Chapter 886 Conflict Arises Again
In the evening, Phoebe took the kids to play outside the neighborhood.
Theodore quietly followed behind them. With the cooler weather, more parents had gathered by the lake.
At the request of the residents, the lawn by the lake had been equipped with various play facilities for children, ranging from slides for toddlers to fitness equipment for adults.
The kids dashed towards the slides and lined up.
Phoebe stood nearby, waiting.
Theodore stood next to her, his gaze intense. "If you cared for me even half as much as you do for Hubert, Boris, and Noomi, I'd be over the moon."
Hearing the jealousy in his voice, Phoebe couldn't help but laugh. "You're a grown man, Theodore, and you're jealous of the kids?"
"Even if I were old, I'd be jealous," Theodore shot her a look. "It just shows you don't care about me."
"That's not fair, Mr. Reynolds," Phoebe protested. "I let you stay at my place to recover. How can you say I don't care about you?"
Theodore raised an eyebrow and poked her in the chest with his long finger.
Phoebe quickly stepped back, nervously looking around.
"We're outside, Theodore. If someone sees you doing that, they'll think we're being inappropriate."
"What are you so worried about?" Theodore's expression turned cold as he withdrew his hand. "If I wanted to do something, would you scream for help?"
Phoebe realized she might have overreacted. She bit her lip and lowered her hands from her chest.
Seeing his displeasure, she tried to soothe him. "You just caught me off guard. I didn't want anyone to see."
Theodore squinted at her. "Am I that embarrassing to be seen with?"
Phoebe was at a loss for words. Seeing his furrowed brow, she knew continuing the conversation might lead to another argument.
For some reason, Theodore was particularly sensitive today.
She smiled gently. "Of course not. By the way, do you know why I bought a house in Lakeview Estates?"
"Because it's far enough from me," Theodore replied flatly.
Phoebe clenched her fists at her sides, reminding herself not to get upset.
"No, it's because the environment here is great. Lakeview Estates has a preschool, so my mom can take the kids to school without leaving the neighborhood. It's convenient."
Hearing that all her plans revolved around Hubert, Boris, and Noomi, Theodore felt even worse.
He stayed silent, afraid that if he spoke, he wouldn't be able to control his anger.
"Before I returned to the country, Cindy helped me find this house. We live in the same neighborhood. I wasn't trying to avoid you."
Theodore glanced at her, his mood still low. "Okay."
Phoebe was about to say something when she suddenly heard a child crying.
She quickly looked towards the slides and saw Boris being pushed off.
Her heart nearly stopped. She rushed over.
The ground beneath the slides was padded, but falling from three feet up had scared Boris.
After a few seconds of shock, he started crying loudly.
Phoebe, her hands trembling, quickly picked him up to check for injuries.
Theodore took Boris from her and looked up at the four-year-old standing on the slide. "Hey, where are your parents? Didn't they teach you not to push other kids around?"
The child, frightened by Theodore's stern expression, started crying.
The child's grandmother hurried over, and upon hearing the crying, she immediately started causing a scene.
"Who bullied my grandson? I'll fight you!"
Phoebe took Boris back from Theodore and saw the large bump on his forehead from hitting the slide.
Her heart ached, and hearing the unreasonable woman, she said firmly, "Ma'am, your grandson pushed my son off the slide. How can you be so unreasonable?"
Conflicts among children playing in the neighborhood were common, and most parents were reasonable, apologizing and moving on. Rarely did they encounter someone like this grandmother.
Noomi and the others quickly slid down and stood by Phoebe.
The three kids united, and Ethan spoke clearly, "Grandma, your grandson pushed Boris off the slide."
Hubert and Noomi chimed in, "Yeah, we saw him push Boris."
The grandmother looked embarrassed, then noticed their expensive-looking clothes and the intimidating Theodore.
She realized admitting her grandson's fault might lead to trouble, so she decided to deny everything and blame Boris.
"You can't trust what kids say. My grandson is always well-behaved. He must have fallen on his own," she insisted.
Phoebe frowned. "Ma'am, everyone saw your grandson push my son. How can you deny it?"
"You say my grandson pushed your son. Where's the proof? Without proof, you're just making things up. I could say your son scared my grandson by falling, and you owe us for emotional distress," the woman argued.
Phoebe was furious at her unreasonable behavior. She didn't want to pursue the matter, just to remind the woman to discipline her grandson.
Today, Boris was lucky not to be seriously hurt. Next time, another child might not be so fortunate.
But the woman was adamant, refusing to admit any fault.
With everyone watching, Phoebe had no choice but to take Boris and have Theodore lead Hubert, Boris, and Noomi home.
They had come out to have fun but were leaving disappointed.
As they walked, Noomi looked worriedly at Hubert. "Hubert, do you think Boris will be okay after falling from such a height?"
Boris, a child, heard this and started crying again. "I don't want to be dumb!"
Phoebe's heart ached. "Boris isn't dumb. Don't cry. Noomi, don't scare Boris like that."
Noomi covered her mouth and mumbled, "Grandma said hitting your head can make you dumb. Boris has a big bump on his head."
"Shut up!" Phoebe scolded lightly.
Hubert quickly covered Noomi's mouth, and the two started playing, ignoring Boris's tears.
Phoebe was exasperated.
Boris, lying in Phoebe's arms, watched them play and soon forgot his tears.
After a while, he slid down from Phoebe's arms, and the kids started chasing each other, quickly forgetting the unpleasant incident at the slide.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
