Forbidden Passion

The ward fell into a deathly silence. Electra stood nearby and glanced back at Harper, who had been standing at the door.

In a lowered voice, she said, "Ms. Ziegler, Mr. Ziegler has been standing at the door. Should I ask him to leave?"

Phoebe was silent for a moment, then looked up towards the door, meeting Harper's gaze. A myriad of emotions flickered across her face.

This situation had also hit her hard. She hadn't decided how to deal with Harper yet. After a while, she nodded, "Okay."

Just as Electra was about to leave, Diana, who was standing nearby, spoke up, "Ms. Ziegler, Mr. Ziegler has been looking for you all. He never intended to abandon you. Can you give him a chance, at least don't be so quick to shut him out?"

Phoebe looked up at Diana, "Sorry, but until my mom wakes up, I don't want to say a word to Mr. Ziegler. Please take him away, or I'll have to call security."

"Why?" Diana was furious.

From the door, Harper's gentle voice sounded, "Diana, don't disturb Evelyn's rest. We... we'll come back another day."

Diana stormed out in her high heels.

Phoebe sat down by the bedside. Hearing the footsteps fade away, she wiped her face hard and stared at Evelyn on the bed.

Electra saw her expression and didn't know how to comfort her, so she quietly left.

The ward fell silent again. Phoebe sat there motionless as the sky outside gradually darkened.

Her mind was in turmoil, thinking about many things, yet seemingly thinking about nothing. When she first heard Harper's story, she thought his experiences were legendary.

Now, it turned out her mom Evelyn was the protagonist of that legend. She felt both absurd and reasonable, not knowing whether to be grateful her father was still alive or to resent him for never coming back to find them.

As night fell, the ward remained unlit, pitch dark.

Phoebe didn't know how long she had been sitting in the dark until a blinding light suddenly turned on, causing her to squint.

Light footsteps came from behind.

"Phoebe, you're in the ward? Why didn't you turn on the light?" Ruby walked in with a thermos, surprised to see Phoebe sitting by the bed.

She walked over and looked down at her, "Have you eaten? I brought some food. Go wash your hands, and I'll wake Evelyn up to eat."

"Ruby, let her sleep," Phoebe spoke, realizing her voice was terribly hoarse.

Ruby immediately sensed something was wrong. She looked at Phoebe, "What's wrong with your voice? Do you have a cold?"

Phoebe coughed lightly, trying to soothe her dry throat. She shook her head, "I'm fine. How was work today? Are you tired?"

Ruby was momentarily stunned, worried Phoebe might notice something, and quickly said, "Not tired, it was easy."

"That's good. Don't overwork yourself." Phoebe got up to wash her hands. When she came out, Ruby had already set the table.

Phoebe walked to the round table and saw it was Ruby's cooking. She sat down, her eyes slightly teary.

"Phoebe, what's wrong?" Ruby sat across from her. She had noticed something was off with Phoebe when she entered, and the feeling was even stronger now.

Phoebe shook her head, "Nothing, I'm fine."

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Ruby looked at her with concern, "If something's wrong, you need to talk about it. Don't keep it all inside and make yourself sick."

"Okay."

Phoebe lowered her head to eat, swallowing all her sorrow. The news of her biological father coming back to life was something she couldn't even process herself. She couldn't imagine how her mom would react when she woke up.

Phoebe didn't have much of an appetite and only ate a little. When she got up to wash her bowl, Ruby insisted on doing it instead.

In a glance, Ruby noticed the bite mark on Phoebe's collarbone. Her eyes fixed on it, "Phoebe, what's with the bite mark on your neck? Who bit you?"

Phoebe looked down, quickly pulling her clothes to cover the bloody bite mark, feeling a bit uneasy, "It's nothing."

Ruby looked at her suspiciously, about to say something when they heard Evelyn coughing from the bed. Both of them rushed over.

Evelyn opened her eyes, staring at the blindingly white ceiling, momentarily disoriented, not knowing where she was.

"Mom, how are you feeling?" Phoebe rushed to the bedside, looking at Evelyn with

concern.

Evelyn slowly turned her head. Her face was pale, and her lips were trembling. She slowly raised her hand, and Phoebe quickly held it, tears instantly rolling down her face.

"Mom, it's okay, it's okay. If you don't want to see him, I won't let him appear in front of you again." Phoebe felt extremely distressed.

She had never seen Evelyn like this. Even when Donovan suddenly passed away, she had held it together. She never expected that seeing Harper would make her break down like this.

Ruby stood nearby, confused.

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Him?

Was it Donovan?

But Donovan had been at the villa all day and hadn't come to the hospital. Could it be Theodore? Last night, Theodore had found out that Hubert, Boris, and Noomi were Phoebe's children. Maybe he was upset and came to vent his anger on Phoebe.

The bite mark on Phoebe's neck was deep, showing how much Theodore hated her to bite so hard.

Suddenly, Evelyn started to wail.noveldrama

Her crying startled both Phoebe and Ruby. They tried to comfort her, but Evelyn cried even harder.

Phoebe looked at her in frustration and gave Ruby a look. They both stopped trying to comfort her, letting Evelyn calm down on her own.

Ruby sidled up to Phoebe, watching Evelyn bury her head in the pillow, her body shaking with sobs. She whispered, "Phoebe, what exactly happened?"

Phoebe pressed her lips together, feeling very conflicted. But she didn't hide it from Ruby and said concisely, "In short, my dad came back to life."

"Came back to life?" Ruby's heart skipped a beat, thinking of another person who had come back to life. She awkwardly said, "That's a good thing."

"It is a good thing." If she hadn't told Evelyn Harper's story, Evelyn might not have broken down like this.

Ruby looked at Phoebe, then at the sobbing Evelyn, and cautiously said, "But you don't seem happy at all."

Phoebe couldn't describe her feelings, so she gave Ruby an example, "It's like you and Donovan. You've already accepted that he's gone, but then he suddenly appears in front of you. Wouldn't you feel like you've seen a ghost?"

Ruby thought that was a very apt description!