Theodore waited impatiently, but there was no sounding from Phoebe beside him. Turning his head, he noticed herpletely unconscious, her eyes firmly shut. He clenched his teeth in frustration and gave her a hard kick. "Seriously? You''re out like a light, sleeping like a little pig!"


    If Phoebe were awake, she''d feel pretty bummed too. She''d been through the wringer today, hadn''t even had a bite to eat, and had been tossed around like a rag doll. The reason she had passed out was simply because she was utterly exhausted.


    Despite his initial rage, Theodore found himself unable to resist. He rolled over and enveloped Phoebe in a protective embrace.


    ncing at the conspicuous golden cage across the room, he entertained the notion that if Phoebe misbehaved again, she would surely be confined within its confines. However, for now, he decided to overlook her current actions. Last night, there was a big blow-up at the party. Theodore''s mind was all on Phoebe, and he couldn''t care less about home.


    Early in the morning, a call from Christopher woke him up. He nced at Phoebe, who was snoozing soundly in his arms, gently let her go, and grabbed his phone as he left the bedroom.


    In the hallway, Theodore''s voice was icy. "What''s up?"


    Hearing Theodore''s voice, Christopher sounded like he found a lifeline. "Theodore, you gottae back quick. Dad and Mom are getting a divorce."


    Theodore was taken back. "What?"


    He hung up, pushed open the bedroom door, walked to the bed, and shook Phoebe. "Phoebe, wake up."


    Phoebe had only crashed around three in the morning and was in deep sleep. No matter how much he called her, she wouldn''t wake up. Theodore squinted his eyes and just picked her up, nket and all, and walked out the door. He plopped her in the back seat and drove away from West Mountain Vis. Halfway through the drive, Phoebe woke up. She groggily opened her eyes. "Theodore, is there an earthquake? Why''s the bed moving?" Theodore replied, annoyed, "Yeah, sure."


    Phoebe sat up, still wrapped in the nket, and realized she was in the car. She looked down and saw she was still in her bathrobe. "Where are we going now?" "Back to the estate. Dad and Mom are getting a divorce," Theodore said tly.


    Phoebe was so shocked she forgot about Theodore being a jerkst night. "What happened? Why are they suddenly getting a divorce? Weren''t they already good?"


    Theodore gripped the steering wheel with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other. "Last night, Bishop brought Marlowe to the party. They''re probably splitting up because of that." Phoebe was stunned and asked, "Why didn''t you tell me about this huge thingst night?"


    Theodore nced at the rearview mirror and said sarcastically, "I saw you getting out of Edward''s car and was so pissed I lost my mind. What did you want me to tell you?"


    Phoebe was speechless. She pursed her lips and dryly exined, "I didn''t go on a date with Edward. I left with Donovan and went to my old house. I don''t know why he showed up there." Theodore sneered, "So you''re saying Donovan took you away, made sure you ran into Edward, and then ticked me off?"


    Phoebe stayed quiet.


    The logic made sense if you threw in a father''s murder. She just nced at Theodore.


    She didn''t want to spill the beans without knowing the whole story and didn''t want to jump to conclusions.


    Seeing her silence, Theodore cursed under his breath. "You''re talking nonsense."


    Phoebe, still wrapped in the nket, looked at him silently and said, "With all this drama at home, you just dragged me out like this. How am I supposed to face themter?"


    "I couldn''t wake you up, so I had to bundle you up and take you along." After yesterday''s mess, Theodore was still on edge.


    He was scared that if he left and came back, Phoebe would be gone again, probably with Edward. Even with his tough heart, he couldn''t handle that kind of stress.


    Phoebe was speechless for a bit. "Couldn''t you have at least changed my clothes before we left?"


    Theodore shot back, "Nope."


    Phoebe didn''t have the energy to argue. She sat in the back, sulking, thinking about how embarrassing it would be to show up like thister.


    The car rolled into the estate. Christopher was standing under the eaves with an umbre and a paper bag in his hand. When he saw Theodore''s Range Rover pull in, he quickly ran over. Phoebe hurriedly wrapped herself tighter in the nket, leaving only her eyes exposed, peeking around outside the car.


    Theodore stopped the car and rolled down the passenger window. The cold wind blew in, and he frowned at Christopher. "Did you bring the clothes I asked for?"


    "Yeah, Theodore, here you go." Christopher didn''t dare to look around and quickly passed the paper bag through the window.


    Christopher added, "Hurry up, I''m freezing out here."


    In such cold weather, who knew what Theodore and Phoebe were doing in the car that Phoebe didn''t even have clothes on.


    Christopher left, and Theodore tossed the paper bag into the back seat. "You got three minutes. Hurry up and change."


    Phoebe was still wrapped in the nket. The cold wind made her reluctant toe out. "You go outside and wait. I don''t want to change in front of you."


    Theodore turned to her, his gaze sweeping over her like a physical touch. "Is there any part of you I haven''t seen? Why can''t I look?"


    "You just can''t!" Phoebe clutched the nket and didn''t move.


    They stared at each other for half a minute. Theodore just sat there, and finally, Phoebe gave in. She muttered under her breath as she pulled out the clothes and changed. After changing, they got out of the car. The cold wind was howling, cutting through everything. Theodore pulled Phoebe into his arms, and they jogged into the vi.


    The atmosphere inside the vi was heavy. Brandon was smoking alone in the downstairs living room, looking troubled. Sarah sat beside him, advising him to smoke less.


    Sarah said, "When Marlowe came to us, she was five months pregnant. I couldn''t bear to make her abort the child, so I gave her some money to leave. I never thought it would cause endless trouble." Brandon replied, "You should have told me."


    Sarah red at him, dissatisfied. "If I had told you, would you have married Taylor? Given our family''s situation at the time, if you had broken off the engagement, there wouldn''t be today''s Reynolds family." Brandon clenched his fists, a look of impatience growing in his eyes. "The Reynolds family is flourishing now, but it came at the cost of betraying two women. Mom, you''re a woman, too. How can you be so heartless?" "Dad!" Theodore walked in with big strides, coldly staring at Brandon. "I won''t allow you to talk to Grandma like that. The result is due to your greed. You wanted both this and that. How can you expect to have it all?" Brandon looked up and saw Phoebe following Theodore. He felt utterly humiliated and stood up in a rage, pointing at Theodore. "Theodore, how dare you talk to me like that?"


    "If you want my respect, do something a man should do," Theodore said, "Don''t try to have it all."


    Brandon unexpectedly pped Theodore across the face.