Forbidden Passion

Colorful bubbles danced in the air as Hubert, Boris, and Noomi excitedly chased after them. With a touch, the bubbles burst into countless droplets. They quickly closed their eyes, waiting for the cool sensation to pass, and then chased after the next bubble, having a blast.

Evelyn took photos of the children while Pamela sat next to her, taking the developed film and holding it close. Soon, clear images appeared.

"Oh no, it's a bit blurry, but Hubert's profile looks great. He looks so much like his mom," Pamela exclaimed in surprise.

Evelyn took a few more shots, letting Pamela wait for the prints. Even if some shots were blurry, the kids always looked good no matter how they were photographed. Despite her amateur skills, their good looks shone through.

"This one turned out well, all four kids are in it," Pamela said, handing the photo to Evelyn. Evelyn looked down to see the four children all reaching for a big bubble. Sunlight bathed them as they laughed heartily.

Ruby was blowing bubbles for them, and the dense bubbles floating in the air attracted many other children. In no time, a dozen kids surrounded her.

Standing in the sunlight, Ruby looked at the children around her, her eyes crinkling with joy. It was the happiest she had been in years.noveldrama

Evelyn looked up to see Ruby's radiant smile and, moved by the moment, gently pressed the shutter button.

She captured Ruby's carefree expression.

At that moment, none of them noticed someone hiding behind a tree, snapping photos with a camera before sneaking away unnoticed.

Children have boundless energy. After the two bubble machines ran out, they were sweaty and tired. Evelyn called them back and handed each a bottle to drink some water. Hubert, feeling hungry, rummaged through a bag and pulled out four individually wrapped snacks. Noomi noticed and came over, asking, "Hubert, can I have one?"

Hubert nodded and said, "Sure, let me open it for you."

Noomi watched eagerly as Hubert carefully unwrapped the snack and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Hubert!" Noomi said happily, taking a bite.

Hubert then proceeded to unwrap snacks for Ethan and Boris as well, feeling responsible as the biggest brother.

After finishing their snacks, the four kids collapsed on the mat, exhausted from chasing bubbles.

The autumn breeze brushed their faces as they lay on the mat, sucking on their bottles and soon drifting off to sleep.

Ruby sat next to Evelyn, looking at the photos Evelyn had just taken. Evelyn's photography style was typical of older generations, preferring to capture group shots with everyone in the frame. Ruby found it quite interesting as she looked through the photos.

"This one is particularly good. I really like it. Can I have it?" Ruby asked, holding up the photo of her with the bubble machine. She couldn't believe the person smiling so happily in the photo was herself. Since Donovan's death, she hadn't smiled so joyfully.

"Take it," Evelyn said with a smile. "Ruby, you look beautiful when you smile. You should smile more often. Don't go around with a stern face in your twenties."

Ruby smiled and carefully placed the photo in her phone case.

Looking at Evelyn's kind face, Ruby thought that if Evelyn knew she had indirectly caused Donovan's death, she wouldn't be smiling at her like this.

She lowered her head, her mood sinking again.

They sat on the lawn until sunset. As the weather cooled, they woke Hubert, Boris, Noomi, and Ethan, put them in the stroller, and headed back.

On the park's greenway, adults hurriedly pushed their children home. Evelyn suddenly remembered they were out of seasoning at home and said, "Ruby, you and Pamela take the kids back first. I'll go buy some seasoning." "I'll go," Ruby offered, knowing there was a small supermarket nearby, though it was a bit far from the estate's main gate.

Evelyn waved her off, "It's fine. You all go ahead."

Ruby watched Evelyn walk away. Pamela patted her arm and said, "Let's go. Evelyn knows this area well; she won't get lost."

Ruby smiled and pushed Hubert, Boris, and Noomi towards the estate.

Evelyn bought the seasoning and came out of the supermarket as dusk fell. The streetlights along the park's greenway had come on.

The park was deserted now. Evelyn hurried towards the estate, feeling as if someone was following her.

Her heart raced as she clutched her shopping bag and quickened her pace. Flashes of news reports about brutal murders crossed her mind. Evelyn ran faster, and the person behind her also sped up. Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulder. Evelyn screamed in fright.

The person behind her was also startled and screamed, and for a few moments, they both continued to scream, scaring each other even more.

Evelyn turned around and recognized the person as the supermarket owner. She patted her chest, furious, "Why are you chasing me at night? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

The supermarket owner scratched his head and handed her a bag, "You forgot your bag. I didn't know your name."

Evelyn looked down and saw it was indeed her bag. She snatched it and said, "It's Mrs. Ziegler. Don't chase people like that at night; you scared me half to death."

"Sorry," the supermarket owner apologized with an embarrassed smile.

Evelyn glared at him and walked away. As she reached the estate's entrance, she felt a strong sense of being watched.

She frowned, not wanting to be paranoid after the earlier misunderstanding, but couldn't help looking back.

Outside the estate was a road, with a lone silver-gray sedan parked beside it. The rear window was half-lowered, and someone inside seemed to be quietly watching Evelyn through the window. The feeling made Evelyn very uncomfortable. She clutched her belongings and quickly walked into the community, thinking that if the person in the car tried anything, she would fight back.

As Evelyn's figure disappeared at the estate's entrance, the rear window of the silver-gray sedan slowly rolled up. Harper, sitting in the back seat, took a moment before instructing the driver, "Drive." The car drove away, and Harper looked back at the receding estate, Lakeview Estates becoming more and more distant.

Harper took out his phone and looked at the photos he had taken.

The photos were blurry, but from the figure, it was clear he had photographed Evelyn. That bowl of clam chowder had stirred up Harper's longing, compelling him to check on Evelyn. Now that he had seen her, Harper felt an emptiness in his heart that nothing could fill.