Forbidden Passion

After dinner, Phoebe helped Evelyn clear the dishes to the kitchen. Outta the corner of her eye, she saw Theodore and Donovan chillin' on the couch. Worried Donovan might start something with Theodore, she kept her ears on high alert. Evelyn noticed Phoebe was spaced out and took the bowl from her hands. "Look at you, daydreaming. Get outta here; don't need you messing up my flow."

"I'm not, Mom." Phoebe's cheeks turned a bit blushed.

"Go have some fun; I'll handle the cleanup." Evelyn nudged Phoebe outta the kitchen and shut the door behind her. Phoebe stood there for a sec, then headed towards the living room.

On the couch, the TV's light flickered, casting shadows on Donovan and Theodore's faces. Donovan grabbed a pack of smokes and offered one. "Want a cig?"

Theodore waved him off. "Phoebe hates the smell of smoke."

Donovan let out a cold laugh and lit up. He was seriously ticked off with Theodore. Even though they were on the same level now, Theodore always had this superior vibe that made Donovan feel like crap. But Donovan never felt that way around Edward.

Donovan spoke up, "Phoebe doesn't like you either, but I don't see you vanishing from her sight."

Theodore's lips tightened. Donovan had beef with him; he knew it the moment he walked into the apartment tonight.

"You got a grudge against me."

Donovan blew out a puff of smoke and stared at Theodore blankly. "Theodore, don't act all innocent with me. If you hadn't butted in back then, it wouldn't be you sitting here."

"So you're still hung up on Edward." Theodore's smile faded, and his gaze turned icy.

Donovan, unfazed, said, "Yeah, we grew up with Edward. He was better than you in every way and would've been the best husband for Phoebe. Most importantly, the Vanderbilt family and our family don't have..." "Donovan!" Phoebe burst out just in time to catch Donovan's words. She was so shocked she immediately shouted.

Donovan jumped, almost dropping his cig. "What are you yelling for?"

Phoebe quickly walked over, grabbed Donovan's wrist, and yanked him up from the couch. "Come with me to the room; we need to talk."

Phoebe didn't dare look into Theodore's eyes, scared he'd see right through her. She dragged Donovan to his room.

The door slammed shut.

Donovan's room had a floor-to-ceiling window, and outside, snowflakes were falling, covering everything in white.

Phoebe lowered her voice. "Donovan, what the hell are you trying to do? Just 'cause of some old newspaper and a few photos, you really think our family has a vendetta against the Reynolds family?"

Donovan flicked the ash from his cig, letting it fall to the floor. He forced a weird smile. "Phoebe, do you not believe the evidence I brought back, or do you just not wanna accept there's beef between you and Theodore?" Phoebe's red lips pressed tightly together. "Dad's been dead for over twenty years, and now you're telling me he was murdered. How am I supposed to believe that?"

"You don't believe it 'cause you're in love with Theodore, right?" Donovan poked her shoulder with the hand holding the cig. "Phoebe, you're letting me down."

Phoebe stepped back from his poke, looking at Donovan's stubborn and resentful face. She said, "Fine, if you're so sure Dad was killed by Brandon, then show me the proof. If you got evidence, I'll believe you. Otherwise, you're just talking outta your ass."

With that, Phoebe shoved Donovan away and swung the door open to leave.

Then she froze in the doorway.

Outside, Theodore stood there, his face shadowed in the dim light, making it impossible to read his expression or know how long he'd been standing there.

The only silver lining was that Donovan's room had decent soundproofing, so Theodore probably hadn't heard anything.

Even so, Phoebe's heart skipped a beat.

"Evelyn cut some fruit and asked you to come out and eat." Theodore's face was as unreadable as ever. His gaze slid past Phoebe and landed on Donovan, who was lurking by the half-open door. Donovan let out a cold snort.

Phoebe ignored Donovan. She looked at Theodore and said, "Let's go out. Forget Donovan; he's not thinking straight."

On Christmas Eve, when Donovan threw that document in front of her, Phoebe was really thrown for a loop. It felt like her world was crashing down.

But once she calmed down, she found a lot of holes in that old newspaper, like the one with Harper's photo.

Back then, print media was super strict. If they were reporting an accident, they wouldn't publish a photo of the victim laughing.

And after more than twenty years, they'd almost forgotten the truth about Harper's accident. Why would Donovan suddenly dig it up again?

Someone had deliberately stirred up Donovan's suspicions and led him to investigate further. So all the info Donovan found was probably a trap set by someone else.

Donovan had already fallen into their trap. His so-called truth was just a scheme by the other party.

"Phoebe, have some fruit." Suddenly, something cool touched her lips, snapping her out of her thoughts. She leaned back a bit.

Seeing the fruit offered to her lips, she hesitated before taking a bite. The fruit was juicy and sweet.

Phoebe looked at Theodore, who was sitting next to her, and said, "Are you tired? Wanna crash in my room for a bit?"

Theodore shook his head and placed the fruit fork back on the plate. He said, "Ollie's been home alone for two days. The cat food must be gone by now."

Phoebe checked the time and replied, "Then let's head home."

Evelyn came out of the kitchen after cleaning up and looked a bit bummed to hear they were leaving. She said, "You don't have work tomorrow. Why not stay the night? I just changed the sheets in your room this morning." Phoebe said, "Ollie at home hasn't been fed and must be starving. We live so close; we can come back anytime."

"I told you not to get a cat, but you didn't listen. Now Ollie is more important than me," Evelyn grumbled but still put on her coat to see them off.

Evelyn stood at the door and called out to Donovan, "Donovan, Phoebe and Theodore are leaving. Come out and see them off. Why are you always holed up in your room? You're not getting any younger; you should be dating." Phoebe put on her coat and, seeing no movement from inside, knew Donovan wouldn't come to see them off. She said, "Mom, stop calling him. Just see us downstairs." Evelyn affectionately linked arms with her. "It's good to have a daughter. Theodore, you and Phoebe must have a daughter in the future. Daughters are so considerate." Theodore's deep gaze swept over Phoebe's flat stomach. Phoebe felt her face heat up under his gaze and quickly reached out to cover his eyes. "You're not allowed to look!"