The less she mentioned, the more it showed she cared.

The incident back then hurt her deeply, and she still couldn't reconcile with herself. Evelyn saw all of this.

Phoebe paused in her action of opening the door. She turned around and, for the first time, faced this question in front of Evelyn. "He won't accept the kids."

The more Theodore pursued her now, the more he would hate her when he found out about the kids. So she never worried about Theodore's entanglement.

Evelyn was stunned for a moment, then sighed. "If that's the case, why are you still being ambiguous with Theodore? Aren't you afraid of his revenge?"

"Of course I'm afraid." How could she not be afraid? But she couldn't avoid Theodore. Just now outside the villa, when Theodore leaned in to kiss her, she actually thought about telling him about Hubert, Boris, and Noomi.

But she was too tired.

Rejecting Edward tonight had already exhausted all her energy. She didn't have the strength to face Theodore's anger.

"If you're afraid, stay away from Theodore. Phoebe, our family depends on you." Evelyn was worried.

Since Phoebe divorced Theodore, she had been like a wild horse off the reins. All the outrageous things Phoebe hadn't done in the first 24 years, she did them all after the divorce.

If they had known, they shouldn't have returned to Kedora. Staying in Caneda was fine

too.

Phoebe pushed the door open and entered the bedroom. The sensor light under the bed lit up, and the room was warm. Hubert, Boris, and Noomi occupied most of the bed, sleeping soundly.

She walked over, sat by the bed, and stayed quietly for a while before getting up to take a shower.noveldrama

After the shower, she felt more awake. She went to the walk-in closet to dry her hair, then sat on the bed with her phone.

There were many unread messages on WhatsApp. People she hadn't contacted in a long time were all asking if she was the protagonist of tonight's drone proposal. Phoebe didn't reply. She opened Cindy's chat, which had dozens of messages, the last one just a few minutes ago.

GlamGuru: [Phoebe, why haven't you replied to my messages?]

Phoebe thought for a moment and replied.

Mia: [I didn't accept.]

The next second, Cindy's video call popped up. Phoebe glanced at the sleeping Hubert, Boris, and Noomi on the bed, got up, and went to the walk-in closet to find a place to squat and answer the call.

On the other side of the video, it seemed to be a hotel room. The peeling walls were visible, and Cindy was leaning against the headboard, her eyes shining brightly.

"Tell me what happened. I was so excited watching the proposal video. How could you not invite me to witness it in person!" Cindy said.

Phoebe rubbed her temples. "Actually, I didn't know at first. Edward just said he wanted me to accompany him to a banquet. When I got there, I realized something was wrong, but it was too late to leave."