Forbidden Passion

Phoebe took Ethan back to the villa area. Ethan, sitting next to her, noticed that

Phoebe didn't look well and cautiously asked, "Aunt Phoebe, aren't we picking up Mom from work?"

"Your mom is already off work. We might have missed her earlier, but we'll see her when we get home," Phoebe replied.

"Okay," Ethan said, a bit disappointed, turning his head to look at the night scenery outside the window.

The car stopped outside the villa, and Phoebe got out with Ethan, just in time to see Ruby walking over from another path.

She was massaging her shoulder, looking very tired.

Phoebe waited at the door, and when Ruby looked up and saw them, she quickly walked over. Ethan excitedly ran into her arms.

Ruby picked him up and kissed him on the cheek. "Ethan, did you listen to Grandma today?"

"Yes, I even helped her with the housework," Ethan said proudly.

Ruby praised him a bit and then noticed Phoebe's unhappy expression. She thought something had happened. "Phoebe, what's wrong?"

Phoebe stared at her for a moment and then said to Ethan, "Ethan, go inside first. I need to talk to your mom for a bit. We'll come in soon."

"Okay," Ethan sensed the tension, slid down from Ruby's arms, and went inside.

Phoebe looked at Ruby and said, "I took Ethan to the industrial park to pick you up from work tonight. Guess what your colleagues said?"

Ruby's face turned pale, knowing her lie had been exposed.

Phoebe paused, "So, where exactly do you work, and what are you doing?"

Ruby bit her lip, not daring to meet Phoebe's gaze. "I was afraid you'd think I lost my dignity, so I didn't tell you the truth. Actually, I..."

Phoebe listened quietly.

Ruby seemed to find it hard to speak. She said, "I couldn't find a suitable job, so I started doing housework for people, helping with cleaning. Phoebe, I really didn't mean to hide it from you. I was afraid you'd look down on me."

Phoebe never expected Ruby to be working as a housekeeper.

Although no job was inherently superior or inferior, the fact that Ruby would rather work as a housekeeper than at her company made Phoebe feel a bit hurt.

"You graduated from a prestigious university, and now you're working as a housekeeper. What were you thinking?" Phoebe said angrily. "Are you that afraid of working at my company, afraid I'd target you?"

"No," Ruby hurried to explain, "Phoebe, listen to me. That's not what I meant. The pay for housekeeping is quite good, and it's right here in this neighborhood. It's close to home, so if anything happens, I can take care of it quickly."

Phoebe frowned, "Really?"

"Absolutely. I swear to God," Ruby said, and a flash of lightning streaked across the night sky.

"It's going to rain. Let's go inside. Housekeeping isn't a long-term solution. You still need to get your teaching certification, understand?" Phoebe didn't want to interfere too much in Ruby's affairs and could only offer limited advice.

Ruby nodded, "I know."

Phoebe sighed, and the two of them went inside.

The next day, Ruby left early. After she left, Phoebe quietly followed her, wanting to see which house she was working at.

Lakeview Estates was a newly built villa area, and the residents were all people of status and wealth.

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However, since it was newly built, the occupancy rate was just over half. Phoebe wanted to know where Ruby was working so that if anything happened, she could find her.

She followed Ruby quietly, and Ruby didn't notice. Soon, Ruby turned a corner, walked through a path outside the villa area, and entered a villa.

Phoebe stood at the corner and saw that it was the place where she had seen that man disappear last time. Her heart started pounding.

Ruby slowly walked to the door, her fingers trembling, but she still pressed the doorbell.

She had just entered and saw Donovan sitting on the sofa downstairs, watching financial news. The TV volume was quite loud, and she heard "the Vanderbilt Group," so she instinctively glanced at the TV.

There were several striking words on the screen: [The Vanderbilt Group's subsidiary involved in illegal operations, under investigation by the IRS.]

She looked over at Donovan and saw him smirking, seemingly pleased with the news. She said, "You seem very happy today."

"Do I?" Donovan looked at her expressionlessly.

Ruby had been cleaning and cooking for him for a month now. He handed her a sealed envelope. "This is your pay for the month."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat, fearing his next words would be that she didn't need to come back tomorrow. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Ruby quickly ran to the door. "I'll get it."

She saw Phoebe's beautiful face on the video intercom and froze. She turned stiffly to Donovan. "It's Phoebe."

Donovan frowned, "Did you tell her I'm still alive?"noveldrama

"No, I didn't say anything," Ruby's scalp tingled. She thought Phoebe must have decided to follow her last night but didn't know why.

Trevor came over from the hallway. "Sir, maybe you should go upstairs and avoid her. I'll send Ms. Ziegler away."

Donovan had already prepared most of his plans and didn't mind more people knowing he was alive. He said, "No need."

In the end, Ruby opened the door. She stood at the entrance and saw Phoebe push the door open and walk in through the stone path outside. She pursed her lips. "Phoebe, I..."

Phoebe glanced at her and walked straight into the villa.

The villa was decorated very elegantly, with a black, white, and gray color scheme that made it look rather lifeless. She turned her gaze and saw Donovan sitting on the sofa.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed that someone could return to life. Her eyes instantly reddened.

"You're, you're alive?"

Donovan turned to look at her, his gaze cold. "You seem very disappointed that I'm alive?"

Phoebe was furious. She took a few steps forward, grabbed a cushion, and started hitting Donovan on the head. Donovan quickly raised his hands to block his face.

After blocking a few hits and seeing that Phoebe was still hitting him, he got angry and grabbed the cushion. Then he saw Phoebe's tear-streaked face.

He paused, feeling a pang of guilt. "Phoebe, I..."

"Why didn't you just hide from us forever? Why come back? We all thought you were dead," Phoebe said, her chest aching with anger.

She had seen him that day. He was clearly in this villa area but still hid from them. It was infuriating!