Forbidden Passion

Phoebe walked over and handed out the farming tools to the four children. They usually worked in the vegetable garden outside the villa with Evelyn, digging, weeding, and planting. They knew how to use the hoes as soon as they picked them

up.

"Be careful, don't hurt your feet," Phoebe reminded them.

The tools were child-friendly and wouldn't cause any harm, but for two-year-olds, they still required a lot of effort. Phoebe took them to a new patch of radishes and let them dig for fun. The four children dug with great enthusiasm. Soon, a pile of round little radishes had accumulated next to Phoebe. She put the radishes into a plastic crate.

"I'm going to have enough radishes to open a market stall soon," Phoebe said with a smile, encouraging them.

Their impressive progress attracted the attention of many young parents, especially since Hubert, Boris, and Noomi looked almost identical. Apart from their different clothes, they were hard to tell apart.

Seeing them diligently digging up radishes, young parents brought their children over. Keith and Louis were about to stop them from getting too close when Phoebe called out to them.

"No need, they mean no harm," Phoebe shook her head.

She brought kids out to play so they could interact with other children and learn to share and be considerate.

Hubert was sweating profusely, digging very seriously. Two little girls squatted next to him. Judging by their similar features and dresses, they were twins.

The twins looked a bit older than Hubert and spoke very clearly, "What's your name? How are you so strong?"

It was the first time Hubert had been approached by pretty little girls. He shyly replied, "Because I eat a lot."

The twins covered their mouths and giggled. Hubert didn't know what they were laughing about. He was telling the truth; he was strong because he ate a lot.

The twins, with their eyes curved in smiles, looked at Noomi and the others and asked, "Are you quadruplets?"

Hubert understood and said, "No, we are triplets."

"Then why are the four of you wearing the same straw hats?" the twins asked, puzzled.

Hubert pointed to Ethan and explained in his sweet childlike voice, "We are good friends."

The adults listening to their conversation laughed. The twins' parents stood next to Phoebe, exchanging parenting tips with her.

Later, when the twins' parents were about to leave, they took a photo with Hubert, Boris, and Noomi and posted it directly to their Facebook feed.

[Ran into triplets. Our kids got along so well with them. Hope they can play together again in the future.]

The post received many likes, and Carol was one of them. The young parents were her old friends, who had done better than her and bought a house in Kedora early on.

A few years ago, they had twin daughters and were living a very happy life.

Carol clicked on the photo, which enlarged on the screen. In the front row stood six children, all very cute, especially the triplets and twins.

Carol zoomed in on the photo, looking at the three adults in the back row. Besides the young couple, there was a woman standing next to them, wearing a mask, but her eyes looked very familiar. Carol scrutinized the photo repeatedly, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.

Carol was so focused that she didn't notice Theodore coming out of the office. He walked straight to Carol's desk and frowned when he saw her staring intently at her phone screen.

"What are you looking at?" Theodore asked.

Carol was startled, and her phone fell onto the desk. She quickly stood up, nervously trying to flip the phone over.

"Wait a minute." Theodore lowered his gaze and saw the enlarged photo on the phone, which happened to be frozen on Phoebe's face.

Theodore recognized Phoebe almost instantly. Even with a mask on, her delicate and beautiful eyes were unmistakable. He reached out, "Give me the phone."

Carol was anxious, but she didn't dare to disobey Theodore. She handed the phone over, trembling.

Carol watched Theodore's expression turn serious as he stared at her phone, as if he had seen something shocking.

"Mr. Reynolds, I wasn't slacking off. I was just..."

Theodore didn't say anything. He moved his fingers over the photo and then saw the six children standing in front of the adults. Ethan was standing in front of Phoebe, with the other children gathered together. Theodore scrutinized the photo and noticed that among the five remaining children, there was a pair of twins and a set of triplets. The triplets looked very familiar; they were the children of Phoebe's neighbors. She actually took Ethan out to play!

Theodore tossed the phone back to Carol and said coldly, "Doing non-work-related things during work hours, go to HR and report yourself. A $200 fine as a warning."

"Yes, I'll go right away," Carol replied.

Theodore took a few steps, then stopped and turned back. Carol was startled and stammered, "Mr. Reynolds, is there anything else?"

"Ask your friends where they were playing."noveldrama

"What?" Carol thought Theodore had come back to increase the fine, but when she heard this, she was momentarily confused.

Theodore looked at Carol coldly, "Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No, no, Mr. Reynolds, I'll ask right away." Carol picked up her phone, quickly unlocked it with her fingerprint, and left a comment under the post.

Carol: [Where were you guys playing? The scenery looks great. I'd like to go there when I have time off.]

Soon, her friend replied, and she immediately told Theodore, "Mr. Reynolds, it's an eco-park on the outskirts of the city."

"Okay, send the address to my phone. You don't need to go to HR." Theodore turned and walked away. Carol wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly searched for the eco-park on the map, sending the address to Theodore.

A few minutes later, she saw Theodore walking out with his suit jacket, looking indifferent. "Cancel all my appointments for today. Unless it's an emergency, do not disturb me."

Carol's lips parted slightly as she watched Theodore disappear into the elevator. Only then did her anxious heart begin to calm down.

But why was Theodore going to the eco-park?

Carol picked up her phone and looked at the photo again. This time, she noticed something important. "Isn't that Phoebe?"

No wonder Theodore was so moody; he saw Phoebe in the photo. No wonder she found the woman familiar earlier. Phoebe had become so much more beautiful that Carol didn't recognize her with the mask on. But why did the triplets standing in front of Phoebe look so familiar too?