Forbidden Passion
Chapter 634 Hubert, Boris, and Noomi Have Nothing to Do with Him

In the last couple of years, everyone knew Theodore wasn't into the whole romance thing, and nobody dared to bring it up around him.

But Brandon's comments hit a nerve, making the usually proud Theodore storm out without a second thought.

The door slam made everyone jump.

Taylor shot Brandon a dirty look, "Great, now he's probably gonna be MIA for like half a month."

Brandon snapped back, "Good riddance. He can go wherever. Just seeing him ticks me off. What's so hard about getting married and having kids?" Taylor just sighed.

Two years ago, Phoebe went on a hunger strike to force Theodore to divorce her. It left him shattered, and he still hadn't bounced back.

Taylor glanced at Vanessa nearby and said, "He'll get married when he's ready. Stop pushing him."

Brandon fired back, "You're just babying him."

Taylor had no comeback.

Brandon had been mostly retired at home for the past two years, probably because he had a bad fall two years ago and his temper had become increasingly strange. Taylor didn't hold it against Brandon, considering he had cut off contact with Marlowe in the past two years. Otherwise, their thirty-year marriage would have ended long ago. With Theodore gone, Vanessa didn't feel comfortable staying either. She found an excuse to leave and searched the hallway but couldn't find Theodore. Vanessa's face darkened.

Phoebe came home with Hubert, Boris, and Noomi. After making Noomi stand in the corner as punishment, Phoebe plopped on the couch, her heart racing with fear. Honestly, Phoebe didn't even know what she was scared of. Theodore had a girlfriend now and probably didn't care about her at all. She was just freaking herself out. But she couldn't stop her mind from wandering.

Pamela stood awkwardly at the entrance of the living room, watching Noomi stand in the corner holding her little shoes. She felt like she should be standing there too. Evelyn came out with two bottles of milk and saw Pamela looking lost by the door. She warmly invited her, "Pamela, come over and sit down. Don't worry about her." Seeing Evelyn's usual calm, Pamela moved closer and whispered, "Does Ms. Ziegler always punish kids like this?"

"It's not really punishment, just a lesson. Running around like that is dangerous. Luckily, she didn't get lost today, or it would have been terrifying," Evelyn said. When they were in Caneda, Hubert, Boris, and Noomi had just learned to walk, and Noomi almost got lost once. Phoebe was so scared that she couldn't recover for days. Pamela blamed herself, "It's my fault for not watching her closely. But as soon as she ran, I chased her. She runs so fast; I only caught up with her in the hospital lobby." Evelyn wasn't a harsh person. Since Noomi wasn't lost or hurt, she comforted Pamela, "It's okay. This is Hubert and Boris's lunch. Take it to them, and I'll go talk to Phoebe." Pamela knew Evelyn was deliberately sending her away, so she took the bottles and went to the children's playroom.

Evelyn sat down next to Phoebe, who was staring into space. She sighed, "Noomi is still young. Don't be mad at her."

Phoebe lowered her eyes, "Mom, I wasn't angry with her. I'm just scared. Do you know who she ran into today? She met Theodore."

"What?" Evelyn looked at her in shock.

Phoebe shut her eyes, "Last night, I bumped into him on the road and hitched a ride home. From the way he talked, I could tell he still hates my guts. If he finds out I got pregnant with kids just a month after our divorce, I can't even imagine the fallout." Evelyn was just as stumped, asking, "Then why'd you bring them back to Kedora?"

"Kedora's my hometown. If I don't come back here, where else can I go? I figured Kedora was big enough that we could avoid each other if I stuck to the east side and he stayed on the west. But it feels like I run into him every time I step out," Phoebe leaned back on the couch, covering her eyes with her hand.

Evelyn suggested, "Even if you run into him, just say you adopted them."

Phoebe almost rolled her eyes. Adopting one kid might fly, but who would believe adopting three?

She added, "Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Evelyn patted her shoulder, "Phoebe, don't stress. Even if Theodore finds out, Hubert, Boris, and Noomi have nothing to do with him. We don't need to be scared of him."

Phoebe was speechless.

Evelyn didn't know how obsessive Theodore could be. When she had a miscarriage, Theodore subjected her to emotional neglect for nearly three years.

Later, Theodore was always at odds with Edward.

Now that she had the triplets, who had nothing to do with Theodore, if he found out, he would surely think she had betrayed him, trampling his proud ego. Theodore would kill her! "Alright, Noomi's been in the corner long enough. I'll get her, and you can talk to her," Evelyn said as she got up and walked to the door.

Evelyn squatted down next to Noomi and said a few words to her. Noomi turned to look at Phoebe sitting on the couch and said pitifully, "Mom, I know I was wrong. I won't run around anymore and make you worry." Phoebe sighed and waved her over.

Noomi immediately placed her little shoes neatly by the door and ran to Phoebe.

Phoebe hugged Noomi and touched her little arm, "Are your arms sore?"

"Yeah," Noomi said, pouting and stuffing her chubby arm into Phoebe's hand, "Mom, if you rub it, it won't be sore anymore."

Phoebe helplessly started to rub her arm gently. The biggest difference between her three kids and other kids their age was that while other kids could only say a few simple words, they could speak in long sentences. This was closely related to Phoebe's educational methods.

In Caneda, Phoebe had intentionally encouraged Hubert, Boris, and Noomi to speak. They had to express what they wanted or wanted to do with words, not crying or gestures.

Over time, Hubert, Boris, and Noomi's vocabulary grew, and simple conversations were no problem for them.

Noomi felt very comfortable being rubbed. She looked up at Phoebe with her little face and asked anxiously, "Mom, are you still mad at me?"

Phoebe lowered her head and gently kissed Noomi's forehead, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just afraid you'll get lost and meet bad people, and never come back to me. What would I do if I missed you? Do you want to see me cry my eyes out from missing you?"

Noomi furrowed her brows, not fully understanding, and in her sweet voice promised Phoebe, "Mom, I don't want you to cry your eyes out. I won't run around anymore."

Phoebe, having achieved her goal, kissed Noomi again with relief, "You must be hungry. Let Grandma make you some milk. Go on."

Relieved to finally eat, Noomi slid off Phoebe's lap and ran towards the kitchen, calling for Evelyn.